To lose what we have never owned might seem an eccentric bereavement, but Presumption has its own affliction as well as claim.
Knowledge is wonderful and truth serene But man in their service bleeds.
Trees bend low with ripened fruit; clouds hang down with gentle rain; noble people bow graciously. This is the way of generous things.
For a moment man is a boy, for a moment a lovesick youth, for a moment bereft of wealth, for a moment in the height of prosperity; then at life's end with limbs worn out by old age and wrinkles adorning his face, like an actor he retires behind the curtain of death.
The moth unwitting rushes on the fire, Through ignorance the fish devours the bait, We men know well the foes that lie in wait, Yet cannot shun the meshes of desire.
There is no medicine to cure a fool!
Even the severed branch grows again, and the sunken moon returns: wise men who ponder this are not troubled in adversity.
I am volatile for one, rigid for another, angular as an icicle in silver, or voluptuous as a candle flame in gold.
I gave myself over to music and art a long time ago, so I don't get to relax and I don't get to sit still. The best I can do is constantly create my own environment so it benefits what I need to accomplish in the next step.
Has the art of politics no apparent utility? Does it appear to be unqualifiedly ratty, raffish, sordid, obscene, and low down, andits salient virtuosi a gang of unmitigated scoundrels? Then let us not forget its high capacity to soothe and tickle the midriff, its incomparable services as a maker of entertainment.
Patience, persistence, and power to do are only acquired by work.