epictetus

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What then did Agrippinus say?  He said, "I am not a hindrance to
myself."  When it was reported to him that his trial was going on in the
Senate, he said: "I hope it may turn out well; but it is the fifth hour
of the day"--this was the time when he was used to exercise himself and
then take the cold bath,--"let us go and take our exercise."  After he
had taken his exercise, one comes and tells him, "You have been
condemned."  "To banishment," he replies, "or to death?"  "To
banishment."  "What about my property?"  "It is not taken from you."
"Let us go to Aricia then," he said, "and dine."
		-- Epictetus
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To the rational animal only is the irrational intolerable; but that
which is rational is tolerable.
		-- Epictetus
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"But to be hanged--is that not unendurable?"  Even so, when a man feels
that it is reasonable, he goes off and hangs himself.
		-- Epictetus
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And yet God has not only given us these faculties, by which we shall be
able to bear everything that happens without being depressed or broken
by it; but, like a good king and a true father, He has given us these
faculties free from hindrance, subject to no compulsion, unimpeded, and
has put them entirely in our own power, without even having reserved to
Himself any power of hindering or impeding.  You, who have received
these powers free and as your own, use them not; you do not even see
what you have received, and from whom; some of you being blinded to the
giver, and not even acknowledging your benefactor, and others, through
meanness of spirit, betaking yourselves to fault-finding and making
charges against God.
		-- Epictetus
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Friends, wait for God: when he shall give the signal and release you
from this service, then go to him; but for the present endure to dwell
in this place where he has put you.  Short indeed is this time of your
dwelling here, and easy to bear for those who are so disposed; for what
tyrant, or what thief, or what courts of justice are formidable to those
who have thus considered as things of no value the body and the
possessions of the body?  Wait then, do not depart without a reason.
		-- Epictetus
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With respect to gods, there are some who say that a divine being does
not exist; others say that it exists, but is inactive and careless, and
takes no forethought about anything; a third class say that such a being
exists and exercises forethought, but only about great things and
heavenly things, and about nothing on the earth; a fourth class say that
a divine being exercises forethought both about things on the earth and
heavenly things, but in a general way only, and not about things
severally.  There is a fifth class to whom Ulysses and Socrates belong,
who say:

  I move not without thy knowledge.--Iliad, x., 278.
		-- Epictetus
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Where a man is against his will, there he is in prison.
		-- Epictetus
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Reason is not measured by size or height, but by a principle.
		-- Epictetus
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Philosophy does not propose to secure for a man any external thing.
		-- Epictetus
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Nothing great is produced suddenly, since not even the grape or the fig
is.  If you say to me now that you want a fig, I will answer to you that
it requires time: let it flower first, then put forth fruit, and then
ripen.
		-- Epictetus
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Ought not then this robber and this adulterer to be destroyed?  By no
means say so, but speak rather in this way: This man who has been
mistaken and deceived about the most important things, and blinded, not
in the faculty of vision which distinguishes white and black, but in the
faculty which distinguishes good and bad.
		-- Epictetus
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Do not admire your clothes, and then you will not be angry with the
thief.
		-- Epictetus
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I also lately had an iron lamp placed by the side of my household gods;
hearing a noise at the door, I ran down, and found that the lamp had
been carried off.  I reflected that he who had taken the lamp had done
nothing strange.  What then?  Tomorrow, I said, you will find an earthen
lamp; for a man only loses that which he has.
		-- Epictetus
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The tyrant will chain--what?  The leg.  He will take away--what?  The
neck.  What then will he not chain and not take away?  The will.  This
is why the ancients taught the maxim, Know thyself.  Therefore we ought
to exercise ourselves in small things, and beginning with them to
proceed to the greater.
		-- Epictetus
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Do not cry out and torment yourself, and say, everybody hates me; for
who would not hate such a man?  
		-- Epictetus
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It is not possible that what is by nature free can be disturbed by
anything else, or hindered by any other thing than by itself.  But it is
a man's own opinions which disturb him.
		-- Epictetus
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When you close your doors, and make darkness within, remember never to
say that you are alone, for you are not alone; nay, God is within, and
your genius is within.  And what need have they of light to see what you
are doing?
		-- Epictetus
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It is circumstances (difficulties) which show what men are.  
