To make a commencement requires a mental effort.

I was shipwrecked before I got aboard.

Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful where your own self-love might impair your judgment.

You cannot, I repeat, successfully acquire it and preserve your modesty at the same time.

Philosophy alone makes the mind invincible, and places us out of the reach of fortune, so that all her arrows fall short of us.

A troubled countenance oft discloses much.

What should a wise person do when given a blow? Same as Cato when he was attacked; not fire up or revenge the insult., or even return the blow, but simply ignore it.