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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.

-Epictetus

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Nothing Outside The Will

Epictetus

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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.

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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.

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

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

If One Oversteps The Bounds Of Moderation, The Greatest Pleasures Cease To Please.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

We Do Not Choose Our Own Parts In Life, And Have Nothing To Do With Those Parts. Our Duty Is Confined To Playing Them Well.

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

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.

As It Is Pleasant To See The Sea From The Land, So It Is Pleasant For Him Who Has Escaped From Troubles To Think Of Them.

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

It Is Not The Events But Our Viewpoint Toward Events That Is The Determining Factor. We Ought To Be More Concerned About Removing Wrong Thoughts From The Mind Than Removing Tumors And Abscesses From The Body.

Not Things, But Opinions About Things, Trouble Men.

Remember That You Are An Actor In A Drama Of Such Sort As The Author Chooses: If Short, Then In A Short One; If Long, Then In A Long One. If It Be His Pleasure That You Should Enact A Poor Man, Or A Cripple, Or A Ruler, Or A Private Citizen, See That You Act It Well. For This Is Your Business, To Act Well The Given Part. But To Choose It Belongs To Another.

Survey And Test A Prospective Action Before Undertaking It. Before You Proceed, Step Back And Look At The Big Picture, Lest You Act Rashly On Raw Impulse.

The Cause Of All Human Evils Is The Not Being Able To Apply General Principles To Special Cases.

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.

So You Wish To Conquer In The Olympic Games, My Friend? And I, Too... But First Mark The Conditions And The Consequences. You Will Have To Put Yourself Under Discipline; To Eat By Rule, To Avoid Cakes And Sweetmeats; To Take Exercise At The Appointed Hour Whether You Like It Or Not, In Cold And Heat; To Abstain From Cold Drinks And Wine At Your Will. Then, In The Conflict Itself You Are Likely Enough To Dislocate Your Wrist Or Twist Your Ankle, To Swallow A Great Deal Of Dust, To Be Severely Thrashed, And After All Of These Things, To Be Defeated.

He Who Exercises Wisdom Exercises The Knowledge Which Is About God.

If You Seek Truth You Will Not Seek Victory By Dishonorable Means, And If You Find Truth You Will Become Invincible.

The Soul's Impurity Consists In Bad Judgements, And Purification Consists In Producing In It Right Judgements, And The Pure Soul Is One Which Has Right Judgements, For This Alone Is Proof Against Confusion And Pollution In Its Functions.

Do You Know That Disease And Death Must Needs Overtake Us, No Matter What We Are Doing?... What Do You Wish To Be Doing When It Overtakes You?... If You Have Anything Better To Be Doing When You Are So Overtaken, Get To Work On That.

Disease And Death

We All Dread A Bodily Paralysis, And Would Make Use Of Every Contrivance To Avoid It; But None Of Us Is Troubled About A Paralysis Of The Soul.

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.

Do Not Try To Seem Wise To Others.

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

Whatever Happens

Wealth Consists Not In Having Great Possessions, But In Having Few Wants.

Don't Regard What Anyone Says Of You, For This, After All, Is No Concern Of Yours.

Every Place Is Safe To Him Who Lives With Justice.

If What Charms You Is Nothing But Abstract Principles, Sit Down And Turn Them Over Quietly In Your Mind: But Never Dub Yourself A Philosopher.

It Takes More Than Just A Good Looking Body. You've Got To Have The Heart And Soul To Go With It.

We Should Not Moor A Ship With One Anchor, Or Our Life With One Hope.

Think Of God More Often Than Thou Breathest.

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

An Ignorant Person Is Inclined To Blame Others For His Own Misfortune. To Blame Oneself Is Proof Of Progress. But The Wise Man Never Has To Blame Another Or Himself.

Learn To Distinguish What You Can And Can't Control. Within Our Control Are Our Own Opinions, Aspirations, Desires And The Things That Repel Us. They Are Directly Subject To Our Influence.

What Is It That Every Man Seeks? To Be Secure, To Be Happy, To Do What He Pleases Without Restraint And Without Compulsion.

Freedom Is The Only Worthy Goal In Life. It Is Won By Disregarding Things That Lie Beyond Our Control. Stop Aspiring To Be Anyone Other Than Your Own Best Self: For That Does Fall Within Your Control.

Whoever Then Wishes To Be Free, Let Him Neither Wish For Anything Nor Avoid Anything Which Depends On Others: If He Does Not Observe This Rule, He Must Be A Slave.

