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Dare To Look Up To God And Say, Deal With Me In The Future As Thou Wilt; I Am Of The Same Mind As Thou Art; I Am Thine; I Refuse Nothing That Pleases Thee; Lead Me Where Thou Wilt; Clothe Me In Any Dress Thou Choosest.

-Epictetus

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Dare To Look Up

Epictetus

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Dare To Look Up To God And Say, Deal With Me In The Future As Thou Wilt; I Am Of The Same Mind As Thou Art; I Am Thine; I Refuse Nothing That Pleases Thee; Lead Me Where Thou Wilt; Clothe Me In Any Dress Thou Choosest.

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The Essence Of Philosophy Is That A Man Should So Live That His Happiness Shall Depend As Little As Possible On External Things.

Now Is The Time To Get Serious About Living Your Ideals. Once You Have Determined The Spiritual Principles You Wish To Exemplify, Abide By These Rules As If They Were Laws, As If It Were Indeed Sinful To Compromise Them. Don't Mind If Others Don't Share Your Convictions. How Long Can You Afford To Put Off Who You Really Want To Be? Your Nobler Self Cannot Wait Any Longer.

He Who Is Not Happy With Little Will Never Be Happy With Much.

You May Fetter My Leg, But Zeus Himself Cannot Get The Better Of My Free Will.

The Origin Of Sorrow Is This: To Wish For Something That Does Not Come To Pass.

Why, Do You Not Know, Then, That The Origin Of All Human Evils, And Of Baseness, And Cowardice, Is Not Death, But Rather The Fear Of Death?

What Concerns Me Is Not The Way Things Are, But Rather The Way People Think Things Are.

Embrace Reality. Think About What Delights You - The Small Luxuries On Which You Depend, The People Whom You Cherish Most. But Remember That They Have Their Own Distinct Character, Which Is Quite A Separate Matter From How We Happen To Regard Them.

The Key Is To Keep Company Only With People Who Uplift You, Whose Presence Calls Forth Your Best.

Freedom Is Not Procured By A Full Enjoyment Of What Is Desired, But By Controlling The Desire.

Other People's Views And Troubles Can Be Contagious. Don't Sabotage Yourself By Unwittingly Adopting Negative, Unproductive Attitudes Through Your Associations With Others.

You Are A Little Soul Carrying Around A Corpse.

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

Sickness Is A Hindrance To The Body, But Not To Your Ability To Choose, Unless That Is Your Choice. Lameness Is A Hindrance To The Leg, But Not To Your Ability To Choose. Say This To Yourself With Regard To Everything That Happens, Then You Will See Such Obstacles As Hindrances To Something Else, But Not To Yourself.

It Is Your Own Convictions Which Compels You; That Is, Choice Compels Choice.

God Has Made All Men To Be Happy.

The Flourishing Life Cannot Be Achieved Until We Moderate Our Desires And See How Superficial And Fleeting They Are.

Don't Be Concerned Who Is Watching You. The Triumphs And Merits Of Others Belong To Them - As Do Yours To You. Make The Most Of What You've Got.

Never In Any Case Say I Have Lost Such A Thing, But I Have Returned It. Is Your Child Dead? It Is A Return. Is Your Wife Dead? It Is A Return. Are You Deprived Of Your Estate? Is Not This Also A Return?

Happiness Is An Equivalent For All Troublesome Things.

Is Freedom Anything Else Than The Power Of Living As We Choose? Nothing Else. Tell Me Then, You Men, Do You Wish To Live In Error? We Do Not. No One Who Lives In Error Is Free. Do You Wish To Live In Fear? Do You Wish To Live In Sorrow? Do You Wish To Live In Tension? By No Means. No One Who Is In A State Of Fear Or Sorrow Or Tension Is Free, But Whoever Is Delivered From Sorrows Or Fears Or Anxieties, He Is At The Same Time Also Delivered From Servitude.

As A Man, Casting Off Worn Out Garments Taketh New Ones, So The Dweller In The Body, Entereth Into Ones That Are New.

Never Say Of Anything I Have Lost It, Only Say That I Have Given It Back.

He Is A Drunkard Who Takes More Than Three Glasses Though He Be Not Drunk.

