Epictetus Quotes

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” ― Epictetus Quote

“The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. ” ― Epictetus Quote

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will. ” ― Epictetus Quote

“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems” ― Epictetus Quote

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” ― Epictetus Quote

“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” ― Epictetus Quote

“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.” ― Epictetus Quote

“People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.”― Epictetus Quote

“I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not know who I am, they do not know what I think, they cannot even touch the things which are really mine and with which I live.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control.” ― Epictetus Quote

“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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals. How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be? Your nobler self cannot wait any longer. Put your principles into practice – now. Stop the excuses and the procrastination. This is your life! You aren’t a child anymore. The sooner you set yourself to your spiritual program, the happier you will be. The longer you wait, the more you’ll be vulnerable to mediocrity and feel filled with shame and regret, because you know you are capable of better. From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself. Separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do – now.” ― Epictetus Quote

“God has entrusted me with myself. No man is free who is not master of himself. A man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things. The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.” ― Epictetus Quote

“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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Events do not just happen, but arrive by appointment.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Asked, Who is the rich man? Epictetus replied, “He who is content.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Men are not afraid of things, but of how they view them.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Therefore, give yourself fully to your endeavors. Decide to construct your character through excellent actions and determine to pay the price of a worthy goal. The trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths. Remain steadfast…and one day you will build something that endures: something worthy of your potential.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Give me by all means the shorter and nobler life, instead of one that is longer but of less account!” ― Epictetus Quote

“You may fetter my leg, but Zeus himself cannot get the better of my free will.” ― Epictetus Quote

“If any be unhappy, let him remember that he is unhappy by reason of himself alone. For God hath made all men to enjoy felicity and constancy of good.” ― Epictetus Quote

“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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“The first and most important field of philosophy is the application of principles such as “Do not lie.” Next come the proofs, such as why we should not lie. The third field supports and articulates the proofs, by asking, for example, “How does this prove it? What exactly is a proof, what is logical inference, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood?” Thus, the third field is necessary because of the second, and the second because of the first. The most important, though, the one that should occupy most of our time, is the first. But we do just the opposite. We are preoccupied with the third field and give that all our attention, passing the first by altogether. The result is that we lie – but have no difficulty proving why we shouldn’t.” ― Epictetus Quote

“It is more necessary for the soul to be cured than the body; for it is better to die than to live badly.” ― Epictetus Quote

“-Who are those people by whom you wish to be admired? Are they not these whom you are in the habit of saying that they are mad? What then? Do you wish to be admired by the mad?” ― Epictetus Quote

“It is unrealistc to expect people to see you as you see yourself.” ― Epictetus Quote

“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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“-….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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to.” ― Epictetus Quote

“If you would cure anger, do not feed it. Say to yourself: ‘I used to be angry every day; then every other day; now only every third or fourth day.’ When you reach thirty days offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the gods.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Remember that you ought to behave in life as you would at a banquet. As something is being passed around it comes to you; stretch out your hand, take a portion of it politely. It passes on; do not detain it. Or it has not come to you yet; do not project your desire to meet it, but wait until it comes in front of you. So act toward children, so toward a wife, so toward office, so toward wealth.” ― Epictetus Quote

“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?” ― Epictetus Quote

“A ship should not ride on a single anchor, nor life on a single hope” ― Epictetus Quote

“Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Don’t seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and all will be well with you.” ― Epictetus Quote

“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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Only the educated are free.”― Epictetus Quote

“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.” ― Epictetus Quote

“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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.” ― Epictetus Quote

“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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.”― Epictetus Quote

“He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself.” ― Epictetus Quote

“To accuse others for one’s own misfortune is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one’s education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one’s education is complete.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.” ― Epictetus Quote

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Most of what passes for legitimate entertainment is inferior or foolish and only caters to or exploits people’s weaknesses. Avoid being one of the mob who indulges in such pastimes. Your life is too short and you have important things to do. Be discriminating about what images and ideas you permit into your mind. If you yourself don’t choose what thoughts and images you expose yourself to, someone else will, and their motives may not be the highest. It is the easiest thing in the world to slide imperceptibly into vulgarity. But there’s no need for that to happen if you determine not to waste your time and attention on mindless pap.” ― Epictetus Quote

