A passage from Seneca
Seneca, Letters to Lucilius Letter 7
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Recede in te ipse quantum potes; cum his versare qui te meliorem facturi sunt. Withdraw into yourself as much as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you.
Related passages
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Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial.
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Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, sea-shores, and mountains... But this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men, for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself.
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At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: 'I have to go to work — as a human being.'