“The bow cannot always stand bent, nor can human frailty subsist without some lawful recreation.”

— Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote (1605), Part I, Book IV, Ch. 21

About Miguel de Cervantes

1547 – 1616

Spanish novelist, author of "Don Quixote".

“Valour lies just halfway between rashness and cowheartedness.”

“Fear is sharp-sighted, and can see things underground, and much more in the skies.”

“Every one is the son of his own works.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”