If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another.

If death causes you no pain when you're dead, it is foolish to allow the fear of it to cause you pain now.

Never say that I have taken it, only that I have given it back.

It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.

Death is nothing to us: for after our bodies have been dissolved by death they are without sensation, and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us. And therefore a right understanding of death makes mortality enjoyable, not because it adds to an infinite span of time, but because it takes away the craving for immortality.

The pleasant life is not produced by continual drinking and dancing, nor sexual intercourse, nor rare dishes of sea food and other delicacies of a luxurious table. On the contrary, it is produced by sober reasoning which examines the motives for every choice and avoidance, driving away beliefs which are the source of mental disturbances.

I would rather be first in a little Iberian village than second in Rome.