Things external to our character such as, health, wealth, and reputation are neither good nor bad. They present us with opportunities, which the wise man uses well and the fool badly. Though men desire wealth and other such things, these no more improve a man's soul than a golden bridle improves a horse.
We contaminate ourselves with these externals, blending and merging into things when we confuse them with our soul's natural good. “Rising above indifferent things, the mind of the wise becomes a well-rounded sphere,” as Empedocles used to say.
It neither overreaches itself, mingling with external things nor shrinks away from them. Its light spreads evenly over the world around it. Complete in itself, smooth and round, bright and shining. Nothing clings to its surface, and no harm can touch it. 1
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How To Think Like A Roman Emperor - Donald Robertson - What Is Stoicism?. https://whatisstoicism.com/book-highlights/how-to-think-like-a-roman-emperor-donald-robertson/