[9] Egregie itaque videtur mihi Metrodorus dixisse in ea epistula qua sororem amisso optimae indolis filio adloquitur: 'mortale est omne mortalium bonum'. De his loquitur bonis ad quae concurritur; nam illud verum bonum non moritur, certum est sempiternumque, sapientia et virtus; hoc unum contingit inmortale mortalibus.

（『誠不以富，亦祇以異。』）齊景公有馬千駟，死之日，民無德而稱焉。伯夷叔齊餓於首陽之下，民到于今稱之。其斯之謂與？

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind.

And he who lives a hundred years, not seeing the immortal place, a life of one day is better if a man sees the immortal place.

A Wagoner was driving his team along a muddy lane with a full load behind them, when the wheels of his wagon sank so deep in the mire that no efforts of his horses could move them. As he stood there, looking helplessly on, and calling loudly at intervals upon Hercules for assistance, the god himself appeared, and said to him, “Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and goad on your horses, and then you may call on Hercules to assist you. If you won’t lift a finger to help yourself, you can’t expect Hercules or anyone else to come to your aid.” Heaven helps those who help themselves.

If thou findest in human life anything better than justice, truth, temperance, fortitude, and, in a word, anything better than thy own mind’s self-satisfaction in the things which it enables thee to do according to right reason, and in the condition that is assigned to thee without thy own choice; if, I say, thou seest anything better than this, turn to it with all thy soul, and enjoy that which thou hast found to be the best. But if nothing appears to be better than the deity which is planted in thee, which has subjected to itself all thy appetites, and carefully examines all the impressions, and, as Socrates said, has detached itself from the persuasions of sense, and has submitted itself to the gods, and cares for mankind; if thou findest everything else smaller and of less value than this, give place to nothing else, for if thou dost once diverge and incline to it, thou wilt no longer without distraction be able to give the preference to that good thing which is thy proper possession and thy own; for it is not right that anything of any other kind, such as praise from the many, or power, or enjoyment of pleasure, should come into competition with that which is rationally and politically or practically good. All these things, even though they may seem to adapt themselves to the better things in a small degree, obtain the superiority all at once, and carry us away. But do thou, I say, simply and freely choose the better, and hold to it.—But that which is useful is the better.—Well then, if it is useful to thee as a rational being, keep to it; but if it is only useful to thee as an animal, say so, and maintain thy judgement without arrogance: only take care that thou makest the inquiry by a sure method.

[19] Est istud laudantium bonum; virtute enimgeritur; omnis autem virtutis actio bonum est. Hoc contingere illis nonpotuisset nisi ego talis essem. Itaque utriusque bonum est merito laudari,tam mehercules quam bene iudicasse iudicantis bonum est et eius secundumquem iudicatum est. Numquid dubitas quin iustitia et habentis bonum sitet autem sit eius cui debitum solvit? Merentem laudare iustitia est; ergoutriusque bonum est.

[14] Utrumque diverso genere corruptum est, tam mehercules quam nolle nisi splendidis uti ac sonantibus et poeticis, necessaria atque in usu posita vitare. Tam hunc dicam peccare quam illum: alter se plus iusto colit, alter plus iusto neglegit; ille et crura, hic ne alas quidem vellit.

[11] Ex hoc quantum lacrimae, quantum sollicitudines occupant? quantum mors antequam veniat optata, quantum valetudo, quantum timor? quantum tenent aut rudes aut inutiles anni? dimidium ex hoc edormitur. Adice labores, luctus, pericula, et intelleges etiam in longissima vita minimum esse quod vivitur.

[6] Illud praesta mihi, ut, quotiens circumsteterint qui tibi te miserum esse persuadeant, non quid audias sed quid sentias cogites, et cum patientia tua deliberes ac te ipse interroges, qui tua optime nosti, 'quid est quare isti me complorent? quid est quod trepident, quod contagium quoque mei timeant, quasi transilire calamitas possit? est aliquid istic mali, an res ista magis infamis est quam mala?' Ipse te interroga, 'numquid sine causa crucior et maereo et quod non est malum facio?'

[12] Habitaturum tu putas umquam fuisse illic M. Catonem, ut praenavigantes adulteras dinumeraret et tot genera cumbarum variis coloribus picta et fluvitantem toto lacu rosam, ut audiret canentium nocturna convicia? nonne ille manere intra vallum maluisset, quod in unam noctem manu sua ipse duxisset? Quidni mallet, quisquis vir est, somnum suum classico quam symphonia rumpi?

[8] Non est tamen quare tu multum tibi facere videaris – facies enim quod multa milia servorum, multa milia pauperum faciunt -: illo nomine te Cuspice, quod facies non coactus, quod tam facile erit tibi illud pati semper quam aliquando experiri. Exerceamur ad palum, et ne imparatos fortuna deprehendat, fiat nobis paupertas familiaris; securius divites erimus si scierimus quam non sit grave pauperes esse.

Tertullien : nunquam Ecclesia reformabitur.

"He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,"–in those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease.

A Dog was crossing a plank bridge over a stream with a piece of meat in his mouth, when he happened to see his own reflection in the water. He thought it was another dog with a piece of meat twice as big; so he let go his own, and flew at the other dog to get the larger piece. But, of course, all that happened was that he got neither; for one was only a shadow, and the other was carried away by the current.

Come, look at this glittering world, like unto a royal chariot; the foolish are immersed in it, but the wise do not touch it.

Tout tourne en bien pour les élus, jusqu’aux obscurités de l’Écriture ; car ils les honorent, à cause des clartés divines. Et tout tourne en mal pour les autres, jusqu’aux clartés ; car ils les blasphèment, à cause des obscurités qu’ils n’entendent pas.

A Man caught a Jackdaw and tied a piece of string to one of its legs, and then gave it to his children for a pet. But the Jackdaw didn’t at all like having to live with people; so, after a while, when he seemed to have become fairly tame and they didn’t watch him so closely, he slipped away and flew back to his old haunts. Unfortunately, the string was still on his leg, and before long it got entangled in the branches of a tree and the Jackdaw couldn’t get free, try as he would. He saw it was all up with him, and cried in despair, “Alas, in gaining my freedom I have lost my life.”

Diana. — [Cela nous est fort utile.] Corruption fondamentale. 11. Il est permis de ne point donner les bénéfices qui n’ont pas charge d’âmes aux plus dignes. Le concile de Trente semble dire le contraire ; mais voici comme il le prouve : Car si cela était, tous les prélats seraient en état de damnation, car ils en usent tous de la sorte. Le roi et le pape ne sont pas obligés de choisir les plus dignes. Si cela était, le pape et les rois auraient une terrible charge. Et ailleurs : 21. Si cette opinion n’était pas vraie, les pénitents et les confesseurs auraient bien des affaires, et c’est pourquoi j’estime qu’il faut la suivre dans la pratique. » Et en un autre endroit, 22, où il met les conditions nécessaires pour faire qu’un péché soit mortel, il y met tant de circonstances qu’à peine pèche-t-on mortellement ; et après l’avoir établi, il s’écrie : Ô que le joug du Seigneur est doux et léger ! Et ailleurs : 11. L’on n’est pas obligé de donner l’aumône de son superflu, dans les communes nécessités des pauvres ; si le contraire était vrai, il faudrait condamner la plupart des riches et de leurs confesseurs. Ces raisons-là m’impatientaient lorsque je dis au père : Mais qui empêche de dire qu’ils le sont ? — C’est ce qu’il a prévu aussi en ce lieu, me répondit-il, où après avoir dit : Si cela était vrai, les plus riches seraient damnés, il ajoute : 22. À cela Arragonius répond qu’ils le sont aussi ; et Baunez ajoute de plus que leurs confesseurs le sont de même. Mais je réponds avec Valentia, autre jésuite, et d’autres auteurs, qu’il y a plusieurs raisons pour excuser ces riches et leurs confesseurs. J’étais ravi de ce raisonnement, quand il me finit par celui-ci. Si cette opinion était vraie pour la restitution, ô qu’il y aurait de restitutions à faire ! — Ô mon père, lui dis-je, la bonne raison ! — Ô ! me dit le père, que voilà un homme commode ! — Ô mon père, répondis-je, sans vos casuistes qu’il y aura de monde damné ! ô que vous rendez large la voie qui mène au ciel ! ô qu’il y a de gens qui la trouvent ! Voilà un…

Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make new things like them. For everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be. But thou art thinking only of seeds which are cast into the earth or into a womb: but this is a very vulgar notion.