Friendship between equals flourishes, service under a king is respectable, it is good to be business-minded in public dealings, and a handsome lady is safe in her own home.

It's all intertwined. It's a friendship and business thing, and this should be about public service.

Separation from the wife, disgrace from one's own people, an enemy saved in battle, service to a wicked king, poverty, and a mismanaged assembly: these six kinds of evils, if afflicting a person, burn him even without fire.

He who gives up shyness in monetary dealings, in acquiring knowledge, in eating and in business, becomes happy.

There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.

So long as we love we serve; so long as we are loved by others, I would almost say that we are indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend.