Wisdom of Dead Worlds

It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both. – Nicolo Machiavelli, 15th Century AD

Peace if possible, truth at all costs. – Martin Luther, 16th Century AD

How poore, how narrow, how impious a measure of God, is this, that he must doe, as thou wouldest doe, if thou wert God. – John Donne, 17th Century AD

I want my lawyer, my tailor, my servants, even my wife to believe in God, because it means that I shall be cheated and robbed and cuckolded less often … If God did not exist, […]

You ask, “What is man?” Why, what is he but the slave of death — the guest of the place he dwells in — a traveler hastily journeying to a distant land! – Gesta Romanorum

Remember, too, that all come destitute into the world; and our mode of departure from this life is such that wealth cannot follow us out of the world. – King Hakon Hakonsson

When a son is born, the father throws a naked sword before him and says: “I leave you no inheritance. All you possess is what you can gain with this sword.” – Ibn Rusta

Resistance weakens when things always go our way:And we grow soft if life is one long holiday. – Ovid

Our wealth has grown so great and yet our greed grows greater: However much we have, still more we’ll covet later. Ovid

Our minds soon lose control when things go all our way: when we enjoy success, we end in disarray. – Ovid