Epictetus

When you have decided that a thing is good, and you cling to it, then do not be ashamed to say that you cling to it.

If a man has a bad character, he is bad for himself; if he has a good character, he is good for himself.

To a reasonable creature, that alone is insupportable which is unreasonable; but everything reasonable may be supported.

When you have to deal with a man who is angry, remember that he is not angry with you, but with himself; he is only venting his anger on you.

It is not poverty that is feared, but the opinion about poverty.

If a man is unhappy, this must be due to himself, that is, to his own false choices.

Every difficulty in life presents us with an opportunity to turn inward and to invoke our own resources. The challenges to our spirit are not to be avoided, but embraced.

You are a little soul carrying around a corpse, as Epictetus used to say.

What, then, is the fruit of these doctrines? It is the same as that of a vine: leaves, then a blossom, then a ripe cluster. So here, first an appearance, then an impulse, then an act. And the fruit is this: freedom from disturbance, fear, and trouble; freedom from pain.

It is better to die of hunger, exempt from grief and fear, than to live in affluence with perturbation.

You will never do anything in this life worth remembering unless you give up the hope of being remembered.

Think of yourself as a slave, and you will not be disturbed by anything that happens to you.

If you are going to write, be content to be unlearned. If you are going to wrestle, be content to be beaten. For if you are not content with these things, you will not write, nor will you wrestle.

Do not be concerned with what people think of you. You are not living for them.

Never say about anything, 'I have lost it,' but only 'I have given it back.' Has your child died? It has been given back. Has your wife died? She has been given back. Has your estate been taken from you? Has not this also been given back?

If you want to be a man of leisure, do not be a man of business. For if you are a man of business, you must be a man of trouble.

What would you rather have? A beautiful garden, or a good one? A beautiful garden is one that is good; a good garden is not necessarily beautiful.

If you are grieved about anything external, it is not the thing itself that troubles you, but your judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgment at any moment.

Remember that you are an actor in a play, and that the play is made by the author. If he wishes it to be short, it is short; if long, it is long. If he wishes you to act the part of a poor man, see that you act it well; and if a lame man, or a prince, or a private man, in like manner. For this is your business, to act well the part assigned you; to choose it is another's.

We are not to be disturbed by the things that happen, but by the opinions which we have of them.