“Nervousness is a curse or a blessing, according to the individual, of course. The evil that some men do lives after them, and the good does be interred with their bones.”
“That’s true, but when men do neither good nor harm they might as well keep out of politics altogether. No man is as wise or as foolish as he thinks he is, and if you were to capture all the stray thoughts that does be floating about in your head and put them down in writing, you’d be the greatest curiosity that ever was.”
“When a man loses a button,” said Micus, “he should immediately sew it on for himself, if he couldn’t get any one to do it for him.”
“Selfishness is the basis of success,” said Padna.
“To give away what you don’t want is wisdom without generosity, and to keep what is of no use to you is the worst kind of folly.”
“Fighting is a natural instinct, and to fight for what’s yours, be it honor or property, is a noble thing, but to fight for what doesn’t belong to you is both dangerous and foolish.”
“That’s so indeed. I saw two crows fighting for a crust of bread that a child dropped in the street, and they didn’t cease until both had their eyes picked out.”
“And who got the crust?”
“A sparrow who came along while they were fighting, and devoured it.”
“Then the crows without knowing it became philanthropists.”