Epictetus
Epictetus
Epictetuswas a Greek-speaking Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia, and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in north-western Greece for the rest of his life. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses and Enchiridion...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionPhilosopher
art hate conceited
Does a man reproach thee for being proud or ill-natured, envious or conceited, ignorant or detracting? Consider with thyself whether his reproaches are true. If they are not, consider that thou art not the person whom he reproaches, but that he reviles an imaginary being, and perhaps loves what thou really art, though he hates what thou appearest to be.
fear poverty should
We must be afraid of neither poverty nor exile nor imprisonment; of fear itself only should we be afraid.
brother kindness two
Everything has two handles; the one soft and manageable, the other such as will not endure to be touched. If then your brother do you an injury, do not take it by the hot hard handle, by representing to yourself all the aggravating circumstances of the fact; but look rather on the soft side, and extenuate it as much as is possible, by considering the nearness of the relation, and the long friendship and familiarity between you--obligations to kindness which a single provocation ought not to dissolve. And thus you will take the accident by its manageable handle.
flower answers want
Nothing great is produced suddenly, since not even the grape or the fig is. If you say to me now that you want a fig, I will answer to you that it requires time: let it flower first, then put forth fruit, and then ripen.
men one-day each-day
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.
wise determination writing
Who exactly do you want to be? What kind of person do you want to be? What are your personal ideals? Whom do you admire? What are their special traits that you would make your own It's time to stop being vague. If you wish to be an extraordinary person, if you wish to become wise, then you should explicitly identify the kind of person you aspire to become. If you have a daybook, write down who you're trying to be, so that you can refer to this self-determination. Precisely describe the demeanor you want to adopt so that you may preserve it when you are by yourself or with other people.
play wells
What is yours is to play the assigned part well. But to choose it belongs to someone else
happiness troublesome
Happiness is an equivalent for all troublesome things.
god thinking breathe
Think of God oftener than you breathe.
adversity men ease
There are some things which men confess with ease, and others with difficulty.
men unendurable feels
But to be hanged is that not unendurable?" Even so, when a man feels that it is reasonable, he goes off and hangs himself.
friends adversity prosperity
In prosperity it is very easy to find a friend; but in adversity it is the most difficult of all things.
shapes reason disorder
Since it is Reason which shapes and regulates all other things, it ought not itself to be left in disorder.
thinking
Think of God more often than thou breathest.