"Let us then, said I, first of all be what we ought to be; let us set ourselves where our nature demands; and then let us yield to the drift of circumstances, endeavouring simply to be true to ourselves. Thus, whatever happens, we shall regulate our circumstances without superfluous anxiety; not by altering things themselves, but by controlling the impressions they make upon us... ."
Étienne Pivert de Senancour, Obermann
