Marcus Aurelius: “Practise thyself even in the things which thou despairest of accomplishing.”

But it is inconsistent with honoring reason and God to be troubled because by death a man will be deprived of the other things.

And how small a part of the whole substance; and how small a part of the universal soul; and on what a small clod of the whole earth thou creepest!

Reflecting on all this, consider nothing to be great, except to act as thy nature leads thee, and to endure that which the common nature brings.

But everything else, whether it is in the power of thy will or not, is only lifeless ashes and smoke.