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

If Evil Be Spoken Of You And It Be True, Correct Yourself, If It Be A Lie, Laugh At It.

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.

It Is Better To Advise Than Upbraid, For The One Corrects The Erring; The Other Only Convicts Them.

The Essence Of Good And Evil Is A Certain Disposition Of The Will.

Whoever Wants To Be Free, Therefore, Let Him Not Want Or Avoid Anything That Is Up To Others. Otherwise He Will Necessarily Be A Slave.

Consider First The Nature Of The Business In Hand; Then Examine Thy Own Nature, Whether Thou Hast Strength To Undertake It.

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.

Do Not Laugh Much Or Often Or Unrestrainedly.

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.

When One Maintains His Proper Attitude In Life, He Does Not Long After Externals.

It Is Unlikely That The Good Of A Snail Should Reside In Its Shell: So Is It Likely That The Good Of A Man Should?

It Is Not A Demonstration Of Kindness Or Friendship To The People We Care About To Join Them In Indulging In Wrongheaded, Negative Feelings. We Do A Better Service To Ourselves And Others By Remaining Detached And Avoiding Melodramatic Reactions.

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?

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.

And Be Silent For The Most Part, Or Else Make Only The Most Necessary Remarks, And Express These In Few Words. But Rarely, And When Occasion Requires You To Talk, Talk, Indeed, But About No Ordinary Topics. Do Not Talk About Gladiators, Or Horseraces, Or Athletes, Or Things To Eat Or Drink - Topics That Arise On All Occasions; But Above All, Do Not Talk About People, Either Blaming, Or Praising, Or Comparing Them.

Either God Wants To Abolish Evil, And Cannot; Or He Can, But Does Not Want To.

When You Let Go Of Your Attention For A Little While, Do Not Think You May Recover It Whenever You Please.

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.

As In Walking It Is Your Great Care Not To Run Your Foot Upon A Nail, Or To Tread Awry, And Strain Your Leg; So Let It Be In All The Affairs Of Human Life, Not To Hurt Your Mind Or Offend Your Judgment. And This Rule, If Observed Carefully In All Your Deportment, Will Be A Mighty Security To You In Your Undertakings.

Unless We Place Our Religion And Our Treasure In The Same Thing, Religion Will Always Be Sacrificed.

In Theory There Is Nothing To Hinder Our Following What We Are Taught;but In Life There Are Many Things To Draw Us Aside.

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

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?

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.'

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.

It Is Not Death Or Pain That Is To Be Dreaded, But The Fear Of Pain Or Death.

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

Any Person Capable Of Angering You Becomes Your Master; He Can Anger You Only When You Permit Yourself To Be Disturbed By Him.

Freedom And Happiness Come From Understanding - And Working With - Our Limits. Begin At Once A Program Of Self-mastery. Stick With Your Purpose. Do Not Seek External Approval. Do Not Worry About Anything Outside Of Your Control. The Only Things You Command Are Your Thoughts And Actions. We Choose Our Response. Stop Aspiring To Be Anyone Other Than Your Own Best Self: For That Does Fall Within Your Control.

The Materials Are Indifferent, But The Use We Make Of Them Is Not A Matter Of Indifference.

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

If You Wish To Be A Writer, Write.

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?

Silence Is Safer Than Speech.

Only The Educated Are Free.

It Is Impossible That Happiness, And Yearning For What Is Not Present, Should Ever Be United.

All Philosophy Lies In Two Words, Sustain And Abstain.

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.

When You Want To Hear A Philosopher, Do Not Say, 'you Say Nothing To Me'; Only Show Yourself Worthy Or Fit To Hear, And Then You Will See How You Will Move The Speaker.

No Living Being Is Held By Anything So Strongly As By Its Own Needs. Whatever Therefore Appears A Hindrance To These, Be It Brother, Or Father, Or Child, Or Mistress, Or Friend, Is Hated, Abhorred, Execrated.

Progress Is Not Achieved By Luck Or Accident, But By Working On Yourself Daily.

Working On Yourself

Never Call Yourself A Philosopher, Nor Talk A Great Deal Among The Unlearned About Theorems, But Act Conformably To Them. Thus, At An Entertainment, Don't Talk How Persons Ought To Eat, But Eat As You Ought. For Remember That In This Manner Socrates Also Universally Avoided All Ostentation.

"but To Be Hanged - Is That Not Unendurable?" Even So, When A Man Feels That It Is Reasonable, He Goes Off And Hangs Himself.