The World Turns Aside To Let Any Man Pass Who Knows Where He Is Going.

We Must Be Afraid Of Neither Poverty Nor Exile Nor Imprisonment; Of Fear Itself Only Should We Be Afraid.

Events Do Not Just Happen, But Arrive By Appointment.

We Are Not To Lead Events, But To Follow Them.

From This Instant On, Vow To Stop Disappointing Yourself. Separate Yourself From The Mob. Decide To Be Extraordinary And Do What You Need To Do -- Now.

Happiness And Freedom Begin With A Clear Understanding Of One Principle: Some Things Are Within Our Control, And Some Things Are Not. It Is Only After You Have Faced Up To This Fundamental Rule And Learned To Distinguish Between What You Can And Can't Control That Inner Tranquility And Outer Effectiveness Become Possible.

Who Is Not Attracted By Bright And Pleasant Children, To Prattle, To Creep, And To Play With Them?

He Is Free Who Lives As He Wishes To Live; Who Is Neither Subject To Compulsion Nor To Hindrance, Nor To Force; Whose Movements To Action Are Not Impeded, Whose Desires Attain Their Purpose, And Who Does Not Fall Into That Which He Would Avoid.

It Is Impossible To Begin To Learn That Which One Thinks One Already Knows.

When Any Person Treats You Ill Or Speaks Ill Of You, Remember That He Does This Or Says This Because He Thinks It Is His Duty. It Is Not Possible, Then, For Him To Follow That Which Seems Right To You, But That Which Seems Right To Himself.

Some Things Are Up To Us [eph' Hêmin] And Some Things Are Not Up To Us. Our Opinions Are Up To Us, And Our Impulses, Desires, Aversions–in Short, Whatever Is Our Own Doing. Our Bodies Are Not Up To Us, Nor Are Our Possessions, Our Reputations, Or Our Public Offices, Or, That Is, Whatever Is Not Our Own Doing.

A Ship Should Not Be Held By A Single Anchor; Neither Should Life Depend Upon A Single Hope.

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?"

If You Would Cure Anger, Do Not Feed It. Say To Yourself: 'i Used To Be Angry Every Day; Then Every Other Day; Now Only Every Third Or Fourth Day.' When You Reach Thirty Days Offer A Sacrifice Of Thanksgiving To The Gods.

All Human Beings Seek The Happy Life, But Many Confuse The Means - For Example, Wealth And Status - With That Life Itself. This Misguided Focus On The Means To A Good Life Makes People Get Further From The Happy Life. The Really Worthwhile Things Are The Virtuous Activities That Make Up The Happy Life, Not The External Means That May Seem To Produce It.

No One Who Is In A State Of Fear Or Sorrow Or Tension Is Free, But Whosoever Is Delivered From Sorrows Or Fears Or Anxieties Is At The Same Time Delivered From Servitude.

Do Not Seek To Bring Things To Pass In Accordance With Your Wishes, But Wish For Them As They Are, And You Will Find Them.

Wisdom Means Understanding Without Any Doubt That Circumstances Do Not Rise To Meet Our Expectations. Events Happen As They May. People Behave As They Will.

Whatever You Would Make Habitual, Practice It; And If You Would Not Make A Thing Habitual, Do Not Practice It, But Accustom Yourself To Something Else.

Even As The Sun Doth Not Wait For Prayers And Incantations To Rise, But Shines Forth And Is Welcomed By All: So Thou Also Wait Not For Clapping Of Hands And Shouts And Praise To Do Thy Duty; Nay, Do Good Of Thine Own Accord, And Thou Wilt Be Loved Like The Sun.

At This Time Is Freedom Anything But The Right To Live As We Wish? Nothing Else.

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.

Ask Yourself, "how Are My Thoughts, Words And Deeds Affecting My Friends, My Spouse, My Neighbour, My Child, My Employer, My Subordinates, My Fellow Citizens?"

What Matters Most Is What Sort Of Person You Are Becoming. Wise Individuals Care Only About Whom They Are Today And Who They Can Be Tomorrow.

Let Thy Speech Of God Be Renewed Day By Day, Aye, Rather Than Thy Meat And Drink.