		-- Epictetus
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If these things are true, and if we are not silly, and are not acting
hypocritically when we say that the good of man is in the will, and the
evil too, and that everything else does not concern us, why are we still
disturbed, why are we still afraid?  The things about which we have been
busied are in no man's power; and the things which are in the power of
others, we care not for.  What kind of trouble have we still?
		-- Epictetus
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It is unlikely that the good of a snail should reside in its shell; so
is it likely that the good of a man should?
		-- Epictetus
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If I have set my admiration on the poor body, I have given myself up to
be a slave; if on my poor possessions, I also make myself a slave.  For
I immediately make it plain with what I may be caught; as if the snake
draws in his head, I tell you to strike that part of him which he
guards; and do you be assured that whatever part you choose to guard,
that part your master will attack.  Remembering this, whom will you
still flatter or fear?
		-- Epictetus
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Every art and every faculty contemplates certain things as its principal
objects.
		-- Epictetus
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It is we who squeeze ourselves, who put ourselves in straits; that is,
our opinions squeeze us and put us in straits.
		-- Epictetus
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In theory there is nothing to hinder our following what we are taught;
but in life there are many things to draw us aside.
		-- Epictetus
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Appearances to the mind are of four kinds.  Things either are what they
appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do
not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be.  Rightly to aim
in all these cases is the wise man's task.
		-- Epictetus
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Whoever then clearly remembers this, that to man the measure of every
act is the appearance (the opinion), whether the thing appears good or
bad.  If good, he is free from blame; if bad, himself suffers the
penalty, for it is impossible that he who is deceived can be one person,
and he who suffers another person--whoever remembers this will not be
angry with any man, will not be vexed at any man, will not revile or
blame any man, nor hate, nor quarrel with any man.
		-- Epictetus
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This is the law of nature and of God that the superior shall always
overpower the inferior.  In what?  In that in which it is superior.  One
body is stronger than another: many are stronger than one: the thief is
stronger than he who is not a thief.  This is the reason why I also lost
my lamp, because in wakefulness the thief was superior to me.  But the
man bought the lamp at this price: for a lamp he became a thief, a
faithless fellow, and like a wild beast.
		-- Epictetus
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We are then in the condition of deer; when they flee from the huntsmen's
feathers in fright, whither do they turn and in what do they seek refuge
as safe?  They turn to the nets, and thus they perish by confounding
things which are objects of fear with things that they ought not to
fear.
		-- Epictetus
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Death or pain is not formidable, but the fear of pain or death.
		-- Epictetus
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For as to children tragic masks appear terrible and fearful from
inexperience, we also are affected in like manner by events (the things
which happen in life) for no other reason than children are by masks.
		-- Epictetus
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Only the educated are free.
		-- Epictetus
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It is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he
already knows.
		-- Epictetus
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But if 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.
		-- Epictetus
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Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make
a thing habitual, do not practice it, but accustom yourself to something
else.
		-- Epictetus
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If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write.
		-- Epictetus
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But we should act as we do in the case of a voyage.  What can I do?  I
can choose the master of the ship, the sailors, the day, the
opportunity.  Then comes a storm.  What more have I to care for?  for my
part is done.  The business belongs to another, the master.  But the
ship is sinking--what then have I to do?  I do the only thing that I
can, not to be drowned full of fear, nor screaming nor blaming God, but
knowing that what has been produced must also perish: for I am not an
immortal being, but a man, a part of the whole, as an hour is a part of
the day: I must be present like the hour, and past like the hour.  What
difference then does it make to me how I pass away, whether by being
suffocated or by a fever, for I must pass through some such means.
		-- Epictetus
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Why do you care about the way of going down to Hades?  All ways are
equal.
		-- Epictetus
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Two principles we should always have ready--that there is nothing good
or evil save in the will; and that we are not to lead events, but to
follow them.
		-- Epictetus
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For he who is unmusical is a child in music; he who is without letters
is a child in learning; he who is untaught, is a child in life.
		-- Epictetus
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First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to
do.
		-- Epictetus
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The philosophers say that we ought first to learn that there is a God
and that he provides for all things; also that it is not possible to
conceal from him our acts, or even our intentions and thoughts.
		-- Epictetus
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Where is the good?  In the will.  Where is the evil?  In the will.
Where is neither of them?  In those things which are independent of the
will.
