"Men seek out retreats for themselves in the country, by the seaside, on the mountains… nowhere can a man find a retreat more peaceful or more free from trouble than his own soul." —Marcus Aurelius

"If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures." —Musonius Rufus

"As a matter of self-perseveration, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies, for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task." —Diogenes

"To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden." —Seneca

"As it is with a play, so it is with life - what matters is not how long the acting lasts, but how good it is." —Seneca

"From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself, separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do—now." —Epictetus

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle." —Plato

"We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say." —Zeno, Quoted By Diogenes Laërtius

"Wisdom outweighs any wealth." —Sophocles

"Confine yourself to the present." —Marcus Aurelius

"In marriage, there must be complete companionship and concern for each other on the part of both husband and wife, in health and in sickness and at all times, because they entered upon the marriage for this reason as well as to produce offspring. When such caring for one another is perfect, and the married couple provides it for one another, and each strives to outdo the other, then this is marriage as it ought to be and deserving of emulation, since it is a noble union. But when one partner looks to his own interests alone and neglects the other’s, or (by Zeus) the other is so minded that he lives in the same house, but keeps his mind on what is outside it, and does not wish to pull together with his partner or to cooperate, then inevitably the union is destroyed, and although they live together their common interests fare badly, and either they finally get divorced from one another or they continue on in an existence that is worse than loneliness." —Rufus

"Nothing exists except atoms and free space, everything else is opinion." —Democritus

"Anyone who can make you angry becomes your master." —Epictetus

"If you want rainbow, you have to deal with the rain." —Augustus

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

"Be indifferent to what makes no difference." —Marcus Aurelius

"He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary." —Marcus Aurelius

"The fool’s life is empty of gratitude and full of fears; its course lies wholly toward the future." —Epicurus

"The best livelihood (particularly for the strong) is earning a living from the soil, whether you own your land or not. Many can support their families by farming land owned by the state or private landowners. Some even get rich through hard work with their own hands. The earth repays those who cultivate her, both justly and well, multiplying what she received—endowing in abundance all the necessities of life to anyone willing to work— and all this without violating your dignity or self-respect!" —Musonius Rufus, Musonius Rufus On How To Live

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." —Plato