Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control.
Epictetus
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More Epictetus
The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation f... EPICTETUS Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems EPICTETUS If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please. EPICTETUS Keep silence for the most part, and speak only when you must, and then briefly. EPICTETUS Let death be daily before your eyes, and you will never entertain any abject thought, nor too eagerl... EPICTETUS Only the educated are free. -Epictetus. EPICTETUS Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens. EPICTETUS If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said ... EPICTETUS First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. EPICTETUS Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our contro... EPICTETUS It is the sign of a dull mind to dwell upon the cares of the body, to prolong exercise, eating and d... EPICTETUS Men are disturbed not by things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen. EPICTETUS Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Therefore, give yourself fully to your endeavors. Deci... EPICTETUS If you set your heart upon philosophy, you must straightway prepare yourself to be laughed at and mo... EPICTETUS The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing. EPICTETUS It is a sign of a dull nature to occupy oneself deeply in matters that concern the body; for instanc... EPICTETUS First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. EPICTETUS Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a... EPICTETUS He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk. 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EPICTETUS If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it. EPICTETUS No great thing is created suddenly. EPICTETUS God hath entrusted me with myself. EPICTETUS For it is not death or hardship that is a fearful thing, but the fear of death and hardship. EPICTETUS A strict belief, fate is the worst kind of slavery; on the other hand there is comfort in the though... EPICTETUS Remember that you are an actor in a drama, of such a part as it may please the master to assign you,... EPICTETUS No man is free who is not a master of himself. EPICTETUS Is freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish? Nothing else. EPICTETUS Freedom is the right to live as we wish. EPICTETUS It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows. EPICTETUS He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which h... 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EPICTETUS Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never leaves a person, but with their life. Cowa... EPICTETUS It is difficulties that show what men are EPICTETUS Difficulties show men what they are. In case of any difficulty remember that God has pitted you aga... EPICTETUS All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain. EPICTETUS Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you, and be silent. EPICTETUS Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast. EPICTETUS When you close your doors, and make darkness within, remember never to say that you are alone, for y... EPICTETUS You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For... EPICTETUS What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is im... EPICTETUS If you would cure anger, do not feed it. Say to yourself: 'I used to be angry every day; then every ... EPICTETUS If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend to it... EPICTETUS Do not seek to have events happen as you want them to, but instead want them to happen as they do ha... EPICTETUS Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly. EPICTETUS Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he be master of the wor... EPICTETUS Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, a... EPICTETUS It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. EPICTETUS People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them. EPICTETUS The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best. EPICTETUS We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. EPICTETUS First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak. EPICTETUS All religions must be tolerated... for every man must get to heaven in his own way. EPICTETUS When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you... EPICTETUS The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as ... EPICTETUS No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that ... EPICTETUS Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you... EPICTETUS It takes more than just a good looking body. You've got to have the heart and soul to go with it... EPICTETUS Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. EPICTETUS Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are ... EPICTETUS It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them. EPICTETUS If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid. EPICTETUS For in this Case, we are not to give Credit to the Many, who say, that none ought to be educated but... EPICTETUS Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it. EPICTETUS To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself sho... EPICTETUS Prevention is better than cure. EPICTETUS I talk of cheese, you of chalk. EPICTETUS Why, then, do you walk as if you had swallowed a ramrod? EPICTETUS Nature has given man one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear twice as much as we speak EPICTETUS Only the educated are free. EPICTETUS If you wish to be good, first believe that you are bad. EPICTETUS Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope. EPICTETUS We should not moor a ship with one anchor, or our life with one hope. EPICTETUS Check your passions that you may not be punished by them. EPICTETUS Not every difficult and dangerous thing is suitable for training, but only that which is conducive t... EPICTETUS Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire. EPICTETUS If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means, and if you find truth you will be... EPICTETUS It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death. EPICTETUS The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forebearing. EPICTETUS Difficulties show men what they are. In case of any difficulty remember that God has pitted you agai... EPICTETUS No man is free who is not master of himself. EPICTETUS The Beginning of Philosophy . . . is a Consciousness of your own