		-- Epictetus
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This is the case also with ourselves.  What do we admire?  Externals.
About what things are we busy?  Externals.  And have we any doubt then
why we fear or why we are anxious?
		-- Epictetus
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For universally, be not deceived, every animal is attached to nothing so
much as to its own interests.
		-- Epictetus
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Men generally act as a traveller would do on his way to his own country,
when he enters a good inn, and being pleased with it should remain
there.  Man, you have forgotten your purpose: you were not travelling to
this inn, but you were passing through it.
		-- Epictetus
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When one of those who were present said, Persuade me that logic is
necessary, he replied, Do you wish me to prove this to you?  The answer
was, Yes.  Then I must use a demonstrative form of speech.  This was
granted.  How then will you know if I am cheating you by my argument?
The man was silent.  Do you see, said Epictetus, that you yourself are
admitting that logic is necessary, if without it you cannot know so much
as this, whether logic is necessary or not necessary?
		-- Epictetus
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As bad tragic actors cannot sing alone, but in company with many, so
some persons cannot walk about alone.
		-- Epictetus
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In every act consider what precedes and what follows, and then proceed
to the act.
		-- Epictetus
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In every act consider what precedes and what follows, and then proceed
to the act.  If you do not consider, you will at first begin with
spirit, since you have not thought at all of the things which follow;
but afterwards when some consequences have shown themselves, you will
basely desist (from that which you have begun).--I wish to conquer at
the Olympic games.--(And I too, by the gods; for it is a fine thing.)
But consider here what precedes and what follows; and then, if it is for
your good, undertake the thing.  You must act according to rules, follow
strict diet, abstain from delicacies, exercise yourself by compulsion at
fixed times, in heat, in cold; drink no cold water, nor wine, when there
is opportunity of drinking it.  In a word, you must surrender yourself
to the trainer, as you do to a physician.  Next in the contest, you must
be covered with sand, sometimes dislocate a hand, sprain an ankle,
swallow a quantity of dust, be scourged with the whip; and after
undergoing all this, you must sometimes be conquered.  After reckoning
all these things, if you have still an inclination, go to the athletic
practice.  If you do not reckon them, observe you will behave like
children who at one time play as wrestlers, then as gladiators, then
blow a trumpet, then act a tragedy, when they have seen and admired such
things.  So you also do: you are at one time a wrestler (athlete), then
a gladiator, then a philosopher, then a rhetorician; but with your whole
soul you are nothing: like the ape you imitate all that you see; and
always one thing after another pleases you, but that which becomes
familiar displeases you.  For you have never undertaken anything after
consideration, nor after having explored the whole matter and put it to
a strict examination; but you have undertaken it at hazard and with a
cold desire.
		-- Epictetus
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If a man has frequent intercourse with others either for talk, or
drinking together, or generally for social purposes, he must either
become like them, or change them to his own fashion.
		-- Epictetus
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When you see another man in the possession of power (magistracy), set
against this the fact that you have not the want (desire) of power; when
you see another rich, see what you possess in place of riches: for if
you possess nothing in place of them, you are miserable; but if you have
not the want of riches, know that you possess more than this man
possesses and what is worth much more.
		-- Epictetus
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Of things some are in our power, and others are not.  In our power are
opinion, movement towards a thing, desire, aversion, turning from a
thing; and in a word, whatever are our acts.  Not in our power are the
body, property, reputation, offices, and in a word, whatever are not our
own acts.  And the things in our power are by nature free, not subject
to restraint or hindrance; but the things not in our power are weak,
slavish, subject to restraint, in the power of others.  Remember then,
that if you think the things which are by nature slavish to be free, and
the things which are in the power of others to be your own, you will be
hindered, you will lament, you will be disturbed, you will blame both
gods and men; but if you think that only which is your own to be your
own, and if you think that what is another's, as it really is, belongs
to another, no man will ever compel you, no man will hinder you, you
will never blame any man, you will accuse no man, you will do nothing
involuntarily (against your will), no man will harm you, you will have
no enemy, for you will not suffer any harm.
