Epictetus — "Every man's life is a train of choices, and every choice has a consequence."
Every man's life is a train of choices, and every choice has a consequence.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Epictetus
"When you are about to say something, ask yourself, 'Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?'"
"What, then, is the proper thing to do? To make the best of what is in our power, and take the rest as it naturally happens."
"Good and evil, per Epictetus, lie only in the will."
"It is better to starve to death in a calm and tranquil state than to live in abundance with vexation."
"Never say about anything, 'I have lost it,' but only, 'I have given it back.'"
About Epictetus (c. 50-135 CE)
Greek Stoic philosopher and former slave whose Discourses (recorded by his student Arrian) shaped Marcus Aurelius and the modern Stoic revival. Closely associated with Seneca (earlier Roman Stoic) and Marcus Aurelius (his student-by-text on the imperial throne). For an intellectual contrast, see Epicurus, Greek philosopher of pleasure-as-tranquility — the Stoic-Epicurean rivalry was the central philosophical debate of the Hellenistic and Roman world for 400 years — Epicurean materialist hedonism is the precise alternative the Stoic discipline-of-acceptance was built against.
The standard scholarly entry points to Epictetus's work: A.A. Long (UC Berkeley, Classics) — Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life (2002); Pierre Hadot (Collège de France) — Philosophy as a Way of Life (1995); Anthony R. Birley (Manchester, Roman historian) — Marcus Aurelius (1987) — the standard biography of Epictetus's most famous student. These are the works graduate seminars cite when teaching Epictetus.
Details
This is a modern interpretation or summary of his philosophy rather than a direct quote.
Date: c. 108 AD (approximate)
Nature & WorldVerification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked