“The gods too are fond of a joke.”

To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.

Whatever lies within our power to do lies also within our power not to do.

To lead an orchestra, you must turn your back on the crowd.

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

Through discipline comes freedom.

Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think.

For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.

Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.

Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own.

The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.

It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.

The happy life is regarded as a life in conformity with virtue.

He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled.

Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.