Stoic Quotes
190 quotes
Stoic
Practical philosophy for resilience, virtue, and inner peace
190 Quotes
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book X
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Plato, Apology
Let your aim be simplicity, both in your words and in your intentions
— Meditations, Book VIII
A man is as miserable as he thinks he is
— Essays, Book I, Chapter XIV
It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them
— Moral Sayings, Maxim 42
Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness
— On the Letter to Lucilius, Letter 103
It is not things themselves that disturb us, but our opinions about them
— Enchiridion, Section 5
We ought not to fasten our ship to a single anchor, nor our life to a single hope
— Discourses, Book 3, Chapter 15
Nothing external to you has any power over you unless you permit it
— Essays: First Series, Self-Reliance (1841)
He is a wise man who does not mourn for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has
— Discourses, Book I
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience
— Essays: First Series, 1841
He who is brave is free
— Letters to Lucilius
Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health
— Public teachings and interviews
No man is hurt but by himself
— Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Epictetus' section
Man conquers the world by conquering himself
— .
Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not
— Enchiridion, Chapter 1
No person hands out their money to passersby, but to how many do we hand out our lives! We’re tight-fisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers
— On the Shortness of Life, 3.1
To endure is the first thing that a child ought to learn, and that he will have most need to know
— Émile, or On Education
Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control
— Discourses, Book IV
What upsets people is not things themselves, but their judgments about these things
— Enchiridion, 5
A ship should not ride on a single anchor, nor life on a single hope.
— Fragments
The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter IX
To achieve freedom and happiness, you must train yourself to live in the present—resolvedly, calmly, aware, and unafraid
— Peace Is Every Step
To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXVIII
If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished
— Masnavi, Book I
It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live
— Meditations, Book XII
No evil is honorable; but death is honorable; therefore death is not evil
— Fragments (reported by Cicero in Tusculan Disputations)
To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering
— Thus Spoke Zarathustra
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will
— Enchiridion
He who angers you conquers you
— Attributed
The best revenge is not to be like your enemy
— Meditations, Book VI
What necessity is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears
— On the Shortness of Life
To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought, has the greatest bearing on excellence of character
— Nicomachean Ethics
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book X
He who has a why to live can bear almost any how
— Twilight of the Idols (1889)
No man is free who is not master of himself
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 92
I bear a wound, but I am not wounded
— Voices
Nothing endures but change
— Fragments
The wise man belongs to all countries, for the home of a great soul is the whole world
— Fragment 247
Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 78
Cling to what is good, even if you stand alone, for integrity is its own reward
— Lecture fragments
To live a good life: We have the potential for it. If we can learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference
— Meditations, Book 11
To complain is always nonacceptance of what is
— The Power of Now (book)
In everything, no matter what it may be, uniformity is undesirable. Leaving something incomplete makes it interesting, and gives one the feeling that there is room for growth
— Essays in Idleness (Tsurezuregusa)
If you wish to be loved, love
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter IX
The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven
— Paradise Lost, Book I
To be even-minded is the greatest virtue
— . Fragment 112
If you wish to improve, you must be content to be thought foolish and stupid
— Enchiridion, Section 13
He who indulges in empty fears earns himself real fears
— Moral Sayings, Maxim 656
If you want to improve, you must be willing to look foolish and accept criticism. For no one learns in a crowd that always applauds.
— Discourses, Book I
No wind is favorable for the sailor who has no destination
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter 71
As for me, I find rest in that which can neither be taken away nor disturbed
— Discourses, III.24
To the rational animal only the irrational is unendurable, but the rational is endurable
— Meditations, Book X
To proclaim yourself as a philosopher is, in fact, to tell people that you are suffering from a certain fever
— Discourses, Book III
Change your thoughts and you change your world
— The Power of Positive Thinking (book)
No man was ever wise by chance
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 76
As long as you live, keep learning how to live
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 76
He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior
— Attributed, The Analects
He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter XIII
Freedom is the prize we are all seeking, and the Stoic path is about freeing oneself not from external circumstances but from internal chains
— Fragments, Lecture X
What we cannot bear removes us from life; what remains, we can endure
— Essays (1580), Book I, Chapter XIV
Habitual procrastination breeds failure; action, even if small, advances the soul
If you would be a reader, read; if a writer, write
— Discourses, Book II, Chapter 15
Freedom is the power to live as one wishes
— Philippic Orations, Second Philippic
No great thing is created suddenly
— Discourses, Book 1, Chapter 15
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves
— Man's Search for Meaning
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book VII
No matter how many books you read, the value comes only from the wisdom you live, not the words you possess.
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter II
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts
— Meditations, Book 5
Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself
— Discourses, Book I, Chapter 2
Fortune falls heavily on those for whom she’s unexpected. The one always on the lookout easily endures
— Letters from a Stoic, Letter XCI
Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter XLVII
Observe always that everything is the result of change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and to make new ones like them
— Meditations, Book 4
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book VII
If a man does not know what port he is steering for, no wind is favorable
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter LXXI
Hold fast to that which is best, whatever may befall you
— Fragments, Lecture 4
He who is contented is rich
— Tao Te Ching, Chapter 33
Let fate find us prepared and unyielding. Here lies true security
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 107
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy
— Speech, Strength to Love (1963)
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid
— Enchiridion, 13
Difficulty shows what men are
— Discourses, Book I, Chapter 24
What stands in the way becomes the way
— Meditations, Book V
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests
— Fragments, no. 18
Throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack
— Letters to Lucilius (context disputed; attributed via paraphrase of Seneca's themes)
It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit
— The Fellowship of the Ring
No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself
— Twilight of the Idols
The obstacle on the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter CV
Man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them
— Enchiridion, 5
Do not aspire to be a general; he who does so has lost command of himself
— Discourses, Book 3, Chapter 1
Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for
— Letter to Menoeceus
When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty
— Attributed by tradition, not verifiably in 'Meditations'
We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne.
