--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Books are the training weights of the mind." description: "\"Books are the training weights of the mind.\" — Epictetus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/epictetus-413_book_books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mi_2820211.jpg" --- # Books are the training weights of the mind. ![“Books are the training weights of the mind.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/epictetus-413_book_books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mi_2820211.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/epictetus-413_book_books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mi_2820211.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/epictetus-413_book_books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mi_2820211.jpg) > “Books are the training weights of the mind.” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading challenges the mind, strengthening mental capacity. **In simple terms:** Books act as mental workout equipment. Key Takeaway Read regularly to train mental strength. Themes education philosophy self‑improvement Mood inspirational educational Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - personal growth - academic study - lifelong learning Key Concepts mental training intellectual development Questions to Reflect On - How does reading shape your thinking? - What habits complement mental training? A Different Perspective Reading alone isn’t sufficient for growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-training-3583982/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Training Weights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training-weights-3583983/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) [Weights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weights/) [Weights Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weights-mind-1374159/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The wonderful thing about age is that your knees don't work as well, you can't run down steps quite as easily and obviously you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-moore/the-wonderful-thing-about-age-is-that-your-knees-don-t-work-as-well/) [Roger Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-moore/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-just-say-you-have-read-books-show-that-through-them-you-have-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-just-say-you-have-read-books-show-that-through-them-you-have/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Even though the weight I'm lifting isn't what it was when I was playing, it's not like I'm not lifting weights that are heavier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-strahan/even-though-the-weight-i-m-lifting-isn-t-what-it-was-when-i-was/) [Michael Strahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-strahan/) > [Strictly speaking, intensity in the weight training context refers to the amount of work required to achieve the activity and is proportional to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-romaniello/strictly-speaking-intensity-in-the-weight-training-context-refers-to/) [John Romaniello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-romaniello/) > [Words are the weights which hold our history in place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-kephart/words-are-the-weights-which-hold-our-history-in-place/) [Beth Kephart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-kephart/) > [I do some weights and I do a lot of stretching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ditka/i-do-some-weights-and-i-do-a-lot-of-stretching/) [Mike Ditka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ditka/) > [That is the beautiful part about weights: even if you are 100 year old, you can lift something. Maybe it's only a half a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/that-is-the-beautiful-part-about-weights-even-if-you-are-100-year-old/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [I always lift weights very heavy and spend a lot of time in the weight room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/i-always-lift-weights-very-heavy-and-spend-a-lot-of-time-in-the/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [Everything is moderation, really. I don't really deprive myself of anything. But I try to balance it with healthy food choices. I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-mcbride/everything-is-moderation-really-i-don-t-really-deprive-myself-of/) [Martina McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-mcbride/) > [I am constantly working out-circuit training, jumping rope, and stair-stepping, and sticking to 1200 calories a day. It can't be something that you're doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leann-rimes/i-am-constantly-working-out-circuit-training-jumping-rope-and-stair/) [LeAnn Rimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leann-rimes/) > [I'm not against working out. It's just not effective for weight loss. I like strength training to tone and firm the body so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-cruise/i-m-not-against-working-out-it-s-just-not-effective-for-weight-loss-i/) [Jorge Cruise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-cruise/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [If our inconceivably ancient universe even had any beginning, the conditions determining that beginning must even now be engraved in the atomic weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-william-richards/if-our-inconceivably-ancient-universe-even-had-any-beginning-the/) [Theodore William Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-william-richards/) > [When I was growing up, my dad didn't have weights, so he made himself a weight bench. Instead of a hand-me-down jacket, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-statham/when-i-was-growing-up-my-dad-didn-t-have-weights-so-he-made-himself-a/) [Jason Statham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-statham/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/you-know-yourself-what-you-are-worth-in-your-own-eyes-and-at-what/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/for-it-is-not-death-or-pain-that-is-to-be-feared-but-the-fear-of-pain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-else-can-i-do-a-lame-old-man-but-sing-hymns-to-god-if-i-were-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/small-minded-people-blame-others-average-people-blame-themselves-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Explore all 577 Epictetus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Books are the training weights of the mind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Epictetus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/epictetus-413_book_books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mi_2820211.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/epictetus-413_book_books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mi_2820211.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/epictetus-413_book_books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mi_2820211.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Books are the training weights of the mind.” — Epictetus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Epictetus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Books are the training weights of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/books-are-the-training-weights-of-the-mind/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```