There is no advantage to obtaining protection from other men so long as we are alarmed by events above or below the earth or in general by whatever happens in the boundless universe. That we have suffered certain bodily pains aids us in preventing others like them. In a philosophical dispute, he gains most who is defeated, since he learns the most. As you grow old you are such as I urge you to be, and you have recognized the difference between studying philosophy for yourself and studying it for Greece. I rejoice with you.
Freedom is the greatest fruit of self-sufficiency.
He who is calm disturbs neither himself nor another. The first step towards salvation is to attend to one's youth and guard against that which defiles everything through maddening desires. The soul neither rids itself of disturbance nor gains a worthwhile joy through the possession of greatest wealth, nor by the honor and admiration bestowed by the crowd, or through any of the other things sought by unlimited desire.