Great Throughts Treasury

"No one is by nature noble, respected of any one, nor a wretch. His own actions conduct him either to wretchedness or to the reverse."

"No one should form an acquaintance with one who has an evil character. A piece of coal, if it is hot burns, and if it's cold, blackens the hands."

"No patient will ever recover his health merely from the description of a medicine."

"No wise person should make known the loss of fortune, any malpractice in their house, his being cheated, or having been disgraced."

"Not to attend at the door of the wealthy, and not to use the voice of petition? These constitute the best life of a man."

"Of all things, knowledge is esteemed the most precious treasure; because of its incapacity to be stolen, to be given away, or even to be consumed."

"On the touchstone of misfortune a man discovers the strength of understanding and of spirit in kinsmen, wife, servants, and himself."

"One may give him a hundred instances from Holy Writ that he should not dispute; still, it is the character of a fool to make a disturbance without a cause."

"One may forsake a person to save a family; one may desert a whole family for the sake of a village; and sacrifice a village for the safety of the community; but for one’s self one may abandon the whole world."

"One who is master of ever so little art may be able, on a great occasion, to root up trees with as much ease as the current of a river the reeds and grass."

"One should not lift the rod against our enemies upon the private information of another."

"One should abandon that country wherein there is neither respect, nor employment, nor connections, nor the advancement of science."

"One who is out of his own country is defeated by a very trifling enemy."

"Prosperity attends the lion-hearted man who exerts himself, while we say, destiny will ensure it. Laying aside destiny, show manly fortitude by thy own strength: if thou endeavor, and thy endeavors fail of success, what crime is there in failing?"

"One, although not possessed of a mine of gold, may find the offspring of his own nature, that noble ardour, which hath for its object the accomplishment of the whole assemblage of virtues."

"Servants and houses should be suited to the situation. A gem should not be placed at the feet. The same is to be understood of an able man."

"Shall He to thee His aid refuse Who clothes the swan in dazzling white, Who robes in green the parrot bright, The peacocks decks in rainbow hues?*"

"Prosperity is acquired by exertion, and there is no fruit for him who doth not exert himself: the fawns go not into the mouth of a sleeping lion."

"Riches in their acquisition bring pain and suffering, in their loss manifold trouble and sorrow, in their possession a wild intoxication. How can we say that they confer happiness?"

"She is a wife who is the soul of her husband."

"She is a woman who can command herself."

"Rivers flow with sweet waters; but, having joined the ocean, they become undrinkable."

"Some straw, a room, water, and in the fourth place, gentle words. These things are never to be refused in good men’s houses."

"Skill in advising others is easily attained by men; but to practice righteousness themselves is what only a few can succeed in doing."

"Store of grain, O king! is the best of stores. A gem cast into the mouth will not support life."

"That is friendship which is not feigned."

"Teeth, hair, nails, and the human species, prosper not when separated from their place. A wise man, being informed of this, should not totally forsake his native home."

"Subdue fate by exerting human strength to the maximum; and if, when the effort has been made and success is not achieved, no one else can be blamed."

"Such a friend as speaketh kindly to a man’s face, and behind his back defeateth his designs, is like a pot of poison with a surface of milk."

"That is not a council wherein there are no sages."

"That which is possible is ever possible."

"That one is learned who has reduced his learning to practice."

"That is not virtue from which fear approacheth us."

"That is not a duty in which there is not virtue."

"That is not possible which is impossible."

"The fate of a man of feeling is, like that of a tuft of flowers, twofold; he may either mount upon the head of all, or go to decay in the wilderness."

"The efforts of him who contendeth with one stronger than himself are as feeble as the exertions of an insect’s wings."

"The disputes of two of equal strength and fortune are worthy of attention; but not of two, the one great, the other humble."

"The clouds never pass against the wind."

"The birth of a golden deer is impossible."

"The fool is always discovered if he stayeth too long; like the ass dressed in a tiger’s skin, from his voice."

"The gift which is to be given should be given gratuitously."

"The high-spirited man may indeed die, but he will not stoop to meanness. Fire, though it may be quenched, will not become cool."

"The house of the childless is empty; and so is the heart of him that hath no wife."

"The good are always ready to be the upholders of the good in their misfortunes. Elephants even are wont to bear the burthens of elephants who have sunk in the mire."

"The king protecteth the people, and they support the greatness of their sovereign. But protection is better than greatness; for the one cannot exist without the other."

"The interval is immense between corporeal qualifications and sciences: the body in a moment is extinct, but knowledge endureth to the end of time."

"The life of an animal, until the hour of his death, passeth away in disciplines, in elevations and depressions, in unions and separations."

"The loss of territory, or of a wise and virtuous servant, is a great loss,… for servants are not easily to be found."

"The man who listens not to the words of affectionate friends will give joy in the time of distress to his enemies."