The old Romans all wished to have a king over them because they had not yet tasted the sweetness of freedom. Livy
It is a better thing to save souls for the Lord than to save treasures. He who sent forth his apostles without gold had not need of gold to form his Church. The Church possesses gold, not to hoard, but to scatter abroad and come to the aid of the unfortunate. Ambrose
Do not ask for what you will wish you had not got. Seneca
I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine. Jane Austen
If the hen had not cackled, we should not know she had laid an egg. Italian Proverb
An unfullfilled vow is as if it had not been made. Sicilian Proverb