1. If I cannot get men who steer a middle course to associate with, I would far rather have the impetuous and hasty. For the impetuous at any rate assert themselves.

Confucius (551-479 B.C.) Chinese philosopher, administrator, and writer. Analects (500? B.C.)

2. To be overbearing when one has wealth and position. Is to bring calamity upon yourself.

Laozi (570?-490? B.C.) Chinese philosopher, reputed founder of Daoism. Daode Jing, IX

3. The extremely inequality and uncertainty of a tax assess in this manner can be compensated only its extreme moderation.

Adam Smith (1723-90) British economist and philosopher. Referring to tax based on estimation. An Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations (1776)

4. Candor and generosity, unless tempered by moderation, lead to riun.

Cornelius Tacitus (55?-120?) Roman historian, orator, and politician. Histories (100?), bk. 3

5. Moderation is a fatal thing. Lady Hunstanton. Nothing succeeds like excess.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish writer and wit. A Woman of No Importance (1893), Act 3