If Thou Rememberest That God Standeth By To Behold And Visit All That Thou Doest; Whether In The Body Or In The Soul, Thou Surely Wilt Not Err In Any Prayer Or Deed; And Thou Shalt Have God To Dwell With Thee.

What Is Death? A Scary Mask. Take It Off-see, It Doesn't Bite.

Nothing Truly Stops You. Nothing Truly Holds You Back. For Your Own Will Is Always Within Your Control. Sickness May Challenge Your Body. But Are You Merely Your Body? Lameness May Impede Your Legs. But You Are Not Merely Your Legs. Your Will Is Bigger Than Your Legs. Your Will Needn't Be Affected By An Incident Unless You Let It.

What Is The First Business Of One Who Practices Philosophy? To Get Rid Of Self-conceit. For It Is Impossible For Anyone To Begin To Learn That Which He Thinks He Already Knows.

Fortune Is An Evil Chain To The Body, And Vice To The Soul.

It Is My Business, To Manage Carefully And Dexterously Whatever Happens

Whatever Happens

It Doesn't Take Much To Lose Everything, Just A Little Departure From Reason

Whoever Is Going To Listen To The Philosophers Needs A Considerable Practice In Listening.

If We Are Not Stupid Or Insincere When We Say That The Good Or Ill Of Man Lies Within His Own Will, And That All Beside Is Nothing To Us, Why Are We Still Troubled?

Liars Are The Cause Of All The Sins And Crimes In The World.

Don't Be Concerned With Other People's Impressions Of You. They Are Dazzled And Deluded By Appearances. Stick With Your Purpose. This Alone Will Strengthen Your Will And Give Your Life Coherence.

Seek Not Good From Without; Seek It Within Yourselves, Or You Will Never Find It.

Do Not Give Sentence In Another Tribunal Till You Have Been Yourself Judged In The Tribunal Of Justice.

It's Not What Happens To You, But How You React To It That Matters.

Let Silence Be Your General Rule; Or Say Only What Is Necessary And In Few Words.

Were I A Nightingale, I Would Act The Part Of A Nightingale; Were I A Swan, The Part Of A Swan.

Appearances To The Mind Are Of Four Kinds. Things Either Are What They Appear To Be; Or They Neither Are, Nor Appear To Be; Or They Are, And Do Not Appear To Be; Or They Are Not, And Yet Appear To Be. Rightly To Aim In All These Cases Is The Wise Man's Task.

There Is Nothing Good Or Evil Save In The Will.

If Anyone Should Tell You That A Particular Person Has Spoken Critically Of You, Don't Bother With Excuses Or Defenses. Just Smile And Reply, "i Guess That Person Doesn't Know About All My Other Faults. Otherwise, He Wouldn't Have Mentioned Only These."

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.

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.

The Good Or Ill Of A Man Lies Within His Own Will.

Neither Should A Ship Rely On One Small Anchor, Nor Should Life Rest On A Single Hope.

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.

There Are Some Things Which Men Confess With Ease, And Others With Difficulty.

What Disturbs People, These Are Not Things, But The Judgments Relating To Things

It Is Wicked To Withdraw From Being Useful To The Needy, And Cowardly To Give Way To The Worthless.

Nothing Is In Reality Either Pleasant Or Unpleasant By Nature But All Things Become So Through Habit

One That Desires To Excel Should Endeavor In Those Things That Are In Themselves Most Excellent.

People Are Not Disturbed By Things, But By The View They Take Of Them.

These Reasonings Are Unconnected: "i Am Richer Than You, Therefore I Am Better"; "i Am More Eloquent Than You, Therefore I Am Better." The Connection Is Rather This: "i Am Richer Than You, Therefore My Property Is Greater Than Yours;" "i Am More Eloquent Than You, Therefore My Style Is Better Than Yours." But You, After All, Are Neither Property Nor Style.

When Therefore We Are Hindered, Or Disturbed, Or Grieved, Let Us Never Attribute It To Others, But To Ourselves; That Is, To Our Own Principles. An Uninstructed Person Will Lay The Fault Of His Own Bad Condition Upon Others. Someone Just Starting Instruction Will Lay The Fault On Himself. Some Who Is Perfectly Instructed Will Place Blame Neither On Others Nor On Himself.

