Epictetus Quotes
On Freedom & Wisdom

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."

— Epictetus

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

— Epictetus

"No man is free who is not master of himself."

— Epictetus

"He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at."

— Epictetus

"Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants."

— Epictetus

"Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it."

— Epictetus

"Any person capable of angering you becomes your master."

— 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

"We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak."

— Epictetus

"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid."

— Epictetus

"Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems."

— Epictetus

"Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control."

— Epictetus

"Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself."

— 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

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

— Epictetus

"Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly."

— 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

"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

"If you wish to be a writer, write."

— Epictetus

"The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best."

— Epictetus

"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows."

— Epictetus

"People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them."

— Epictetus

"Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well."

— 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

"If evil be said of thee, and if it be true, correct thyself; 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 the evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble."

— 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

"When something happens, the only thing in your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it."

— Epictetus

"There is nothing good or evil save in the will."

— Epictetus