I had as lief not be, as live to be / In awe of such a thing as I myself. Jul. Cæs., i. 2.
I had better never see a book than be warped 20 by its attraction clean out of my own orbit and made a satellite instead of a system. Emerson.
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, / Than such a Roman. Jul. Cæs., iv. 3.
"I had rather be first here than second in Rome." Cæsar, in an insignificant townlet.
I had rather be Mercury, the smallest among seven (planets), revolving round the sun, than the first among five (moons) revolving round Saturn. Goethe.
I had rather believe all the fables in the legends, the Talmud, and the Koran, than that this universal frame is without a mind. Bacon.
I had rather dwell in the dim fog of superstition 25 than in air rarified to nothing by the air-pump of unbelief. Jean Paul.
I had rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad. As You Like It, iv. 1.
I had rather people laugh at me while they instruct me than praise me without benefiting me. Goethe.
I hae a penny to spend, / There—thanks to naebody; / I hae naething to lend—/ I'll borrow frae naebody. Burns.