Epictetus Quotes

Don’t demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do, and you will be happy.

If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of them.

The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.

The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.

Only the educated are free.

It is difficulties that show what men are.

No man is free who is not master of himself.

First say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do.

You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him.

Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.

Know first who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.

Difficulties show men what they are. In case of any difficulty, remember that God has pitted you against a rough antagonist that you may be a conqueror, and this cannot be without toil.

First, say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do.

Nature hath given men one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.

Make the best use of what is in your power and take the rest as it happens.

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.

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.

Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man’s task.

No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

What would be left to me if I lost my oratorical faculty? I would have the use of my own governing faculty and there is no creature with the power to prevent me from using it in the way it was meant to be used.

If anyone tells you that such a person speaks ill of you, don’t make excuses about what is said of you, but answer: ‘He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned only these.’

We’ll continue to think, speak, and do as we did before, and in the same way as we would deal with a piece of paper falling on us or a fly buzzing around our ear: we’ll either leave or we’ll catch it and take a closer look at it as we trap it.

We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.

Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.

Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight.

I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not know who I am, or what I think, or what I say, or what I do. They do not know me.

Greatness lies in doing what nobody else is doing.

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.

Don’t just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person. Books are the training weights of the mind. They are very helpful, but it would be a bad mistake to suppose that one has made progress simply by having internalized their contents.

What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows.

How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?

If anyone tells you that such a person speaks ill of you, don’t make excuses about what is said of you, but answer: He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned only these.

Make the best use of what is in your power and take the rest as it happens.

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.

If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.

Why do we complain of Nature? She has shown herself kindly; life, if you know how to use it, is long.