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
life stupid silly
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.
inspirational beauty being-yourself
Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.
life attitude accepting
When something happens, the only thing in your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it.
life asking good-person
What is a good person? One who achieves tranquillity by having formed the habit of asking on every occasion, "what is the right thing to do now?"
anchors ships should
A ship should not be held by a single anchor; neither should life depend upon a single hope.
philosophical believe desire
If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.
philosophy men novices
A vulgar man, in any ill that happens to him, blames others; a novice in philosophy blames himself; and a philosopher blames neither, the one nor the other.
religious bears poor
You bear God within you, poor wretch, and know it not.
taken giving attention
When we blather about trivial things, we ourselves become trivial, for our attention gets taken up with trivialities. You become what you give your attention to.
philosophical silence quiet
Keep silence for the most part, and speak only when you must, and then briefly.
fall pay worship
To pay homage to beauty is to admire Nature; to admire Nature is to worship God
silence few-words silence-is
Let silence be your general rule; or say only what is necessary and in few words.
joy secret ifs
You can be happy if you know this secret: Some things are within your power to control and some things are not.
mistake book thinking
Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person. Books are the training weights of the mind. They are very helpful, but it would be a bad mistake to suppose that one has made progress simply by having internalized their contents." Translation by Sharon Lebell