"What pulls the strings is the force hidden within there lies ... the real man."

"Think not so much of what you lack as of what you have: but of the things that you have, select the best, and then reflect on how eagerly you would have sought them if you did not have them."

"The true worth of a man is to be measured by the objects he pursues."

"There is no man so blessed that some who stand by his deathbed won't hail the occasion with delight."

"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."

"You have the power to strip away many superfluous troubles located wholly in your judgement, and to possess a large room for yourself embracing in thought the whole cosmos, to consider everlasting time, to think of the rapid change in the parts of each thing, of how short it is from birth until dissolution, and how the void before birth and that after dissolution are equally infinite."

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."

"As for thy thirst after books, away with it with all speed."

"Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live."

"Our life is what our thoughts make it."

"The pride which is proud of want of pride is the most intolerable of all."

"When you are disturbed by events and lose your serenity, quickly return to yourself and don't stay upset longer than the experience lasts; for you'll have more mastery over your inner harmony by continually returning to it."

"When thou art above measure angry, bethink thee how momentary is man's life."

"Execute every act of thy life as though it were thy last."

"Each day provides its own gifts."

"The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing."

"There is change in all things. You yourself are subject to continual change and some decay and this is common to the entire universe."