Epictetus

Some things are up to us, and some are not up to us. Up to us are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion... not up to us are body, property, reputation, public office.

Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinions about the things.

Do not seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go on well.

Never say of anything, 'I have lost it'; but, 'I have returned it.' Is your child dead? It is returned.

Remember that it is not he who gives abuse or strikes you who insults you, but it is your opinion about these things as being insulting.

Lay down for yourself, at the outset, a certain stamp and character for yourself, which you shall preserve whether you are by yourself or with others.

Everything has two handles, the one by which it may be borne, the other by which it cannot. If your brother acts unjustly, do not lay hold on the action by the handle of his injustice... but by the opposite — that he is your brother.

Remember that you are an actor in a play, the character of which is determined by the playwright... Your business is to act the part well that is given to you.

Remember that desire demands the attainment of that of which you are desirous; and aversion demands the avoidance of that to which you are averse.

With regard to whatever objects either delight the mind or contribute to use or are tenderly beloved, remind yourself of what nature they are, beginning with the merest trifles: if you have a favorite cup, that it is only a cup; then if it is broken you can bear it.

Consider when, on a voyage, your ship is anchored; if you go on shore to get water you may amuse yourself with picking up a shellfish, or an onion, in your way; but your thoughts and continual attention ought to be bent towards the ship.

With every accident, ask yourself what abilities you have for making a proper use of it.

If you would improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid with regard to external things. Don't wish to be thought to know anything; and even if you appear to be somebody important to others, distrust yourself.

When you see anyone weeping in grief because his son has gone abroad, or is dead, or because he has suffered in his affairs, be careful that the appearance may not misdirect you. Instead, distinguish within your own mind, and be prepared to say, 'It's not what has happened that distresses this man, but his judgement about it.'

If you have an earnest desire of attaining to philosophy, prepare yourself from the very first to be laughed at, to be sneered by the multitude.

The will of nature may be learned from things upon which we are all agreed. As, when our neighbor's boy breaks a cup, or the like, we are presently ready to say, 'These are casualties that will happen'; be assured, then, that when your own cup likewise is broken, you ought to be affected just as when another's cup was broken.

In every affair consider what precedes and follows, and then undertake it. Otherwise you will begin with spirit indeed, careless of the consequences, and when these are developed, you will shamefully desist.

It is a mark of want of intellect to spend much time in things relating to the body, as to be long in our exercises, in eating and drinking, and in the discharge of other animal functions. These should be done incidentally and our main strength be applied to our reason.

Does anyone bathe in a mighty little time? Don't say that he does it ill, but in a mighty little time. Does anyone drink a great quantity of wine? Don't say that he does ill, but that he drinks a great quantity. For, unless you perfectly understand the principle from which anyone acts, how should you know if he acts ill?

Never call yourself a philosopher, nor talk a great deal among the unlearned about theorems, but act conformably to them. Thus, at an entertainment, don't talk how persons ought to eat, but eat as you ought.

The condition and characteristic of a vulgar person, is, that he never expects either benefit or hurt from himself, but from externals. The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is, that he expects all hurt and benefit from himself.

How long will you delay to think yourself worthy of the highest things and in nothing transgress the distinctive reason? You are no longer a boy, but a full-grown man.

When you are going about any action, remind yourself what nature the action is. If you are going to bathe, picture to yourself the things which usually happen in the bath: some people splash the water, some push, some use abusive language, and others steal.

Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own. If a horse should be prideful and say, 'I am handsome,' it would be supportable. But when you are prideful, and say, 'I have a handsome horse,' know that you are proud of what is, in fact, only the good of the horse.

Sickness is an impediment to the body, but not to the will, unless itself pleases. Lameness is an impediment to the leg, but not to the will; and say this to yourself with regard to everything that happens.

If you would improve, lay aside such reasonings as these: 'If I neglect my affairs, I shall not have a maintenance; if I do not punish my servant, he will be good for nothing.' For it is better to die with hunger, exempt from grief and fear, than to live in affluence with perturbation.

If you wish your children, and your wife, and your friends to live for ever, you are stupid; for you wish to be in control of things which you cannot, you wish for things that belong to others to be your own.

When a raven happens to croak unluckily, don't allow the appearance hurry you away with it, but immediately make the distinction to yourself, and say, 'None of these things are portended to me... to me nothing can be portended, either dangerous or unfortunate, since whatever befalls me is up to me.'

