"The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow, and loses today." —Seneca

"Men are of little worth. Their brief lives last a single day. They cannot hold elusive pleasure fast; Ii melts away. All laurels wither; all illusions fade; Hopes have been phantoms, shade on air-built shade since time began." —Sophocles

"So it is with men too: even if they don’t want to, they will be compelled to follow what is destined." —Zeno

"Never discourage anyone…who continually makes progress, no matter how slow." —Plato

"The tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say. Or think or do. Only what you do." —Marcus Aurelius

"Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter." —Marcus Aurelius

"You are well aware that it is not numbers or strength that bring the victories in war. No, it is when one side goes against the enemy with the gods’ gift of a stronger morale that their adversaries, as a rule, cannot withstand them. I have noticed this point too, my friends, that in soldiering the people whose one aim is to keep alive usually find a wretched and dishonorable death, while the people who, realizing that death is the common lot of all men, make it their endeavour to die with honour, somehow seem more often to reach old age and to have a happier life when they are alive. These are facts which you too should realize (our situation demands it) and should show that you yourselves are brave men and should call on the rest to do likewise." —Xenophon, The Persian Expedition

"To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden." —Seneca

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle." —Plato

"How does it help…to make troubles heavier by bemoaning them?" —Seneca

"The willing are led by fate, the reluctant dragged." —Cleanthes

"We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more in imagination than in reality." —Seneca

"The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable." —Seneca

"Have I done something for the common good? Then I share in the benefits." —Marcus Aurelius

"From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself, separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do—now." —Epictetus

"The best livelihood (particularly for the strong) is earning a living from the soil, whether you own your land or not. Many can support their families by farming land owned by the state or private landowners. Some even get rich through hard work with their own hands. The earth repays those who cultivate her, both justly and well, multiplying what she received—endowing in abundance all the necessities of life to anyone willing to work— and all this without violating your dignity or self-respect!" —Musonius Rufus, Musonius Rufus On How To Live

"As fire tests gold, so misfortunate tests brave men." —Seneca

"Imagine that the keeper of a huge, strong beast notices what makes it angry, what it desires, how it has to be approached and handled, the circumstances and the conditions under which it becomes particularly fierce or calm, what provokes its typical cries, and what tones of voice make it gentle or wild. Once he’s spent enough time in the creature’s company to acquire all this information, he calls it knowledge, forms it into a systematic branch of expertise, and starts to teach it, despite total ignorance, in fact, about which of the creature’s attitudes and desires is commendable or deplorable, good, or bad, moral or immoral. His usage of all these terms simply conforms to the great beast’s attitudes, and he describes things as good or bad according to its likes and dislikes, and can’t justify his usage of the terms any further, but describes as right and good the things which are merely indispensable, since he hasn’t realized and can’t explain to anyone else how vast a gulf there is between necessity and goodness." —Plato, The Republic

"He who fears death will never do anything worth of a man who is alive." —Seneca

"Imagine that the keeper of a huge, strong beast notices what makes it angry, what it desires, how it has to be approached and handled, the circumstances and the conditions under which it becomes particularly fierce or calm, what provokes its typical cries, and what tones of voice make it gentle or wild. Once he’s spent enough time in the creature’s company to acquire all this information, he calls it knowledge, forms it into a systematic branch of expertise, and starts to teach it, despite total ignorance, in fact, about which of the creature’s attitudes and desires is commendable or deplorable, good, or bad, moral or immoral. His usage of all these terms simply conforms to the great beast’s attitudes, and he describes things as good or bad according to its likes and dislikes, and can’t justify his usage of the terms any further, but describes as right and good the things which are merely indispensable, since he hasn’t realized and can’t explain to anyone else how vast a gulf there is between necessity and goodness." —Plato, The Republic