There is nothing more becoming a wise man than to make choice of friends, for by them thou shalt be judged what thou art. Let them therefore be wise and virtuous, and none of those that follow thee for gain; but make election rather of thy betters than thy inferiors; shunning always such as are poor and needy, for if thou givest twenty gifts and refuse to do the like but once, all that thou hast done will be lost, and such men will become thy mortal enemies.
Sir W. Raleigh, to his Son.
479.
Learning is like Scanderbeg's sword, either good or bad according to him who hath it: an excellent weapon, if well used; otherwise, like a sharp razor in the hand of a child.
R. Chamberlain.
480.
The greater part of mankind employ their first years to make their last miserable.
La Bruyère.
481.
I hate the miser, whose unsocial breast Locks from the world his useless stores. Wealth by the bounteous only is enjoyed, Whose treasures, in diffusive good employed, The rich return of fame and friends procure, And 'gainst a sad reverse a safe retreat secure.
Pindar.
482.
Wisdom alone is the true and unalloyed coin for which we ought to exchange all things, for this and with this everything is bought and sold--fortitude, temperance, and justice; in a word, true virtue subsists with wisdom.
Plato.
483.
If thou intendest to do a good act, do it quickly, and then thou wilt excite gratitude; a favour if it be slow in being conferred causes ingratitude.
Ausonius.
484.
'Tis those who reverence the old That are the men versed in the Faith; Worthy of praise while in this life, And happy in the life to come.
Buddhist.
485.
Low-minded men are occupied solely with their own affairs, but noble-minded men take special interest in the affairs of others. The submarine fire drinks up the ocean, to fill its insatiable interior; the rain-cloud, that it may relieve the drought of the earth, burnt up by the hot season.
Bhartrihari.
486.
Those men are wise who do not desire the unattainable, who do not love to mourn over what is lost, and are not overwhelmed by calamities.
Mahábhárata.
487.
Let him take heart who does advance, even in the smallest degree.
Plato.
488.
A truly great man never puts away the simplicity of a child.[27]
Chinese.
[27] Cf. Pope, in his Epitaph on the poet Gay:
Of manners gentle, of affections mild; In wit a man, simplicity, a child.
489.
If thou desirest ease in this life, keep thy secrets undisclosed, like the modest rosebud. Take warning from that lovely flower, which, by expanding its hitherto hidden beauties when in full bloom, gives its leaves and its happiness to the winds.
Persian.
490.
A husband is the chief ornament of a wife, though she have no other ornament; but, though adorned, without a husband she has no ornaments.
Hitopadesa.
491.
He who has more learning than goodness is like a tree with many branches and few roots, which the first wind throws down; whilst he whose works are greater than his knowledge is like a tree with many roots and fewer branches, which all the winds of heaven cannot uproot.
Talmud.
492.
He that would build lastingly must lay his foundation low. The proud man, like the early shoots of a new-felled coppice, thrusts out full of sap, green in leaves, and fresh in colour, but bruises and breaks with every wind, is nipped with every little cold, and, being top-heavy, is wholly unfit for use. Whereas the humble man retains it in the root, can abide the winter's killing blast, the ruffling concussions of the wind, and can endure far more than that which appears so flourishing.
