George Gordon Noel Byron

Modesty is the only sure bait when you are fishing for praise.

Modesty is the only sure bait when you are fishing for praise.

And these vicissitudes come best in youth;
For when they happen at a riper age,
People are read more

And these vicissitudes come best in youth;
For when they happen at a riper age,
People are apt to blame the Fates, forsooth,
And wonder Providence is not more sage.
Adversity is the first path to truth:
He who hath proved war, storm, or woman's rage,
Whether his winters be eighteen or eighty,
Has won experience which is deem'd so weighty.

"Farewell!"
For in that word--that fatal word--howe'er
We promise--hope--believe--there breathes despair.

"Farewell!"
For in that word--that fatal word--howe'er
We promise--hope--believe--there breathes despair.

The careful pilot of my proper woe.

The careful pilot of my proper woe.

One must be a god to be able to tell successes from failures
without making a mistake.

One must be a god to be able to tell successes from failures
without making a mistake.