Quotes About Will

Freedom, you see, is having events go in accordance with our will, never contrary to it.

Destroy desire completely for the present. For if you desire anything which is not in our power, you must be unfortunate

the same thing, really, that we all want: to live in peace, to be happy, to do as we like and never be foiled or forced to act against our wishes.

Don't be concerned with other people's impressions of you. They are dazzled and deluded by appearances. Stick with your purpose. This alone with strengthen your will and give your life coherence.

Ask not that events should happen as you will, but let your will be that events should happen that you will have peace.

If you wish to be rich, you should know that it is neither a good thing nor at all in your power: but if you wish to be happy, you should know that it is both a good thing and in your power, for the one is a temporary loan of fortune, and happiness comes from the will.

If it pleases the gods, so be it.

Doesn't it seem to you that acting against one's will, under protest and compulsion, is tantamount to being a slave?

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.

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.

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

Therefore your will is your own business too.

Throw him in jail.' What jail? The one he is in already, since he is there against his will; and if he is there against his will then he is imprisoned.

Let someone transfer these opinions to the workings of the will, and I personally guarantee his peace of mind, no matter what his outward circumstances are like.

O senhor de si mesmo é aquele que possui o poder de conservar ou repelir as coisas desejadas ou não desejadas.

And can you be forced by anyone to desire something against your will? 'No.

I]f you gape after externals, you must of necessity ramble up and down in obedience to the will of your master. And who is the master? He who has the power over the things which you seek to gain or try to avoid.

But the tyrant will chain …' What? Your legs. 'But he'll cut off …' What? Your head. What is he incapable, then, of chaining up or cutting off? Your power of choice.

But only if I identify with my will can I be someone's friend – or son, or father – in the true sense, because only then will my self-interest be served by remaining loyal, honest, patient, tolerant and supportive, and by maintaining my social relations.

You do not seem to realize that the mind is subject only to itself. It alone can control it, [13] which shows the force and justice of God's edict: the strong shall always prevail over the weak.

No man can rob us of our Will—no man can lord it over that!

Be confident in everything outside the will, and cautious in everything under the will's control.

Transfer caution to the will and the functions of the will, and the mere wish will bring with it the power of avoidance. But if we direct it at what is outside us and is none of our responsibility, wanting instead to avoid what's in the control of others, we are necessarily going to meet with fear, upset and confusion.

Epictetus] believes that God gave man the means to fulfill all his obligations; that these means are within his power, that happiness is attained through what we are capable of, this being the reason God gave them to us. Our mind cannot be forced to believe what is false, nor our will compelled to love something that makes it unhappy. These two powers are therefore free, and it is through them that we can become perfect.