Never have I trusted Fortune, even when she seemed to offer peace. All those blessings which she seemed bestowed on me — money, public office, influence — I relegated to a place whence she could claim them back without bothering me. I kept a wide gap between them and me, with the result that she has taken them away, not torn them away. No man has been shattered by the blows of Fortune unless he was first deceived by her favours.

—Seneca, ‘Consolation to Helvia’ (trans. C. D. N. Costa)

O uniforme reagia exactamente contra a uniformidade dos trajes: para que não houvesse uniformidade, é que se criou o uniforme. Este separava as classes e até as categorias de cada classe; e tal distinção era universalmente acatada, enquanto universalmente se proclamava e aplaudia a extinção das classes e a abolição dos privilégios.

—Cândido de Figueiredo, Lisboa no ano três mil