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No man is free who is not master of himself.
- Epictetus
Related topics: Values Life Human-Nature Psychology Self
We cannot choose our external circumstances,
but we can always choose how to respond to them.
- Epictetus
Whoever does not regard what he has
as most ample wealth, is unhappy,
though he be master of the world.
- Epictetus
Is freedom anything else than the right
to live as we wish? Nothing else.
- Epictetus
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- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
When you have shut your doors, and darkened your room,
remember, never to say that you are alone,
for you are not alone, but God is within,
and your genius is within.
- Epictetus
If thy brother wrongs thee,
remember not so much his wrong-doing,
but more than ever that he is thy brother.
- Epictetus
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.
- Epictetus
He is a wise man who does not grieve
for the things which he has not,
but rejoices for those which he has.
- Epictetus
Freedom is the right to live as we wish.
- Epictetus
No great thing is created suddenly.
- Epictetus
We should not moor a ship with one anchor,
or our life with one hope.
- Epictetus
We can't control the impressions others form about us,
and the effort to do so only debases our character.
- Epictetus
It is impossible to begin to learn
that which one thinks one already knows.
- Epictetus
It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded,
but the fear of pain or death.
- Epictetus
The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live
that his happiness shall depend
as little as possible on external things.
- Epictetus
First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.
- Epictetus
Make the best use of what is in your power,
and take the rest as it happens.
- Epictetus
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you,
whose presence calls forth your best.
- Epictetus
Do not seek to bring things to pass
in accordance with your wishes,
but wish for them as they are,
and you will find them.
- Epictetus
We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral.
- Epictetus
When you are offended at any man's fault,
turn to yourself and study your own failings.
Then you will forget your anger.
- Epictetus
Anyone is free who lives as he wishes to live.
- Epictetus
Control thy passions lest they take vengeance upon thee.
- Epictetus
If evil be spoken of you
and it be true, correct yourself,
if it be a lie, laugh at it.
- Epictetus
We have two ears and one mouth so that
we can listen twice as much as we speak.
- Epictetus
You may be always victorious if
you will never enter into any contest
where the issue does not wholly depend upon yourself.
- Epictetus
It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you,
but your opinion that these things are insulting.
- Epictetus
Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things,
and then proceed to greater.
- Epictetus
Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor,
nor should life rest on a single hope.
- Epictetus
Whenever you are angry, be assured that
it is not only a present evil,
but that you have increased a habit.
- Epictetus
If you want to improve,
be content to be thought foolish and stupid.
- Epictetus
The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it.
Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
- Epictetus
Fortify yourself with contentment,
for it is an impregnable fortress. -
- Epictetus
Wealth consists not in having great possessions,
but in having few wants.
- Epictetus
Difficulties are things that show a person what he is.
- Epictetus
Not every difficult and dangerous thing
is suitable for training,
but only that which is conducive to success
in achieving the object of our effort.
- Epictetus
Men are disturbed not by things,
but by the view which they take of them.
- Epictetus
Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.
- Epictetus
People are not disturbed by things,
but by the view they take of them.
- Epictetus
First say to yourself what you would be;
then do what you have to do.
- Epictetus
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying
about things which are beyond the power of our will.
- Epictetus
It's not what happens to you,
but how you react to it that matters.
- Epictetus
If anyone is unhappy, remember that
his unhappiness is his own fault...
Nothing else is the cause of anxiety or loss of tranquility
except our own opinion.
- Epictetus
Never in any case say I have lost such a thing, but I have returned it.
Is your child dead? It is a return. Is your wife dead? It is a return.
Are you deprived of your estate? Is not this also a return?
- Epictetus
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.
- Epictetus
To accuse others for one's own misfortunes
is a sign of want of education.
To accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun.
To accuse neither oneself nor others
shows that one's education is complete.
- Epictetus
No one is free who is not master of himself.
- Epictetus
All religions must be tolerated...
for every man must get to heaven in his own way.
- Epictetus
Keep your attention focused entirely
on what is truly your own concern,
and be clear that what belongs to others
is their business and none of yours.
- Epictetus
Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich,
for the hopes of the instructed
are better than the wealth of the ignorant.
- Epictetus
Imagine for yourself a character,
a model personality whose example you determine to follow,
in private as well as in public.
- Epictetus
If someone irritates you, it is only
your own response that is irritating you.
Therefore, when anyone seems to be provoking you,
remember that it is only your judgment
of the incident that provokes you. -
- Epictetus
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.
- Epictetus
All philosophy lies in two words,
sustain and abstain.
- Epictetus
Those who are dedicated to a life of wisdom
understand that the impulse to blame
something or someone is foolishness,
that there is nothing to be gained in blaming,
whether it be others or oneself.
- Epictetus
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need
but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
- 1 John 3:17
If we have no peace,
it is because we have forgotten
that we belong to each other.
- Mother Teresa
Clouds come floating into my life,
no longer to carry rain or usher storm,
but to add color to my sunset sky.
- Rabindranath Tagore
I leave no trace of wings in the air,
but I am glad I have had my flight.
- Rabindranath Tagore
He who can no longer pause to wonder
and stand rapt in awe,
is as good as dead;
his eyes are closed.
- Albert Einstein
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it,
or who said it, no matter if I have said it,
unless it agrees with your own reason
and your own common sense.
- The Buddha
Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends.
Continue to learn.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.
- Mary Anne Radmacher
There are no facts, only interpretations.
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Without change, there would be no butterflies.
- Anonymous
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.
If we did not sometimes taste of adversity,
prosperity would not be so welcome.
- Anne Bradstreet
A good traveler has no fixed plans,
and is not intent on arriving.
- Lao Tzu
Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences.
No one can eliminate prejudices -
just recognize them.
- Edward R. Murrow
I say NO to the demands of the world.
I say YES to the longings of my own heart.
There is nothing I ever need to have.
There is nothing I ever need to do.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Time, like life itself, has no inherent meaning.
We give our own meaning to time as to life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.
- Anonymous (often attributed to Abraham Lincoln)
Do not let Sunday be taken from you.
If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan.
- Albert Schweitzer
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May the world be kind to you,
and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
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