Excess of joy is harder to bear than any amount of sorrow.
The greatest joy a petty soul can taste is to dupe a great soul and catch it in a snare.
All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive joy or sorrow.
Thought is a key to all treasures; the miser's gains are ours without his cares. Thus I have soared above this world, where my enjoyments have been intellectual joys.