The mind, unless it is pure and holy, cannot see God.
Why will no man confess his faults? Because he continues to indulge in them; a man cannot tell his dream till he wakes.
To be enslaved to oneself is the heaviest of all servitudes.-
It is man's duty to live in conformity with the divine will, and this means, firstly, bringing his life into line with 'nature's laws', and secondly, resigning himself completely and uncomplainingly to whatever fate may send him. Only by living thus, and not setting too high a value on things which can at any moment be taken away from him, can he discover that true, unshakeable peace and contentment to which ambition, luxury and above all avarice are among the greatest obstacles.
We are members of one great body. Nature planted in us a mutual love, and fitted us for a social life. We must consider that we were born for the good of the whole.
The man who while he gives thinks of what he will get in return, deserves to be deceived.
A well-governed appetite is a great part of liberty
Shun no toil to make yourself remarkable by some talent or other; yet do not devote yourself to one branch exclusively. Strive to get clear notions about all. Give up no science entirely; for science is but one.
Speech devoted to truth should be straightforward and plain
No one loves his country for its size or eminence, but because it's his own.
No one is laughable who laughs at himself.
The worst evil of all is to leave the ranks of the living before one dies.
Our care should not be to have lived long as to have lived enough.
Men love their vices and hate them at the same time.
Now we are not merely to stick knowledge on to the soul: we must incorporate it into her; the soul should not be sprinkled with knowledge but steeped in it.
My advice is really this: what we hear the philosophers saying and what we find in their writings should be applied in our pursuit of the happy life. We should hunt out the helpful pieces of teaching and the spirited and noble-minded sayings which are capable of immediate practical application-not far far-fetched or archaic expressions or extravagant metaphors and figures of speech-and learn them so well that words become works.
He who does not want to die should not want to live. For life is tendered to us with the proviso of death. Life is the way to this destination.
A great, a good, and a right mind is a kind of divinity lodged in flesh, and may be the blessing of a slave as well as of a prince: it came from heaven, and to heaven it must return; and it is a kind of heavenly felicity, which a pure and virtuous mind enjoys, in some degree, even upon earth.
Let us cherish and love old age; for it is full of pleasure, if you know how to use it. The best morsel is reserved for last.
Poverty with joy isn't poverty at all. The poor man is not one who has little, but one who hankers after more.
Voyage, travel, and change of place impart vigor
It is to the interest of the commonwealth of mankind that there should be someone who is unconquered, someone against whom fortune has no power.
There is no evil that does not promise inducements. Avarice promises money; luxury, a varied assortment of pleasures; ambition, a purple robe and applause. Vices tempt you by the rewards they offer.
That which has been endured with difficulty is remedied with delight.
Most people fancy themselves innocent of those crimes of which they cannot be convicted.
