Undeservedly you will atone for the sins of your fathers.
— Horace
Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans. It is lovely to be silly at the right moment.
If a man's fortune does not fit him, it is like the shoe in the story; if too large it trips him up, if too small it pinches him.
Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted to them.
Anger is a short madness.
He gains everyone's approval who mixes the pleasant with the useful.
We are just statistics, born to consume resources.
Why do you hasten to remove anything which hurts your eye, while if something affects your soul you postpone the cure until next year?
We rarely find anyone who can say he has lived a happy life, and who, content with his life, can retire from the world like a satisfied guest.
It is your business when the wall next door catches fire.
Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work.
Nothing's beautiful from every point of view.
Great effort is required to arrest decay and restore vigor. One must exercise proper deliberation, plan carefully before making a move, and be alert in guarding against relapse following a renaissance.
Money is a handmaiden, if thou knowest how to use it; a mistress, if thou knowest not.
Let your literary compositions be kept from the public eye for nine years at least.
Suffering is but another name for the teaching of experience, which is the parent of instruction and the schoolmaster of life.
It's a good thing to be foolishly gay once in a while.
Begin, be bold and venture to be wise.
It is a sweet and seemly thing to die for one's country.
Fortune makes a fool of those she favors too much.
While fools shun one set of faults they run into the opposite one.
A heart well prepared for adversity in bad times hopes, and in good times fears for a change in fortune.
We are often deterred from crime by the disgrace of others.
He who would begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin.
When things are steep, remember to stay level-headed.
O imitators, you slavish herd!
Usually the modest person passes for someone reserved, the silent for a sullen person.
Leave the rest to the gods.
You traverse the world in search of happiness, which is within the reach of every man. A contented mind confers it on all.
Don't think, just do.
I never think at all when I write. Nobody can do two things at the same time and do them both well.
Time will bring to light whatever is hidden; it will cover up and conceal what is now shining in splendor.
The foolish are like ripples on water, For whatsoever they do is quickly effaced; But the righteous are like carvings upon stone, For their smallest act is durable.
Who then is free? The wise man who can command himself.
We are free to yield to truth.
What we learn only through the ears makes less impression upon our minds than what is presented to the trustworthy eye.
A picture is a poem without words.
Life is largely a matter of expectation.
Whatever advice you give, be short.
He who postpones the hour of living is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses.
If matters go badly now, they will not always be so.
Your own safety is at stake when your neighbor's wall is ablaze.
It is your concern when your neighbor's wall is on fire.
It is the false shame of fools to try to conceal wounds that have not healed.
He tosses aside his paint-pots and his words a foot and a half long.
The one who cannot restrain their anger will wish undone, what their temper and irritation prompted them to do.
Always keep your composure. You can't score from the penalty box; and to win, you have to score.
The pen is the tongue of the mind.
In labouring to be concise, I become obscure.
The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.
