Epictetus quotes
Epictetus was born a slave and became one of the most influential teachers in Rome. His Discourses and Enchiridion start from one idea: some things are up to us, and most things are not.
“No man is free who is not master of himself.”
“It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond our control.”
“Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it.”
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master.”
“Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.”
“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.”
“Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself.”
“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.”
“Seek not the good in external things; seek it in yourselves.”
“It's not what happens to you, but how you react that matters.”
“People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.”
“To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education.”
“Only the educated are free.”
“Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.”
“There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
“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.'”
“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.”
“Other people's views and troubles can be contagious. Don't sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others.”
“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”
“He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at.”
“Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars.”
“Do not seek to have events happen as you want them to, but instead want them to happen as they do happen.”
“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.”
“No great thing is created suddenly.”
“First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.”
“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness.”
“The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.”
“The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.”
“A ship should not ride on a single anchor, nor life on a single hope.”
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”
“A half truth is the worst of all lies, because it can be defended in partiality.”
“To make anything a habit, do it; to not make it a habit, do not do it; to unmake a habit, do something else in place of it.”
“If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it.”
“Fortify yourself with contentment, for this is an impregnable fortress.”
“From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself.”
“The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”
“God has entrusted me with myself.”
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things we cannot control.”
“Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.”
“When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings.”
“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.”
“The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.”
“Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better.”
“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control.”
“If you want something good, get it from yourself.”
“A man is worked upon by what he works on.”
“We have the power to hold no opinion about a thing and to not let it upset our state of mind.”
“Events are neither good nor bad; they are neutral. It's our opinion about them that makes them appear good or bad.”
“He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk.”
“Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.”
“The trials we endure introduce us to our strengths.”
“If virtue promises good fortune and tranquility and happiness, certainly also the progress in virtue is progress in each of these.”
“Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.”
“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”
“Authentic happiness is always independent of external conditions.”
“Control thy passions lest they take vengeance on thee.”
“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”
“Practice yourself in little things, and then proceed to greater.”
“In prosperity it is very easy to find a friend; but in adversity it is the most difficult of all things.”
“You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.”
“The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.”
“It's time to stop being vague. If you wish to be an extraordinary person, if you wish to be wise, then you should explicitly identify the kind of person you aspire to become.”
“Don't demand or expect that events happen as you would wish them to. Accept events as they actually happen.”
“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify what is yours to control and what is not.”
“Your happiness depends on three things, all of which are within your power: your will, your ideas concerning the events in which you are involved, and the use you make of your ideas.”
“Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Therefore give yourself fully to your endeavors.”
“A half-truth is the most cowardly of lies.”
“The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory.”
“If a person gave away your body to some passerby, you'd be furious. Yet you hand over your mind to anyone who comes along.”
“Difficulties show men what they are. In case of any difficulty remember that God has pitted you against a rough antagonist that you may be a conqueror.”
“If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, don't make excuses. Instead, respond, 'He obviously isn't aware of my other faults, otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned only these.'”
More Stoic quotes:Marcus Aurelius · Seneca