“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”
“This is your business—to act well the given part, but to choose it belongs to another.”
“Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public.”
“Make it your goal never to fail in your desires or experience things you would rather avoid; try never to err in impulse and repulsion; aim to be perfect also in the practice of attention and withholding judgment.”
“Restrict yourself to choice and refusal; and exercise them carefully, with discipline and detachment.”
“If you seek Truth, you will not seek to gain a victory by every possible means; and when you have found Truth, you need not fear being defeated.”
“If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.”
“When you find your direction, check to make sure that it is the right one.”
“Only consider at what price you sell your own will: if for no other reason, at least for this, that you sell it not for a small sum.”
“When a man makes a decision without listening to both sides is unjust, even if his ruling is a fair one.”