		-- Epictetus
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Remember that desire contains in it the profession (hope) of obtaining
that which you desire; and the profession (hope) in aversion (turning
from a thing) is that you will not fall into that which you attempt to
avoid; and he who fails in his desire is unfortunate; and he who falls
into that which he would avoid is unhappy.  If then you attempt to avoid
only the things contrary to nature which are within your power you will
not be involved in any of the things which you would avoid.  But if you
attempt to avoid disease, or death, or poverty, you will be unhappy.
Take away then aversion from all things which are not in our power, and
transfer it to the things contrary to nature which are in our power.
		-- Epictetus
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If you are kissing your child or wife, say that it is a human being whom
you are kissing, for when the wife or child dies you will not be
disturbed.
		-- Epictetus
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When you are going to take in hand any act remind yourself what kind of
an act it is.  If you are going to bathe, place before yourself what
happens in the bath; some splashing the water, others pushing against
one another, others abusing one another, and some stealing; and thus
with more safety you will undertake the matter, if you say to yourself,
I now intend to bathe, and to maintain my will in a manner conformable
to nature.  And so you will do in every act; for thus if any hindrance
to bathing shall happen let this thought be ready.  It was not this only
that I intended, but I intended also to maintain my will in a way
conformable to nature; but I shall not maintain it so if I am vexed at
what happens.
		-- Epictetus
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Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinions
about the things.
		-- Epictetus
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Be not elated at any advantage (excellence) which belongs to another.
		-- Epictetus
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As on a voyage when the vessel has reached a port, if you go out to get
water it is an amusement by the way to pick up a shellfish or some bulb,
but your thoughts ought to be directed to the ship, and you ought to be
constantly watching if the captain should call, and then you must throw
away all those things, that you may not be bound and pitched into the
ship like sheep.
		-- Epictetus
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Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but
wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a
tranquil flow of life.
		-- Epictetus
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Disease is an impediment to the body, but not to the will, unless the
will itself chooses.  Lameness is an impediment to the leg, but not to
the will.  And add this reflection on the occasion of everything that
happens; for you will find it an impediment to something else, but not
to yourself.
		-- Epictetus
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On the occasion of every accident (event) that befalls you, remember to
turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use.
If you see a fair man or a fair woman, you will find that the power to
resist is temperance (continence).  If labor (pain) be presented to you,
you will find that it is endurance.  If it be abusive words, you will
find it to be patience.  And if you have been thus formed to the
(proper) habit, the appearances will not carry you along with them.
		-- Epictetus
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Never say about anything, I have lost it, but say I have returned it.
		-- Epictetus
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If you would have your children and your wife and your friends to live
for ever, you are silly; for you would have the things which are not in
your power to be in your power, and the things which belong to others to
be yours.
		-- Epictetus
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Remember that you must behave in life as at a dinner party.  Is anything
brought around to you?  Put out your hand and take your share with
moderation.  Does it pass by you?  Don't stop it.  Is it not yet come?
Don't stretch your desire towards it, but wait till it reaches you.  Do
this with regard to children, to a wife, to public posts, to riches, and
you will eventually be a worthy partner of the feasts of the gods.  And
if you don't even take the things which are set before you, but are able
even to reject them, then you will not only be a partner at the feasts
of the gods, but also of their empire.  For, by doing this, Diogenes,
Heraclitus and others like them, deservedly became, and were called,
divine.
		-- Epictetus
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When you see a person weeping in sorrow either when a child goes abroad
or when he is dead, or when the man has lost his property, take care
that the appearance do not hurry you away with it, as if he were
suffering in external things.  But straightway make a distinction in
your own mind, and be in readiness to say, it is not that which has
happened that afflicts this man, for it does not afflict another, but it
is the opinion about this thing which afflicts the man.  So far as words
then do not be unwilling to show him sympathy, and even if it happens
so, to lament with him.  But take care that you do not lament internally
also.
		-- Epictetus
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Remember that you are an actor in a play, of such a kind as the author
may choose; if short, of a short one; if long, of a long one: if he
wishes you to act the part of a poor man, see that you act the part
naturally; if the part of a lame man, of a magistrate, of a private
person, (do the same).  For this is your duty, to act well the part that
is given to you; but to select the part, belongs to another.
		-- Epictetus
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When a raven has croaked inauspiciously, let not the appearance hurry
you away with it; but straightway make a distinction in your mind and
say, None of these things is signified to me, but either to my poor
body, or to my small property, or to my reputation, or to my children,
or to my wife: but to me all significations are auspicious if I choose.
