Quotes from Epictetus

There is one road to peace and happiness (keep the thought near by morning, noon and night): renunciation of externals;

But if with trembling and lamentation you seek not to fall into that which you avoid, tell me how you are improving.

A fool cannot be convinced or even compelled to renounce his folly.

Where does the good lie? 'In the will.' And evil? 'Also in the will.' And things neither good nor bad – '… lie in whatever is external to the will.

When you have him as your leader, and conform your will and desire to his, what fear of failure can you have?

Así como el Sol no espera que las oraciones y conjuros se levanten, sino que resplandece y es bien recibido por todos: así que tú tampoco esperes aplaudir y gritar y alabar para cumplir con tu deber; no, haz el bien por tu propia voluntad, y serás amado como el Sol.

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

No, it is events that give rise to fear -- when another has the power over them or can prevent them, that person becomes able to inspire fear. How is the fortress destroyed? Not by iron or fire, but by judgments... here is where we must begin, and it is from this front that we must seize the fortress and throw out tyrants.

you should not wait for clapping of hands and shouts and praise to do your duty; but do good of your own accord.

when we love, hate or fear such things, then the people who administer them are bound to become our masters.

Do not worry if others criticize or laugh at you, for their opinions are not your concern.

People who are ignorant of philosophy blame others for their own misfortunes. Those who are beginning to learn philosophy blame themselves. Those who have mastered philosophy blame no one.

So what oppresses and scares us? It is our own thoughts, obviously.

Approach life as your own Olympic Games—

When you feel burning desire for something that appears pleasureful, you are like a person under a spell. Instead of acting on impulse, take a step back—wait till the enchantment fades and you can see things as they are.

So in the field of assent you cannot be hindered or obstructed. 'Evidently.

Philosophy is for living, not just learning.

Lead me, Fate, wherever you will, and I will cheerfully follow. For, even if I kick and wail, all the same I must follow. —Cleanthes

Every day you should put the ideas in action that protect against attachment to externals such as individual people, places or institutions – even your own body.

But God has introduced man to be a spectator of God and of his works; and not only a spectator of them, but an interpreter. For this reason it is shameful for man to begin and to end where irrational animals do; but rather he ought to begin where they begin, and to end where nature ends in us; and nature ends in contemplation and understanding, and in a way of life conformable to nature. Take care then not to die without having been spectators of these things.

not even God has the power of coercion over us'.

Therefore your will is your own business too.

When you are by yourself you should call it peace and liberty, and consider yourself the gods' equal. When you're with a large group you shouldn't say you're in a mob or crowd, but a guest at a feast or festival – and in that spirit learn to enjoy it.

Whoever yields to fate becomes wise, by learning the laws of heaven. —Euripides