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

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

It Were No Slight Attainment Could We Merely Fulfil What The Nature Of Man Implies.

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.

If A Man Is Unhappy, Remember That His Unhappiness Is His Own Fault, For God Made All Men To Be Happy.

It Is Not Things In Themselves Which Trouble Us, But Our Opinions Of Things.

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.

It Is The Sign Of A Dull Mind To Dwell Upon The Cares Of The Body, To Prolong Exercise, Eating And Drinking And Other Bodily Functions. These Things Are Best Done By The Way; All Your Attention Must Be Given To The Mind.

To Get Or Not To Get What We Desire Can Be Equally Disappointing.

When Men Are Unhappy, They Do Not Imagine They Can Ever Cease To Be So; And When Some Calamity Has Fallen On Them, They Do Not See How They Can Get Rid Of It. Nevertheless, Both Arrive; And The Gods Have Ordered It So, In The End Men Seek It From The Gods

There Is But One Way To Tranquility Of Mind And Happiness, And That Is To Account No External Things Thine Own, But To Commit All To God.

In Theory It Is Easy To Convince An Ignorant Person; In Actual Life, Men Not Only Object To Offer Themselves To Be Convinced, But Hate The Man Who Has Convinced Them.

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

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

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

Never Say About Anything, "i Have Lost It," But Only "i Have Given It Back." Is Your Child Dead? It Has Been Given Back. Is Your Wife Dead? She Has Been Returned.

If You Wish To Be Good, First Believe That You Are Bad.

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.

The Beginning Of Philosophy Is A Consciousness Of Your Own Weakness And Inability In Necessary Things.

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

In Every Affair Consider What Precedes And What Follows, And Then Undertake It

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.

Lampis The Ship Owner, On Being Asked How He Acquired His Great Wealth, Replied, My Great Wealth Was Acquired With No Difficulty, But My Small Wealth, My First Gains, With Much Labor.

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

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

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

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

Follow Your Heart

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.

One Of The Best Ways To Elevate Your Character Is To Emulate Worthy Role Models

Let Death And Exile, And All Other Things Which Appear Terrible Be Daily Before Your Eyes, But Chiefly Death, And You Win Never Entertain Any Abject Thought, Nor Too Eagerly Covet Anything.

Preach Not To Others What They Should Eat, But Eat As Becomes You And Be Silent.

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

Give Yourself Fully To Your Endeavors. Decide To Construct Your Character Through Excellent Actions And Determine To Pay The Price Of A Worthy Goal. The Trials You Encounter Will Introduce You To Your Strengths.

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.

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?"

Exceed Due Measure, And The Most Delightful Things Become The Least Delightful.

Delightful Things

O Slavish Man! Will You Not Bear With Your Own Brother, Who Has God For His Father, As Being A Son From The Same Stock, And Of The Same High Descent? But If You Chance To Be Placed In Some Superior Station, Will You Presently Set Yourself Up For A Tyrant?

Events Do Not Just Happen, But Arrive By Appointment.

If You Seek Truth, You Will Not Seek To Gain A Victory By Every Possible Means; And When You Have Found Truth, You Need Not Fear Being Defeated.

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

You Have Been Given Your Own Work To Do. Get To It Right Now, Do Your Best At It, And Don't Be Concerned With Who Is Watching You. Create Your Own Merit.

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

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

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.

It Was The First And Most Striking Characteristic Of Socrates Never To Become Heated In Discourse, Never To Utter An Injurious Or Insulting Word -- On The Contrary, He Persistently Bore Insult From Others And Thus Put An End To The Fray.

Characteristics

Some Of Their Faults Men Readily Admit, But Others Not So Readily.

Suffering Arises From Trying To Control What Is Uncontrollable, Or From Neglecting What Is Within Our Power.

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.

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

No Matter What Happens, It Is Within My Power To Turn It To My Advantage.

Pain Or Pleasure? I Say Pleasure.

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.

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

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

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

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

Try To Enjoy The Great Festival Of Life With Other Men!

Control Thy Passions Lest They Take Vengence On Thee.

Remember That You Are In Actor In A Play Of Such A Kind That The Author Chooses...for This Is Your Duty, To Act Well The Part That Is Given To You; But To Select The Part Belongs To Another.

Think Of God Oftener Than You Breathe.

Act Your Part With Honor.

Watch Yourself As You Go About Your Daily Business And Later Reflect On What You Saw, Trying To Identify The Sources Of Distress In Your Life And Thinking About How To Avoid That Distress.

