Thought of the Week
The phrase "hard now, easy later. Easy now, hard later" could be applied to the nurture of our virtuousness. Since virtue and reason will make us "owners of ourselves". As the stoics say, "the only kingdom worth conquering is oneself". We can embrace life living up to our higher standards by the daily practice of virtue (which implies sacrifice & effort).
On the other hand, we can choose the easy path now. But in the long-run, life itself will come back at us and will surely make us wish for us to become owners of ourselves sooner.