1 A good soldier doesn’t fail to find someone to employ him and pay him. Neither do good workers and shoemakers. Will a good person? [Epictetus D3.26]

2 Pain. Unbearable pain carries us off. Chronic pain is always endurable. The mind is untouched by the body and remains calm. The ruling faculty is unaffected. [Marcus Aurelius, M7.33]

3 Put me in the most magnificent mansion; put me in a place where everyone uses gold and silver plates. I won’t think of myself as important because of these trappings. They are a part of the house, not a part of me. [Seneca, H25]

4 Why don’t you realize then that the source of all human evils, meanspiritedness, and cowardice is not death itself but the fear of death? [Epictetus D3.26]

5 How speedily the things of today are buried under those of tomorrow – just as one layer of drifting sand is quickly covered by another. [Marcus Aurelius, M7.34]

6 Let my soul be thrown out from here. By that loss, by that grief, by various misfortunes, let every hour bring me reasons to complain. This won’t make me call myself the most miserable of the miserable. [Seneca, H25]

7 You are free when you live as you wish; when you cannot be compelled, obstructed, or controlled; your choices cannot be blocked; when you get your desires fulfilled, and when you don’t face anything you want to avoid. [Epictetus D4.1]

8 It is royal to do good and be abused. [Marcus Aurelius, M7.36]

9 I have seen to it that no day is a black day for me. What do I say then? I would rather moderate joys than suppress my sorrows. [Seneca, H25]

10 Don’t you see, when you act against your will under protest and compulsion, it is no different than being a slave? [Epictetus D4.1]

11 Don’t be upset at the world. It doesn’t care [Marcus Aurelius, M7.38]

12 I will be just as humble when I am driven before another man’s chariot as when stood straight on my own. [Seneca, H25]

13 What he wants is what all of us want: To be peaceful and happy, to do what we like and not be forced to do what we don. t like. [Epictetus D4.1]

14 The mind orders the face on how it should look. It is a shame that the mind doesn’t order to regulate itself. [Marcus Aurelius, M7.37]

15 I still prefer to conquer than become a captive ... I will still choose the better part, if I have a choice. [Seneca, H25]

16 When were you more peaceful while taking a bath? When were you more relaxed while working out? [Epictetus D4.1]

17 Bring joy to the immortal gods and to us. [Marcus Aurelius, M7.39]

18 Whatever happens to me will become good, but I would prefer to experience things that are more agreeable, pleasant and less difficult to manage. [Seneca, H25]

19 if you find someone grovelling before another, or flatter insincerely, without hesitation call them unfree. It doesn’t matter if they do it to get a meal or a governorship, or a consulship. [Epictetus D4.1]

20 The lives of human beings are reaped like ears of corn. One is born, another dies. [Marcus Aurelius, M7.40]

21 Just as the body must be held back on a downward slope and forced up a steep slope, certain virtues are on a downward path, while certain others struggle to go uphill. [Seneca, H25]

22 If you find anyone moaning, complaining, or miserable, call him a slave. [Epictetus D4.1]

23 What is just and good is on my side . [Marcus Aurelius, M7.42]

24 So, when we face poverty, we apply strong virtues that know how to fight. But when we are wealthy, we use gentler virtues that know how to tiptoe without losing their balance. [Seneca, H25]

25 When we love, or loathe, or fear these things, anyone who controls them becomes our master. This is inevitable. [Epictetus D4.1]

26 No joining others in their crying. No quickening of the pulse. [Marcus Aurelius, M7.43]

27 I prefer practicing virtues that can be practiced peacefully rather than those that draw sweat and blood from me. [Seneca, H25]

28 If you cannot get or keep something at will, then it is not your own. Keep your hands, and more importantly your desire, far away from it. [Epictetus D4.1]

29 You have to consider only one thing in performing any action. Are you acting rightly or wrongly, as a good person or like a bad one [Marcus Aurelius, M7.34]

30 A wise person regards wealth as a servant, the fool as a master. [Seneca, H26]

31 Who can intimidate you? How can one person be intimidated by another – by appearance, speech, or meeting? [Epictetus D4.1]

[M: Meditations; D: Discourses; H: On Happiness]

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