Ask for what you want; take what you get; work on the difference.

Be just: the unjust never prosper. Be valiant: die rather than yield. Be merciful: slay neither old men, children, nor women. Destroy neither fruit trees, grain, nor cattle. Keep your word, even to your enemies.

Those who give advice are amazed that their wisdom does not always affect others; but the real amazement lies in the fact that most great advice does not even reach from the mouth of the advisor to his own ear.

Go to bed before 8 p.m. Thieves generally break in between 12 and 2 a.m., so if you spend the evening in useless talk and go to bed late, you are likely to lose your valuables and your reputation as well. Save the firing and the light that will be wasted by staying up late and get up at four in the morning. Have a cold bath and say your prayers, and after you have dressed, give your orders for the day to your wife and children and retainers and so be ready to go on duty before 6 [a.m.]

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

A hundred sage counsels are lost upon one who cannot take advice.

Live like a mud-fish: its skin is bright and shiny even though it lives in mud.

It is not advisable ... to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener.