"Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself."
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Epictetus quotes (page 8 of 24)
467 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"-….when things seem to have reached that stage, merely say “I won’t play any longer”, and take your departure; but if you stay, stop lamenting."
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"When we name things correctly, we comprehend them correctly, without adding information or judgements that aren't there. Does someone bathe quickly? Don't say be bathes poorly, but quickly. Name the situation as it is, don't filter it through your judgments. Give your assent only to that which is actually true."
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"You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at various prices. This is why, when Florus was deliberating whether he should appear at Nero's shows, taking part in the performance himself, Agrippinus replied, 'Appear by all means.' And when Florus inquired, 'But why do not you appear?' he answered, 'Because I do not even consider the question.'"
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"If you see anybody wail and complain, call him a slave, though he be clad in purple."
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"Seek not good from without; seek it within yourselves, or you will never find it."
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"When we act pugnaciously, and injuriously, and angrily, and rudely, to what level have we degenerated? To the level of the wild beasts. Well, the fact is that some of us are wild beasts of a larger size, while others are little animals, malignant and petty."
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"Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you and be silent."
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"He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk."
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"The universe is but one great city, full of beloved ones, divine and human, by nature endeared to each other."
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"Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him."
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"Don’t consent to be hurt and you won’t be hurt – this is a choice over which you have control"
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"Events do not just happen, but arrive by appointment."
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"To make anything a habit, do it; to not make it a habit, do not do it; to unmake a habit, do something else in place of it."
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"Lampis the ship owner, on being asked how he acquired his great wealth, replied, My great wealth was acquired with no difficulty, but my small wealth, my first gains, with much labor."
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"At every occasion in your life, do not forget to commune with yourself and ask of yourself how you can profit by it."
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"By accepting life's limits and inevitabilities and working with them rather than fighting them, we become free."
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"If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means, and if you find truth you will become invincible."
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"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. For remember that in this manner Socrates also universally avoided all ostentation."
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"No great thing is created suddenly."
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