Daily archive

“The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.”

“Well-being is attained by little and little, and nevertheless is no little thing itself.”

“I follow willingly; but if I do not, I shall be forced to follow.”

“Lead me, Zeus, and you too, Destiny, to where you have assigned me.”

Philosophy is not a skill for display, but a discipline for living.

Neither should a free man be a slave to his body, nor should he neglect it.

“If you are going to learn, you must be punished; for the man who is not punished is not taught.”

“For a man to be happy, he must live in accordance with nature, and this is impossible unless he has learned what is in accordance with nature and trained himself to do it.”

“We are members of one great body, planted by nature.”

“Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer.”

Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.

“He who is brave is free.”

“While we are postponing, life speeds by.”

“If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.”

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”

“Anger is a short madness.”

“The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”

“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

“Don’t demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do.”

“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.”

“If you want to improve, be content to appear foolish and stupid to others.”

“It is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”

“No man is free who is not master of himself.”

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”

“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things.”

“Some things are within our power, while others are not.”

“Do not be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a wall, you need your comrades.”

“Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you.”

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”

“If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.”

“Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.”

“How much trouble he avoids who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only to what he does himself, that it may be just and pure.”

“The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.”

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”

“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good person should be. Be one.”

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

We should listen to our friends, for they see our faults more clearly than we do.

Reason is the ruler of the universe, and the mind shares in it.

Teach by example, not by words alone; the pupil follows what you do, not what you say.

Train the body to endure, and the soul will follow; for the two are one household.

No one is wise alone; wisdom is formed in the company of others.

Learn from everyone, for there is no one from whom nothing can be learned.

Anger makes a fool of the wise man before it makes him an enemy.

Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend, and the most foolishly squandered.

Pain is a teacher; it shows us what we are still too weak to bear, so that we may grow strong.

Do not be afraid to live; the fear of living is worse than living itself.

The wise man is never unprepared, because he has considered all that may come.

Virtue is not a gift; it is a discipline, and it is won by daily effort.

Attend to what matters, and let the rest be as it will.

Trust your reason, not your impressions; the one is yours, the other is not.

Win small victories over yourself, and the great ones will follow.

If you are insulted, bear it; the insult is in the judgment, not in the words.

Seek the simple life; the simple is within your power, the extravagant is not.

Do not pretend to a virtue you do not practice; the pretense will be found out.

Practice is the only teacher; you learn by doing, not by reading about doing.