Stoic quotes with context
Stoicism began in Athens around 300 BC and became a philosophy for everyday life in Rome. Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius keep returning to one question: what is in your control, and what is not? These are all the quotes Stillwort files under Stoicism.
With context
Read and listen to the explanationA man is what he thinks about all day long.
Read and listen to the explanationSeek 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.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Live not as though you had a thousand years. The end is near. While you have time, while you can, become good.
Discipline is the bridge between goal and achievement.
Every person is the mirror of their own thoughts.
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
All 201 quotes
Seneca 59
The wise man does not mourn what he has lost. He rejoices in what he had.
The most beautiful thing in life is what needs no answer.
Everything we fear loses its power the moment we look at it.
A person who makes no mistakes makes nothing at all.
Whoever quarrels with fate loses twice.
Not strength but consistency makes the difference.
The wise man doesn't doubt. He thinks.
Learn to want less, and you will have more.
Examine your actions every evening, not to punish yourself but to grow.
Whoever has no goal cannot fail, and cannot arrive either.
We suffer more in imagination than in reality.
Whoever loves noise flees from themselves.
Whoever only sees what is missing never sees what is there.
The worst is not to fall, but to stay down.
Every day is a new life for the wise.
Whoever wants everything loses everything.
Be modest in your desires generous in your deeds.
Whoever survives the storm is stronger than the one it spared.
There is no good voyage for someone who doesn't know where they are steering.
We don't need more time; we need less distraction.
What is duty today becomes habit tomorrow, and joy the day after.
The best thing you can do for others is to make the best of yourself.
We suffer more in imagination than in reality.
The best thing we can do for the world is to become better.
If a task is difficult, that is no reason not to do it. On the contrary.
Everything belongs to others. Time alone belongs to us.
Virtue is its own reward.
Be a friend to yourself first. Then you will never be alone.
It is not about how long you live, but how deeply.
When you know why you live you can endure almost anything.
Not wealth but wisdom is the foundation of happiness.
When a task is difficult, that is no reason not to do it. On the contrary.
Happiness lies not in possessions but in character.
Life is like a play; what matters is not how long it runs but how well it's performed.
Nothing is as false as the thought that wealth confers dignity.
Freedom is not the right to do everything, but the strength to do what is right.
A troubled heart sees no clear paths.
The measure of life is not its length but its worth.
Keep close to those who make you better, and be open to those you can make better.
Virtue needs neither commands nor rewards.
The silence of the wise says more than the speech of fools.
Try not to be loved; try to be lovable.
It's not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years.
Time doesn't heal all wounds; it only gives us time to get used to them.
The best about the past: it's over. The worst: it shapes you.
Whoever acts today need not regret tomorrow.
We don't need more time; we need less distraction.
Live so that you have no fear of tomorrow.
Whoever has time has everything. Whoever has no time has nothing.
Only those who trust themselves can trust others.
Philosophy promises above all: common sense, humanity and community.
The first step toward greatness: be honest with yourself.
The good is always close; it is our blindness that makes it seem far.
The best things in life are free, and we notice only when we lose them.
Don't be ashamed of what nature made. Be ashamed of what you've made of it.
Take no time for what deserves no time.
Life is short when we waste it.
Learn to be content with little and you will have the most.
Beware of those who flatter you. They are more dangerous than your enemies.
Marcus Aurelius 54
The hardest thing in life is to be simple.
Everyone has the strength they need. They just often don't believe it.
It is not death that a person should fear but that they may never start to live.
You have power over your mind not over outside events. Recognize this and you will find strength.
The most important thing in life is to decide what the most important thing in life is.
Wise words are worth less than wise actions.
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.
Life requires no perfection; it demands only honesty.
Life doesn't challenge us; we challenge it.
Even if you lived three thousand years: no one loses any life other than the one they are currently living.
Begin where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
When you fight against a mistake you simultaneously fight yourself.
A person who knows themselves need fear no enemy.
When you master your mind you master your fate.
Don't be sad about what you don't have; rejoice in what you do have.
You don't have to understand everything to accept it.
A quiet mind is the best weapon.
Whoever forgets quickly suffers more slowly.
When you wake and think of something unpleasant, remember: this may not be in your power.
Live each day as if it were your last and your first.
The greatness of a man is measured by what it takes to discourage him.
When you wake up in the morning think: I have the privilege of being alive.
The finest thing in a human is their imperfect striving toward perfection.
Life is shaped by what we think about most.
A human being is part of the whole. Their well-being and the well-being of the whole are one.
A strong person needs no proof of their strength.
Pause before you speak. Silence is rarely a mistake.
Whoever fights without a goal exhausts themselves without purpose.
Your worst enemies live inside your own head.
The most courageous thing you can do is to be yourself.
