Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.
Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.
It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death.
If you would be good, first believe that you are bad.
Shall I show you the sinews of a philosopher? What sinews are those? - A will undisappointed; evils avoided; powers daily exercised; careful resolutions; unerring decisions.
It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.