The Wise Realize That Some Things Are Within Their Control, And Most Things Are Not. They Learn Early On To Distinguish Between What They Can And Can't Regulate.

You Can Be Invincible, If You Enter Into No Contest In Which It Is Not In Your Power To Conquer.

Reason Is Not Measured By Size Or Height, But By Principle.

Nothing Great Is Created Suddenly, Any More Than A Bunch Of Grapes Or A Fig.

Greek Philosopher

Ruin And Recovering Are Both From Within.

To Accuse Others For One's Own Misfortunes Is A Sign Of Want Of Education. To Accuse Oneself Shows That One's Education Has Begun. To Accuse Neither Oneself Nor Others Shows That One's Education Is Complete.

A Half-hearted Spirit Has No Power. Tentative Efforts Lead To Tentative Outcomes. Average People Enter Into Their Endeavors Headlong And Without Care.

Things True And Evident Must Of Necessity Be Recognized By Those Who Would Contradict Them.

You Become What You Give Your Attention To...if You Yourself Don't Choose What Thoughts And Images You Expose Yourself To, Someone Else Will, And Their Motives May Not Be The Highest.

There Is Only One Thing For Which God Has Sent Me Into The World, And That Is To Develop Every Kind Of Virtue Or Strength, And There Is Nothing In All The World That I Cannot Use For This Purpose.

Man Is Not Worried By Real Problems So Much As By His Imagined Anxieties About Real Problems

Although We Can't Control Which Roles Are Assigned To Us, It Must Be Our Business To Act Our Given Role As Best We Possibly Can And To Refrain From Complaining About It. Where Ever You Find Yourself And In Whatever Circumstances, Give An Impeccable Performance.

Finding Yourself

Think Of God Oftener Than You Breathe.

It Is Better By Assenting To Truth To Conquer Opinion, Than By Assenting To Opinion To Be Conquered By Truth.

What Else Can I Do, A Lame Old Man, But Sing Hymns To God? If I Were A Nightingale, I Would Do The Nightingale's Part; If I Were A Swan, I Would Do As A Swan. But Now I Am A Rational Creature, And I Ought To Praise God. This Is My Work. I Do It, Nor Will I Desert My Post, So Long As I Am Allowed To Keep It. And I Ask You To Join Me In This Same Song.

At Every Occasion In Your Life, Do Not Forget To Commune With Yourself And Ask Of Yourself How You Can Profit By It.

As You Think, So You Become.....our Busy Minds Are Forever Jumping To Conclusions, Manufacturing And Interpreting Signs That Aren't There.

Seek Not That The Things Which Happen Should Happen As You Wish; But Wish The Things Which Happen To Be As They Are, And You Will Have A Tranquil Flow Of Life.

It Is Not So Much What Happens To You As How You Think About What Happens." Epictetus

To Be Getting An Education Means This: To Be Learning What Is Your Own, And What Is Not Your Own.

Of Pleasures, Those Which Occur Most Rarely Give The Most Delight.

Remember That You Are But An Actor, Acting Whatever Part The Master Has Ordained. It May Be Short Or It May Be Long. If He Wishes You To Represent A Poor Man, Do So Heartily; If A Cripple, Or A Magistrate, Or A Private Man, In Each Case Act Your Part With Honor.

Don't Demand Or Expect That Events Happen As You Would Wish Them Do. Accept Events As They Actually Happen. That Way, Peace Is Possible.

Desire And Happiness Cannot Live Together.

What Thou Avoidest Suffering Thyself Seek Not To Impose On Others.

We Are Not Disturbed By What Happens To Us, But By Our Thoughts About What Happens To Us.

You Are But An Appearance, And Not Absolutely The Thing You Appear To Be.

A Thing Either Is What It Appears To Be; Or It Is Not, But Yet Appears To Be; Or It Is, But Does Not Appear To Be; Or It Is Not, And Does Not Appear To Be.

Bear In Mind That You Should Conduct Yourself In Life As At A Feast.

Freedom Is Secured Not By The Fulfillment Of One's Desires, But By The Removal Of Desire.

Your Master Is He Who Controls That On Which You Have Set Your Heart Or Wish To Avoid.

