“No man is free who is not master of himself.”
“Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.”
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”
“Restrict yourself to choice and refusal; and exercise them carefully, with discipline and detachment.”
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
“Adopt new habits yourself: consolidate your principles by putting them into practice.”
“We should every night call ourselves to an account; What infirmity have I mastered today? What passions opposed? What temptation resisted? What virtue acquired? Our vices will abort of themselves if they be brought every day to the shrift.”
“All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.”
“Prefer enduring satisfaction to immediate gratification.”
“Whatever moral rules you have deliberately proposed to yourself. abide by them as they were laws, and as if you would be guilty of impiety by violating any of them. Don’t regard what anyone says of you, for this, after all, is no concern of yours.”