Death, like birth, is a secret of Nature.

The true joy of humankind is in doing that which is most proper to our nature; and the first property of people is to be kindly affected towards them that are of one kind with ourselves.

Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought.

Stop talking about what the good man is like, and just be one.

When pain is unbearable it destroys us; when it does not it is bearable.

It will suffice thee to remember as concerning pain ... that the mind may, by stopping all manner of commerce and sympathy with the body, still retain its own tranquility.

Men seek out retreats for themselves in the country, by the seaside, on the moutains . . . But all this is unphilosophical to the last degree . . . when thou canst at a moment's notice retire into thyself.