You can be unconquerable, if you enter into no combat in which it is not in your own control to conquer.

Let death and exile, and all other things which appear terrible, be daily before your eyes, but chiefly death; and you will never entertain any abject thought, nor too eagerly covet anything.

If you have an earnest desire towards philosophy, prepare yourself from the very first to be laughed at, to be sneered by the multitude, to hear them say, 'He is returned to us a philosopher all at once.'

Let not such considerations as these distress you: 'I will live in dishonour, and be nobody anywhere.' For if dishonour be an evil, you can no more be involved in any evil by means of another, than be engaged in anything base.

Has anyone been honoured above you at an entertainment, or in being saluted, or in being invited to a consultation? If these things are good, you ought to rejoice that he has got them; and if they are evil, don't be grieved that you have not got them.

As a mark is not set up for the sake of missing the aim, so neither does the nature of evil exist in the world.

If a person had delivered up your body to some passer-by, you would certainly be angry. And do you feel no shame in delivering up your own mind to any reviler, to be disconcerted and confounded?

Duties are universally measured by relations. Is anyone a father? If so, it is implied that the children should take care of him, submit to him in everything, patiently listen to his reproaches, his correction.

When you have recourse to divination, remember that you know not what the event will be, and you come to learn it of the diviner; but of what nature it is you knew before coming, at least if you are a philosopher.

If you are struck by the appearance of any promised pleasure, guard yourself against being hurried away by it; but let the affair wait your leisure, and procure yourself some delay.

When you do anything from a clear judgement that it ought to be done, never shun the being seen to do it, even though the world should make a wrong supposition about it; for if you don't act right, shun the action itself; but, if you do, why are you afraid of those who censure you wrongly?

If you have assumed any character above your strength, you have both made an ill figure in that and quitted one which you might have supported.

In walking, you are careful not to step on a nail, or to sprain your ankle. In the same way you should be careful not to hurt the ruling faculty of your mind. And, if we were to guard against this in every action, we should undertake the action with the greater safety.

Women from fourteen years old are flattered with the title of 'mistresses' by the men. Therefore, perceiving that they are regarded only as qualified to give the men pleasure, they begin to adorn themselves, and in that to place all their hopes. It is worthwhile, therefore, to fix our attention on making them sensible that they are valued for the appearance of decent, modest and discreet behaviour.

When any person harms you, or speaks badly of you, remember that he acts or speaks from a supposition of its being his duty. Now, it is not possible that he should follow what appears right to you, but what appears so to himself.

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.'

When you have brought yourself to supply the wants of your body at a small price, don't pique yourself upon it, nor, if you drink water, be saying upon every occasion, 'I drink water.'

When any person acts well in relation to himself, praise him not as a philosopher, but as a good man.

Whatever rules you have adopted, abide by them as laws, and as if you would be impious to transgress them; and do not regard what any one says of you, for this is not your concern.

The first and most necessary topic in philosophy is the practical application of principles, as, 'We ought not to lie'; the second is that of demonstrations, as, 'Why it is that we ought not to lie'; the third, that which gives strength and articulation to the other two.

Upon all occasions we ought to have these maxims ready at hand: 'Conduct me, Jove, and you, O Destiny, wherever your decrees have fixed my station. I follow cheerfully; and, did I not, wicked and wretched, I must follow still.'

Have regard to your character, and to your nature as a citizen and a son, a brother and a friend, and to each of the other relations in which you stand. Choose the character and the work that is the most honorable.

As the propositions, 'It is day,' or 'It is night,' are of great value for the disjunctive argument, but of none in the conjunctive; so, at a feast, the propositions, 'It is good to eat of this dish,' are of great value for the enjoyment of the feast, but of none for the conduct of life.

The body is to everyone the proper measure of his possessions, as the foot is of the shoe. If, therefore, you stop at this, you will keep the measure; but if you move beyond it, you must necessarily be carried forward, as down a precipice.

When you are violently thirsty, take a little cold water into your mouth, and spit it out, and tell nobody.

It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgements concerning them.

I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I must be put in chains. Must I then also lament? I must go into exile. Does any man then hinder me from going with smiles and cheerfulness?

No great 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.

Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.

