--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I laugh at those who think they can…" description: "\"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 re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/epictetus-413_damage_i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-dama_1494497.jpg" --- # I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not… ![“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.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/epictetus-413_damage_i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-dama_1494497.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/epictetus-413_damage_i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-dama_1494497.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/epictetus-413_damage_i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-dama_1494497.jpg) > “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](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. One’s true self and thoughts are untouchable by others; external attacks cannot harm inner identity. **In simple terms:** Inner self is invulnerable to external attacks. Key Takeaway Protect your inner self. Themes identity self‑control external criticism philosophy Mood calm determined Type stoic philosophical When to use this quote - workplace conflict - personal attacks - social media criticism Key Concepts Stoic resilience self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain inner peace when criticized? - What practices strengthen your sense of self? A Different Perspective External events still affect emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Damage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damage/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Who i am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who-i-am/) ## Related quotes > [I'm so blessed to just have minor brain damage. You know, it's so minor it ain't even really worth speaking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-cloud/i-m-so-blessed-to-just-have-minor-brain-damage-you-know-it-s-so-minor/) [Angus Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-cloud/) > [I don't think you should ever damage other people for your art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-mulligan/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-damage-other-people-for-your-art/) [Carey Mulligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carey-mulligan/) > [The object is to hit the other guy and not get hit. I think the least amount of damage you can take is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-condit/the-object-is-to-hit-the-other-guy-and-not-get-hit-i-think-the-least/) [Carlos Condit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-condit/) > [It's the damage that we do and never know. It's the words that we don't say that scare me so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/it-s-the-damage-that-we-do-and-never-know-it-s-the-words-that-we-don/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [I think you can do as much damage to yourself going to the gym and running as you do good. So my mission in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-dobson/i-think-you-can-do-as-much-damage-to-yourself-going-to-the-gym-and/) [Anita Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-dobson/) > [The funniest people I know were, not necessarily troubled, but had a harder time in school or were shy or picked on or something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlin-olson/the-funniest-people-i-know-were-not-necessarily-troubled-but-had-a/) [Kaitlin Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlin-olson/) > [We're so insecure, comedians. 'Did you laugh? Do you think I was funny?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barratt/we-re-so-insecure-comedians-did-you-laugh-do-you-think-i-was-funny/) [Julian Barratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barratt/) > [I love the people who can make me laugh when I think I can't even smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/i-love-the-people-who-can-make-me-laugh-when-i-think-i-can-t-even/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I've always tried to be funny, or stupid, or whatever. I love making people laugh and I think it comes quite naturally to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-littrell/i-ve-always-tried-to-be-funny-or-stupid-or-whatever-i-love-making/) [Brian Littrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-littrell/) > [“What are you trying to say?" All men have the stars," he answered, "but they are not the same things for different people. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/what-are-you-trying-to-say-all-men-have-the-stars-he-answered-but/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Even when I watch it, I laugh, because I think, 'That's me! I'm on 'Seinfeld.''](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-zimmer/even-when-i-watch-it-i-laugh-because-i-think-that-s-me-i-m-on-seinfeld/) [Constance Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-zimmer/) > [“Damn, Regan, but you have the prettiest laugh. I think I need to hear that more often.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-clare/damn-regan-but-you-have-the-prettiest-laugh-i-think-i-need-to-hear/) [Jessica Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-clare/) > [Real comedy doesn't just make people laugh and think, but makes them laugh and change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kinison/real-comedy-doesn-t-just-make-people-laugh-and-think-but-makes-them/) [Sam Kinison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kinison/) > [Everybody needs someone who can make them laugh when they think that they'll never smile again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everybody-needs-someone-who-can-make-them-laugh-when-they-think-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I laugh and laugh and laugh, and I think about stabbing Ms. Robertson with the knife I don’t have in my shoe. Lighting this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/i-laugh-and-laugh-and-laugh-and-i-think-about-stabbing-ms-robertson/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) ## 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 Damage quotes > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gottschall/i-think-what-bothers-us-about-fighting-sports-isn-t-the-damage-to-the/) [Jonathan Gottschall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gottschall/) > [I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. Now I have a clearer understanding of what's wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-boyle/i-was-told-i-had-brain-damage-i-always-knew-it-was-an-unfair-label/) [Susan Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-boyle/) > [How strange that something so simple could have been instrumental in my decision to ruin one of my most relationships and friendships, and damage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/how-strange-that-something-so-simple-could-have-been-instrumental-in/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) > [The socially redeeming aspect of golf lies in the vast number of lawyers and bankers and managers who play it, and when you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-socially-redeeming-aspect-of-golf-lies-in-the-vast-number-of/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Gun control laws don't work. What is worse, they act perversely. While legitimate users of firearms encounter intense regulation, scrutiny and bureaucratic control, illicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-polsby/gun-control-laws-don-t-work-what-is-worse-they-act-perversely-while/) Daniel D. Polsby > [The pace of global warming is accelerating and the scale of the impact is devastating. The time for action is limited - we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-spitzer/the-pace-of-global-warming-is-accelerating-and-the-scale-of-the/) [Eliot Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-spitzer/) > [My first job was a film called 'Storm Damage' for the BBC. I was 16 and working with really respected British actors. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-madekwe/my-first-job-was-a-film-called-storm-damage-for-the-bbc-i-was-16-and/) [Ashley Madekwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-madekwe/) > [But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy’ll be able to do is send sparks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-people-only-die-in-proper-duels-you-know-with-real-wizards-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [President Obama has never summarized the Obama Doctrine with such clarity, but here is what it would look like: 'I will undertake any military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/president-obama-has-never-summarized-the-obama-doctrine-with-such/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-superpowers-often-behave-like-two-heavily-armed-blind-men-feeling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I couldn't stand being identified by my sexuality, I retaliated by insisting that people regard me for my intellectual worth. My intellect became a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leora-tanenbaum/i-couldn-t-stand-being-identified-by-my-sexuality-i-retaliated-by/) [Leora Tanenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leora-tanenbaum/) > [One simply cannot engage in barbarous action without becoming a barbarian, because one cannot defend human values by calculated and unprovoked violence without doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/one-simply-cannot-engage-in-barbarous-action-without-becoming-a/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [This strongly asserted but ill-defined license to kill without accountability is not an entitlement which the United States or other states can have without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-alston/this-strongly-asserted-but-ill-defined-license-to-kill-without/) Philip Alston [Browse all 1,271 Damage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Epictetus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-damage-me-they-do-not-know-who-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Damage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-damage-me-they-do-not-know-who-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/epictetus-413_damage_i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-dama_1494497.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/epictetus-413_damage_i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-dama_1494497.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/epictetus-413_damage_i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-dama_1494497.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not know who I am, they do not know what I think…” — 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": "I laugh at those who think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-damage-me-they-do-not-know-who-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/i-laugh-at-those-who-think-they-can-damage-me-they-do-not-know-who-i/#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 } } ] } ```