“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”

“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”

“Tranquil pleasures last the longest; we are not fitted to bear the burden of great joys.”

“Unquiet meals make ill digestions; therefore the happiness of a man's life is to be measured not by the great feasts, but by the frequency of his simple, pleasant repasts.”