Goodness exists independently of our conception of it. The good is out there and it always has been out there, even before we began to exist. - Epictetus

Free is the person who lives as he wishes - And cannot be coerced, impeded, or compelled, whose impulses cannot be thwarted, who always gets what he desires, and never has to experience what he would rather avoid.

the gods I am indebted for having good grandfathers, good parents, a good sister, good teachers, good associates, good kinsmen and friends, nearly everything good.

"A man asked me to write to Rome on his behalf who, as most people thought, had met with misfortune; for having been before wealthy and distinguished, he had afterwards lost all and was living here. So I wrote about him in a humble style. He however on reading the letter returned it to me, with the words: "I asked for your help, not for your pity. No evil has happened unto me.