"And when you call on some high official, imagine that you will not find him at home, that you will be shut out, that the door will be slammed in you… - Epictetus

"And when you call on some high official, imagine that you will not find him at home, that you will be shut out, that the door will be slammed in your face, and that he will ignore you. But if, in spite of all this, you really have to go, accept it and go without ever telling yourself, "it was not worth all that". That's what an ordinary person would do, someone upset by mere circumstances."