Epictetus Quotes
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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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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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Practice yourself, for heaven's sake, in little things, and thence proceed to greater.
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Liars are the cause of all the sins and crimes in the world.
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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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-….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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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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To the rational being only the irrational is unendurable, but the rational is endurable.
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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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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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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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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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It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.
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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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Exceed due measure, and the most delightful things become the least delightful.
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At this time is freedom anything but the right to live as we wish? Nothing else.
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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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It doesn't take much to lose everything, just a little departure from reason.
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Nothing is in reality either pleasant or unpleasant by nature but all things become so through habit.
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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.