Cultivate yourself. Marcus Aurelius 3.7

Live without fear or desire, indifferent to profit and impervious to loss.



Μὴ τιμήσῃς ποτὲ ὡς συμφέρον σεαυτοῦ, ὃ ἀναγκάσει σέ ποτε τὴν πίστιν παραβῆναι, τὴν αἰδῶ ἐγκαταλιπεῖν, μισῆσαί τινα, ὑποπτεῦσαι, καταράσασθαι, ὑποκρίνασθαι, ἐπιθυμῆσαί τινος τοίχων καὶ παραπετασμάτων δεομένου. ὁ γὰρ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ νοῦν καὶ δαίμονα καὶ τὰ ὄργια τῆς τούτου ἀρετῆς προελόμενος τραγῳδίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, οὐ στενάζει, οὐκ ἐρημίας, οὐ πολυπληθείας δεήσεται· τὸ μέγιστον, ζήσει μήτε διώκων μήτε φεύγων, πότερον δὲ ἐπὶ πλέον διάστημα χρόνου τῷ σώματι περιεχομένῃ τῇ ψυχῇ ἢ ἐπ' ἔλασσον χρήσεται, οὐδ̓ ὁτιοῦν αὐτῷ μέλει· κἂν γὰρ ἤδη ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι δέῃ, οὕτως εὐλύτως ἄπεισιν, ὡς ἄλλο τι τῶν αἰδημόνως καὶ κοσμίως ἐνεργεῖσθαι δυναμένων ἐνεργήσων, τοῦτο μόνον παῤ ὅλον τὸν βίον εὐλαβούμενος, τὸ τὴν διάνοιαν ἔν τινι ἀνοικείῳ νοεροῦ καὶ πολιτικοῦ ζῴου τροπῇ γενέσθαι.



Some causes will force you to betray faith, abandon shame, hate or suspect another person, call down curses, put forward explanations, or desire something that requires walls and fences. Do not regard these causes as necessary or beneficial to yourself. The man who chooses to cultivate his own mind and spirit, fulfilling the secret rites their excellence requires, does not create tragedy. He does not moan, nor will he find himself desiring any lack or surfeit. Most importantly, he will live without pursuing or fleeing anything, and whether his soul possesses its body for a long time or a short, he does not care. If he must take an early discharge, he will depart readily, carrying out his duty as he would in any situation involving honor and decorum. Such care will he take that you might suppose his only goal in life is to avoid any thought unworthy of a spirited and courteous animal.