Francis Bacon

In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.

To be free minded and cheerfully disposed at hours of meat and sleep and of exercise is one of the best precepts of long lasting.

Without friends the world is but a wilderness. There is no man that imparteth his joys to his friends, but he joyeth the more; and no man that imparteth his grieves to his friend, but he grieveth the less.

That things are changed, and that nothing really perishes, and that the sum of matter remains exactly the same, is sufficiently certain.

The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.

We cannot command Nature except by obeying her.

What do sad complaints avail if the offense is not cut down by punishment.

Consequences are unpitying.

You must often make erasures if you mean to write what is worthy of being read a second time; and don’t labor for the admiration of the crowd, but be content with a few choice readers.

The genius, wit, and the spirit of a nation are discovered by their proverbs.

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.

No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character.

Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.

This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.

You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.

They are not only idle who do nothing, but they are idle also who might be better employed.

The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time.

You are much surer that you are doing good when you pay money to those who work, as the recompense of their labor, than when you give money merely in charity.

There is no character, howsoever good and fine, but it can be destroyed by ridicule, howsoever poor and witless. Observe the ass, for instance: his character is about perfect, he is the choicest spirit among all the humbler animals, yet see what ridicule has brought him to. Instead of feeling complimented when we are called an ass, we are left in doubt.

You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die.

The English never draw a line without blurring it.