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

He is free who lives as he wishes to live; who is neither subject to compulsion nor to hindrance, nor to force; whose movements to action are not impeded, whose desires attain their purpose, and who does not fall into that which he would avoid.

If you wish to be a writer, write.

Some things depend on ourselves, and other things do not depend on ourselves. The things which are in our own power are conception, movement, desire, aversion.

Consider at what price you sell your own will: if for no other reason, that you may not sell it for a small sum.

Do you not know that a fine cock does not exist in isolation, but must have some pain, must fight, must be wounded? So it is with a man of virtue.

God has introduced man to be a spectator of himself and of his works, and not only a spectator, but also an interpreter of them.

You are a citizen of the world, and a part of it, not one of the subservient, but one of the principal parts. You are capable of comprehending the divine administration, and of considering the connection of things.

For this is a general rule: whatever we take pains to secure, that we naturally love. Does anyone take pains about things bad? By no means.

If we had understanding, ought we to do anything else, both jointly and severally, than to sing hymns and bless the deity, and tell of his benefits?

For to fall into error unwillingly is a man's misfortune. He who suffers pain, then, is not the sufferer of the injury, but the doer of it.

Every animal is so constituted that it flees from and turns from the things that appear harmful and the things that cause the harm.

'Difficulties are what show men's characters.' Therefore, when a difficulty falls upon you, remember that God, like a trainer of wrestlers, has matched you with a rough young man.

When a difficulty falls upon you, remember to turn to yourself and see what faculty you have for meeting it.

Why then do we call ourselves Stoics? Why do we deceive the many? Why do we act as if we were Jews, when we are Greeks?

Where does the good exist? — In the will. Where does evil exist? — In the will. Where does neither of them exist? — In the things which are independent of the will.

Every habit and faculty is maintained and increased by the corresponding actions: the habit of walking, by walking; the habit of running, by running.

There are three fields of study in which he who is to be good and worthy must be exercised: that of desires and aversions; that of impulses to act and not to act; that of assent.

In every affair consider what precedes and follows, and then undertake it. Otherwise you will begin with spirit indeed, careless of the consequences, and when these are developed, you will shamefully desist.

It is the act of an ill-instructed man to blame others for his own bad condition; it is the act of one who has begun to be instructed, to lay the blame on himself; and of one whose instruction is completed, neither to blame another, nor himself.

Every event has two handles — by one of which it can be borne, by the other not.

The universe is one, and God, who pervades all things, is one, and substance is one, and law is one, that is, the common reason of all intelligent animals, and truth is one.

Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire.

No one who is either in fear or in sorrow or in perturbation is free; but whoever is delivered from sorrows and fears and perturbations, he by the very same means is delivered also from slavery.

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

Only the educated are free.

If you wish to make Pythocles rich, do not give him more money, but diminish his desires.

If any one trusted your body to the first man who met you, you would be indignant; but you entrust your own mind to chance and to any one who happens to meet you, and allow it to be disturbed and put in confusion by the mere first word. Are you not ashamed of this?

It is not things that disturb us, but our judgments about things. Death, for example, is nothing terrible, or else it would have appeared so to Socrates. But the terror consists in our judgment about death.

If you are a philosopher, you will do what you do not like to do when reason requires it; if you are not a philosopher, you will do what you like to do, even if it is the worst of actions.

The condition and characteristic of an uninstructed person is, that he never expects from himself either benefit or harm, but from external things. The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is, that he expects all benefit and harm from himself.

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

Nothing is more shameful than that an old man should have nothing to show as the fruit of his life.

If you wish to be a philosopher, learn first to live conformably to nature; if you do that, you will know what you ask for. But first, you must be willing to be laughed at and called a slave by those who are called free men.

It is not possible for a man to be good if he has not learned what he ought to do. Knowledge is the beginning of virtue.

If any man is able to make me better than I am, either in knowledge, in virtue, or in disposition, I will follow him; for this is the only true contest of life.

When you have decided to live according to nature, you will no longer blame the gods or men. You will understand that all things happen as they must.

The wise man will not be troubled by the loss of children or friends. He knows that they are not his own, but only lent to him by nature.

It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death. He who has overcome this fear is free.

If a person gave your body to any stranger he met on his way, you would certainly be angry. And do you feel no shame in handing over your own mind to be confused and mystified by any one who happens to verbally attack you?