For whatever of these things results, it is in my power to derive
benefit from it.
		-- Epictetus
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You can be invincible, if you enter into no contest in which it is not
in your power to conquer.  Take care then when you observe a man honored
before others or possessed of great power or highly esteemed for any
reason, not to suppose him happy, and be not carried away by the
appearance.  For if the nature of the good is in our power, neither envy
nor jealousy will have a place in us.  But you yourself will not wish to
be a general or senator or consul, but a free man: and there is only one
way to this, to despise (care not for) the things which are not in our
power.
		-- Epictetus
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Remember that it is not he who reviles you or strikes you, who insults
you, but it is your opinion about these things as being insulting.  When
then a man irritates you, you must know that it is your own opinion
which has irritated you.  Therefore especially try not to be carried
away by the appearance.  For if you once gain time and delay, you will
more easily master yourself.
		-- Epictetus
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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.
		-- Epictetus
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If you desire philosophy, prepare yourself from the beginning to be
ridiculed, to expect that many will sneer at you, and say, He has all at
once returned to us as a philosopher; and whence does he get this
supercilious look for us?  Do you not show a supercilious look; but hold
on to the things which seem to you best as one appointed by God to this
station.  And remember that if you abide in the same principles, these
men who first ridiculed will afterwards admire you; but if you shall
have been overpowered by them, you will bring on yourself double
ridicule.
		-- Epictetus
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If it should ever happen to you to be turned to externals in order to
please some person, you must know that you have lost your purpose in
life.  Be satisfied then in everything with being a philosopher; and if
you wish to seem also to any person to be a philosopher, appear so to
yourself, and you will be able to do this.
		-- Epcitetus
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We may learn the wish (will) of nature from the things in which we do
not differ from one another: for instance, when your neighbor's slave
has broken his cup, or anything else, we are ready to say forthwith,
that it is one of the things which happen.  You must know then that when
your cup also is broken, you ought to think as you did when your
neighbor's cup was broken.  Transfer this reflection to greater things
also.  Is another man's child or wife dead?  There is no one who would
not say, This is an event incident to man.  But when a man's own child
or wife is dead, forthwith he calls out, Woe to me, how wretched I am!
But we ought to remember how we feel when we hear that it has happened
to others.
		-- Epictetus
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As a mark is not set up for the purpose of missing the aim, so neither
does the nature of evil exist in the world.
		-- Epictetus
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If any person was intending to put your body in the power of any man
whom you fell in with on the way, you would be vexed; but that you put
your understanding in the power of any man whom you meet, so that if he
should revile you, it is disturbed and troubled, are you not ashamed at
this?
		-- Epictetus
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Immediately prescribe some character and some form to yourself, which
you shall observe both when you are alone and when you meet with men.
		-- Epictetus
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And let silence be the general rule, or let only what is necessary be
said, and in few words.  And rarely, and when the occasion calls, we
shall say something; but about none of the common subjects, not about
gladiators, nor horse-races, nor about athletes, nor about eating or
drinking, which are the usual subjects; and especially not about men, as
blaming them or praising them, or comparing them.  If then you are able,
bring over by your conversation, the conversation of your associates, to
that which is proper; but if you should happen to be confined to the
company of strangers, be silent.
		-- Epictetus
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Let not your laughter be much, nor on many occasions, nor excessive.
		-- Epictetus
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Refuse altogether to take an oath, if it is possible; if it is not,
refuse as far as you are able.
		-- Epictetus
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Avoid banquets which are given by strangers and by ignorant persons.
But if ever there is occasion to join in them, let your attention be
carefully fixed, that you slip not into the manners of the vulgar (the
uninstructed).  For you must know, that if your companion be impure, he
also who keeps company with him must become impure, though he should
happen to be pure.
		-- Epictetus
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Take (apply) the things which relate to the body as far as the bare use,
as food, drink, clothing, house, and slaves; but exclude everything
which is for show or luxury.
		-- Epictetus
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As to pleasure with women, abstain as far as you can before marriage;
but if you do indulge in it, do it in the way which is conformable to
custom.  Do not however be disagreeable to those who indulge in these
pleasures, or reprove them; and do not often boast that you do not
indulge in them yourself.
