Judges and senates have been bought for gold;
Esteem and love were never to be sold.

Judges and senates have been bought for gold;
Esteem and love were never to be sold.

God, grant me the Senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the read more

God, grant me the Senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference

Fortune truly helps those who are of good judgment.

Fortune truly helps those who are of good judgment.

Happiness consists more in the small conveniences of pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune read more

Happiness consists more in the small conveniences of pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.

Flowery oratory he [Walpole] despised. He ascribed to the
interested views of themselves or their relatives the
declarations read more

Flowery oratory he [Walpole] despised. He ascribed to the
interested views of themselves or their relatives the
declarations of pretended patriots, of whom he said, "All those
men have their price."

Just for a handful of silver he left us,
Just for a ribbon to stick in his coat;
read more

Just for a handful of silver he left us,
Just for a ribbon to stick in his coat;
Found the one gift of which Fortune bereft us,
Lost all the others she lets us devote.

When Fortune smiles, I smile to think how quickly she will frown.

When Fortune smiles, I smile to think how quickly she will frown.

It is the fortunate who should extol fortune.
[Ger., Das Gluck erhebe billig der Begluckte.]

It is the fortunate who should extol fortune.
[Ger., Das Gluck erhebe billig der Begluckte.]

By gold all good faith has been banished; by gold our rights are
abused; the law itself is influenced read more

By gold all good faith has been banished; by gold our rights are
abused; the law itself is influenced by gold, and soon there will
be an end of every modest restraint.
[Lat., Auro pulsa fides. auro venalia jura,
Aurum lex sequitur, mox sine lege pudor.]