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It is easy to despise what you cannot get.
Expect no reward when you serve the wicked, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains.
It is not a very pleasant feeling to have a neighbor who can easily strike from a distance.
Relying on statistics does not always produce results.
Some remedies are worse than the disease itself.
The tyrant is never safe from those whom he oppresses.
No argument, no matter how convincing, will give courage to a coward.
A tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny. So it is useless for the innocent to seek justice through reasoning when the oppressor intends to be unjust.
He who lays traps for others is often caught by his own snare.
Kindness to ungrateful and vicious creatures is thrown away.
It takes great skill to do the right thing at the right time.
“Farewell, my friend,” said the wolf. “You’re welcome to your dainties, but for me, a dry crust with liberty will always be worth more than all the luxury a king with a chain could ever provide.”
“This fine mode of living may be all right for those who like it,” he said. “But I’d rather have a crust in peace and safety than all your fine things in the midst of such alarm and terror.”
Pride goes before defeat.
Demand your own way, demand your own ruin.
Every truth has two sides. It is best to look at both before we declare where we stand.
By asking for too much, we may lose the little that we once had.
Whoever plots the downfall of his neighbor is often betrayed by his own treachery.
“You forget,” replied the hound, “that it’s one thing to run for your dinner and another to run for your life.”
Little friends may prove great friends.
When the rich surrender the rights of the poor, they provide a handle to be used against their own privileges.
Adversity tests the sincerity of friends.
Pray as we may, if we do not learn to help ourselves, all our prayers will go unheeded.
There is just as much malice in a wink as in a word.
We must have freedom to enjoy our blessings.
Remember, no matter how miserable you are, there are some people whose shoes you would not want to wear.
Thus the sun was declared the winner, and ever since then, persuasion has been held in higher esteem than force. Indeed, sunshine of a kind and gentle manner will sooner open a poor man’s heart than all the threats and force of blustering authority.
No matter how much you have, never argue with quality.
Hypocrisy is close to mendacity.
After Momus pronounced all his judgments, Jupiter drove the critic out of heaven and told him that a fault-finder could never be pleased and that he should stop criticizing the works of others until he had created something worthwhile himself.
Whoever wishes harm upon his neighbor will bring a curse upon himself.
Ingratitude is as blind as it is base.
Be wary of advice prompted by selfishness.
Revenge may be not be worth the price when you pay for it with your liberty.
Men often mistake notoriety for fame.
Indeed, you can rest assured that men can exist without butchers, but they will never go without beef.”
Do not be in a hurry to exchange one evil for another.
Whoever neglects old friends for the sake of new deserves what he gets if he loses both.
Cutting small costs can cause great wounds.
In choosing allies, make sure that they are not only willing to help but have the power to do so.
He who stirs others to go to war and cause bloodshed is worse than those who take part in it.
Pleasure is increased through abstinence.
Better a humble life and security than the dangers that confront the high and mighty.
When you desire to change your condition, make sure that you can really improve it.
If words do not suffice, blows must follow.
Whoever is ready to betray his friends just to save himself deserves a punishment worse than death.”
By ridding ourselves of rulers or dependents who have already taken the most out of us, we often lay ourselves open to others who will make us bleed even more blood than before.
It is one thing to call for death and another to see him coming.
A dubious friend is worse than a true enemy.
If all our rash vows were to be granted, many of us would be ruined by our requests.
