"Common and vulgar people ascribe all ills that they feel to others; people of little wisdom ascribe to themselves; people of much wisdom, to no one."
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Epictetus quotes (page 11 of 24)
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"Whoever then wishes to be free, let him neither wish for anything nor avoid anything which depends on others: if he does not observe this rule, he must be a slave."
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"To live a life of virtue, match up your thoughts, words, and deeds."
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"Have the wisdom to know what cannot be changed, and the strength to change what can."
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"Men are not troubled by things themselves, but by their thoughts about them"
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"Ask yourself, "How are my thoughts, words and deeds affecting my friends, my spouse, my neighbour, my child, my employer, my subordinates, my fellow citizens?""
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"First tell yourself what you want to be, then do what you need to do."
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"Living a good life leads to enduring happiness. Goodness in and of itself is the practice AND the reward."
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"Embrace reality. Think about what delights you - the small luxuries on which you depend, the people whom you cherish most. But remember that they have their own distinct character, which is quite a separate matter from how we happen to regard them."
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"Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but not to your ability to choose, unless that is your choice. Lameness is a hindrance to the leg, but not to your ability to choose. Say this to yourself with regard to everything that happens, then you will see such obstacles as hindrances to something else, but not to yourself."
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"It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death."
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"It is a mark of a mean capacity to spend much time on the things which concern the body, such as much exercise, much eating, much drinking, much easing of the body, much copulation. But these things should be done as subordinate things: and let all your care be directed to the mind."
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"Our duties naturally emerge form such fundamental relations as our families, neighborhoods, workplaces, our state or nation. Make it your regular habit to consider your roles-parent, child, neighbor, citizen, leader-and the natural duties that arise from them. Once you know who you are and to whom you are linked, you will know what to do."
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"The cause of all human evils is the not being able to apply general principles to special cases."
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"Is freedom anything else than the power of living as we choose? Nothing else. Tell me then, you men, do you wish to live in error? We do not. No one who lives in error is free. Do you wish to live in fear? Do you wish to live in sorrow? Do you wish to live in tension? By no means. No one who is in a state of fear or sorrow or tension is free, but whoever is delivered from sorrows or fears or anxieties, he is at the same time also delivered from servitude."
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"Pleasure, like a kind of bait, is thrown before everything which is really bad, and easily allures greedy souls to the hook of perdition."
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"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."
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"Exceed due measure, and the most delightful things become the least delightful."
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"If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend to its increase."
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"It is no easy thing for a principle to become a man's own unless each day he maintains it and works it out in his life."
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