Weakness and inability in necessar... EPICTETUS Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them. -Epictetus. EPICTETUS The good or ill of a man lies within his own will. EPICTETUS Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. EPICTETUS Control thy passions, lest they take vengeance on thee. EPICTETUS A man that seeks truth and loves it must be reckoned precious to any human society. EPICTETUS The people have a right to the truth as they have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happin... EPICTETUS A wise man is he who does not grieve for the thing which he has not, but rejoices for those which he... EPICTETUS He who exercises wisdom exercises the knowledge which is about God. EPICTETUS The first and most important field of philosophy is the application of principles such as “Do not ... EPICTETUS Remember to act always as if you were at a symposium. When the food or drink comes around, reach out... EPICTETUS If you want to make progress, put up with being perceived as ignorant or naive in worldly matters, d... EPICTETUS It is more necessary for the soul to be cured than the body; for it is better to die than to live ba... EPICTETUS What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we thin... EPICTETUS A ship should not ride on a single anchor, nor life on a single hope. EPICTETUS You are a little soul carrying around a corpse. EPICTETUS Silence is safer than speech. EPICTETUS In order to please others, we loose our hold on our life’s purpose. EPICTETUS God has entrusted me with myself. EPICTETUS Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope EPICTETUS It is the sign of a dull mind to dwell upon the cares of the body, to prolong exercise, eating and d... EPICTETUS Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee. EPICTETUS How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself and in no instance bypass the... EPICTETUS The condition and characteristic of an uninstructed person is this: he never expects from himself pr... EPICTETUS One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent EPICTETUS Confident because of our caution EPICTETUS In order to please others, we loose our hold on our lifes purpose. EPICTETUS Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed. EPICTETUS I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approv... EPICTETUS All religions must be tolerated... for... every man must get to heaven in his own way. EPICTETUS When you have shut your doors, and darkened your room, remember, never to say that you are alone, fo... EPICTETUS Iam always content with what happens,for i know that what God chooses is always better than what i c... EPICTETUS It takes more than just a good looking body. You've got to have the heart and soul to go with it. EPICTETUS In every affair consider what precedes and what follows, and then undertake it EPICTETUS No man is free who is not a master of himself EPICTETUS When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you wil... EPICTETUS Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a... EPICTETUS We are not troubled by things, but by the opinion which we have of things. EPICTETUS On the occasion of every accident that befalls you...inquire what power you have
for turning it to u... EPICTETUS Nature has given men one tongue and two ears, that we may hear twice as much as we speak. EPICTETUS Lameness is an impediment to the body but not to the will. EPICTETUS The man who is not satisfied with little will be satisfied with nothing. EPICTETUS I have a lantern. You steal my lantern. What, then, is your honour worth no more to you than the pri... EPICTETUS Common and vulgar people ascribe all ills that they feel to others; people of little wisdom ascribe ... EPICTETUS If you would be a reader, read; if a writer,write EPICTETUS What concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way people think things are EPICTETUS Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to... EPICTETUS A child understands fear and the hurt and hate it brings. EPICTETUS Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of them EPICTETUS As the sun does not wait for prayers and incantations tob e induced to rise, but immediately shines ... EPICTETUS You may fetter my leg, but Zeus himself cannot get the better of my free will. EPICTETUS First say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do. EPICTETUS Circumstances do not make the man; they merely reveal him to himself. EPICTETUS Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a... EPICTETUS We must not believe the many, who say that only free people ought to be educated, but we should rath... EPICTETUS Everything has two handles, one by which it may be borne, the other by which it may not EPICTETUS It is not he who gives abuse that affronts, but the view that we take of it as insulting; so that wh... EPICTETUS Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you
only when you permit yours... EPICTETUS You may fetter my leg, but Zeus himself cannot get the better of my free will EPICTETUS It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your opinion that these things are insu... EPICTETUS Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in pri... EPICTETUS If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say... EPICTETUS God has pitted you against a rough antagonist that you may be a conqueror, and this cannot be withou... EPICTETUS He is a man of sense who does not grieve for what he has not, but rejoices in
what he has. EPICTETUS There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the p... EPICTETUS As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into o... EPICTETUS You may be always victorious if you will never enter into any contest where the issue does not wholl... EPICTETUS We are not to give credit to the many, who say that none ought to be educated but the free; but rath... EPICTETUS If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy ... EPICTETUS Seek not good from without: seek it from within yourselves, or you will never find it EPICTETUS Know you not that a good man does nothing for appearance sake, but for the sake of having done right... EPICTETUS Man, what are you talking about? Me in chains? You may fetter my leg but my will, not even Zeus hims... EPICTETUS An ignorant person is inclined to blame others for his own misfortune. To blame oneself is proof of ... EPICTETUS Thus Epicurus also, when he designs to destroy the natural fellowship of mankind, at the same time m... EPICTETUS Whoever is going to listen to the philosophers needs a considerable practice in listening. EPICTETUS Very little is needed for everything to be upset and ruined, only a slight lapse in reason. EPICTETUS If virtue promises happiness, prosperity and peace, then progress in virtue is progress in each of t... EPICTETUS If you wish to be a writer, write. EPICTETUS There is nothing good or evil save in the will. EPICTETUS Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly. EPICTETUS Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater. EPICTETUS A city is not adorned by external things, but by the virtue of those who dwell in it. EPICTETUS Men are not afraid of things, but of how they view them. EPICTETUS You become what you give your attention to. EPICTETUS Show me a man who though sick is happy, who though in danger is happy, who though in prison is happy... EPICTETUS