Epictetus Quotes
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We should do everything both cautiously and confidently at the same time.
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The soul that companies with Virtue is like an ever-flowing source. It is a pure, clear, and wholesome draught; sweet, rich, and generous of its store; that injures not, neither destroys.
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If what philosophers say of the kinship of God and Men be true, what remains for men to do but as Socrates did:-never, when asked one’s country, to answer, 'I am an Athenian or a Corinthian,' but 'I am a citizen of the world.' (15).
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Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.
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It is impossible that happiness, and yearning for what is not present, should ever be united.
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There is only one thing for which God has sent me into the world, and that is to develop every kind of virtue or strength, and there is nothing in all the world that I cannot use for this purpose.
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Ask yourself: Does this appearance (of events) concern the things that are within my own control or those that are not? If it concerns anything outside your control, train yourself not to worry about it.
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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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Although we can't control which roles are assigned to us, it must be our business to act our given role as best we possibly can and to refrain from complaining about it. Where ever you find yourself and in whatever circumstances, give an impeccable performance.
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Appear to know only this,-never to fail nor fall.
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The pleasure which we most rarely experience gives us greatest delight.
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The materials are indifferent, but the use we make of them is not a matter of indifference.
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Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.
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Shall I show you the sinews of a philosopher? 'What sinews are those?' - A will undisappointed; evils avoided; powers daily exercised, careful resolutions; unerring decisions.
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It is wicked to withdraw from being useful to the needy, and cowardly to give way to the worthless.
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If you would be good, first believe that you are bad.
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People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.
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And have you not received faculties which will enable you to bear all that happens to you? Have you not received greatness of spirit? Have you not received courage? Have you not received endurance?
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We all dread a bodily paralysis, and would make use of every contrivance to avoid it; but none of us is troubled about a paralysis of the soul.
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To get or not to get what we desire can be equally disappointing.
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We should not moor a ship with one anchor, or our life with one hope.
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What is it that every man seeks? To be secure, to be happy, to do what he pleases without restraint and without compulsion.
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You will do the greatest service to the state if you shall raise, not the roofs of the houses, but the souls of the citizens: for it is better that great souls should dwell in small houses rather than for mean slaves to lurk in great houses.
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It is not the events but our viewpoint toward events that is the determining factor. We ought to be more concerned about removing wrong thoughts from the mind than removing tumors and abscesses from the body.