If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.

One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent.

Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee.

People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.

Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.

Silence is safer than speech.

Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing.

Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.

If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother.

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk.

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

No great thing is created suddenly.

It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.

When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.

Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a habit.

It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your opinion that these things are insulting.

First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.

Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, and you will find them.

If virtue promises happiness, prosperity and peace, then progress in virtue is progress in each of these for to whatever point the perfection of anything brings us, progress is always an approach toward it.

It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death.

The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.

No man is free who is not master of himself.

Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.

No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.

If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.

To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one's education is complete.

If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.

We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral.

You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.

If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.

Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.

God has entrusted me with myself.

It takes more than just a good looking body. You've got to have the heart and soul to go with it.

If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means, and if you find truth you will become invincible.

It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them.

There is nothing good or evil save in the will.

Never in any case say I have lost such a thing, but I have returned it. Is your child dead? It is a return. Is your wife dead? It is a return. Are you deprived of your estate? Is not this also a return?

Freedom is the right to live as we wish.

The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.

Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.

The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.

All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.