So live with men as if God saw you and speak to God, as if men heard you.

When you see a man in distress, recognize him as a fellow man.

If you are bent on assuming a pose and never reveal yourself to anyone frankly, in the fashion of many who live a false life that is all made up for show; for it is torturous to be constantly watching oneself and be fearful of being caught out of our usual role. And we are never free from concern if we think that every time anyone looks at us he is always taking-our measure; for many things happen that strip off our pretence against our will, and, though all this attention to self is successful, yet the life of those who live under a mask cannot be happy and without anxiety.

What you think is the summit is only a step up

Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool.

The mind is a matter over every kind of fortune; itself acts in both ways, being the cause of its own happiness and misery.

Just as so many rivers, so many showers of rain from above, so many medicinal springs do not alter the taste of the sea, so the pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man. For it maintains its balance, and over all that happens it throws its own complexion, because it is more powerful than external circumstances.