		-- Epictetus
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If a man has reported to you, that a certain person speaks ill of you,
do not make any defence (answer) to what has been told you; but reply,
The man did not know the rest of my faults, for he would not have
mentioned these only.
		-- Epictetus
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It is not necessary to go to the theatres often: but if there is ever a
proper occasion for going, do not show yourself as being a partisan of
any man except yourself, that is, desire only that to be done which is
done, and for him only to gain the prize who gains the prize; for in
this way you will meet with no hindrance.  But abstain entirely from
shouts and laughter at any (thing or person), or violent emotions.  And
when you are come away, do not talk much about what has passed on the
stage, except about that which may lead to your own improvement.  For it
is plain, if you do talk much, that you admired the spectacle (more than
you ought).
		-- Epictetus
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When you are going to meet with any person, and particularly one of
those who are considered to be in a superior condition, place before
yourself what Socrates or Zeno would have done in such circumstances,
and you will have no difficulty in making a proper use of the occasion.
		-- Epictetus
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When you are going to any of those who are in great power, place before
yourself that you will not find the man at home, that you will be
excluded, that the door will not be opened to you, that the man will not
care about you.  And if with all this it is your duty to visit him, bear
what happens, and never say to yourself that it was not worth the
trouble.  For this is silly, and marks the character of a man who is
offended by externals.
		-- Epictetus
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In company take care not to speak much and excessively about your own
acts or dangers; for as it is pleasant to you to make mention of your
own dangers, it is not so pleasant to others to hear what has happened
to you.  Take care also not to provoke laughter; for this is a slippery
way towards vulgar habits, and is also adapted to diminish the respect
of your neighbors.  It is a dangerous habit also to approach obscene
talk.  When then, anything of this kind happens, if there is a good
opportunity, rebuke the man who has proceeded to this talk; but if there
is not an opportunity, by your silence at least, and blushing and
expression of dissatisfaction by your countenance, show plainly that you
are displeased at such talk.
		-- Epictetus
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If you have received the impression of any pleasure, guard yourself
against being carried away by it; but let the thing wait for you, and
allow yourself a certain delay on your own part.  Then think of both
times, of the time when you will enjoy the pleasure, and of the time
after the enjoyment of the pleasure, when you will repent and will
reproach yourself.  And set against these things how you will rejoice,
if you have abstained from the pleasure, and how you will commend
yourself.  But if it seem to you seasonable to undertake (do) the thing,
take care that the charm of it, and the pleasure, and the attraction of
it shall not conquer you; but set on the other side the consideration,
how much better it is to be conscious that you have gained this victory.
		-- Epictetus
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When you have decided that a thing ought to be done, and are doing it,
never avoid being seen doing it, though the many shall form an
unfavorable opinion about it.  For if it is not right to do it, avoid
doing the thing; but if it is right, why are you afraid of those who
shall find fault wrongly?
		-- Epictetus
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As the proposition, it is either day, or it is night, is of great
importance for the disjunctive argument, but for the conjunctive, is of
no value, so in a symposium (entertainment) to select the larger share
is of great value for the body, but for the maintenance of the social
feeling is worth nothing.  When, then, you are eating with another,
remember, to look not only to the value for the body of the things set
before you, but also to the value of the behavior towards the host which
ought to be observed.
		-- Epictetus
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If you have assumed a character above your strength, you have both acted
in this manner in an unbecoming way, and you have neglected that which
you might have fulfilled.
		-- Epictetus
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In walking about, as you take care not to step on a nail, or to sprain
your foot, so take care not to damage your own ruling faculty; and if we
observe this rule in every act, we shall undertake this act with more
security.
		-- Epictetus
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The measure of possession (property) is to every man the body, as the
foot is of the shoe.  If then you stand on this rule (the demands of the
body), you will maintain the measure; but if you pass beyond it, you
must then of necessity be hurried as it were down a precipice.  As also
in the matter of the shoe, if you go beyond the (necessities of the)
foot, the shoe is gilded, then of a purple color, then embroidered; for
there is no limit to that which has once passed the true measure.
		-- Epictetus
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Women forthwith from the age of fourteen are called by the men
mistresses.  Therefore, since they see that there is nothing else that
they can obtain, but only the power of lying with men, they begin to
decorate themselves, and to place all their hopes in this.  It is worth
our while then to take care that they may know that they are valued (by
men) for nothing else than appearing (being) decent and modest and
discreet.
