“A wise man is a clock that never strikes but at his home, or rather like a dial that being set right with the sun, keeps his true course in his compass.”

Defining wisdom as quiet consistency rather than public display · Characters or essays on moral types

• Character
• Modesty
• Wisdom

“We rise with the lark and go to bed with the lamb.”

Praising the simple, natural rhythm of rural life · The Court and Country, 1618

• Habit
• Nature
• Simplicity

“The best of men are but men at best.”

A reminder that even admirable people remain fallible and human · Prose maxim, commonly attributed to Nicholas Breton

• Mortality
• Truth