In the case of most men, when they are insulted, they are disturbed and troubled. But the philosopher, when he is insulted, examines whether he has deserved it; if he has, he corrects himself; if not, he smiles.

When you are going to any act, remind yourself what the act is. For if you are going to bathe, represent to yourself the things which usually happen in the bath: some persons splash the water, some push, some use abusive language, and others steal. And thus you will more securely go about the act, if you say to yourself, I am now going to bathe, and to keep my mind in a state conformable to nature.

If you would be good, first believe that you are bad. For no one who thinks himself in health takes care of his health.

There is no great thing which is created suddenly. 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.

The philosopher's school is a surgery. You are not to go out of it with pleasure, but with pain. For you are not in good health when you enter.

It is difficulties that show what men are. Therefore, when a difficulty falls upon you, remember that God, like a trainer of wrestlers, has matched you with a rough young man. For what purpose? That you may become an Olympic conqueror.

If you wish to be good, you must not only wish it, but also exercise yourself. For it is not enough to read and to hear; you must practice.

Who is the man who is in a state of happiness? It is the man who has good desires, good aversions, who is not disappointed in his desires, who does not fall into that which he wishes to avoid.

What is the first business of one who studies philosophy? To part with self-conceit. For it is impossible to begin to learn what we think we already know.

If you wish to be good, you must not only wish to be good, but also act. Every action is strengthened by repetition. You must form the habit.

The first and greatest task of the philosopher is to test the appearances and to discriminate between them, and never to admit any without a careful examination.

If you would have peace, give no man the power over your passions. For as soon as you desire or fear anything, you become a slave to him who can give or take it away.

Do not seek to have all things happen as you wish, but wish all things to happen as they do, and you will go on well.

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. This is the vice of the proud man, and it prevents all improvement.

The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have. The more we value what is in our control, the freer we become.

When you do anything, first ask yourself, Is this in accordance with my nature? Is it in accordance with the nature of the universe? Then do it, and never regret it.

You are not a body that has a soul. You are a soul that has a body. The body is an instrument, and the soul is the musician.

No man is free who is not master of himself. He who is not master of himself is in bondage to his passions and to fortune.

The good of a reasonable being is communion with God. All else is indifferent. Therefore, the philosopher makes nothing his own but his reason and virtue.

When you are going to do anything, remind yourself what the nature of the action is. If you are going to bathe, set before your mind the things that happen at the bath: some splash, some jostle, some revile, some steal. And you will more securely go about it, if you say, 'I will bathe, and I will keep my mind in a state conformable to nature.'

Of all the things that are, some are in our power, and some are not. In our power are opinion, desire, aversion, and in a word, whatever are our own acts. Not in our power are body, property, reputation, office, and in a word, whatever are not our own acts.

A man who is making progress studies to know how he can walk conformably to nature in every condition, whether he is prosperous or unfortunate, honored or dishonored.

The first thing which a philosopher should attend to is the care of his soul, for it is the ruling part. The second is the care of the body, as a servant of the soul.

When you have made the good your own, and the bad another's, there is no room for flattery or blame. You will be free and independent.

If you are told that such a one speaks ill of you, make no defense against what was said, but answer, 'He does not know the rest of my faults, or he would not have mentioned only these.'

In every act observe what comes before and what follows, and then proceed to the act. Otherwise, you will begin with spirit, but you will not finish with honor.

Do not wish for the death of any man, even if he is a wicked man. For he is not wicked of his own will, but because he is mistaken about what is good.

When you are about to undertake anything, consider the whole action, and see if it is consistent with your nature and with the nature of a rational being. Then do it, if it is so.

No man who is a lover of money, a lover of pleasure, or a lover of glory, is likewise a lover of mankind. He is a lover of himself, and his love is narrow and selfish.

If you would improve, submit to be considered foolish and stupid with respect to externals. Do not wish to be thought to know anything; and even if you appear to be somebody important to others, distrust yourself.

When a man is proud because he can understand and explain the writings of Chrysippus, say to yourself, 'If Chrysippus had not written obscurely, this man would have nothing to be proud of.'

It is the act of a generous man to bear a disappointment with equanimity. It is the act of a slave to be disturbed by it.

