Epictetus Quotes

Then I’ll have you chained up.’ What are you saying, man, chain me up? You can chain my leg, but not even Zeus can overcome my power of choice. [24] ‘I’ll throw you into prison.’ You mean my poor body. ‘I’ll have you beheaded.’ Why, did I ever tell you that I’m the only man to have a neck that can’t be severed? [

It is the mark of a cude disposition to spend most of one's time on bodily functions such as exercise, eating, drinking, defecating and copulating. These are the things to be done just incidentally. All your attention should be on your mind.

If on the other hand, they identify their good and interests with things that are external and outside the sphere of will, they are bound to be impeded and frustrated, subservient to those who have authority over the things that you have admired and feared. They are also bound to be utterly irreverent since they think that God has a grudge against them, and to be unfair, since they always grab more for themselves; and they are bound to lack self-respect and generosity.

If you seek Truth, you will not seek to gain a victory by every possible means; and when you have found Truth, you need not fear being defeated.

Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit the evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now. You are not some disinterested bystander. Participate. Exert yourself.

God save me from fools with a little philosophy — no one is more difficult to reach.

لا تقل أبدًا إني فيلسوف، ولا تكثر الحديث بين الجُهَّال عن نظرياتك، بل بيِّنها بالأفعال. فإذا كنت في وليمة فلا تقل كيف ينبغي الأكل بل كُل كما ينبغي.
وإذا دار أي حديث بين الجهَّال حول أي نظرياتٍ فلسفية فالزم الصمت دائمًا؛ فثَمة خطرٌ كبيرٌ بأن تقيء في الحال ما لم تهضمه.
ذلك أنه حتى الخِراف لا تقيء عشبها لكي تُريَ الرعاةَ كم أكلَت، بل عندما تهضم الكلأ داخلها فإنها تُخرِجه صوفًا ولبنًا.

Remember from now on whenever something tends to make you unhappy, draw on this principle: 'This is no misfortune; but bearing with it bravely is a blessing.

If you pin your hopes on things outside your control, taking upon yourself things which rightfully belong to others, you are liable to stumble, fall, suffer, and blame both gods and men. But if you focus your attention only on what is truly your own concern, and leave to others what concerns them, then you will be in charge of your interior life. No one will be able to harm or hinder you. You will blame no one, and have no enemies.

Be the same person in public as in private. Speak only what is useful and beneficial. In conversation, avoid idle chatter about horse races, athletes, celebrities, food, and drink. Refuse to participate in gossip — tearing down, inflating, and judging other people. Among friends, shift the conversation to worthy topics; among strangers, stay silent.

The people before whom you bow and tremble – when I meet them, I treat them as if they were slaves.

Syyttää toisia omasta onnettomuudestansa on sivistymättömyyden merkki; syyttää itseänsä on sivistyksen alkeiden ilmaus, olla syyttämättä muita ja itseänsä on näyte ihmisen sivistyksestä.

An ignorant person is one who is tossed about between elation and despair by external forces and events.

To-day, when the crisis calls you, will you go off and display your recitation and harp on, 'How cleverly I compose dialogues'? Nay, fellow man, make this your object, 'Look how I fail not to get what I will. Look how I escape what I will to avoid. Let death come and you shall know; bring me pains, prison, dishonour, condemnation.' This is the true field of display for a young man come from school. Leave those other trifles to other men; let no one ever hear you say a word on them, do not tolerate any compliments upon them; assume the air of being no one and of knowing nothing. Show that you know this only, how not to fail and how not to fall.

As you travel the path of philosophy, be content to be considered plain or even foolish. Do not strive to be celebrated for anything. If you are praised by others, be skeptical of yourself. For it it is no easy feat to hold onto your inner harmony while collecting accolades. When grasping for one, you are likely to drop the other.