--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I…" description: "\"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 w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/epictetus-413_chains_i-must-die-must-i-then-die-lamenting-i-m_2007137.jpg" --- # I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I must be put in… ![“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?” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/epictetus-413_chains_i-must-die-must-i-then-die-lamenting-i-m_2007137.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/epictetus-413_chains_i-must-die-must-i-then-die-lamenting-i-m_2007137.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/epictetus-413_chains_i-must-die-must-i-then-die-lamenting-i-m_2007137.jpg) > “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](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. Accepting fate with cheerfulness frees one from suffering and external constraints. **In simple terms:** Die or exile, stay cheerful and content. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner freedom regardless of circumstances. Themes stoicism resilience contentment Mood calm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - illness - political exile - personal loss Key Concepts fate acceptance inner liberty emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - How can joy coexist with legitimate sorrow? - What does true freedom look like? A Different Perspective May ignore legitimate grievances needing action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) [Cheerfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerfulness/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Exile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exile/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Lament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lament/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Stay positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay-positive/) ## Related quotes > [“Lamenting keeps us engaged with God. When we lament, we invite God into our pain so that we can know his comfort, and others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaneetha-rendall-risner/lamenting-keeps-us-engaged-with-god-when-we-lament-we-invite-god-into/) Vaneetha Rendall Risner > [-….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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-things-seem-to-have-reached-that-stage-merely-say-i-won-t-play/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [The business of life summons us away from useless grief, and calls us to the exercise of those virtues of which we are lamenting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-business-of-life-summons-us-away-from-useless-grief-and-calls-us/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Look at Jewish history. Unrelieved lamenting would be intolerable. So for every ten Jews beating their breasts, God designated one to be crazy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/look-at-jewish-history-unrelieved-lamenting-would-be-intolerable-so/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Again and Again, however, we know the language of love, and the little churchyard with its lamenting names and the staggeringly secret abyss in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/again-and-again-however-we-know-the-language-of-love-and-the-little/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Meanwhile I, deserted, was lamenting a little to myself your long delays in foreign loves, until sleep with its pleasing wings compelled me,fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/meanwhile-i-deserted-was-lamenting-a-little-to-myself-your-long/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Did you ever read the Bible? I mean sit down and read it like it was a book? Check out Lamentations. That's where we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/did-you-ever-read-the-bible-i-mean-sit-down-and-read-it-like-it-was-a/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [I'm a go-getter. It's in my DNA. If I spend a lot of time lamenting on the difficulties, then it could be distracting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fei-fei-li/i-m-a-go-getter-it-s-in-my-dna-if-i-spend-a-lot-of-time-lamenting-on/) [Fei-Fei Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fei-fei-li/) > [“RICH I’m lamenting. I’ve lost my innocence. CROMWELL You lost that some time ago. 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How we view these things is another matter.People think what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/things-themselves-don-t-hurt-or-hinder-us-things-simply-are-what-they/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [I must die. I must be imprisoned. I must suffer exile. But must I die groaning? Must I whine as well? Can anyone hinder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/i-must-die-i-must-be-imprisoned-i-must-suffer-exile-but-must-i-die/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [In theory there is nothing to hinder our following what we are taught;but in life there are many things to draw us aside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/in-theory-there-is-nothing-to-hinder-our-following-what-we-are-taught/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Nothing outside the will can hinder or harm the will; it can only harm itself. If then we accept this, and, when things go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nothing-outside-the-will-can-hinder-or-harm-the-will-it-can-only-harm/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## 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 Chains quotes > [Unchecked, the new tolerance will sooner or later put many people in chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-carson/unchecked-the-new-tolerance-will-sooner-or-later-put-many-people-in/) [D. A. Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. 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Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I don't have a huge amount of gear, but on the software side, I have a number of plug-in chains that act as abstracted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hopkins/i-don-t-have-a-huge-amount-of-gear-but-on-the-software-side-i-have-a/) [Jon Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hopkins/) > [We don't have a farm-to-table food safety system. I keep saying this. It came as a big surprise to the FDA that tomatoes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/we-don-t-have-a-farm-to-table-food-safety-system-i-keep-saying-this/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [How can I set free anyone who doesn't have the guts to stand up alone and declare his own freedom? I think it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/how-can-i-set-free-anyone-who-doesn-t-have-the-guts-to-stand-up-alone/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [I'm bigger than you! I'm higher on the food chain - get in my belly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/i-m-bigger-than-you-i-m-higher-on-the-food-chain-get-in-my-belly/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [The chains will fall off freely, no more worries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dl-watson/the-chains-will-fall-off-freely-no-more-worries/) DL WATSON > [I am ever mindful of the legacy of my grandfather, the founder of this Kingdom, who had said to me that he perceived his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-hussein-i/i-am-ever-mindful-of-the-legacy-of-my-grandfather-the-founder-of-this/) [King Hussein I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-hussein-i/) > [Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/think-about-it-we-went-into-slavery-pagans-we-came-out-christians-we/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [To one who is accustomed to thinking a lot, every new thought that he hears or reads about immediately appears as a link in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-one-who-is-accustomed-to-thinking-a-lot-every-new-thought-that-he/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Man's ethics must not end with man, but should extend to the universe. 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