The ass bears the load, but not the overload.
She who desires to see, desires also to be seen.
Happy the man to whom heaven has given a morsel of bread without laying him under the obligation of thanking any other for it than heaven itself.
A shy face is better than a forward heart.
The little birds have God for their caterer.
To be good to the vile is to throw water into the sea.
What is bought is cheaper than a gift.
Men of great talents, whether poets or historians, seldom escape the attacks of those who, without ever favoring the world with any production of their own, take delight in criticising the works of others.
Cunning cheats itself wholly, and other people partially.
He who reforms, God assists.
Necessity urges desperate measures.
I do not deny that what happened to us is a thing worth laughing at. But it is not worth telling, for not everyone is sufficiently intelligent to be able to see things from the right point of view.
For me alone Don Quixote was born and I for him. His was the power of action, mine of writing.
Until death it is all life.
Take my advice and live for a long, long time. Because the maddest thing a man can do is this life is to let himself die.
Where envy reigns virtue can’t exist, and generosity doesn’t go with meanness.
Abundance, even of good things, prevents them from being valued.
The cleverest character in comedy is the clown, for he who would make people take him for a fool, must not be one.
All the vices, Sancho, bring some kind of pleasure with them; but envy brings nothing but irritation, bitterness, and rage.
I want you to see me naked and performing one or two dozen mad acts, which will take me less than half an hour, because if you have seen them with your own eyes, you can safely swear to any others you might wish to add.