In the end, what would you gain from everlasting remembrance? Absolutely nothing. So what is left worth living for? This alone: justice in thought, goodness in action, speech that cannot deceive, and a disposition glad of whatever comes, welcoming it as necessary, as familiar, as flowing from the same source and fountain as yourself.

Think of the country mouse and of the town mouse, and of the alarm and trepidation of the town mouse.

One of the recurring themes in Marcus' handbook is leadership's responsibility to work intelligently with what it is given and not waste time fantasizing about a world of flawless people and perfect choices.

Consider in what condition both in body and soul a man should be when he is overtaken by death; and consider the shortness of life, the boundless abyss of time past and future, the feebleness of all matter.

For any particular thing, ask: What is it in itself? What is its nature?

The universal order and the personal order are nothing but different expressions and manifestations of a common underlying principle.

Nothing can come out of nothing, any more than a thing can go back to nothing.