The geometrician teaches me how to work out the size of my estates – rather than how to work out how much a man needs in order to have enough.

Freedom cannot be won without sacrifice. If you set a high value on her, everything else must be valued at little.

Death you’ll think of as the worst of all bad things, though in fact there’s nothing bad about it at all except the thing which comes before it – the fear of it.

Having started to make a practice of desiring everything contrary to nature’s habit, they finally end up by breaking off relations with her altogether.

You have buried someone you loved. Now look for someone to love. It is better to make good the loss of a friend than to cry over him.

Be your own spectator anyway, your own applauding audience.

Besides, to be feared is to fear: no one has been able to strike terror into others and at the same time enjoy peace of mind himself.

What’s the use, after all, of mastering a horse and controlling him with the reins at full gallop if you’re carried away yourself by totally unbridled emotions?

part of my joy in learning is that it puts me in a position to teach; nothing, however outstanding and however helpful, will ever give me any pleasure if the knowledge is to be for my benefit alone.