Background Image

...

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.

-Epictetus

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

What Else Can I

Epictetus

...

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.

Views: 82769

Topic

More From Epictetus

It Is Difficulties That Show What Men Are.

Try Not To React Merely In The Moment. Pull Back From The Situation. Take A Wider View. Compose Yourself.

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

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.

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?

Common And Vulgar People Ascribe All Ills That They Feel To Others; People Of Little Wisdom Ascribe To Themselves; People Of Much Wisdom, To No One.

There Is Only One Way To Happiness And That Is To Cease Worrying About Things Which Are Beyond The Power Of Our Will.

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.'

With Ills Unending Strives The Putter Off.

When You Are Offended At Any Man's Fault, Turn To Yourself And Study Your Own Failings. Then You Will Forget Your Anger.

"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 Is Yours Is To Play The Assigned Part Well. But To Choose It Belongs To Someone Else

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

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.

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

Choose The Life That Is Noblest, For Custom Can Make It Sweet To Thee.

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

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

If I Was A Nightingale I Would Sing Like A Nightingale; If A Swan, Like A Swan. But Since I Am A Rational Creature My Role Is To Praise God.

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

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

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?

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?

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

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.

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.

We Should Do Everything Both Cautiously And Confidently At The Same Time.

Envy Is The Antagonist Of The Fortunate.

If You Would Be Good, First Believe That You Are Bad.

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

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.

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.

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

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

Whenever You Are Angry, Be Assured That It Is Not Only A Present Evil, But That You Have Increased A Habit.

Tentative Efforts Lead To Tentative Outcome.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Whatever Happens

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Neither The Victories Of The Olympic Games Nor Those Achieved In Battles Make The Man Happy. The Only Victories That Make Him Happy Are Those Achieved Against Himself. Temptations And Tests Are Combats. You Have Beaten One, Two, Many Times; Still Fight. If You Defeat At Last You Will Be Happy Your Entire Life, As If You Have Always Defeated.

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.

Whoever Does Not Regard What He Has As Most Ample Wealth, Is Unhappy, Though He Be Master Of The World.

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

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

Pain Or Pleasure? I Say Pleasure.

Act Your Part With Honor.

No Man Is Free Who Is Not Master Of Himself... Is Freedom Anything Else Than The Power Of Living As We Choose?

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.

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

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.

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.

Never Depend On The Admiration Of Others For Self-satisfaction. It Is A Fact Of Life That Other People, Even People Who Love You, Will Not Necessarily Agree With Your Ideas, Understand You Always, Or Share Your Enthusiasms.

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

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

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.

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

To The Rational Being Only The Irrational Is Unendurable, But The Rational Is Endurable.

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

Working On Yourself

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

Remember That You Ought To Behave In Life As You Would At A Banquet. As Something Is Being Passed Around It Comes To You; Stretch Out Your Hand, Take A Portion Of It Politely. It Passes On; Do Not Detain It. Or It Has Not Come To You Yet; Do Not Project Your Desire To Meet It, But Wait Until It Comes In Front Of You. So Act Toward Children, So Toward A Wife, So Toward Office, So Toward Wealth.

By Accepting Life's Limits And Inevitabilities And Working With Them Rather Than Fighting Them, We Become Free.

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

Delightful Things

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Focus Not On What He Or She Does, But On Keeping To Your Higher Purpose. Your Own Purpose Should Seek Harmony With Nature Itself. For This Is The True Road To Freedom.

If You Have Assumed A Character Above Your Strength, You Have Both Acted In This Matter In An Unbecoming Way, And You Have Neglected That Which You Might Have Fulfilled.

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

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.

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

Contentment, As It Is A Short Road And Pleasant, Has Great Delight And Little Trouble.

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

When Our Friends Are Present We Ought To Treat Them Well; And When They Are Absent, To Speak Of Them Well.

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."

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.

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

Keep Your Attention Focused Entirely On What Is Truly Your Own Concern, And Be Clear That What Belongs To Others Is Their Business And None Of Yours.

Ask Yourself: Does This Appearance (of Events) Concern The Things That Are Within My Own Control Or Those That Are Not? If It Concerns Anything Outside Your Control, Train Yourself Not To Worry About It.

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.

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.

No Matter Where You Find Yourself, Comport Yourself As If You Were A Distinguished Person.

Finding Yourself

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

Think Of God More Often Than Thou Breathest.

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.

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.

Know You Not That A Good Man Does Nothing For Appearance Sake, But For The Sake Of Having Done Right?

All Philosophy Lies In Two Words, Sustain And Abstain.

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

Follow Your Heart

Not Things, But Opinions About Things, Trouble Men.

