Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are repaid with hatred instead of gratitude.

None mourn more ostentatiously over the death of Germanicus than those who most rejoice at it [a death].

The lust of fame is the last that a wise man shakes off.

Custom adapts itself to expediency.

Remedies are more tardy in their operation than diseases.

The lust for power, for dominating others, inflames the heart more than any other passion.

Cruelty is fed, not weakened, by tears.