Be careful whom you associate with. It is human to imitate the habits of those with whom we interact. We inadvertently adopt their interests, their opinions, their values, and their habit of interpreting events.

We do not choose our own parts in life, and have nothing to do with those parts. Our duty is confined to playing them well.

First tell yourself what you want to be, then do what you need to do.

Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.

What will the world be quite overturned when you die?

When we blather about trivial things, we ourselves become trivial, for our attention gets taken up with trivialities. You become what you give your attention to.

It is a mark of a mean capacity to spend much time on the things which concern the body, such as much exercise, much eating, much drinking, much easing of the body, much copulation. But these things should be done as subordinate things: and let all your care be directed to the mind.