Epictetus Quotes

“Every habit and faculty is confirmed and grows by corresponding actions.”

“If you wish to be a writer, write.”

“No great thing 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.”

“Not every difficult and dangerous thing is suitable for training, but only that which is conducive to success in achieving the object of our effort.”

“Keep silence for the most part, and speak only when you must, and then briefly.”

“First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.”

“Silence is safer than speech.”

“If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses but answer: "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone."

“When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.”

“If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrongdoing, but more than ever that he is thy brother.”

“The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing.”

“All philosophy lies in two words: sustain and abstain.”

“It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them.”

“If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

“We should not moor a ship with one anchor, or our life with one hope.”

“There is nothing good or evil save in the will.”

“God has entrusted me with myself.”

“You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.”

“Never say of anything, "I have lost it," but, "I have returned it."

“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.”

“If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonourable means, and if you find truth you will become invincible.”

“One that desires to excel should endeavour in those things that are in themselves most excellent.”

“We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral.”

“Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed.”