“I never desired to please the rabble. What pleased them, I did not learn; and what I knew was far removed from their understanding.”

All friendship is desirable in itself, though it starts from the need of help.

Freedom is the greatest fruit of self-sufficiency.

Let no one delay the study of philosophy while young nor weary of it when old.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

Foolish is the man who says that he fears death, not because it will cause pain when it arrives but because anticipation of it is painful.

We must, therefore, pursue the things that make for happiness, seeing that when happiness is present, we have everything; but when it is absent, we do everything to possess it.

It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.

It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls.

Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.

Contented poverty is an honorable estate.

He who least needs tomorrow, will most gladly greet tomorrow.

The most important consequence of self-sufficiency is freedom.

Pleasure is the beginning and the end of living happily.

The most important consequence of self-sufficiency is freedom.

If you wish to make Pythocles rich, do not add to his store of money, but subtract from his desires.

Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.

Do you know my friend that each one of us is a dark mystery, a maze of conflicting passions and desire and aptitudes?

Mastery is not a question of genetics of luck, but of following your natural inclinations and the deep desires that stirs you from within.

The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our desires, is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes.

Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?

She knew full well the enormity of her offense, but because her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking, she persisted in breaking it.

The desire to break the silence with constant human noise is, I believe, precisely an avoidance of the sacred terror of that divine encounter.

The power has to be in your desire to see everyone thrive.

All roads are long which lead to one’s heart’s desire.