Epictetus Quotes

Know you not that a good man does nothing for appearance sake, but for the sake of having done right?

Remember that you ought to behave in life as you would at a banquet. As something is being passed around it comes to you; stretch out your hand, take a portion of it politely. It passes on; do not detain it. Or it has not come to you yet; do not project your desire to meet it, but wait until it comes in front of you. So act toward children, so toward a wife, so toward office, so toward wealth.

We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.

Events do not just happen, but arrive by appointment.

It is not so much what happens to you as how you think about what happens.

Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will — then your life will flow well.

Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Therefore, give yourself fully to your endeavors. Decide to construct your character through excellent actions and determine to pay the price of a worthy goal. The trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths. Remain steadfast...and one day you will build something that endures: something worthy of your potential.

Asked, Who is the rich man? Epictetus replied, “He who is content.

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things. Thus death is nothing terrible, else it would have appeared so to Socrates. But the terror consists in our notion of death, that it is terrible. When, therefore, we are hindered, or disturbed, or grieved let us never impute it to others, but to ourselves; that is, to our own views. It is the action of an uninstructed person to reproach others for his own misfortunes; of one entering upon instruction, to reproach himself; and of one perfectly instructed, to reproach neither others or himself.

It is better to die of hunger having lived without grief and fear, than to live with a troubled spirit, amid abundance

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

An ignorant person is inclined to blame others for his own misfortune. To blame oneself is proof of progress. But the wise man never has to blame another or himself.

Whenever someone prides himself on being able to understand and comment on Chrysippus’ books, think to yourself, ‘If Chrysippus had written more clearly, this person would have nothing to be proud of.’

"These reasonings are unconnected: "I am richer than you, therefore I am better"; "I am more eloquent than you, therefore I am better." The connection is rather this: "I am richer than you, therefore my property is greater than yours;" "I am more eloquent than you, therefore my style is better than yours." But you, after all, are neither property nor style."

Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to.