Epictetus Quotes
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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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-….when things seem to have reached that stage, merely say “I won’t play any longer”, and take your departure; but if you stay, stop lamenting.
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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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It was the first and most striking characteristic of Socrates never to become heated in discourse, never to utter an injurious or insulting word-on the contrary, he persistently bore insult from others and thus put an end to the fray. (64).
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Liars are the cause of all the sins and crimes in the world.
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Practice yourself, for heaven's sake, in little things, and thence proceed to greater.
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As you think, so you become.....Our busy minds are forever jumping to conclusions, manufacturing and interpreting signs that aren't there.
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By accepting life's limits and inevitabilities and working with them rather than fighting them, we become free.
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Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions. (1).
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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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It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.
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Asked, Who is the rich man? Epictetus replied, �He who is content.
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Don't be concerned who is watching you. The triumphs and merits of others belong to them - as do yours to you. Make the most of what you've got.
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To the rational being only the irrational is unendurable, but the rational is endurable.
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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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And be silent for the most part, or else make only the most necessary remarks, and express these in few words. But rarely, and when occasion requires you to talk, talk, indeed, but about no ordinary topics. Do not talk about gladiators, or horseraces, or athletes, or things to eat or drink - topics that arise on all occasions; but above all, do not talk about people, either blaming, or praising, or comparing them.
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The good or ill of a man lies within his own will.
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Consider first the nature of the business in hand; then examine thy own nature, whether thou hast strength to undertake it.
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At this time is freedom anything but the right to live as we wish? Nothing else.
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Exceed due measure, and the most delightful things become the least delightful.
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You have been given your own work to do. Get to it right now, do your best at it, and don't be concerned with who is watching you. Create your own merit.
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Why, then, do you walk as if you had swallowed a ramrod?
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Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never leaves a person, but with their life. Cowardice is the dread of what will happen.
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Nothing is in reality either pleasant or unpleasant by nature but all things become so through habit.