“Natural ability is by far the best, but many men have succeeded in winning high renown by skill that is the fruit of teaching.”

The noblest of the elements is water.

Whatever is beautiful is beautiful by necessity.

Great deeds give choice of many tales. Choose a slight tale, enrich it large, and then let wise men listen.

When men succeed, even their neighbors think them wise.

Skills vary with the man. We must tread a straight path and strive by that which is born in us.

Men are the dreams of a shadow.

The days that are still to come are the wisest witnesses.

Even wisdom has to yield to self-interest.

I will be small in small things, great among great.

Not every truth is the better for showing its face undisguised; and often silence is the wisest thing for a man to heed.

Convention is the ruler of all.

Mankind is a dream of a shadow.

Success for the striven washes away the effort of striving.

The present will not long endure.

Though God alone never tastes woe, Yet that man is happy, and poets sing of him, Who conquers with hand or swift foot And wins the greatest of prizes By steadfastness and strength.

To bear lightly the neck’s yoke brings strength; but kicking against the goads is the way of failure.

From their endless rough-housing with each other, they develop speed and agility.

Every single human being needs recognition and support.

Wit may do very well for a mistress, but I should prefer reason for a wife.

The life expectancy of the 40-year-old American is near the lowest in the world.

It is easier to tell a story of how people wound one another than of what binds them together.

I want the poem to be as true as humanly possible to the feeling that inspired it.

A bargain is something you don’t need at a price you can’t resist.

No one can escape stress, but you can learn to cope with it.