In a world that can often feel chaotic and overwhelming, the wisdom of ancient philosophers can offer a much-needed anchor to help us navigate life’s ups and downs. One such sage was Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher who lived in ancient Greece.
With his emphasis on self-mastery, gratitude, and simplicity, Epictetus offers a refreshing perspective on what it means to live a good life.
In this article, we will explore some of the most memorable Epictetus quotes and how they can help us cultivate greater wisdom and inner peace.
Whether you’re looking for guidance on how to handle life’s challenges, or simply seeking inspiration to live a more meaningful existence, quotes by Epictetus offer great wisdom that can help guide us on our journey.
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Brief Introduction of Epictetus:
Epictetus was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived from around 50-135 AD. Epictetus is best known for his teachings on Stoicism, which emphasize the importance of self-mastery, inner calm, and living a simple life. His philosophy stresses the idea that we cannot control external events, but we can control our reactions to them.
Here are a few interesting facts about Epictetus:
- Epictetus was born in Hierapolis, a city in ancient Phrygia, which is now modern-day Turkey. He was born into slavery and served as a slave in Rome until he was freed by his master.
- Epictetus never wrote down his teachings, but instead, his student Arrian recorded them in a book called “Discourses.”
- One of his most famous students was the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who was also a practitioner of Stoicism.
- Despite his disability (Epictetus had a limp due to a leg injury), he was known for his endurance and resilience.
- His philosophy had a significant influence on other great thinkers, including Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Michel de Montaigne.
Most Famous Epictetus Quotes
It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not but rejoices for those which he has.
No man is free who is not master of himself.
He who would be wise must not be wise in his own eyes.
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, and whose presence calls forth your best.
It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.
If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, “He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone.
A ship should not ride on a single anchor, nor live on a single hope.
Who is your master? Anyone who has control over things upon which you’ve set your heart, or over things which you seek to avoid.
Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things that are beyond the power or our will.
A flourishing life cannot be achieved until we moderate our desires and see how superficial and fleeting they are.
You are not your body and hairstyle, but your capacity for choosing well. If your choices are beautiful, so too will you be.
First, say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself.
We are not privy to the stories behind people’s actions, so we should be patient with others and suspend judgment of them, recognizing the limits of our understanding.
Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.
In prosperity, it is very easy to find a friend, but in adversity, it is the most difficult of all things.
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.
Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness.
Deliberate much before saying or doing anything, for you will not have the power of recalling what is said or done.
Don’t seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and all will be well with you.
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, and whose presence calls forth your best.
Do not try to seem wise to others.
Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.
Inspirational Epictetus Quotes to Live by
He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at.
If evil be said of thee, and if it is true, correct thyself; if it is a lie, laugh at it.
It isn’t the events themselves that disturb people, but only their judgments about them.
Seek not the good in external things; seek it in yourselves.
Other people’s views and troubles can be contagious. Don’t sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others.
God has entrusted me with me. No man is free who is not master of himself. A man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things. The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.
To make the best of what is in our power, and take the rest as it occurs.
To accuse others of one’s own misfortune is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one’s education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others show that one’s education is complete.
Other people’s views and troubles can be contagious. Don’t sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others.
We are not disturbed by what happens to us but by our thoughts about what happens to us.
I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not know who I am, they do not know what I think, and they cannot even touch the things which are really mine and with which I live.
Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.
Authentic happiness is always independent of external conditions.
People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.
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.
Don’t seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and all will be well with you.
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.
Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do. Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you.
When your thoughts, words, and deeds form a seamless fabric, you streamline your efforts and thus eliminate worry and dread.
If you would be a reader, read; if a writer, write.
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you and be silent.
Getting distracted by trifles is the easiest thing in the world… Focus on your main duty.
It’s time to stop being vague. If you wish to be an extraordinary person, if you wish to be wise, then you should explicitly identify the kind of person you aspire to become.
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
A half-hearted spirit has no power. Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Average people enter into their endeavors headlong and without care.
Epictetus Quotes on Life, Death and Love
People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.
Keep the prospect of death, exile and all such apparent tragedies before you every day – especially death – and you will never have an abject thought, or desire for anything to excess.
Those who are well constituted in the body endure both heat and cold: and so those who are well constituted in the soul endure both anger and grief and excessive joy and the other effects.
Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.
Be careful whom you associate with. It is human to imitate the habits of those with whom we interact. We inadvertently adopt their interests, their opinions, their values, and their habit of interpreting events.
Never say that I have taken it, only that I have given it back.
Everyone’s life is a warfare, and that long and various.
Crows pick out the eyes of the dead when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the living, and her eyes they blind.
What concerns me is not the way things are, but the way people think things are.
If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother.
Do not get too attached to life for it is like a sailor’s leave on the shore and at any time, the captain may sound the horn, calling you back to eternal darkness.
No one is ever unhappy because of someone else.
What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance.
In banquets remember that you entertain two guests, body and soul: and whatever you shall have given to the body you soon eject: but what you shall have given to the soul, you keep always.
It is better to do wrong seldom and to own it, and to act right for the most part than seldom to admit that you have done wrong and to do wrong often.
Don’t live by your own rules but in harmony with nature.
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.
Epictetus FAQs:
What is a famous quote by Epictetus?
It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
What is the golden rule of Epictetus?
Epictetus’ golden rule is known as the “Stoic version” of the Golden Rule, which states: “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.”
What are the morals of Epictetus?
Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher who emphasized the importance of self-discipline, inner strength, and rationality. His teachings were centered around the idea of living in harmony with nature and accepting what cannot be changed, while also striving to improve oneself and one’s community.
What religion is Epictetus?
Epictetus was not affiliated with any particular religion, but his teachings were influenced by the philosophy of Stoicism, which emphasized self-control, reason, and the natural order of the universe.
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