Things Themselves Don't Hurt Or Hinder Us. Things Simply Are What They Are. How We View These Things Is Another Matter.people Think What They Will Think; It Is Of No Concern To Us.

We Should Not Have Either A Blunt Knife Or A Freedom Of Speech Which Is Ill-managed.

Freedom Of Speech

Act Your Part With Honor.

If Someone Speaks Badly Of You, Do Not Defend Yourself Against The Accusations, But Reply; "you Obviously Don't Know About My Other Vices, Otherwise You Would Have Mentioned These As Well

If What The Philosophers Say Be True, That All Men's Actions Proceed From One Source; That As They Assent From A Persuasion That A Thing Is So, And Dissent From A Persuasion That It Is Not, And Suspend Their Judgment From A Persuasion That It Is Uncertain, So Likewise They Seek A Thing From A Persuasion That It Is For Their Advantage.

Living A Good Life Leads To Enduring Happiness. Goodness In And Of Itself Is The Practice And The Reward.

Do Not So Much Be Ashamed Of That Disgrace Which Proceeds From Men's Opinion As Fly From That Which Comes From The Truth.

What Disturbs And Alarms Man Are Not The Things, But His Opinions And Fancies About The Things.

Wherever I Go It Will Be Well With Me, For It Was Well With Me Here, Not On Account Of The Place, But Of My Judgments Which I Shall Carry Away With Me, For No One Can Deprive Me Of These; On The Contrary, They Alone Are My Property, And Cannot Be Taken Away, And To Possess Them Suffices Me Wherever I Am Or Whatever I Do.

Men Are Disturbed Not By The Things That Happen, But By Their Opinion Of The Things That Happen.

He Who Laughs At Himself Never Runs Out Of Things To Laugh At.

When Something Happens, The Only Thing In Your Power Is Your Attitude Toward It; You Can Either Accept It Or Resent It.

It Is Difficulties That Show What Men Are. For The Future, In Case Of Any Difficulty, Remember That God, Like A Gymnastic Trainer, Has Pitted You Against A Rough Antagonist. For What End? That You May Be An Olympic Conqueror; And This Cannot Be Without Toil.

In Prosperity It Is Very Easy To Find A Friend; But In Adversity It Is The Most Difficult Of All Things.

Freedom And Happiness Are Won By Disregarding Things That Lie Beyond Our Control.

Freedom And Happiness

Do Not Try To Seem Wise To Others.

No Living Being Is Held By Anything So Strongly As Its Own Needs.

It Is The Part Of An Uneducated Person To Blame Others Where He Himself Fares Ill; To Blame Himself Is The Part Of One Whose Education Has Begun; To Blame Neither Another Nor His Own Self Is The Part Of One Whose Education Is Already Complete.

Do Not Laugh Much Or Often Or Unrestrainedly.

Fortify Yourself With Contentment, For This Is An Impregnable Fortress.

Make It Your Business To Draw Out The Best In Others By Being An Exemplar Yourself.

Make The Best Use Of What Is In Your Power, And Take The Rest As It Happens.

When Your Thoughts, Words, And Deeds Form A Seamless Fabric, You Streamline Your Efforts And Thus Eliminate Worry And Dread.

We Are Not To Give Credit To The Many, Who Say That None Ought To Be Educated But The Free; But Rather To The Philosophers, Who Say That The Well-educated Alone Are Free.

Bid A Singer In A Chorus, Know Thyself; And Will He Not Turn For The Knowledge To The Others, His Fellows In The Chorus, And To His Harmony With Them?

Have The Wisdom To Know What Cannot Be Changed, And The Strength To Change What Can.

If You Wish To Write, Write.

The Soul Is Unwillingly Deprived Of Truth.

First Say To Yourself What You Would Be; And Then Do What You Have To Do.

If You See Anybody Wail And Complain, Call Him A Slave, Though He Be Clad In Purple.

If Thy Brother Wrongs Thee, Remember Not So Much His Wrong-doing, But More Than Ever That He Is Thy Brother.

Difficulty Shows What Men Are. Therefore When A Difficulty Falls Upon You, Remember That God, Like A Trainer Of Wrestlers, Has Matched You With A Rough Young Man. Why? So That You May Become An Olympic Conqueror; But It Is Not Accomplished Without Sweat.

