Where life is possible at all, a right life is possible; life in a palace is possible; therefore even in a palace a right life is possible.
All that is from the gods is full of Providence.
He would be the finer gentleman that should leave the world without having tasted of lying or pretence of any sort, or of wantonness or conceit.
I consist of a little body and a soul.
Be cheerful, also, and seek not external help, nor the peace which others give. A man must stand straight, and not be kept straight by others.
A man does not sin by commission only, but often by omission.
Frequently consider the connection of all things in the universe.
And in the case of superior things like stars, we discover a kind of unity in separation. The higher we rise on the scale of being, the easier it is to discern a connection even among things separated by vast distances.
Everything is interwoven, and the web is holy; none of its parts are unconnected. They are composed harmoniously, and together – they compose the world.
Give your heart to the trade you have learnt, and draw refreshment from it. Let the rest of your days be spent as one who has whole-heartedly committed his all to the gods and is thenceforth no man’s master or slave.
He is a true fugitive who flies from reason.
I, who have never willfully pained another, have no business to pain myself.
If you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable.
It is a ridiculous thing for a man not to fly from his own badness, which is indeed possible, but to fly from other men’s badness, which is impossible.
Love the little trade which thou hast learned, and be content therewith.
An angry look on the face is wholly against nature. If it be assumed frequently, beauty begins to perish, and in the end is quenched beyond rekindling.
Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.
You exist but as a part inherent in a greater whole. Do not live as though you had a thousand years before you. The common due impends; while you live, and while you may, be good.
Cinna wishes to seem poor, and is poor.
To no man make yourself a boon companion: Your joy will be less but less will be your grief.