Epictetus Quotations | Page 5

Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control. Stop aspiring to be anyone other than your own best self: for that does fall within your control.

An ignorant person is inclined to blame others for his own misfortune. To blame oneself is proof of progress. But the wise man never has to blame another or himself.

Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems

If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: 'He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned.'

God has made all men to be happy.

Liars are the cause of all the sins and crimes in the world.

Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it.

Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person. Books are the training weights of the mind. They are very helpful, but it would be a bad mistake to suppose that one has made progress simply by having internalized their contents." Translation by Sharon Lebell

You can be happy if you know this secret: Some things are within your power to control and some things are not.

Let silence be your general rule; or say only what is necessary and in few words.

To pay homage to beauty is to admire Nature; to admire Nature is to worship God

When we blather about trivial things, we ourselves become trivial, for our attention gets taken up with trivialities. You become what you give your attention to.

You bear God within you, poor wretch, and know it not.

A vulgar man, in any ill that happens to him, blames others; a novice in philosophy blames himself; and a philosopher blames neither, the one nor the other.

A ship should not be held by a single anchor; neither should life depend upon a single hope.

What is a good person? One who achieves tranquillity by having formed the habit of asking on every occasion, "what is the right thing to do now?"

When something happens, the only thing in your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it.

The good or ill of a man lies within his own will.

Common and vulgar people ascribe all ills that they feel to others; people of little wisdom ascribe to themselves; people of much wisdom, to no one.

To Epictetus, all external events are determined by fate, and are thus beyond our control, but we can accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. Individuals, however, are responsible for their own actions which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline. Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power. As part of the universal city that is the universe, human beings have a duty of care to all fellow humans. The person who followed these precepts would achieve happiness.

He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at.

No matter where you find yourself, comport yourself as if you were a distinguished person.

God has entrusted me with myself.

Fortify yourself with contentment, for this is an impregnable fortress.

No matter what happens, it is within my power to turn it to my advantage.

Make it your business to draw out the best in others by being an exemplar yourself.

Authentic happiness is always independent of external conditions.

By accepting life's limits and inevitabilities and working with them rather than fighting them, we become free.

Nothing truly stops you. Nothing truly holds you back. For your own will is always within your control.

All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way.

On the occasion of every accident that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use.

Happiness and personal fulfillment are the natural consequences of doing the right thing.

Renew every day your conversation with God: Do this even in preference to eating. Think more often of God than you breathe.

Ruin and recovering are both from within.

When you actively engage in gradually refining yourself, you retreat from your lazy ways of covering yourself or making excuses. Instead of feeling a persistent current of low-level shame, you move forward by using the creative possibilities of this moment, your current situation.

Were I a nightingale, I would act the part of a nightingale; were I a swan, the part of a swan.

Don't be concerned with other people's impressions of you. They are dazzled and deluded by appearances. Stick with your purpose. This alone will strengthen your will and give your life coherence.

Some things are up to us [eph' hêmin] and some things are not up to us. Our opinions are up to us, and our impulses, desires, aversions–in short, whatever is our own doing. Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, or our public offices, or, that is, whatever is not our own doing.

At every occasion in your life, do not forget to commune with yourself and ask of yourself how you can profit by it.

In order to please others, we loose our hold on our life's purpose.

You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at various prices. This is why, when Florus was deliberating whether he should appear at Nero's shows, taking part in the performance himself, Agrippinus replied, 'Appear by all means.' And when Florus inquired, 'But why do not you appear?' he answered, 'Because I do not even consider the question.' For the man who has once stooped to consider such questions, and to reckon up the value of external things, is not far from forgetting what manner of man he is.

Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast.

Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.

Seek not the good in external things;seek it in yourselves.

Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but accustom yourself to something else.

Our duties naturally emerge form such fundamental relations as our families, neighborhoods, workplaces, our state or nation. Make it your regular habit to consider your roles-parent, child, neighbor, citizen, leader-and the natural duties that arise from them. Once you know who you are and to whom you are linked, you will know what to do.

Never call yourself a philosopher, nor talk a great deal among the unlearned about theorems, but act conformably to them. Thus, at an entertainment, don't talk how persons ought to eat, but eat as you ought. For remember that in this manner Socrates also universally avoided all ostentation.

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.

It is not the events but our viewpoint toward events that is the determining factor. We ought to be more concerned about removing wrong thoughts from the mind than removing tumors and abscesses from the body.

If anyone is unhappy, remember that his unhappiness is his own fault... Nothing else is the cause of anxiety or loss of tranquility except our own opinion.

Learn to wish that everything should come to pass exactly as it does.

Is freedom anything else than the power of living as we choose? Nothing else. Tell me then, you men, do you wish to live in error? We do not. No one who lives in error is free. Do you wish to live in fear? Do you wish to live in sorrow? Do you wish to live in tension? By no means. No one who is in a state of fear or sorrow or tension is free, but whoever is delivered from sorrows or fears or anxieties, he is at the same time also delivered from servitude.

It is our attitude toward events, not events themselves, which we can control. Nothing is by its own nature calamitous -- even death is terrible only if we fear it.

No great thing is created suddenly. There must be time. Give your best and always be kind.

What is learned without pleasure is forgotten without remorse.

Don't demand or expect that events happen as you would wish them do. Accept events as they actually happen. That way, peace is possible.

Law intends indeed to do service to human life, but it is not able when men do not choose to accept her services; for it is only in those who are obedient to her that she displays her special virtue.

It is the sign of a dull mind to dwell upon the cares of the body, to prolong exercise, eating and drinking and other bodily functions. These things are best done by the way; all your attention must be given to the mind.

Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.

Only the educated are free.

To the rational being only the irrational is unendurable, but the rational is endurable.

The cause of all human evils is the not being able to apply general principles to special cases.

Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, and desires and the demons that distract us from these goals. Outside of our control are such things as what kind of body we have, whether or not we are born into wealth, and how we are regarded by others.

Other people's views and troubles can be contagious. Don't sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others.

Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.

Silence is safer than speech.

It is unreasonable to think we can earn rewards without being willing to pay their true price. It is always our choice whether or not we wish to pay the price for life's rewards.

What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows.

Difficulty shows what men are. Therefore when a difficulty falls upon you, remember that God, like a trainer of wrestlers, has matched you with a rough young man. Why? So that you may become an Olympic conqueror; but it is not accomplished without sweat.

Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself.

There is but one way to tranquility of mind and happiness, and that is to account no external things thine own, but to commit all to God.

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.

No man is able to make progress when he is wavering between opposite things.

To live a life of virtue, you have to become consistent, even when it isn't convenient, comfortable, or easy.

Once you know who you are and to whom you are linked, you will know what to do

Choose the life that is noblest, for custom can make it sweet to thee.

Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.

Whoever then wishes to be free, let him neither wish for anything nor avoid anything which depends on others: if he does not observe this rule, he must be a slave.