Epictetus Quotes

365 quotes in 3065 categories

• 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…
• As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.
• Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the living,…
• It has been ordained that there be summer and winter, abundance and dearth, virtue and vice, and all such opposites for the harmony of the…
• What disturbs people, these are not things, but the judgments relating to things
• Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not on account of the place, but of my…
• Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not.
• Were I a nightingale, I would act the part of a nightingale; were I a swan, the part of a swan.
• 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,…
• With ills unending strives the putter off.
• Try to enjoy the great festival of life with other men!
• Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never leaves a person, but with their life. Cowardice is the dread of what will happen.
• 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…
• 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…
• We should do everything both cautiously and confidently at the same time.
• If you would be good, first believe you are bad.
• If someone irritates you, it is only your own response that is irritating you. Therefore, when anyone seems to be provoking you, remember that it…
• Never say of anything I have lost it, only say that I have given it back.
• Each man's life is a kind of campaign, and a long and complicated one at that. You have to maintain the character of a soldier,…
• Nothing great comes into being all at once.

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