Fight to be the person philosophy tried to make you.
In a word, if there is a god, all is well; and if chance rules, do not thou also be governed by it.
In the mind that is once truly disciplined and purged, thou canst not find anything, either foul or impure, or as it were festered:.
Where does our common reason come from? What gives us this capacity for discernment, right action, and law? All things must come from somewhere. Our bodies are made of elements that come from the earth and are hydrated by the earth’s waters. Reason, too, must have a Source. This is a profound mystery.
One who for his word or actions neither needs an oath, nor any man to be a witness.
To change your experience, change your opinion. Stop telling yourself that you’re a victim and the pain goes away. What truly hurts you is what makes you a worse person. Don’t say you’ve been harmed if your reason and character are untouched. And no one can muddy your reason and mar your character but yourself.
Be concerned only that your own thoughts, words, and actions are just and generous. In the race of life, stay in your own lane and focus on the finish line; don’t gawk at the missteps of others.
Beautiful things are beautiful in themselves. They are not beautiful because they are admired. Praise adds nothing to beauty, and scorn can’t detract from it. Just think of the things that are considered beautiful by the vulgar.
If souls can be neither created nor destroyed, does the air around us contain the souls of all who have lived before and all who are yet to be born?
Today I escaped from all bothering circumstances- or rather I threw them out. They were nothing external, but inside me, just my own judgements. p87.
In evaluating a person, always look for their ruling principles. What do they pursue? What do they avoid? Don’t judge others based on outward circumstances and appearances. Difficult circumstances can befall anyone – what is telling is how a person responds to their circumstances. Their body may be maimed, dirtied, and disfigured, while the light of reason burns bright within.
Not to display anger or other emotions. To be free of passion and yet full of love. To praise without bombast; to display expertise without pretension.
Am I unhappy because of what happened to me? No. I remain happy because, regardless of circumstances, I am free – neither crushed by the present nor afraid of the future.
Body, soul,38 mind. To the body belong sense perceptions, to the soul, impulses, and to the mind, principles.
Let no one have the chance to accuse you, with any truth, of not being sincere or a good man: make sure that anyone taking this view of you is a liar. This is wholly up to you- who is there to prevent you being good and sincere? You must just decide to live no longer if you won’t have these qualities. And reason too abandons the man who won’t. p102.
The model for the application of your principles is the boxer rather than the gladiator, The gladiator puts down or takes up the sword he uses, but the boxer always has his hands and needs only to clench them into fists. p117.
The salvation of life lies in seeing each object in its essence and its entirety, discerning both the material and the causal: in applying one’s whole soul to doing right and speaking the truth. There remains only the enjoyment of living a linked succession of good deeds, with not the slightest gap between them. p121.
If your speaking skills need work, by all means work on them. But it’s better to be honest and straightforward than mere witty and clever.
When one sort of person does a good deed, they mark it down as a favor to be repaid. Another sort of person doesn’t seek a reward, but they take satisfaction in knowing that they’ve acted generously. A third sort of person doesn’t even know what they’ve done; they bear good deeds as a vine bears grapes – naturally, without thinking about it.
Imagine you were now dead, or had not lived before this moment. Now view the rest of your life as a bonus, and live it as nature directs. p66.