A grudge makes a starveling diet. - L. Sprague de Camp

I've been looking forward to serious talks with you, O philosopher, but I have been over-busy with my duties."
"You'll be frightfully disappointed. I gnaw at people's basic assumptions, and most folk loathe having their basic assumptions disturbed."
"I fear no truth, however painful.

Verily, the great man finds gold and rubies more easily come by than true friendship.

Berosos sighed. “Ah me! Once we, too, were a race of warriors and conquerors.”
“Be thankful you are no longer,” said Dikaiarchos. “These kings reap a bit of glory, but what do they accomplish besides burning cities, killing and enslaving multitudes, and destroying the accumulated wealth and wisdom of the ages to aggrandize their own mediocre selves? He who ascertains a new law of nature or invents a new device is greater than all your conquerors, and in the long run has more influence.”