A man should be upright, not kept upright.

Withdraw to the untroubled quietude deep within the soul, and refresh yourself.

Though you break your heart, men will go on as before.

When men are inhuman, take care not to feel towards them as they do towards other humans.

Or is it your reputation that's bothering you? But look at how soon we're all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of those applauding hands. The people who praise us; how capricious they are, how arbitrary. And the tiny region it takes place. The whole earth a point in space - and most of it uninhabited.

It were well to die if there be gods, and sad to live if there be none.

The soul is dyed by the thoughts. Dye it then, with a continuous series of such thoughts as these - that where a man can live, there - if he will - he can also live well.