The inner shapes the outer, not the other way around.
Hold fast to what cannot perish.
The strength of the mind is more important than the strength of the body.
Loss is nothing but change and change is the essence of nature.
Whoever completes a deed is shaped by it.
The obstacles on the path become the path.
Every external disturbance is an inner invitation.
Whoever wastes energy on trivialities has none left for what matters.
Whoever knows no boundaries knows no freedom.
A quiet mind is more powerful than any external force.
Honor what you are not what others expect of you.
The harm we do to others returns to us.
The best thing about the future is that it hasn't been written yet.
When you know what you are doing you can do what you want.
Whoever fears silence has not yet found themselves.
Not circumstances but character determines life.
Give yourself permission not to be perfect.
Very few things are needed to make a happy and virtuous life.
A person without inner peace finds it nowhere.
Some wounds only heal when you stop picking at them.
A good heart is the best tool for a good life.
Allow yourself mistakes; forbid yourself to make the same mistake twice.
A wise person adapts, like water that takes every form.
Silence is often the wisest answer.
Epictetus 44
It's not what happens to us, but how we respond to it, that matters.
Freed from worry about what is not in your power you will feel truly powerful.
Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants.
The only person you can change is yourself.
Only those who have conquered themselves are truly free.
You are not responsible for what others do, only for what you do.
What you demand of others demand first of yourself.
A person is only as great as the things that disturb them.
Whoever expects nothing is disappointed by nothing.
Never do anything you couldn't admit to.
What you cannot change you must accept, and what you accept begins to change.
Show me your companions and I'll show you who you are.
The one who knows themselves has the greatest strength.
Waste no energy on things you cannot change.
Whoever sets no boundaries is limited by others.
The path to well-being is not through what we want but through wanting what we have.
Freedom lies not in doing what one wants but in wanting what one does.
Do something every day that frightens you a little, for that is where you grow.
Whoever is thrown off by every word gives others power over their mind.
Every situation holds a lesson; whoever doesn't find it lives it again.
Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.
Nothing is harder than to stay silent when you are right.
What must be said must be said. What must not, must remain silent.
Some things are in our control and some are not. This difference is the beginning of wisdom.
A person is only truly lost when they give up on themselves.
The good needs no justification.
Every difficulty carries the seed of a possibility.
Never say about anything: I have lost it. Say: I have returned it.
Fate is not your enemy; your resistance to it is.
The wise person doesn't adapt to the world; they change themselves.
What matters most is not what happens, but how you respond to it.
Whoever fears enemies has not gotten to know themselves.
Whoever has control of themselves has control of everything.
We are the sum of our choices not our circumstances.
Whoever seeks only approval will never be free.
It's not things themselves that disturb us, but our judgments about things.
Nothing disturbs you, only your judgment about things.
No one can take your inner peace if you don't give it away yourself.
Change what you can change, and let go what you cannot.
No one is free who is not master of themselves.
Ask yourself about everything: Is this in my power or not? If not, let it go.
The strong seek no excuses.
Only when we let go do we know what we were holding on to.
Good character is not inborn; it is formed.
Zeno of Citium 5
Whoever knows themselves masters themselves.
The wisdom of silence surpasses that of words.
The only good is virtue. The only evil is vice.
Whoever only looks at the goal misses the path.
The aim of life is to live in accordance with nature.
Aristotle 4
The happiness of life lies not in pleasure, but in action.
Every virtue is a habit of the soul.
The path to virtue leads through action not through words.
The good life is not a state; it is an activity.
Socrates 3
The purest form of wisdom is self-knowledge.
The wisest is the one who knows what they don't know.
The goal of the philosopher is not knowledge, but wisdom.
Other voices 25
Whoever fights can lose. Whoever doesn't fight has already lost.
Do not fear death; fear the empty life.
Lead me, fate, to wherever you have destined. I follow willingly, or I'll be dragged.
Fate leads the willing and drags the unwilling.
Even the longest journey begins with a single step.
Be like water: yielding but unstoppable.
It is of no use to think about philosophy without practicing it.
Your body is your tool. Treat it accordingly.
A clean conscience is the best pillow.
First we shape our habits; then our habits shape us.
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts.
Do what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you achieve the impossible.
You cannot teach another person anything. You can only help them discover it within themselves.
Nothing is permanent except change.
Fortune favors the prepared mind.
Give every day the chance to be the most beautiful day of your life.
Don't count your days. Make your days count.
Whoever knows themselves needs no mirror.
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.
Whoever has no time for their health will soon have time for illness.
Nothing human is foreign to me.
The hardest thing is to know yourself. The easiest is to give others advice.
A small error at the beginning becomes large at the end.
A person without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.
The wise man learns from everything. The ordinary from their experience. The fool already knows.
One thought a day.
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