Soon you will have forgotten all things: soon all things will have forgotten you.

All things fade and quickly turn to myth: quickly too utter oblivion drowns them. And I am talking of those who shone with some wonderful brilliance: the rest, once they have breathed their last, are immediately ‘beyond sigh, beyond knowledge’. But what in any case is everlasting memory? Utter emptiness.

Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.

Cultivate these, then, for they are wholly within your power: sincerity and dignity; industriousness; and sobriety. Avoid grumbling, be frugal, considerate, and frank; be temperate in manner and speech; carry yourself with authority.