— Meditations, Book V
It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it
— On the Shortness of Life, Chapter I
If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 71
When jarred, unavoidably, by circumstances, revert at once to yourself, and don’t lose the rhythm more than you can help. You’ll have a better grasp of the harmony if you keep going back to it
— Meditations, Book VI, 11
Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person
— Speech in Washington D.C., 1979
Only the educated are free
— Discourses, Book II
Fortune is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 74
Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul
— Meditations, Book IV, Section 3
Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness
— Tweet (2011)
Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter CVII
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do
— Enchiridion, 33
Withdraw into yourself as much as you can. Associate with those who will make you a better man. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve
— Letters from a Stoic, Letter VII
To live a life of virtue, match up your thoughts, words, and deeds
— Discourses, Book 3, Chapter 10
To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character
— Nicomachean Ethics, Book II
The things you think about determine the quality of your mind
— Meditations, Book 5
Time is a created thing. To say, 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.'
— Attributed to Lao Tzu, though not found in Tao Te Ching's core text
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations, Book VIII
Whatever can happen at any time can happen today
— Meditations, Book VIII
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will
— Discourses
Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems
— Fragments (as quoted by later authors), Fragment 13
If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment
— Meditations, Book VIII
If, at some point in your life, you should come across anything better than justice, truth, self-control, courage... it must be an extraordinary thing indeed
— Meditations, Book III
Remind yourself that it is not the future or what has passed that afflicts you, but always the present
— Meditations, Book VIII
We suffer not from the events in our lives, but from our judgment about them
— Essais
The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter 98
If you wish to be a writer, write
— Discourses, Book II
We suffer more often in imagination than in reality
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter XIII
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all
— Collected Works
He is most powerful who has power over himself
— Letters to Lucilius
A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness
— Note to a bellboy in Tokyo, 1922
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has
— Discourses, Book I, Chapter 6
Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things
— Enchiridion, Section V
Misfortune nobly born is good fortune
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 98
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do
— Enchiridion, 33
The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately
— On the Shortness of Life, Section 9
He who is brave is free
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 37
Freedom is the name of virtue: slavery, of vice
— Discourses, Book II, Chapter 1
What is to give light must endure burning
— Man's Search for Meaning
He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures
— Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Steadfastness is a fortress no fortune can overpower
— Discourses, Book I
The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going
— Paraphrased from Discourses
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 78
No one can give you advice better than yourself
— Meditations, Book XII
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid
— Enchiridion, Section 13
Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable or from neglecting what is within our power
— Discourses, Book I, Chapter 1 (paraphrase of core teaching; not direct transcript)
What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do
— The 4-Hour Workweek
We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter XIII
Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them
— Meditations, Book VII
One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious
— Alchemical Studies
Do not explain your philosophy. Embody it.
— Enchiridion
The best cure for anger is delay
— De Ira (On Anger), Book II, Section 29
It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter II
Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof of a well-ordered mind than a man's ability to stop just where he is and pass some time in his own company
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter II
Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life
— Meditations, Book VII, 67
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled
— Moralia
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid
— Discourses, Book I, Chapter 21
Fire tests gold, suffering tests brave men
— On Providence
Reason is not measured by size or height, but by principle and choice
— Discourses, Book 1, Chapter 29
To be calm is the highest achievement of the self
To understand the limits of our power is the beginning of wisdom
— Moralia, On Listening to Lectures
What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality
— Moralia, On Tranquillity of Mind
No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig
— Discourses, Book I, Chapter 15
The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 98
Man conquers the world by conquering himself
— Fragments (as preserved by Diogenes Laërtius)
Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants
— Enchiridion
A happy life is one which is in accordance with its own nature
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter XVI
To the wise, fortune's adverse blows are like thunder to a mountain: they perish unheard and unfelt
— Moralia, On Tranquility of Mind
Do not try to be on the side of the majority, but live according to your inner laws
— Self-Reliance
You must build up your life action by action, and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible
— Meditations, Book VII
Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do. Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you
— Discourses, Book III
What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality
— Moralia, On the Control of Anger
Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness
— Meditations, Book II
No man was ever wise by chance
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 76
You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength
— Meditations, Book VI, 8
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there
— Meditations, Book VII
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book 7
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do
— Discourses, Book III
He who learns must suffer, and even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart
— Agamemnon
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials
— On Providence
The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book IV
Let silence be your general rule; say only what is necessary and in few words
— Enchiridion, Section 33
Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do. Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you
— Enchiridion, Section 50
No person is free who is not master of himself
— . Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book VIII
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book IV
Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants
— Discourses, Book I, Chapter 4
What upsets people is not things themselves, but their judgments about these things
— Enchiridion, Section 5
If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgment now
— Meditations, Book VIII, Section 47
It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable
— Letters to Lucilius, Letter 98
Do not demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well
— Enchiridion, Section 8
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so
— Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2
If someone does wrong, it is because they are mistaken as to what is advantageous or harmful, and so it is not right to be angry or hate them
— Meditations, Book 11
Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself
— Meditations, Book V
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests
— Discourses
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves
— Interview, The Times, 1975
True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future
— On the Happy Life (De Vita Beata)
Let us train our minds to desire what the situation demands
— Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius)
To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character
— Nicomachean Ethics, Book II
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom
— Man's Search for Meaning
Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good
— Meditations, Book IV, 17