"What, then, is the proper thing to do? To make the best of what is in our power, and take the rest as it naturally happens."

"If a man has a bad smell, he is not to blame for it, but his clothes. If a man is ill, he is not to blame for it, but his body. If a man is a fool, he is not to blame for it, but his mind."

"The greatest good is that which is chosen in spite of fear."

"Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation.…"

"If you wish to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid with regard to external things. Don't wish to be thought to know anything; and if you are thought to be somebody by others, distrust…"