Epictetus Quotes
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What is death? A scary mask. Take it off-see, it doesn't bite.
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Why, then, do you walk as if you had swallowed a ramrod?
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What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's part; if I were a swan, I would do as a swan. But now I am a rational creature, and I ought to praise God. This is my work. I do it, nor will I desert my post, so long as I am allowed to keep it. And I ask you to join me in this same song.
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The good or ill of a man lies within his own will.
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If thou rememberest that God standeth by to behold and visit all that thou doest; whether in the body or in the soul, thou surely wilt not err in any prayer or deed; and thou shalt have God to dwell with thee.
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What is it to be a philosopher? Is it not to be prepared against events?
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As it is pleasant to see the sea from the land, so it is pleasant for him who has escaped from troubles to think of them.
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Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he be master of the world.
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Embrace reality. Think about what delights you - the small luxuries on which you depend, the people whom you cherish most. But remember that they have their own distinct character, which is quite a separate matter from how we happen to regard them.
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Fortune is an evil chain to the body, and vice to the soul.
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For what constitutes a child?-Ignorance. What constitutes a child?-Want of instruction; for they are our equals so far as their degree of knowledge permits.
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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. (81).
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In theory it is easy to convince an ignorant person; in actual life, men not only object to offer themselves to be convinced, but hate the man who has convinced them.
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Asked, Who is the rich man? Epictetus replied, �He who is content.
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When any person treats you ill or speaks ill of you, remember that he does this or says this because he thinks it is his duty. It is not possible, then, for him to follow that which seems right to you, but that which seems right to himself.
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Be careful whom you associate with. It is human to imitate the habits of those with whom we interact. We inadvertently adopt their interests, their opinions, their values, and their habit of interpreting events.
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To the rational being only the irrational is unendurable, but the rational is endurable.
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Choose the life that is noblest, for custom can make it sweet to thee.
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Dare to look up to God and say, Deal with me in the future as Thou wilt; I am of the same mind as Thou art; I am Thine; I refuse nothing that pleases Thee; lead me where Thou wilt; clothe me in any dress Thou choosest.
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Exceed due measure, and the most delightful things become the least delightful.
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We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
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Practice yourself, for heaven's sake, in little things, and thence proceed to greater.
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Know you not that a good man does nothing for appearance sake, but for the sake of having done right?
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Remember that you are an actor in a play, and that the Playwright chooses the manner of it: If he wants you to act a poor man you must act the part with all your powers; and so if your part be a cripple or a magistrate or a plain man. For your business is to act the character that is given you and act it well. The choice of the cast is Another's.