Circles are prais'd, not that abound / In largeness, but th' exactly round; / So life we praise, that does excel, / Not in much time, but acting well. Waller.
Circles in water as they wider flow, / The less conspicuous in their progress grow, / And when at last they trench upon the shore, / Distinction ceases, and they're view'd no more. Crabbe.
Circles to square, and cubes to double, / Would give a man excessive trouble. Prior.
Circuitus verborum—A roundabout story or expression. 25
Circulus in probando—Begging the question, or taking for granted the point at issue (lit. a circle in the proof).
Circumstances are beyond the control of man, but his conduct is in his own power. Disraeli.
Circumstances are things round about; we are in them, not under them. Landor.
Circumstances form the character, but, like petrifying matters, they harden while they form. Landor.
Circumstances? I make circumstances. 30 Napoleon.
Cita mors ruit—Death is a swift rider.