If You Can Make Music With Someone You Don't Need Words. If You Wish To Be A Writer, Write.

If You Want To Improve, Be Content To Be Thought Foolish And Stupid With Regard To External Things. Don't Wish To Be Thought To Know Anything; And Even If You Appear To Be Somebody Important To Others, Distrust Yourself. For, It Is Difficult To Both Keep Your Faculty Of Choice In A State Conformable To Nature, And At The Same Time Acquire External Things. But While You Are Careful About The One, You Must Of Necessity Neglect The Other

If You Hear That Someone Is Speaking Ill Of You, Instead Of Trying To Defend Yourself You Should Say: 'he Obviously Does Not Know Me Very Well, Since There Are So Many Other Faults He Could Have Mentioned.'

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?

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.

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.

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

Since It Is Reason Which Shapes And Regulates All Other Things, It Ought Not Itself To Be Left In Disorder.

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.

Men Are Not Worried By Things, But By Their Ideas About Things. When We Meet With Difficulties, Become Anxious Or Troubled, Let Us Not Blame Others, But Rather Ourselves. That Is: Our Ideas About Things.

Be Not Diverted From Your Duty By Any Idle Reflections The Silly World May Make Upon You, For Their Censures Are Not In Your Power And Should Not Be At All Your Concerns.

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

The Appearance Of Things To The Mind Is The Standard Of Every Action To Man.

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

What Is A Child? Ignorance. What Is A Child? Want Of Instruction.

It Is Not Events That Disturb The Minds Of Men, But The View They Take Of Them.

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

When You Have Decided That A Thing Ought To Be Done And Are Doing It, Never Avoid Bein Seen Doing It, Though Many Shall Form An Unfavorable Opinion About It. For If It Is Not Right To Do It, Avoid Doing The Thing; But If It Is Right, Why Are You Afraid Of Those Who Shall Find Fault Wrongly?

Don't Be Prideful With Any Excellence That Is Not Your Own

The Beginning Of Philosophy Is The Recognition Of The Conflict Between Opinions.

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?

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

In Order To Please Others, We Loose Our Hold On Our Life's Purpose.

All Religions Must Be Tolerated For Every Man Must Get To Heaven In His Own Way.

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.

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

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

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

Two Principles We Should Always Have Ready — That There Is Nothing Good Or Evil Save In The Will; And That We Are Not To Lead Events, But To Follow Them.

If I Can Acquire Money And Also Keep Myself Modest And Faithful And Magnanimous, Point Out The Way, And I Will Acquire It.

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

Cowardice, The Dread Of What Will Happen.

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

We Can't Control The Impressions Others Form About Us, And The Effort To Do So Only Debases Our Character.

Man Is Not Fully Free Unless He Is Master Of Himself.

Fight Against Yourself, Recover Yourself To Decency, To Modesty, To Freedom. And, In The First Place, Condemn Your Actions; But When You Have Condemned Them, Do Not Despair Of Yourself. For Both Ruin And Recovery Are From Within.

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

Don't Explain Your Philosophy. Embody It.

Remember That You Are An Actor In A Play, And That The Playwright Chooses The Manner Of It: If He Wants You To Act A Poor Man You Must Act The Part With All Your Powers; And So If Your Part Be A Cripple Or A Magistrate Or A Plain Man. For Your Business Is To Act The Character That Is Given You And Act It Well. The Choice Of The Cast Is Another's.

Ruin And Recovering Are Both From Within.

Difficulty Shows What Men Are.

If Any Be Unhappy, Let Him Remember That He Is Unhappy By Reason Of Himself Alone. For God Hath Made All Men To Enjoy Felicity And Constancy Of Good.

Desire And Happiness Cannot Live Together.

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.

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.

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.

Our Duties Naturally Emerge Form Such Fundamental Relations As Our Families, Neighborhoods, Workplaces, Our State Or Nation. Make It Your Regular Habit To Consider Your Roles-parent, Child, Neighbor, Citizen, Leader-and The Natural Duties That Arise From Them. Once You Know Who You Are And To Whom You Are Linked, You Will Know What To Do.

No Man Is Free Who Is Not Master Of Himself.

You Can Be Happy If You Know This Secret: Some Things Are Within Your Power To Control And Some Things Are Not.

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.

You Are A Principal Work, A Fragment Of [goddess Herself], You Have In Yourself A Part Of [her]. Why Then Are You Ignorant Of Your High Birth?

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