“Numquam volui populo placere. Nam quae ego scio non probat populus, quae probat populus ego nescio.” [Epicurus]
“Niekados nenorėjau patikti miniai, nes to, ką moku, minia negiria, o to, ką ji giria, aš nemoku.” [Epikūras]
“I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know, they do not approve, and what they approve, I do not know.” [Epicurus]
Nulli enim nisi audituro dicendum est. <...> Sagittarius non aliquando ferire debet, sed aliquando deerrare; non est ars quae ad effectum casu venit. Sapientia ars est: certum petat, eligat profecturos, ab iis quos desperavit recedat.
Kalbėti galima tik tam, kuris klauso. <...> Šaulys privalo ne retkarčiais pataikyti, bet retkarčiais prašauti pro šalį. Ne menas tai, kas tikslą pasiekia atsitiktinai. O išmintis yra menas: tegu ji pataiko taikliai, tegu pasirenka tokius, kurie ką nors sugeba, ir atsiskiria nuo tų, kuriais nusivylė.
One must not talk to a man unless he is willing to listen. <...> The archer ought not to hit the mark only sometimes; he ought to miss it only sometimes. That which takes effect by chance is not an art. Now wisdom is an art; it should have a definite aim, choosing only those who will make progress, but withdrawing from those whom it has come to regard as hopeless.