9. JanuaryThe joy of a human being: to do what is human. 4. AprilThe way up leads first downward. Whoever crosses the dark wood and the depths steps out again at last — to see the stars once more. 2. JuneNo tree stands firm that the wind has not often shaken. It is through the very shaking that it grows firm and drives its roots deeper. 24. JuneI write of melancholy in order to escape melancholy; whoever dissects and names the stirrings of the mind has already half disarmed them. 3. AugustDig within. Within you is the spring of the good — and it can well up again and again, if you dig again and again. 14. AugustWipe away your tears, says Philosophy; the cloud of the passions has darkened your sight. Remember who you are — then light will return to the eye. 9. SeptemberOut of the deepest sorrow grows in me the strength to bear it; the soul stretches upward until it stands higher than the grief that meant to bend it. 13. SeptemberLet one thing delight and refresh you: to pass from one deed for the common good to another deed for the common good.