Epictetus

“ News, on any subject, never falls within the sphere of the moral purpose. Can anyone bring you word that you have been wrong in an assumption or in a desire?—By no means.—But he can bring you word that someone is dead. ”

“ What have you to do with another man's evil? Your own evil is to make a bad defence; only guard against that, but just as being condemned or not being condemned is another's function, so it is another's evil. ”

“ Surely it is no concern of yours that the judge pronounced you guilty, is it?—No.—Why, then, are you any further concerned? 5Your father has a certain function, and if he does not perform it, he has destroyed the father in him, the man who loves his offspring, the man of gentleness within him. Do not seek to make him lose anything else on this account. For it never happens that a man goes wrong in one thing, but is injured in another. [1] Again, it is your function to defend yourself firmly, respectfully, without passion. ”