Think Of God More Often Than Thou Breathest.

Imagine For Yourself A Character, A Model Personality, Whose Example You Determine To Follow, In Private As Well As In Public.

Follow Your Heart

Any One Thing In The Creation Is Sufficient To Demonstrate A Providence To A Humble And Grateful Mind.

Avoid Banquets Which Are Given By Strangers An Ignorant Persons. But If There Is Ever Occasion To Join Them, Let Your Attention Be Carefully Fixed, That You Slip Not Into The Manner Of The Vulgar (the Uninstructed).

The People Have A Right To The Truth As They Have A Right To Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness.

Every Difficulty In Life Presents Us With An Opportunity To Turn Inward And To Invoke Our Own Submerged Inner Resources. The Trials We Endure Can And Should Introduce Us To Our Strengths.

Each Man's Life Is A Kind Of Campaign, And A Long And Complicated One At That. You Have To Maintain The Character Of A Soldier, And Do Each Separate Act At The Bidding Of The General.

The Two Powers Which In My Opinion Constitute A Wise Man Are Those Of Bearing And Forbearing.

If You Want To Improve, Be Content To Be Thought Foolish And Stupid.

It Is Unreasonable To Think We Can Earn Rewards Without Being Willing To Pay Their True Price. It Is Always Our Choice Whether Or Not We Wish To Pay The Price For Life's Rewards.

To Live A Life Of Virtue, You Have To Become Consistent, Even When It Isn't Convenient, Comfortable, Or Easy.

Happiness And Freedom Begin With A Clear Understanding Of One Principle: Some Things Are Within Our Control, And Some Things Are Not.

These Are The Signs Of A Wise Man: To Reprove Nobody, To Praise Nobody, To Blame Nobody, Nor Even To Speak Of Himself Or His Own Merits.

If You Do Not Wish To Be Prone To Anger, Do Not Feed The Habit; Give It Nothing Which May Tend To Its Increase. At First, Keep Quiet And Count The Days When You Were Not Angry: "i Used To Be Angry Every Day, Then Every Other Day: Next, Every Two, Then Every Three Days!" And If You Succeed In Passing Thirty Days, Sacrifice To The Gods In Thanksgiving.

Inner Peace Begins When We Stop Saying Of Things, 'i Have Lost It' And Instead Say, 'it Has Been Returned To Where It Came From.' Why Should It Be Any Concern Of Yours Who Gives Your Things Back To The World That Gave Them To You? The Important Thing Is To Take Great Care With What You Have While The World Lets You Have It.

Asked, Who Is The Rich Man? Epictetus Replied, �he Who Is Content.

Some Things Are In Our Control And Others Not. Things In Our Control Are Opinion, Pursuit, Desire, Aversion, And, In A Word, Whatever Are Our Own Actions. Things Not In Our Control Are Body, Property, Reputation, Command, And, In One Word, Whatever Are Not Our Own Actions.

Wherever Any One Is Against His Will, That Is To Him A Prison.

Never Look For Your Work In One Place And Your Progress In Another.

It Is Not My Place In Society That Makes Me Well Off, But My Judgements, And These I Can Carry With Me... These Alone Are My Own And Cannot Be Taken Away.

What Is It To Be A Philosopher? Is It Not To Be Prepared Against Events?

We Tell Lies, Yet It Is Easy To Show That Lying Is Immoral.

God Has Entrusted Me With Myself. 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.

Nature Hath Given Men One Tongue But Two Ears, That We May Hear From Others Twice As Much As We Speak.

If You Do Not Wish To Be Prone To Anger, Do Not Feed The Habit; Give It Nothing Which May Tend To Its Increase.

If You Wish To Live A Life Free From Sorrow, Think Of What Is Going To Happen As If It Had Already Happened.

You Will Do The Greatest Service To The State If You Shall Raise, Not The Roofs Of The Houses, But The Souls Of The Citizens: For It Is Better That Great Souls Should Dwell In Small Houses Rather Than For Mean Slaves To Lurk In Great Houses.