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.

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

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

Books Are The Training Weights Of The Mind.

It Is Better To Die Of Hunger Having Lived Without Grief And Fear, Than To Live With A Troubled Spirit, Amid Abundance

If You Wish To Be A Writer, Write.

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.

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

Every Art And Every Faculty Contemplates Certain Things As Its Principal Objects.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

When A Youth Was Giving Himself Airs In The Theatre And Saying, 'i Am Wise, For I Have Conversed With Many Wise Men,' Epictetus Replied, 'i Too Have Conversed With Many Rich Men, Yet I Am Not Rich!’.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Only The Educated Are Free.

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.

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.

It Is Not He Who Gives Abuse That Affronts, But The View That We Take Of It As Insulting; So That When One Provokes You It Is Your Own Opinion Which Is Provoking.

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.

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

To A Longer And Worse Life, A Shorter And Better Is By All Means To Be Preferred.

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

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

Give Me By All Means The Shorter And Nobler Life, Instead Of One That Is Longer But Of Less Account!

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.

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

I Am Always Content With What Happens; For I Know That What God Chooses Is Better Than What I Choose.

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

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

Contentment Comes Not So Much From Great Wealth As From Few Wants.

I Have To Die. If It Is Now, Well Then I Die Now; If Later, Then Now I Will Take My Lunch, Since The Hour For Lunch Has Arrived - And Dying I Will Tend To Later.

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

Confident Because Of Our Caution

When The Idea, Of Any Pleasure Strikes Your Imagination... Let That Time Be Employed In Making A Just Computation Between, The Duration Of The Pleasure, And That Of The Repentance Sure To Follow It.

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

Truth Is A Thing Immortal And Perpetual, And It Gives To Us A Beauty That Fades Not Away In Time, Nor Does It Take Away The Freedom Of Speech Which Proceeds From Justice; But It Gives To Us The Knowledge Of What Is Just And Lawful, Separating From Them The Unjust And Refuting Them.

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.

We Ought To Flee The Friendship Of The Wicked, And The Enmity Of The Good.

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

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.

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.

Do Not Strive For Things Occurring To Occur As You Wish, But Wish The Things Occurring As They Occur, And You Will Flow Well.

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.

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

Any Person Capable Of Angering You Becomes Your Master.

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

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.

A Guide, On Finding A Man Who Has Lost His Way, Brings Him Back To The Right Path—he Does Not Mock And Jeer At Him And Then Take Himself Off. You Also Must Show The Unlearned Man The Truth, And You Will See That He Will Follow. But So Long As You Do Not Show It Him, You Should Not Mock, But Rather Feel Your Own Incapacity.

Everything Has Two Handles,-one By Which It May Be Borne; Another By Which It Cannot.

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

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

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.

Silence Is Safer Than Speech.

No Man Is Able To Make Progress When He Is Wavering Between Opposite Things.

Every Habit And Faculty Is Preserved And Increased By Correspondent Actions, As The Habit Of Walking, By Walking; Of Running, By Running.

Seek Not The Good In External Things;seek It In Yourselves.

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.

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.

When You Actively Engage In Gradually Refining Yourself, You Retreat From Your Lazy Ways Of Covering Yourself Or Making Excuses. Instead Of Feeling A Persistent Current Of Low-level Shame, You Move Forward By Using The Creative Possibilities Of This Moment, Your Current Situation.

To Pay Homage To Beauty Is To Admire Nature; To Admire Nature Is To Worship God

Keep Silence For The Most Part, And Speak Only When You Must, And Then Briefly.

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

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.

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

Pleasure, Like A Kind Of Bait, Is Thrown Before Everything Which Is Really Bad, And Easily Allures Greedy Souls To The Hook Of Perdition.

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.

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

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

There Is Nothing Good Or Evil Save In The Will.

In Trying To Please Other People, We Find Ourselves Misdirected Toward What Lies Outside Our Sphere Of Influence. In Doing So, We Lose Our Hold On Our Lifes Purpose.

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

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

It Is Hard To Combine And Unite These Two Qualities, The Carefulness Of One Who Is Affected By Circumstances, And The Intrepidity Of One Who Heeds Them Not. But It Is Not Impossible: Else Were Happiness Also Impossible.

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

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

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.

If Someone Irritates You, It Is Only Your Own Response That Is Irritating You. Therefore, When Anyone Seems To Be Provoking You, Remember That It Is Only Your Judgment Of The Incident That Provokes You. -

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.

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

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.'

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.

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

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

Let No Man Think That He Is Loved By Any Who Loveth None.

Trending Author

Category