Book of Wise Sayings | Page 8

by introspection, for he rates himself sometimes too low, and often too high, by his own measurement. Man knows himself only by comparing himself with other men; it is life that touches his genuine worth.
Goethe.
153.
Increase in goodness as long as thou art here, that, when thou departest, in that thou mayest still be joyful. According to our words and deeds in this life will be the remembrance of us in the world.
Firdausí.
154.
Parents' affection is best shown by their teaching their children industry and self-denial.
Burmese.
155.
There are three things to beware of through life: when a man is young, let him beware of his appetites; when he is middle-aged, of his passions; and when old, of covetousness, especially.
Confucius.
156.
He who has given satisfaction to the best of his time has lived for ages.
Schiller.
157.
I never yet found pride in a noble nature nor humility in an unworthy mind.
Feltham.
158.
Worldly fame is but a breath of wind, that blows now this way, now that, and changes name as it changes sides.
Dante.
159.
True modesty and true pride are much the same thing. Both consist in setting a just value on ourselves--neither more nor less.
Hazlitt.
160.
Never does a man portray his own character more vividly than in his manner of portraying another.
Richter.
161.
A foolish husband fears his wife; a prudent wife obeys her husband.
Chinese.
162.
He who devises evil for another falls at last into his own pit, and the most cunning finds himself caught by what he had prepared for another. But virtue without guile, erect like the lofty palm, rises with greater vigour when it is oppressed.
Metastasio.
163.
Laughing is peculiar to man, but all men do not laugh for the same reason. There is the attic salt which springs from the charm in the words, from the flash of wit, from the spirited and brilliant sally. There is the low joke which arises from scurrility and idle conceit.
Goldoni.
164.
The woman who is resolved to be respected can make herself be so even amidst an army of soldiers.
Cervantes.
165.
Petty ambition would seem to be a mean craving after distinction.
Theophrastus.
166.
It is an old observation that wise men grow usually wiser as they grow older, and fools more foolish.
Wieland.
167.
Use law and physic only for necessity. They that use them otherwise abuse themselves into weak bodies and light purses. They are good remedies, bad businesses, and worse recreations.
Quarles.
168.
In some dispositions there is such an envious kind of pride that they cannot endure that any but themselves should be set forth as excellent; so that when they hear one justly praised they will either openly detract from his virtues; or, if those virtues be, like a clear and shining light, eminent and distinguished, so that he cannot be safely traduced by the tongue, they will then raise a suspicion against him by a mysterious silence, as if there were something remaining to be told which overclouded even his brightest glory.
Feltham.
169.
Every man thinks with himself, I am well, I am wise, and laughs at others; and 'tis a general fault amongst them all, that which our forefathers approved--diet, apparel, humours, customs, manners--we deride and reject in our time as absurd.
Burton.
170.
Repeated sin destroys the understanding And he whose reason is impaired repeats His sins. The constant practising of virtue Strengthens the mental faculties, and he Whose judgment stronger grows acts always right.
Mahábhárata.
171.
If you wish to know how much preferable wisdom is to gold, then observe: if you change gold you get silver for it, but your gold is gone; but if you exchange one sort of wisdom for another, you obtain fresh knowledge, and at the same time keep what you possessed before.
Talmud.
172.
The man who listens not to the words of affectionate friends will give joy in the time of distress to his enemies.
Hitopadesa.
173.
It is a proverbial expression that every man is the maker of his own fortune, and we usually regard it as implying that every man by his folly or wisdom prepares good or evil for himself. But we may view it in another light, namely, that we may so accommodate ourselves to the dispositions of Providence as to be happy in our lot, whatever may be its privations.
Von Humboldt.
174.
Be very circumspect in the choice of thy company. In the society of thy equals thou shalt enjoy more pleasure; in the society of thy superiors thou shalt find more profit. To be the best of the company is the way to grow worse; the best means to grow better is to be the worst there.
Quarles.
175.
Assume in adversity a countenance of prosperity, and in prosperity moderate thy temper.
Livy.
176.
Mark this! who lives beyond his means Forfeits respect, loses his sense; Where'er he goes, through the seven births, All count him knave: him women hate.
Hindu Poetess.
177.
Be cautious in your intercourse with the great; they seldom confer obligations on their inferiors but from interested motives. Friendly they appear as long as it serves