We All Carry The Seeds Of Greatness Within Us, But We Need An Image As A Point Of Focus In Order That They May Sprout.

What Ought One To Say Then As Each Hardship Comes? I Was Practicing For This, I Was Training For This.

It Is Our Attitude Toward Events, Not Events Themselves, Which We Can Control. Nothing Is By Its Own Nature Calamitous -- Even Death Is Terrible Only If We Fear It.

Be Not Swept Off Your Feet By The Vividness Of The Impression, But Say, "impression, Wait For Me A Little. Let Me See What You Are And What You Represent. Let Me Try You."

Unremarkable Lives Are Marked By The Fear Of Not Looking Capable When Trying Something New.

Trying Something New

Control Thy Passions Lest They Take Vengence On Thee.

No Great Thing Is Created Suddenly. There Must Be Time. Give Your Best And Always Be Kind.

It Is Not He Who Reviles Or Strikes You Who Insults You, But Your Opinion That These Things Are Insulting.

To Know That You Do Not Know And To Be Willing To Admit That You Do Not Know Without Sheepishly Apologizing Is Real Strength And Sets The Stage For Learning And Progress In Any Endeavor.

Seek To Be The Purple Thread In The Long White Gown.

Practice Yourself, For Heaven's Sake, In Little Things, And Thence Proceed To Greater.

It Is The Nature Of The Wise To Resist Pleasures, But The Foolish To Be A Slave To 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.

With Ills Unending Strives The Putter Off.

I Must Die. I Must Be Imprisoned. I Must Suffer Exile. But Must I Die Groaning? Must I Whine As Well? Can Anyone Hinder Me From Going Into Exile With A Smile? The Master Threatens To Chain Me: What Say You? Chain Me? My Leg You Will Chain--yes, But Not My Will--no, Not Even Zeus Can Conquer That.

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.'

When You Close Your Doors, And Make Darkness Within, Remember Never To Say That You Are Alone, For You Are Not Alone; Nay, God Is Within, And Your Genius Is Within. And What Need Have They Of Light To See What You Are Doing?

Forgiveness Is Better Than Revenge, For Forgiveness Is The Sign Of A Gentle Nature, But Revenge Is The Sign Of A Savage Nature. The Forgiveness Of Our Trespasses, According To The Riches Of His Grace.

If A Person Had Delivered Up Your Body To Some Passer-by, You Would Certainly Be Angry. And Do You Feel No Shame In Delivering Up Your Own Mind To Any Reviler, To Be Disconcerted And Confounded?

It's So Simple Really: If You Say You're Going To Do Something, Do It. If You Start Something, Finish It.

Freedom And Slavery, The One Is The Name Of Virtue, And The Other Of Vice, And Both Are Acts Of The Will.

Be Free From Grief Not Through Insensibility Like The Irrational Animals, Nor Through Want Of Thought Like The Foolish, But Like A Man Of Virtue By Having Reason As The Consolation Of Grief.

We Must Ever Bear In Mind --that Apart From The Will There Is Nothing Good Or Bad, And That We Must Not Try To Anticipate Or To Direct Events, But Merely To Accept Them With Intelligence.

Renew Every Day Your Conversation With God: Do This Even In Preference To Eating. Think More Often Of God Than You Breathe.

Law Intends Indeed To Do Service To Human Life, But It Is Not Able When Men Do Not Choose To Accept Her Services; For It Is Only In Those Who Are Obedient To Her That She Displays Her Special Virtue.

And Have You Not Received Faculties Which Will Enable You To Bear All That Happens To You? Have You Not Received Greatness Of Spirit? Have You Not Received Courage? Have You Not Received Endurance?

I Laugh At Those Who Think They Can Damage Me. They Do Not Know Who I Am, They Do Not Know What I Think, They Cannot Even Touch The Things Which Are Really Mine And With Which I Live.

Nothing Outside The Will Can Hinder Or Harm The Will; It Can Only Harm Itself. If Then We Accept This, And, When Things Go Amiss, Are Inclined To Blame Ourselves, Remembering That Judgment Alone Can Disturb Our Peace And Constancy, I Swear To You By All The Gods That We Have Made Progress.

Men Are Not Troubled By Things Themselves, But By Their Thoughts About Them

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