"That friend only is the true friend who abides when trouble comes;
That man only is the brave man who can bear the battle-drums;
Words are wind; deed proveth promise: he who helps at need is kin;
And the leal wife is loving though the husband lose or win."
"Friend and kinsman—more their meaning than the idle-hearted mind;
Many a friend can prove unfriendly, many a kinsman less than kind:
He who shares his comrade's portion, be he beggar, be he lord,
Comes as truly, comes as duly, to the battle as the board—
Stands before the king to succour, follows to the pile to sigh—
He is friend, and he is kinsman; less would make the name a lie."
"Stars gleam, lamps flicker, friends foretell of fate;
The fated sees, knows, hears them—all too late."
"Absent, flatterers' tongues are daggers—present, softer than the silk;
Shun them! 'tis a draught of poison hidden under harmless milk;
Shun them when they promise little! Shun them when they promise much!
For enkindled, charcoal burneth—cold, it doth defile the touch."
"In years, or moons, or half-moons three,
Or in three days—suddenly,
Knaves are shent—true men go free."
"Anger comes to noble natures, but leaves there no strife or storm:
Plunge a lighted torch beneath it, and the ocean grows not warm."