Marcus Aurelius: “Second, make thy acts refer to nothing else than to a social end.”

The third, then, is the ruling part; consider thus: Thou art an old man; no longer let this be a slave, no longer be pulled by the strings like a puppet to unsocial movements, no longer be either dissatisfied with thy present lot, or…

That which is from fortune is not separated from nature or without an interweaving and involution with the things which are ordered by providence.

If then there is an invincible necessity, why dost thou resist?

There was in him nothing harsh, nor implacable, nor violent, nor, as one may say, anything carried to the sweating point; but he examined all things severally, as if he had abundance of time, and without confusion, in an orderly way…