Epictetus

• Epictetus

  Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.

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• Epictetus

  The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.

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• Epictetus

  Be the same person in public as in private.

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• Epictetus

  A boxer derives the greatest advantage from his sparring partner – and my accuser is my sparring partner. He trains me in patience, civility, and even temper.

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• Epictetus

  When you are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.

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• Epictetus

  Any person capable of angering you becomes your master. He can anger you only if you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.

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• Epictetus

  Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.

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• Epictetus

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

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• Epictetus

  Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one’s desires, but by the removal of desire.

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• Epictetus

  A companion’s crudeness is bound to rub off on the one he is with, no matter how refined that person may be.

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• Epictetus

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

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• Epictetus

  What is the product of virtue? Tranquility.

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• Epictetus

  Proper preparation for the future consists of forming good personal habits.

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• Epictetus

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

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• Epictetus

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

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• Epictetus

  No great thing is created suddenly.

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• Epictetus

  Prefer enduring satisfaction to immediate gratification.

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• Epictetus

  if you want something good, get it from yourself

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• Epictetus

  No one can steal your peace of mind unless you let them.

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• Epictetus

  It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

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• Epictetus

  If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend its increase.

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• Epictetus

  If you find yourself acting to impress others or avoiding action out of fear of what they might think, you have left the path.

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• Epictetus

  Follow your principles as though they were laws. Do not worry if others criticize or laugh at you, for their opinions are not your concern.

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• Epictetus

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

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• Epictetus

  Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.

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• Epictetus

  No person is free who is not master of himself.

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• Epictetus

  The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.

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• Epictetus

  books are the training weights of the mind

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• Epictetus

  if you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters

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• Epictetus

  do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly

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• Epictetus

  The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.

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• Epictetus

  We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then do not wish to have, or avoid, things that other people control because then you must serve as their slave.

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• Epictetus

  We should always be asking ourselves: “Is this something that is, or is not, in my control?’”

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• Epictetus

  If someone tried to take control of your body and make you a slave, you would fight for freedom. Yet, how easily you hand over your mind to anyone who insults you. When you dwell on their words and let them dominate your thoughts, you make them your master.

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