Epictetus Quotes
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I am not eternity, but a man; a part of the whole, as an hour is of the day.
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Two principles we should always have ready — that there is nothing good or evil save in the will; and that we are not to lead events, but to follow them.
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It is the part of an uneducated person to blame others where he himself fares ill; to blame himself is the part of one whose education has begun; to blame neither another nor his own self is the part of one whose education is already complete.
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Let thy speech of God be renewed day by day, aye, rather than thy meat and drink.
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Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.
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Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig.
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Not every difficult and dangerous thing is suitable for training, but only that which is conducive to success in achieving the object of our effort.
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The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.
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No great thing is created suddenly. There must be time. Give your best and always be kind.
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It is our attitude toward events, not events themselves, which we can control. Nothing is by its own nature calamitous -- even death is terrible only if we fear it.
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Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, and you will find them.
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Confident because of our caution.
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Who is there whom bright and agreeable children do not attract to play and creep and prattle with them?
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If anyone is unhappy, remember that his unhappiness is his own fault... Nothing else is the cause of anxiety or loss of tranquility except our own opinion.
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Remember that you are in actor in a play of such a kind that the author chooses...For this is your duty, to act well the part that is given to you; but to select the part belongs to another.
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What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows.
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Truth is a thing immortal and perpetual, and it gives to us a beauty that fades not away in time, nor does it take away the freedom of speech which proceeds from justice; but it gives to us the knowledge of what is just and lawful, separating from them the unjust and refuting them.
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Concerning the Gods, there are those who deny the very existence of the Godhead; others say that it exists, but neither bestirs nor concerns itself not has forethought far anything. A third party attribute to it existence and forethought, but only for great and heavenly matters, not for anything that is on earth. A fourth party admit things on earth as well as in heaven, but only in general, and not with respect to each individual. A fifth, of whom were Ulysses and Socrates, are those that cry: -- I move not without Thy knowledge!
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To adorn our characters by the charm of an amiable nature shows at once a lover of beauty and a lover of man.
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Silence is safer than speech.
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Give thyself more diligently to reflection: know thyself: take counsel with the Godhead; without God put thine hand into nothing. (115).
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If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone.
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Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself.
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One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent.