Marcus Aurelius: “For if it were just, it would also be possible; and if it were according to nature, nature would have had it so.”

A man then must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.

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

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…

In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present,--I am rising to the work of a human being.