When a man’s fortune will not fit him, ’tis as ofttimes with a shoe — if too big for the foot, it will trip him; if too small, will chafe.
[Cui non conveniet sua res, ut calceus olim,
si pede maior erit, subvertet, si minor, uret.]Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 10 “To Aristius Fuscus,” l. 42ff (1.10.42-43) (20 BC) [tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]
(Source)
(Source (Latin)). Other translations:Who fits not his Minde to it, his Estate
If little, pinches him: throws him, if great.
[tr. Fanshawe; ed. Brome (1666)]Him whom his Wealth doth not exactly fit,
Whose stores too closely, or too loosely sit,
Like Shoes ill made and faulty, if too great
They overturn, and pinch him if too strait.
[tr. Creech (1684)]Our fortunes and our shoes are near allied;
Pincht in the straight, we stumble in the wide.
[tr. Francis (1747)]Whene'er our wants square ill with our estate,
Be it or very small or very great,
'Tis like an ill-made shoe which gives a fall
If 'tis too large, and pinches if too small.
[tr. Howes (1845)]When a man’s condition does not suit him, it will be as a shoe at any time; which, if too big for his foot, will throw him down; if too little, will pinch him.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]Means should, like shoes, be neither large nor small;
Too wide, they trip us up, too strait, they gall.
[tr. Conington (1874)]Whene'er our mind's at war with our estate,
Like an ill shoe, it trips us, if too great;
Too small, it pinches.
[tr. Martin (1881)]He who is not satisfied with what he possesses resembles a man wearing a shoe either too large, so that it will throw him down, or too small, that it will inflame his foot.
[tr. Elgood (1893)]Suit not one's means one's lot -- 'tis like the shoe:
Be it too large, twill cause the man to fall;
Be it too small, his foot 'twill surely gall.
[tr. A. F. Murison; ed. Kraemer, Jr (1936)]If what you have
Won't do, well ... it's like the wrong size shoe:
If it's too big for your foot, you trip and fall all over yourself;
If it's too small, it pinches.
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]A fortune that doesn't fit its owner resembles shoes;
if too big, it makes him totter; if too small, it chafes.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]A wrong size fortune is like a wrong size shoe:
Too big, it makes you trip; too little, it pinches your foot.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]If what he happens to have
Won't fit a man, it's as it is with a shoe:
Too big, it makes you stumble' too small, it pinches.
[tr. Ferry (2001)]A man’s means, when they don’t fit him, are rather like shoes --
he’s tripped by a size too large, pinched by a size too small.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]When a man’s means don’t suit him it’s often
Like a shoe: too big and he stumbles, too small it chafes.
[tr. Kline (2015)]
Quotations about:
income
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Even if one has been to the moon, one has still to earn a living.
H. G. Wells (1866-1946) British writer [Herbert George Wells]
The First Men in the Moon, ch. 21 (1901)
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If it’s a good script I’ll do it. And if it’s a bad script, and they pay me enough, I’ll do it.
George Burns (1896-1996) American comedian
Interview (1988-11-02), “Gracie Allen Still Steals the Show,” by Mervyn Rothstein, New York Times
(Source)
Most often cited from its reprint in the Paris International Herald Tribune (1988-11-09); at this time, the New York Times was part owner of the IHT (with the Washington Post and Whitney communications.
A man is rich whose income is larger than his expenses, and he is poor if his expenses are greater than his income.
[Celui-là est riche, qui reçoit plus qu’il ne consume; celui-là est pauvre, dont la dépense excède la recette.]Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 6 “Of Gifts of Fortune [Des Biens de Fortune],” § 49 (6.49) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:He is rich whose Receipt is more than his Expences, and he is poor whose Expences are more than his Receipt.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]He is rich, whose Income is more than his Expences; and he is poor whose Expences are more than his Income.
[Curll ed. (1713)]He is rich, whose Income is more than his Expences; and he is poor whose Expences exceed his Income.
[Browne ed. (1752)]That man is rich, who gets more than he spends; that man is poor, whose expenses exceed his receipts.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]
Why is austerity in a depressed economy a bad idea? Because an economy is not like a household, whose income and spending are separate things. In the economy as a whole, my spending is your income and your spending is my income. What happens if everyone tries to cut spending at the same time, as was the case in the aftermath of the financial crisis? Everyone’s income falls.
Paul Krugman (b. 1953) American economist, author
“The Legacy of Destructive Austerity,” New York Times (20 Dec 2019)
(Source)
Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for the love of it, then you do it for a few friends, and finally you do it for money.
Ferenc Molnár (1878-1952) Hungarian-American author, stage director, dramatist [a.k.a. Franz Molnar]
Quoted in George Jean Nathan, Intimate Notebooks (1932)
(Source)
Common form of a quote often misattributed to Molière. It original version actually appears to have originated with Molnar, who, when asked how he regarded his writing, answered (according to Nathan):Like a whore. First, I did it for my own pleasure. Then I did it for the pleasure of my friends. And now -- I do it for money.
There are many variants by different creators who have referenced the quip, sometimes causing it to be attributed to them instead. More discussion on this quotation's origins and variations: Quote Origin: I Did It For My Own Pleasure. Then I Did It For My Friends. Now I Do It For Money – Quote Investigator®.
The art of living easily as to money, is to pitch your scale of living one degree below your means.
Henry Taylor (1800-1886) English dramatist, poet, bureaucrat, man of letters
Notes from Life, “Of Money” (1853)
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Art is a jealous mistress, and, if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture, or philosophy, he makes a bad husband and an ill provider.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1860), “Wealth,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 3
(Source)
Based on a course of lectures, "The Conduct of Life," delivered in Pittsburg (1851-03).
The absence of effective State, and, especially, National, restraint upon unfair money-getting has tended to create a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power. The prime need is to change the conditions which enable these men to accumulate power which is not for the general welfare that they should hold or exercise.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901-1909)
Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas
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All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income.
Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, ch. 1 “Life” (1912)
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