Epictetus Quotes
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I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I must be put in chains. Must I then also lament? I must go into exile. Does any man then hinder me from going with smiles and cheerfulness and contentment?
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Nothing truly stops you. Nothing truly holds you back. For your own will is always within your control.
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If you set your heart upon philosophy, you must straightway prepare yourself to be laughed at and mocked by many who will say Behold a philosopher arisen among us! or How came you by that brow of scorn? But do you cherish no scorn, but hold to those things which seem to you the best, as one set by God in that place. Remember too, that if you abide in those ways, those who first mocked you, the same shall afterwards reverence you; but if you yield to them, you will be laughed at twice as much as before.
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Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do. Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you.
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A man that seeks truth and loves it must be reckoned precious to any human society.
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Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now.
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Act well your given part; the choice rests not with you.
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We are not to lead events, but to follow them.
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Any one thing in the creation is sufficient to demonstrate a Providence to an humble and grateful mind.
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It is your own convictions which compels you; that is, choice compels choice.
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Since it is Reason which shapes and regulates all other things, it ought not itself to be left in disorder.
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Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.
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What disturbs people, these are not things, but the judgments relating to things.
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If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.
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If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means, and if you find truth you will become invincible.
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Learn to distinguish what you can and can't control. Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, desires and the things that repel us. They are directly subject to our influence.
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What will the world be quite overturned when you die?
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'My brother ought not to have treated me thus.' True: but he must see to that. However he may treat me, I must deal rightly by him. This is what lies with me, what none can hinder. (97).
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No living being is held by anything so strongly as its own needs.
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What disturbs and alarms man are not the things, but his opinions and fancies about the things.
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It is not my place in society that makes me well off, but my judgements, and these I can carry with me... These alone are my own and cannot be taken away.
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Neither the victories of the Olympic Games nor those achieved in battles make the man happy. The only victories that make him happy are those achieved against himself. Temptations and tests are combats. You have beaten one, two, many times; still fight. If you defeat at last you will be happy your entire life, as if you have always defeated.
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I am always content with what happens; for I know that what God chooses is better than what I choose.
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Survey and test a prospective action before undertaking it. Before you proceed, step back and look at the big picture, lest you act rashly on raw impulse.