Quotes from Epictetus

On the occasion of every accident (event) that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use.

And what else can I do, lame old man that I am, than sing the praise of God? If I were a nightingale, I would perform the work of a nightingale, and if I were a swan, that of a swan. But as it is, I am a rational being, and I must sing the praise of God. This is my work, and I accomplish it, and I will never abandon my post for as long as it is granted to me to remain in it; and I invite all of you to join me in this same song.

Do not wish that all things will go well with you, but that you will go well with all things.

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

I want to die, even though I don't have to.

Whatever your mission, stick by it as if it were a law and you would be committing sacrilege to betray it. Pay no attention to whatever people might say; this no longer should influence you.

It is much better to die of hunger unhindered by grief and fear than to live affluently beset with worry, dread, suspicion and unchecked desire.

Who is a friend? His answer was, a second self (alter ego).

First say to yourself what you would be;and then do what you have to do.

Don't you want to be free of all that? [33] 'But how can I do it?' You've often heard how — you need to suspend desire completely, and train aversion only on things within your power. You should dissociate yourself from everything outside yourself — the body, possessions, reputation, books, applause, as well as office or lack of office. Because a preference for any of them immediately makes you a slave, a subordinate, and prone to disappointment.

REST.—If a man should be able to assent to this doctrine as he ought, that we are all sprung from God in an especial manner, and that God is the father both of men and of gods, I suppose that he would never have any ignoble or mean thoughts about himself. But if Cæsar (the emperor) should adopt you, no one could endure your arrogance; and if you know that you are the son of Zeus, will you not be elated?

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.