Earthquakes may be brought about because wind is caught up in the earth, so the earth is dislocated in small masses and is continually shaken, and that causes it to sway.

The time when most of you should withdraw into yourself is when you are forced to be in a crowd.

It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls.

Let nothing be done in your life, which will cause you fear if it becomes known to your neighbor.

If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.

A free life cannot acquire many possessions, because this is not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs.

Men, believing in myths, will always fear something terrible, everlasting punishment as certain or probable . . . Men base all these fears not on mature opinions, but on irrational fancies, that they are more disturbed by fear of the unknown than by facing facts. Peace of mind lies in being delivered from all these fears.