Man is not fully free unless he is master of himself.

Difficulty shows what men are.

Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.

It is not my place in society that makes me well off, but my judgements, and these I can carry with me... These alone are my own and cannot be taken away.

Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.

Ruin and recovering are both from within.

If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.