He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected.

Does a man shrink from change? Why, what can come into being save by change?

Death, like birth, is a secret of Nature.

A good man does not spy around for the black spots in others, but presses unswervingly on towards his mark.

Remember that what pulls the strings is the force hidden within; there lies the power to persuade, there the life, - there, if one must speak out, the real man.

When you need encouragement, think of the qualities the people around you have: this one's energy, that one's modesty, another's generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging as when virtues are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we're practically showered with them. It's good to keep this in mind.

Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.