"If what charms you is nothing but abstract principles, sit down and turn them over quietly in your mind: but never dub yourself a Philosopher."
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Quote collection
Epictetus quotes (page 19 of 24)
467 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"Give me by all means the shorter and nobler life, instead of one that is longer but of less account!"
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"Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own"
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"In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles."
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"It were no slight attainment could we merely fulfil what the nature of man implies."
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"When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they do not see how they can get rid of it. Nevertheless, both arrive; and the gods have ordered it so, in the end men seek it from the gods"
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"With ills unending strives the putter off."
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"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 had nothing to be proud of.'"
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"Men are not afraid of things, but of how they view them."
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"Appear to know only this--never to fail nor fall."
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"Confident because of our caution"
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"Ask yourself: Does this appearance (of events) concern the things that are within my own control or those that are not? If it concerns anything outside your control, train yourself not to worry about it."
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"Things themselves don't hurt or hinder us. Things simply are what they are. How we view these things is another matter.People think what they will think; it is of no concern to us."
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"As it is pleasant to see the sea from the land, so it is pleasant for him who has escaped from troubles to think of them."
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"Even as the Sun doth not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, but shines forth and is welcomed by all: so thou also wait not for clapping of hands and shouts and praise to do thy duty; nay, do good of thine own accord, and thou wilt be loved like the Sun."
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"If what the philosophers say be true, that all men's actions proceed from one source; that as they assent from a persuasion that a thing is so, and dissent from a persuasion that it is not, and suspend their judgment from a persuasion that it is uncertain, so likewise they seek a thing from a persuasion that it is for their advantage."
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"Inner peace begins when we stop saying of things, 'I have lost it' and instead say, 'It has been returned to where it came from.' Why should it be any concern of yours who gives your things back to the world that gave them to you? The important thing is to take great care with what you have while the world lets you have it."
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"In every affair consider what precedes and what follows, and then undertake it"
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"Two principles we should always have ready — that there is nothing good or evil save in the will; and that we are not to lead events, but to follow them."
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"It is impossible that happiness, and yearning for what is not present, should ever be united."
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