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Be thou like a lofty headland.  Endlessly against it dash the waves; yet it stands unshaken, and lulls to rest the fury of the sea. (Book iv., Sec.49.)

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“Unhappy me upon whom this misfortune hath fallen!”—­nay, rather thou shouldst say, “Fortunate I, that having met with such a misfortune, I am able to endure it without complaining; in the present not dismayed, in the future dreading no evil.  Such a misadventure might have befallen a man who could not, perchance, have endured it without grievous suffering.”  Why then shouldst thou call anything that befalls thee a misfortune, and not the rather a blessing?  Is that a “misfortune,” in all cases, which does not defeat the purpose of man’s nature? and does that defeat man’s nature which his Will can accept?  And what that Will can accept, thou knowest.  Can this misadventure, then, prevent thy Will from being just, magnanimous, temperate, circumspect, free from rashness or error, considerate, independent?  Can it prevent thy Will from being, in short, all that becomes a man?  Remember, then, should anything befall thee which might cause thee to complain, to fortify thyself with this truth:  this is not a misfortune, while to endure it nobly is a blessing. (Book iv., Sec.49.)

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Be not annoyed or dismayed or despondent if thou art not able to do all things in accord with the rules of right conduct.  When thou hast not succeeded, renew thy efforts, and be serene if, in most things, thy conduct is such as becomes a man.  Love and pursue the philosophic life.  Seek Philosophy, not as thy taskmaster but to find a medicine for all thy ills, as thou wouldst seek balm for thine eyes, a bandage for a sprain, a lotion for a fever.  So it shall come to pass that the voice of Reason shall guide thee and bring to thee rest and peace.  Remember, too, that Philosophy enjoins only such things as are in accord with thy better nature.  The trouble is, that in thy heart thou prefer-rest those things which are not in accord with thy better nature.  For thou sayest, “What can be more delightful than these things?” But is not the word “delightful” in this sense misleading?  Are not magnanimity, broad-mindedness, sincerity, equanimity, and a reverent spirit more “delightful”?  Indeed, what is more “delightful” than Wisdom, if so be thou wilt but reflect upon the strength and contentment of mind and the happiness of life that spring from the exercise of the powers of thy reason and thine intelligence? (Book v., Sec.9.)

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As are thy wonted thoughts, so is thy mind; and the soul is tinged by the coloring of the mind.  Let then thy mind be constantly suffused with such thoughts as these:  Where it is possible for a man to live, there he can live nobly.  But suppose he must live in a palace?  Be it so; even there he can live nobly. (Book v., Sec.16.)