“If evil be said of thee, and if it be true, correct thyself; if it be a lie, laugh at it.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you and be silent. ” ― Epictetus Quote

“Never depend on the admiration of others. There is no strength in it. Personal merit cannot be derived from an external source. It is not to be found in your personal associations, nor can it be found in the regard of other people. It is a fact of life that other people, even people who love you, will not necessarily agree with your ideas, understand you, or share your enthusiasms. Grow up! Who cares what other people think about you!” ― Epictetus Quote

“Know you not that a good man does nothing for appearance sake, but for the sake of having done right?” ― Epictetus Quote

“It is better to die of hunger having lived without grief and fear, than to live with a troubled spirit, amid abundance” ― Epictetus Quote

“Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man’s task.” ― Epictetus Quote

“So you wish to conquer in the Olympic Games, my friend? And I, too… But first mark the conditions and the consequences. You will have to put yourself under discipline; to eat by rule, to avoid cakes and sweetmeats; to take exercise at the appointed hour whether you like it or not, in cold and heat; to abstain from cold drinks and wine at your will. Then, in the conflict itself you are likely enough to dislocate your wrist or twist your ankle, to swallow a great deal of dust, to be severely thrashed, and after all of these things, to be defeated.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee.― Epictetus Quote

“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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“When a youth was giving himself airs in the Theatre and saying, ‘I am wise, for I have conversed with many wise men,’ Epictetus replied, ‘I too have conversed with many rich men, yet I am not rich!’.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Do not afflict others with anything that you yourself would not wish to suffer. if you would not like to be a slave, make sure no one is your slave. If you have slaves, you yourself are the greatest slave, for just as freedom is incompatible with slavery, so goodness is incompatible with hypocrisy.” ― Epictetus Quote

“It is better to do wrong seldom and to own it, and to act right for the most part, than seldom to admit that you have done wrong and to do wrong often.” ― Epictetus Quote

“We must not believe the many, who say that only free people ought to be educated, but we should rather believe the philosophers who say that only the educated are free.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Whoever is going to listen to the philosophers needs a considerable practice in listening.” ― Epictetus Quote

“A guide, on finding a man who has lost his way, brings him back to the right path—he does not mock and jeer at him and then take himself off. You also must show the unlearned man the truth, and you will see that he will follow. But so long as you do not show it him, you should not mock, but rather feel your own incapacity.” ― Epictetus Quote

“No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.” ― Epictetus Quote

“If you want to make progress, put up with being perceived as ignorant or naive in worldly matters, don’t aspire to a reputation for sagacity. If you do impress others as somebody, don’t altogether believe it. You have to realize, it isn’t easy to keep your will in agreement with nature, as well as externals. Caring about the one inevitably means you are going to shortchange the other.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Even as the Sun doth not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, but shines forth and is welcomed by all: so thou also wait not for clapping of hands and shouts and praise to do thy duty; nay, do good of thine own accord, and thou wilt be loved like the Sun.” ― Epictetus Quote

“These reasonings are unconnected: “I am richer than you, therefore I am better”; “I am more eloquent than you, therefore I am better.” The connection is rather this: “I am richer than you, therefore my property is greater than yours;” “I am more eloquent than you, therefore my style is better than yours.” But you, after all, are neither property nor style.” ― Epictetus Quote

“You become what you give your attention to.” ― Epictetus Quote

“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.” ― Epictetus Quote

“If you would be a reader, read; if a writer, write.” ― Epictetus Quote

“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness” ― Epictetus Quote

“Do not try to seem wise to others. ” ― Epictetus Quote

“Seek not the good in external things;seek it in yourselves.” ― Epictetus Quote

“No man is free who is not master of himself.” ― Epictetus Quote

“You are a little soul carrying around a corpse” ― Epictetus Quote

“Other people’s views and troubles can be contagious. Don’t sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others.” ― Epictetus Quote