		-- Epictetus
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It is a mark of a mean capacity to spend much time on the things which
concern the body, such as much exercise, much eating, much drinking,
much easing of the body, much copulation.  But these things should be
done as subordinate things; and let all your care be directed to the
mind.
		-- Epictetus
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When any person treats you ill or speaks ill of you, remember that he
does this or says this because he thinks that it is his duty.  It is not
possible then for him to follow that which seems right to you, but that
which seems right to himself.  Accordingly if he is wrong in his
opinion, he is the person who is hurt, for he is the person who has been
deceived; for if a man shall suppose the true conjunction to be false,
it is not the conjunction which is hindered, but the man who has been
deceived about it.  If you proceed then from these opinions, you will be
mild in temper to him who reviles you; for say on each occasion, It
seemed so to him.
		-- Epictetus
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Everything has two handles, the one by which it may be carried, the other
by which it cannot.
		-- Epictetus
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These reasonings do not cohere: I am richer than you, therefore I am
better than you; I am more eloquent than you, therefore I am better than
you.  On the contrary, these rather cohere: I am richer than you,
therefore my possessions are greater than yours; I am more eloquent than
you, therefore my speech is superior to yours.  But you are neither
possession nor speech.
		-- Epictetus
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Does a man bathe quickly (early)?  do not say that he bathes badly, but
that he bathes quickly.  Does a man drink much wine?  do not say that he
does this badly, but say that he drinks much.  For before you shall have
determined the opinion how do you know whether he is acting wrong?  Thus
it will not happen to you to comprehend some appearances which are
capable of being comprehended, but to assent to others.
		-- Epictetus
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On no occasion call yourself a philosopher, and do not speak much among
the uninstructed about theorems; but do that which follows from them.
For example, at a banquet do not say how a man ought to eat, but eat as
you ought to eat. 
		-- Epictetus
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When at a small cost you are supplied with everything for the body, do
not be proud of this; nor, if you drink water, say on every occasion, I
drink water.  But consider first how much more frugal the poor are than
we, and how much more enduring of labor.  And if you ever wish to
exercise yourself in labor and endurance, do it for yourself, and not
for others.
		-- Epictetus
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The condition and characteristic of an uninstructed person is this: he
never expects from himself profit (advantage) nor harm, but from
externals.  The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is this:
he expects all advantage and all harm from himself.
		-- Epictetus
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When a man is proud because he can understand and explain the writings
of Chrysippus, say to yourself, If Chrysippus had not written obscurely,
this man would have had nothing to be proud of.  But what is it that I
wish?  To understand nature and to follow it.  I inquire therefore who
is the interpreter?  and when I have heard that it is Chrysippus, I come
to him (the interpreter).  But I do not understand what is written, and
therefore I seek the interpreter.  And so far there is yet nothing to be
proud of.  But when I shall have found the interpreter, the thing that
remains is to use the precepts (the lessons).  This itself is the only
thing to be proud of.  But if I shall admire the exposition, what else
have I been made unless a grammarian instead of a philosopher?  except
in one thing, that I am explaining Chrysippus instead of Homer.  When,
then, any man says to me, Read Chrysippus to me, I rather blush, when I
cannot show my acts like to and consistent with his words.
		-- Epictetus
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The first and most necessary place in philosophy is the use of theorems,
for instance, that we must not lie; the second part is that of
demonstrations, for instance, How is it proved that we ought not to lie?
The third is that which is confirmatory of these two, and explanatory,
for example, How is this a demonstration?  For what is demonstration,
what is consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is
falsehood?  The third part is necessary on account of the second, and
the second on account of the first; but the most necessary and that on
which we ought to rest is the first.  But we do the contrary.  For we
spend our time on the third topic, and all our earnestness is about it;
but we entirely neglect the first.  Therefore we lie; but the
demonstration that we ought not to lie we have ready to hand.
		-- Epictetus
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In every thing (circumstance) we should hold these maxims ready to hand:

  Lead me, O Zeus, and thou O Destiny, The way that I am bid by you to
  go: To follow I am ready.  If I choose not, I make myself a wretch,
  and still must follow.

  But whoever nobly yields unto necessity, We hold him wise, and skill'd
  in things divine.
		-- Epictetus
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