Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher best known for his works The Enchiridion (the handbook) and his Discourses, both foundational works in Stoic philosophy. Profoundly inspirational Epictetus quotes will encourage you to think a little deeper than you usually would and broaden your perspective.
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Famous Epictetus Quotes
It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid. Epictetus
Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. Epictetus
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. Epictetus
Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it. Epictetus
Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will. Epictetus
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? Epictetus
Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems. Epictetus
Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public. Epictetus
It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. Epictetus
The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going. Epictetus
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus
Keep silence for the most part, and speak only when you must, and then briefly. Epictetus
How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself and in no instance bypass the discriminations of reason? You have been given the principles that you ought to endorse, and you have endorsed them. What kind of teacher, then, are you still waiting for in order to refer your self improvement to him? You are no longer a boy, but a full grown man. If you are careless and lazy now and keep putting things off and always deferring the day after which you will attend to yourself, you will not notice that you are making no progress, but you will live and die as someone quite ordinary. From now on, then, resolve to live as a grown up who is making progress, and make whatever you think best a law that you never set aside. And whenever you encounter anything that is difficult or pleasurable, or highly or lowly regarded, remember that the contest is now you are at the Olympic Games, you cannot wait any longer, and that your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event. That is how Socrates fulfilled himself by attending to nothing except reason in everything he encountered. And you, although you are not yet a Socrates, should live as someone who at least wants to be a Socrates. Epictetus
It takes more than just a good looking body. You’ve got to have the heart and soul to go with it. Epictetus
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid. Epictetus
If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked. Epictetus
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at. Epictetus
It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death. Epictetus
It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. Epictetus
Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope. Epictetus
Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control. Epictetus
Practice yourself, for heaven’s sake in little things, and then proceed to greater. Epictetus
Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself. Epictetus
One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent. Epictetus
People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them. Epictetus
Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee. Epictetus
Other people’s views and troubles can be contagious. Don’t sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others. Epictetus
We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral. Epictetus
Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control. Epictetus
The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing. Epictetus
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse. Epictetus
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. Epictetus
No man is free who is not master of himself. Epictetus
God has entrusted me with myself. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them. Epictetus
To accuse others for 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 shows that one’s education is complete. Epictetus
The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. Epictetus
Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak. Epictetus
It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows. Epictetus
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. Epictetus
Only the educated are free. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak. Epictetus
Seek not the good in external things;seek it in yourselves. Epictetus
Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens. Epictetus
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. Epictetus
Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them. Epictetus
Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals. How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be? Your nobler self cannot wait any longer. Put your principles into practice now. Stop the excuses and the procrastination. This is your life! You aren’t a child anymore. The sooner you set yourself to your spiritual program, the happier you will be. The longer you wait, the more you’ll be vulnerable to mediocrity and feel filled with shame and regret, because you know you are capable of better. 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. Epictetus
Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. Epictetus
Most of what passes for legitimate entertainment is inferior or foolish and only caters to or exploits people’s weaknesses. Avoid being one of the mob who indulges in such pastimes. Your life is too short and you have important things to do. Be discriminating about what images and ideas you permit into your mind. 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. It is the easiest thing in the world to slide imperceptibly into vulgarity. But there’s no need for that to happen if you determine not to waste your time and attention on mindless pap. Epictetus
Is freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish? Nothing else. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it. Epictetus
Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now. Epictetus
Difficulties are things that show a person what they are. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire. Epictetus
Small minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness. Epictetus
If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
Silence is safer than speech. Epictetus
If evil be said of thee, and if it be true, correct thyself; if it be a lie, laugh at it. Epictetus
If virtue promises happiness, prosperity and peace, then progress in virtue is progress in each of these for to whatever point the perfection of anything brings us, progress is always an approach toward it. Epictetus
You become what you give your attention to. Epictetus
There is nothing good or evil save in the will. Epictetus
Never depend on the admiration of others. There is no strength in it. Personal merit cannot be derived from an external source. It is not to be found in your personal associations, nor can it be found in the regard of other people. It is a fact of life that other people, even people who love you, will not necessarily agree with your ideas, understand you, or share your enthusiasms. Grow up! Who cares what other people think about you! Epictetus
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will. Epictetus
Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you and be silent. Epictetus
No man is free who is not master of himself. Epictetus
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 actions. The things in our control are by nature free, unrestrained, unhindered; but those not in our control are weak, slavish, restrained, belonging to others. Remember, then, that if you suppose that things which are slavish by nature are also free, and that what belongs to others is your own, then you will be hindered. You will lament, you will be disturbed, and you will find fault both with gods and men. But if you suppose that only to be your own which is your own, and what belongs to others such as it really is, then no one will ever compel you or restrain you. Further, you will find fault with no one or accuse no one. You will do nothing against your will. No one will hurt you, you will have no enemies, and you not be harmed. Epictetus
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse. Epictetus
I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I must be put in chains. Must I then also lament? I must go into exile. Does any man then hinder me from going with smiles and cheerfulness and contentment? Epictetus
Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. Epictetus
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. For the man who has once stooped to consider such questions, and to reckon up the value of external things, is not far from forgetting what manner of man he is. Epictetus
It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them. Epictetus
Demand not that things happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do, and you will go on well. Epictetus
All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way. Epictetus
We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us. Epictetus
When you are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
No great thing is created suddenly. Epictetus
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. Epictetus
The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things. Epictetus
Know you not that a good man does nothing for appearance sake, but for the sake of having done right? Epictetus
If you wish to be a writer, write. Epictetus
It is not so much what happens to you as how you think about what happens. Epictetus
It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your opinion that these things are insulting. Epictetus
Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Therefore, 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. Remain steadfast and one day you will build something that endures something worthy of your potential. Epictetus
All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain. Epictetus
Asked, Who is the rich man? Epictetus replied, “He who is content. Epictetus
If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means, and if you find truth you will become invincible. Epictetus
