People, when they want, take the hand of the one they rely on. Are they right? They procrastinate, argue and… give in.
The king, surrounded by luxury and wealth, is a shepherd in gilded and bejeweled robes, with a golden staff in his hand, with a dog held in a golden collar, with a brocade belt. What is the use of this gold to the herd? Is he protecting him from the wolves?
We are full of tenderness towards those to whom we do good, and hate with a passion those whom we have often insulted.
We must gain the goodwill of those whom we want to help and not of those from whom we expect help.
The character of the one who is intolerant of the unpleasant character of his neighbor is not very beautiful: let us remember that gold and small things are also in circulation.
It is not so much the mind as the heart that helps a man to approach people and be liked by them.
About the powerful of the world it is better to be silent: to speak well of them is almost always to flatter them; to speak ill of them is dangerous while they are still alive, and wicked to do so after they are dead.
One of the misfortunes of the ruler is that he is afraid to divulge the many secrets he knows. Happiness is, for him, when a man is found to take this burden on his shoulders.
Orators are a bit like the military: they take more risk than other professions, but they rise faster.
Sometimes it is easier and more useful to adapt to a foreign habit than to adjust this habit to your own.
To conclude that some people are not capable of normal judgment and to dismiss from the outset everything they say, have said, and will say, is to save a lot of unnecessary arguments.
The absolute opposite of what is said about things and people is often the real truth about them.
Brutality, vulgarity, arrogance are defects from which, sometimes, even learned people are not exempt.
Modesty is necessary to the qualities as the silhouettes in a painting need the background: it gives them strength and relief.
Justice, in relation to the neighbor, must be done without delay; to drag on in such situations is to be unfair.
Give men such offices as they will defend at the risk of losing their lives, but also with the hope of keeping them: man loves both fame and life.
The essence of politeness consists in striving to speak and behave in such a way that our neighbors are pleased with us and themselves.
The talent of an interlocutor is not the one who speaks with pleasure, but the one with whom others speak with pleasure; if after the conversation with you, the person is satisfied with himself, with his sharp spirit, it means that he is also satisfied with you.
Missing the person you love is easier than living with someone you hate.
Whoever falls in love with an ugly woman, does it with all the power of passion, because such love is either proof of some strange whims of his taste, or of the hidden charms of the beloved, much stronger than the charms of beauty.
It is hard to say which is more worthy of hesitation: pity or contempt, and which is more dangerous: making the wrong decision or making none at all.
Reason has two points of support the past and the future; the man endowed with a vivid memory and clairvoyance will never accuse those close to him of something he may have done himself or judge them for acts committed under such circumstances which, once and for all, will make him proceed the same as these.
Some have enough sense to succeed in their field, even to teach others, but too little, not to get involved in something they don't understand: they go out with aplomb from the boundaries of their own occupations, but they get lost on the spot and with all their endowment, they begin to talk like fools.
The mind of all men taken together availeth not him that hath no mind at all: the blind man availeth not another's acumen.
Success always arouses our sympathy for the one who has achieved it: whether he is a great dignitary or a simple man, we admire him, we are excited because of him; an unpunished crime is glorified almost as a virtuous deed, and luck takes the place of almost all virtues. If a deed cannot be justified even by achieving success, it means that it is a matter of vile, miserable and disgusting villainy.
The favorite must always be careful how he behaves. For if he keeps me in the antechamber less than usual, if his countenance is kinder, and his brows less furrowed, if he listens to me kindly, and leads me as near as possible to the door, I know he cares for the dismissal—and I am not mistaken .
Often people fall from great heights because of the same flaws that helped them get there.
Man can rise only in two ways: by his own skill or by the stupidity of others.
Man is a liar by nature, but the truth is simple and empty; man wants flourishes and contrivances, and therefore has no need of truth: it falls to him from the sky ready-made and perfect, and man likes only what he himself has created - donuts and brasovas.
The man who has occupied himself for a while with intrigues can no longer manage without them: everything else seems boring to him.