Hoyt & Roberts, comps. Hoyt’s New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations. 1922.
Prosperity
In rebus prosperis, superbiam, fastidium arrogantiamque magno opere fugiamus.
In prosperity let us most carefully avoid pride, disdain, and arrogance.
Cicero—De Officiis. I. 26.
Ut adversas res, secundas immoderate ferre, levitatis est.
It shows a weak mind not to bear prosperity as well as adversity with moderation.
Cicero—De Officiis. I. 26.
C’est un faible roseau que la prospérité.
Prosperity is a feeble reed.
Daniel d’Anchères—Tyr et Sidon.
Alles in der Welt lässt sich ertragen,
Nur nicht eine Reihe von schönen Tagen.
Everything in the world may be endured, except only a succession of prosperous days.
Goethe—Sprüche in Reimen. III.
Prosperity lets go the bridle.
Herbert—Jacula Prudentum.
The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Isaiah. XXXV. 1.
I wish you every kind of prosperity, with a little more taste.
Alain René Le Sage—Gil Blas. Bk. VII. Ch. IV. Henri Van Laun’s trans.
Felix se nescit amari.
The prosperous man does not know whether he is loved.
Lucan—Pharsalia. VII. 727.
They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree.
Micah. IV. 4.
Surer to prosper than prosperity could have assur’d us.
Milton—Paradise Lost. Bk. II. L. 39.
Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
Proverbs. III. 16.
Est felicibus difficilis miserarium vera æstimatio.
The prosperous can not easily form a right idea of misery.
Quintilian—De Institutione Oratoria. IX. 6.
Res secundæ valent commutare naturam, et raro quisquam erga bona sua satis cautus est.
Prosperity can change man’s nature; and seldom is any one cautious enough to resist the effects of good fortune.
Quintus Curtius Rufus—De Rebus Gestis Alexandri Magni. X. 1. 40.
Quantum caliginis mentibus nostris objicit magna felicitas!
How much does great prosperity overspread the mind with darkness.
Seneca—De Brevitate Vitæ. XIII.
Semel profecto premere felices deus
Cum cœpit, urget; hos habent magna exitus.
When God has once begun to throw down the prosperous, He overthrows them altogether: such is the end of the mighty.
Seneca—Hercules Œtæus. 713.
There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny: the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony to drink small beer.
Henry VI. Pt. II. Act IV. Sc. 2. L. 70.
Prosperity’s the very bond of love.
Winter’s Tale. Act IV. Sc. 4. L. 584.
La prospérité fait peu d’amis.
Prosperity makes few friends.
Vauvenargues—Reflexions. XVII.
Prosperity doth bewitch men, seeming clear;
As seas do laugh, show white, when rocks are near.
John Webster—White Devil. Act V. Sc. 6.
Oh, how portentous is prosperity!
How comet-like, it threatens while it shines.
Young—Night Thoughts. Night V. L. 915.