Rome was not built in a day. – Proverb

We have no patience with other peoples vanity because it is offensive to our own. – Francois de La Rochefoucauld

As I pass it, I feel as if I saw a dear old mother, sweet in her weakness, trembling at the approach of her dissolution, but not appealing to me against the inevitable, rather endeavouring to reassure me by her patience, and pointing to a hopeful future. – Thomas Edward Brown