I never desired to please the rabble. What pleased them, I did not learn; and what I knew was far removed from their understanding.
We must consider both the ultimate end and all clear sensory evidence, to which we refer our opinions; for otherwise everything will be full of uncertainty and confusion.
Any device whatever by which one frees himself from the fear of others is a natural good.
Remember that the future is neither ours nor wholly not ours, so that we may neither count on it as sure to come nor abandon hope of it as certain not to be.
A beneficent person is like a fountain watering the earth, and spreading fertility; it is, therefore, more delightful to give than to receive.
As if they were our own handiwork we place a high value on our characters.
Death is nothing to us: for that which is dissolved is without sensation; and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us.
The summit of pleasure is the elimination of all that gives pain.
Self-sufficiency is the greatest of all wealth .
Gratitude is a virtue that has commonly profit annexed to it.
I spit upon luxurious pleasures, not for their own sake, but because of the inconveniences that follow them.
Most beautiful is the sight of those near and dear to us when our original kinship makes us of one mind.
We ought to be thankful to nature for having made those things which are necessary easy to be discovered; while other things that are difficult to be known are not necessary.
There is nothing to fear from gods, There is nothing to feel in death, Good can be attained, Evil can be endured.
All sensations are true; pleasure is our natural goal.
For a wrongdoer to be undetected is difficult; and for him to have confidence that his concealment will continue is impossible.
Natural wealth is limited and easily obtained; the wealth defined by vain fancies is always beyond reach.
Let no young man delay the study of philosophy, and let no old man become weary of it; for it is never too early nor too late to care for the well-being of the soul.
Necessity is an evil; but there is no necessity for continuing to live subject to necessity.
The honor paid to a wise man is a great good for those who honor him.
If you would enjoy real freedom, you must be the slave of Philosophy.