When you see a person weeping in sorrow, either when a child goes abroad or when he is dead, or when the man has lost his property, take care that the appearance does not hurry you away with it. But immediately make the distinction within yourself, and say, 'It is not the thing that distresses this man, but his judgment about it.'

If you would be a man of honor and trust, let your first concern be the ruling faculty within you. If that is well governed, all the rest will follow.

When a man is proud of being able to understand and explain the writings of Chrysippus, say to him, 'If Chrysippus had not written obscurely, you would have nothing to be proud of.' But what is it that you wish? To understand nature, and to follow her. Why then do you boast of what does not belong to you?

The first business of the philosopher is to test appearances and to discriminate between them. Do not accept any appearance without examination, for it may deceive you.

If you wish to live a life free from sorrow, consider nothing as your own that you cannot take with you when you die. Consider your children, your wife, your property, your body, as only lent to you.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. For in every act, observe what comes first and what follows, and then proceed to the act.

Has it not been made plain that we should not value the things that are not in our power, but only those that are? And the only things in our power are our judgments, impulses, desires, and aversions.

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

The wise man is not grieved by the loss of children or friends. For he knows that they are not his own, but only given to him by nature for a time. He is content to return them when the time comes.

Freedom is not the right to live as we please, but the right to live as we ought. He is free who is not compelled by any external thing, but is governed by reason and virtue.

The philosopher is not a person who reads many books and speaks fine words, but one who makes his words and actions agree. He is known by his life, not by his speech.

No man is free who is not master of himself. He is a slave to his passions, to his desires, to his fears, and to fortune.

The good man is invincible, for he does not enter into contests where he is not superior. If he is not strong enough to conquer an opponent, he will not enter into the contest.

God has entrusted to you your own faculty, and has made it your own. He has given you nothing else that is so much your own. Use it well, and you will be happy; neglect it, and you will be miserable.

When you have made the right the only good, and the wrong the only evil, what room is there for fear or anxiety? Nothing can harm you but your own wrongdoing.

Do not be proud of any excellence that is not your own. If the horse were proud and said, 'I am handsome,' it would be supportable. But when you are proud of your horse, your house, or your clothes, you are proud of what belongs to another.

The wise man is neither raised up by prosperity nor cast down by adversity. He is the same in all fortunes, because he has made virtue his only good.

If you wish to be good, you must first believe that you are not good. For no one who thinks himself wise will learn anything.

The first business of the philosopher is to test the appearances and to distinguish between them. What is good? What is evil? What is indifferent? Unless you know these, you cannot live well.

No man is free unless he is the master of his own actions. He who is compelled by another is not free; he who is compelled by his own passions is the most enslaved of all.

It is not the things that disturb us, but our opinions about them. Death, for instance, is not terrible, or else it would have appeared so to Socrates. The terror is in our judgment.

When you are going to undertake any action, remind yourself what kind of action it is. If you are going to bathe, represent to yourself the usual incidents of the bath: some persons splash, some push, some use abusive language, others steal. And thus you will more securely go about it, if you say, 'I will bathe, and I will keep my mind conformable to nature.'

The good man is not he who does not sin, but he who is able not to sin when he is tempted. He who has not been tempted does not know his own strength.

The wise man is not grieved by death, for he knows that he is not a body, but a soul. The soul is not harmed by the death of the body.

He who is not master of his passions is not free. He is dragged about by desire and fear, and is the slave of fortune.

The good man is content with his present circumstances, whatever they are. He does not desire change, because he knows that all things are ordered for the best.

Do not say that you have lost your property; say that you have returned it. Is your child dead? It has been returned. Is your wife dead? She has been returned.

The philosopher is not a person who is free from passions, but one who has his passions under control. The fool is governed by them; the wise man governs them.

When you are in company, observe what are the things that you are naturally inclined to talk about. Are they the things that concern the body, or those that concern the soul? If they concern the body, you are not yet a philosopher.

The materials of action are variable, but the use we make of them should be constant. It is not in our power to choose the events, but it is in our power to choose our attitude towards them.

A good man is not one who does not sin, but one who knows how to recover himself from sin.

The soul is dyed with the color of its thoughts. Think only on things that are good, and your soul will become good.

No man is free who is not master of his own body. He who is overcome by pleasure is a slave to pleasure.

