"Remember that you are an actor in a play, and the play is just as the author wishes it to be. If he wants it to be short, it is short; if long, it is long. If he wants you to play a beggar, play him c…"

"If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, 'He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone…"

"You will be an admirable person, if you care for nothing but your own will."

"For where you find unrest, grief, fear, frustrated desire, failed aversion, jealousy and envy, happiness has no room for admittance. And where values are false, these passions inevitably follow."

"No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ri…"