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Everyone should take his true measure and be content with his own merits, and not claim for himself his neighbour's goods.

Metiri se quemque decet propriisque iuvari
laudibus, alterius nec bona ferre sibi.

Original text (Latin)

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Notes from Wikiquote

V. De Asino Pella Leonis Induto ('The Donkey in the Lion's Skin') | Cp. Harry Callahan in Magnum Force (1973): "A man's got to know his limitations."

More quotes by Avianus

"What profit could I ever hope to gain
when hearkening to the prattle of a nurse?"
Thus often must a worried man complain,
who, trusting woman, finds her art a curse.

This is the lot of mortals; death comes swift to the happier ones, while the daily life of the unfortunate refuses them death.

It will be better to endure toil however burdensome than to experience when young an ease that is soon to be lost.

Because your parents transmitted strong limbs to you, it does not follow that they added efficiency to your strength.

When no valiant effort could provide a way, she lost her temper and with fresh cunning applied all her crafty devices.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Avianus (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.