Let silence be your general rule; or say only what is necessary and in few words.

When a man is proud because he can understand and explain the writings of Chrysippus, say to yourself, 'if Chrysippus had not written obscurely, this man would have had nothing to be proud of.'

If a person had delivered up your body to some passer-by, you would certainly be angry. And do you feel no shame in delivering up your own mind to any reviler, to be disconcerted and confounded?

Nothing truly stops you. Nothing truly holds you back. For your own will is always within your control.

It was the first and most striking characteristic of Socrates never to become heated in discourse, never to utter an injurious or insulting word -- on the contrary, he persistently bore insult from others and thus put an end to the fray.

Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself.

We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.