Epictetus
Greek Stoic philosopher, about 50-135
87 quotes.
Quotes by Epictetus
- It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgements concerning them.
- It is not external events themselves that cause us distress, but the way in which we think about them…It is our attitudes and reactions that give us trouble. We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.
- It is not he who gives abuse or blows who affronts, but the view we take of these things as insulting.
- It is not he who gives abuse that affronts, but the view that we take of it as insulting; so that when one provokes you it is your own opinion which is provoking.
- It’s not things that upset us but our judgments about things.
- It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
- Just keep in mind: the more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.
- Just stick to your principles. And rest assured that, if you remain true to them, the same people who made fun of you will come to admire you.
- Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.
- Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.
- Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.
- Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinions about the things.
- Men are not influenced by things, but by their thoughts about things.
- Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.
- No great thing is created suddenly.
- No man is free who is not master of himself.
- No matter what happens, it is within my power to turn it to my advantage.
- No thing great 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.
- Nothing great, said Epictetus, is produced suddenly, since not even the grape or the fig is.
- Nothing important comes into being overnight; even grapes and figs need time to ripen.
- On the occasion of every accident (event) that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use.
- People are not disturbed by things but by the view they take of them.
- Practice yourself, for heaven’s sake, in little things; and thence proceed to greater.
- Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.
- Remember that it is not he who reviles you or strikes you, who insults you, but it is your opinion about these things as being insulting.
- The characteristic of a philosopher is that he looks to himself for all help or harm.
- The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.
- The trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths.
- The true man is revealed in difficult times.
- The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing.
- Thus at a banquet, do not discuss how people ought to eat; but eat as you ought.
- We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.
- We do not choose our own parts in life, and have nothing to do with selecting those parts. Our simple duty is confined to playing them well.
- We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
- We must be afraid of neither poverty nor exile nor imprisonment; of fear itself only should we be afraid.
- 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.
- What ought one to say then as each hardship comes? I was practicing for this, I was training for this.
- What upsets people is not things themselves, but their judgements about these things.
- What you give to the body, you presently lose; what you give to the soul, you keep for ever.
- Whatever you would make habitual, practise it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practise it, but habituate yourself to something else.