In Rome you long for the country; in the country -- oh so inconstant! -- you praise the distant city to the stars. He possesses dominion over himself, and is happy, who can every day say, "I have lived." Tomorrow the heavenly Father may either involve the world in dark clouds, or cheer it with clear sunshine; he will not, however, render ineffectual things which have already taken place. It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom and the blessings of the gods, to endure hard poverty, and who fears dishonor worse than death, and is not afraid to die for cherished friends or fatherland. He is armed without who is innocent within, be this thy screen, and this thy wall of brass. It is when I struggle to be brief that I become obscure. It is your business, when the wall next door catches fire. It is your concern when the wall next door is on fire. Lawyers are men who hire out their words and anger. Let him who has enough wish for nothing more. Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work. | 
