To have a great man for a friend seems pleasant to those who have never tried it; those who have, fear it.
— Horace
You may drive out nature with a pitchfork, yet she'll be constantly running back.
Pale Death beats equally at the poor man's gate and at the palaces of kings.
The power of daring anything their fancy suggest, as always been conceded to the painter and the poet.
If you would have me weep, you must first of all feel grief yourself.
Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it.
A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably.
No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.
It is when I struggle to be brief that I become obscure.
Fidelity is the sister of justice.
Words will not fail when the matter is well considered.
The disgrace of others often keeps tender minds from vice.
The man is either mad, or he is making verses.
Why harass with eternal purposes a mind to weak to grasp them?
Clogged with yesterday's excess, the body drags the mind down with it.
He has not lived badly whose birth and death has been unnoticed by the world.
I teach that all men are mad.
A host is like a general: calamities often reveal his genius.
It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor. Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity.
One wanders to the left, another to the right. Both are equally in error, but, are seduced by different delusions.
Cease to inquire what the future has in store, and take as a gift whatever the day brings forth.
Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow.
In adversity remember to keep an even mind.
Mountains will go into labour, and a silly little mouse will be born.
Knowledge without education is but armed injustice.
No poems can please for long or live that are written by water drinkers.
Good sense is both the first principal and the parent source of good writing.
Wisdom is not wisdom when it is derived from books alone.
A portion of mankind take pride in their vices and pursue their purpose; many more waver between doing what is right and complying with what is wrong.
Poets wish to profit or to please.
Sad people dislike the happy, and the happy the sad; the quick thinking the sedate, and the careless the busy and industrious.
Subdue your passion or it will subdue you.
You must avoid sloth, that wicked siren.
He is armed without who is innocent within, be this thy screen, and this thy wall of brass.
I strive to be brief but I become obscure.
This is a fault common to all singers, that among their friends they will never sing when they are asked; unasked, they will never desist.
Choose a subject equal to your abilities; think carefully what your shoulders may refuse, and what they are capable of bearing.
Whoever cultivates the golden mean avoids both the poverty of a hovel and the envy of a palace.
Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even.
Lawyers are men who hire out their words and anger.
A shoe that is too large is apt to trip one, and when too small, to pinch the feet. So it is with those whose fortune does not suit them.
The lofty pine is oftenest shaken by the winds; High towers fall with a heavier crash; And the lightning strikes the highest mountain.
It is no great art to say something briefly when, like Tacitus, one has something to say; when one has nothing to say, however, and none the less writes a whole book and makes truth into a liar - that I call an achievement.
Labor diligently to increase your property.
It is of no consequence of what parents a man is born, as long as he be a man of merit.
Make a good use of the present.
Every old poem is sacred.
I hate the irreverent rabble and keep them far from me.
Refrain from asking what going to happen tomorrow, and everyday that fortune grants you, count as gain.
A good and faithful judge ever prefers the honorable to the expedient.