The beginning of philosophy is the consciousness of our own weakness and inability in necessary things. We are not troubled by things, but by our opinions about things.

It is not possible to live happily if you live according to wrong opinions. The first thing, therefore, is to correct our opinions.

The philosopher is not he who has read many books and knows many theories, but he who has made his life conformable to his doctrines.

A ship ought not to be held by one anchor, nor life by a single hope. We should have many resources within ourselves.

The soul is dyed with the color of its thoughts. Think of nothing but what is good, and your soul will become good.

No man who is a lover of money, of pleasure, or of glory, is likewise a lover of mankind.

Where is the good? In the will. Where is the evil? In the will. Where is that which is neither good nor evil? In the things which are independent of the will.

No man is free, who is not master of himself.

Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.

If you wish to be a writer, write.

Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire.

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

Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you and be silent.

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

Only the educated are free.

No one can rob us of our free will.

Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself.

Man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them.

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

Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and thence proceed to greater.

Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig.

Any person capable of angering you becomes your master.

Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.

Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do.

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

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

Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better.

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

Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.

Silence is safer than speech.

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

Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars.

Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it.

Never depend on the admiration of others. There is no strength in it.

If you would be a reader, read; if a writer, write.

We must not believe the many, who say that only free people ought to be educated, but we should rather believe the philosophers who say that only the educated are free.

Some things are up to us, and some are not up to us. Up to us are opinion, choice, desire, aversion; and, in a word, whatever is our own doing.

Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinions about the things.

Do not seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go well.

Remember that you are an actor in a play, the character of which is determined by the playwright... play well the part assigned to you.

The will of nature may be learned from things upon which we are all agreed. As, when our neighbour's boy has broken a cup... so, when your own cup is broken, you ought to be affected just as when another's cup was broken.

Immediately prescribe some character and form of conduct to yourself, which you may keep both alone and in company.

Everything has two handles: one by which it may be borne, another by which it cannot.

The condition and characteristic of a vulgar person is that he never expects either benefit or hurt from himself, but from externals.

Whatever moral rules you have deliberately proposed to yourself, abide by them as they were laws, and as if you would be guilty of impiety by violating any of them.

The first and most necessary topic in philosophy is the practical application of principles, as, we ought not to lie; the second is the demonstration, as, why we ought not to lie; the third gives strength and articulation to the other two.

The essence of good and evil consists in an attitude of the will.

Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.

Only when we have really understood our sicknesses shall we begin to be healed.

You are a citizen of the universe, and a part of it, not one of the subservient parts.

No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig.

If I were a nightingale, I would do what is proper to a nightingale, and if I were a swan, what is proper to a swan.

Difficulties show a man's character.

The door is open; if you cannot bear the smoke, leave the room.

When we are hindered, or disturbed, or grieved, let us never blame others, but ourselves, that is, our own opinions.

In each thing which delights or is useful or beloved, remember to add what its nature is.

Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich.

Materials are indifferent, but the use we make of them is not indifferent.

You are a distinct portion of the essence of God, and contain a certain part of Him in yourself.

How is it possible that a man who has nothing, who is naked, homeless, without a hearth, squalid, without a slave, without a city, can pass a life that flows easily? See, God has sent you a man to show you that it is possible.

No man is free who is not master of himself.

Every habit and faculty is confirmed and increased by the corresponding actions.

Where the interest is, there is affection.

There are three topics in which the man who would be wise and good must be exercised: that which concerns desires and aversions, that which concerns pursuits and avoidances, and thirdly, the topic of freedom from deception.

Where the good is, there also is advantage.

Show me a man who though sick is happy, though in danger is happy, though dying is happy, though in exile is happy, though disgraced is happy.

Freedom is not achieved by satisfying desire, but by eliminating it.

If you would make progress, be content to be thought foolish and stupid with regard to external things.

'When a man is alone he is desolate' — but a man may be in a crowd and yet be desolate; and he may be alone and not be desolate.

In every affair consider what precedes and what follows, and then undertake it.

The condition of a philosopher: he expects all help or harm from himself.

Every event is an opportunity: shall you not use it well?

Look at me: I am without a home, without a city, without property, without a slave; I sleep on the ground; I have no wife, no children, no praetorium, but only the earth and heavens, and one poor cloak. And what do I want? Am I not without sorrow? Am I not without fear? Am I not free?