A passage from Epictetus
Epictetus, Discourses I.26
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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.
Related passages
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Of human life the time is a point, the substance flowing, the perception dull... The only thing that escorts a man on his way is philosophy.
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Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.
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Since it is possible that thou mayest depart from life this very moment, regulate every act and thought accordingly.