Quotes About Philosophy

It is better to starve to death in a calm and confident state of mind than to live anxiously amidst abundance. And

Dès qu'une image viendra te troubler l'esprit, pense à te dire : « Tu n'es qu'image, et non la réalité dont tu as l'apparence. » Puis, examine-la et soumets-la à l'épreuve des lois qui règlent ta vie : avant tout, vois si cette réalité dépend de nous ou n'en dépend pas ; et si elle ne dépend pas de nous, sois prêt à dire : « Cela ne me regarde pas. »

Philosophy does not claim to secure for us anything outside our control. Otherwise it would be taking on matters that do not concern it. For as wood is the material of the carpenter, and marble that of the sculptor, so the subject matter of the art of life is the life of the self.

Let death and exile and every other thing which appears dreadful be daily before your eyes; but most of all death: and you will never think of anything mean nor will you desire anything extravagantly.

The philosopher's lecture room is a 'hospital': you ought not to walk out of it in a state of pleasure, but in pain; for you are not in good condition when you arrive.

Remind yourself that what you love is mortal … at the very moment you are taking joy in something, present yourself with the opposite impressions. What harm is it, just when you are kissing your little child, to say: Tomorrow you will die, or to your friend similarly: Tomorrow one of us will go away, and we shall not see one another any more?

Freedom is not attained through the satisfaction of desires, but through the suppression of desires.

you are a little soul carrying around a corpse.

You're not yet Socrates, but you can still live as if you want to be him.

The object of your love is mortal; it is not one of your possessions; it has been given to you for the present, not inseparably nor forever." (Epictetus, The Discourses)

Show me one who is sick and yet happy, in peril and yet happy, dying and yet happy, in exile and happy, in disgrace and happy. Show him me. By the gods I would fain see a Stoic. Nay you cannot show me a finished Stoic; then show me one in the moulding, one who has set his feet on the path

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

All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.

we should put our trust not in the crowd, who say that only free men can be educated, but rather in the philosophers, who say that none but the educated can be free.

greatness of reason is measured not by height or length, but by the quality of its judgements.

As you travel the path of philosophy, be content to be considered plain or even foolish. Do not strive to be celebrated for anything. If you are praised by others, be skeptical of yourself. For it it is no easy feat to hold onto your inner harmony while collecting accolades. When grasping for one, you are likely to drop the other.

For I am not everlasting, but a human being, a part of the whole as an hour is a part of the day. Like an hour I must come, and like an hour pass away.

Taking account of the value of externals, you see, comes at some cost to the value of one's own character.

Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions

Philosophers say that people are all guided by a single standard. When they assent to a thing, it is because they feel it must be true, when they dissent, it is because they feel something isn't true, and when they suspend judgement, it is because they feel that the thing is unclear.

It is not things that trouble us, but our judgements about things.

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things.

The whole point of learning is to live out the teachings.

With every accident, ask yourself what abilities you have for making a proper use of it. If you see an attractive person, you will find that self-restraint is the ability you have against your desire. If you are in pain, you will find fortitude. If you hear unpleasant language, you will find patience. And thus habituated, the appearances of things will not hurry you away along with them.