Seek not the good in external things;seek it in yourselves. - Epictetus

And yet how can their business compare in importance to ours? If you could see them at Rome, you would find that they do nothing all day but vote on a resolution, then huddle together a while to deliberate about grain, land or some other means to make a living. [10] Is it the same thing to receive a petition that reads, ‘Please allow me to export a bit of grain,’ and ‘Please learn from Chrysippus how the universe is governed, and what place the rational creature has in it; find out, too, who you are, and what constitutes your good and your evil’?

Nothing important comes into being overnight; even grapes and figs need time to ripen. If you say that you want a fig now, I will tell you to be patient. First, you must allow the tree to flower, then put forth fruit; then you have to wait until the fruit is ripe. So if the fruit of a fig tree is not brought to maturity instantly or in an hour, how do you expect the human mind to come to fruition, so quickly and easily?

ضع نُصْبَ عينيك، في كل حين، الموتَ والمنفى وكلَّ ما يبدو مرعبًا، ولكن اجعل الموتَ أوَّلَها جميعًا. عندئذٍ لن تفكِّر أبدًا في أي شيءٍ دنيء، ولن تتوق إلى أيِّ شيءٍ تَوْقًا زائدًا عن الحد.