Epictetus Quotes
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All human beings seek the happy life, but many confuse the means - for example, wealth and status - with that life itself. This misguided focus on the means to a good life makes people get further from the happy life. The really worthwhile things are the virtuous activities that make up the happy life, not the external means that may seem to produce it.
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No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.
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The pleasure which we most rarely experience gives us greatest delight.
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Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.
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Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the living, and her eyes they blind.
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Getting distracted by trifles is the easiest thing in the world… Focus on your main duty.
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When you want to hear a philosopher, do not say, 'You say nothing to me'; only show yourself worthy or fit to hear, and then you will see how you will move the speaker.
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Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.
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Lampis the ship owner, on being asked how he acquired his great wealth, replied, My great wealth was acquired with no difficulty, but my small wealth, my first gains, with much labor.
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To pay homage to beauty is to admire Nature; to admire Nature is to worship God.
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Freedom is secured not by the fulfillment of one's desires, but by the removal of desire.
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First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
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Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices me wherever I am or whatever I do.
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Pleasure, like a kind of bait, is thrown before everything which is really bad, and easily allures greedy souls to the hook of perdition.
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You have not stirred my spirit. For what can I see in you to stir me, as a spirited horse will stir a judge of horses? Your body? That you maltreat. Your dress? That is luxurious. Your behavior, your look?-Nothing whatsoever. (81).
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The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.
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If your heart is quite set upon a crown, make and put on one of roses, for it will make the prettier appearance.
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If you have assumed a character beyond your strength, you have both played a poor figure in that, and neglected one that is within your powers. (79).
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Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but not to your ability to choose, unless that is your choice. Lameness is a hindrance to the leg, but not to your ability to choose. Say this to yourself with regard to everything that happens, then you will see such obstacles as hindrances to something else, but not to yourself.
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If you would be good, first believe that you are bad.
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Every difficulty in life presents us with an opportunity to turn inward and to invoke our own submerged inner resources. The trials we endure can and should introduce us to our strengths.
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In order to please others, we loose our hold on our life's purpose.
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To live a life of virtue, you have to become consistent, even when it isn't convenient, comfortable, or easy.
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All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.