Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life. As surgeons keep their instruments and knives always at hand for cases requiring immediate treatment, so shouldst thou have thy thoughts ready to understand things divine and human, remembering in thy every act, even the smallest, how close is the bond that unites the two. The ruling power within, when it is in its natural state, is so related to outer circumstances that it easily changes to accord with what can be done and what is given it to do. Let no act be done at haphazard, nor otherwise than according to the finished rules that govern its kind. By a tranquil mind I mean nothing else than a mind well ordered.
Nothing can come out of nothing, any more than a thing can go back to nothing.
25 Death, like generation, is a secret of Nature. How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy. So it is none the worse nor the better for being praised. 33 All that is harmony for thee, O Universe, is in harmony with me as well. Nothing that comes at the right time for thee is too early or too late for me.