Introduction to 90 of the Best Stoic Philosophers Quotes
This collection of 90 Stoic Philosophers Quotes from three of Stoicism’s most revered figures—Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus—provides a window into the profound, timeless wisdom that has inspired generations.
Each quote, a distilled essence of Stoic thought, invites us to reflect on our own lives, encouraging growth, resilience, and a deeper appreciation for the world around us. Whether you’re facing personal adversity, seeking comfort, or simply looking for guidance on the path to self-improvement, the following quotes from these Stoic philosophers offer a source of strength and inspiration.
Stoic Philosophers Quotes from Seneca
Who was Seneca?
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, often known simply as Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and playwright who lived from around 4 BC to AD 65. Serving as an adviser to Emperor Nero, Seneca’s contributions to Stoicism were vast, including works on ethics, essays, and letters that explored Stoic principles such as the importance of reason, the practice of self-control, and the value of adversity in personal growth. His writings, rich with wisdom on how to live a meaningful life, remain profoundly relevant today, offering insights into overcoming hardships and the pursuit of a virtuous life.
Seneca Quotes
“A good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness.”
Seneca
“Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind.”
Seneca
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”
Seneca
“The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity.”
Seneca
“He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary.”
Seneca
“The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.”
Seneca
“Life, if well lived, is long enough.”
Seneca
“There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.”
Seneca
“You want to live – but do you know how to live? You are scared of dying – and, tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different from being dead?”
Seneca
“To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden.”
Seneca
“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.”
Seneca
“We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.”
Seneca
“I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent—no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.”
Seneca
“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”
Seneca
“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.”
Seneca
“It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.”
Seneca
“It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it.”
Seneca
“The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”
Seneca
“No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power not to want what they don’t have.”
Seneca
“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labour does the body.”
Seneca
“Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.”
Seneca
“If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person.”
Seneca
“Life is like a play: it’s not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters.”
Seneca
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca
“No man was ever wise by chance.”
Seneca
“What I advise you to do is, not to be unhappy before the crisis comes.”
Seneca
“Wild animals run from the dangers they actually see, and once they have escaped them worry no more. We however are tormented alike by what is past and what is to come.”
Seneca
“It’s ruinous for the soul to be anxious about the future and miserable in advance of misery, engulfed by anxiety that the things it desires might remain its own until the very end.”
Seneca
“True happiness is… to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.”
Seneca
“It is not the man who has little, but he who desires more, that is poor.”
Seneca
Stoic Philosophers Quotes from Marcus Aurelius
Who was Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor from AD 161 to 180, is best remembered for his philosophical writings, which have cemented his status as one of the most respected Stoic philosophers. His work, “Meditations,” composed of personal writings and reflections, serves as a remarkable source of Stoic wisdom. Aurelius delves into themes of impermanence, the nature of the mind, and the importance of living in accordance with virtue and reason. His meditations on life, ethics, and duty not only provided guidance for his rule but continue to inspire individuals seeking a life of purpose and tranquility.
Marcus Aurelius Quotes
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all in yourself, in your way of thinking.”
Marcus Aurelius
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Death smiles at us all, but all a man can do is smile back.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Choose not to be harmed — and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed — and you haven’t been.”
Marcus Aurelius
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”
Marcus Aurelius
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
Marcus Aurelius
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.”
Marcus Aurelius
“You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can’t control.”
Marcus Aurelius
“If it is endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining.”
Marcus Aurelius
“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injustice.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”
Marcus Aurelius
“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.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Don’t be overheard complaining… Not even to yourself.”
Marcus Aurelius
“If it is not right, do not do it, if it is not true, do not say it.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too.”
Marcus Aurelius
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Leave the past behind, let the grand design take care of the future, and instead only rightly guide the present to reverence and justice.”
Marcus Aurelius
“The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.”
Marcus Aurelius
“Think of the life you have lived until now as over and, as a dead man, see what’s left as a bonus and live it according to Nature. Love the hand that fate deals you and play it as your own, for what could be more fitting?”
Marcus Aurelius
“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.”
Marcus Aurelius
“The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.”
Marcus Aurelius
“We live only now. Everything else is either passed or is unknown.”
Marcus Aurelius
“What we do now echoes in eternity.”
Marcus Aurelius
Stoic Philosophers Quotes from Epictetus
Who was Epictetus?
Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher who lived from around AD 50 to 135. Born into slavery, Epictetus’s teachings emphasized the distinction between what is within our control and what is not, advocating for a focus on personal virtue and the acceptance of fate. His philosophy, primarily recorded by his pupil Arrian in the “Discourses” and the “Enchiridion,” underscores the belief that true happiness comes from within and is not dependent on external circumstances. Epictetus’s teachings encourage resilience, self-discipline, and the pursuit of wisdom, offering timeless guidance on living a life of moral integrity.
Epictetus Quotes
“Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not.”
Epictetus
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
Epictetus
“Fortify yourself with contentment, for this is an impregnable fortress you will have over your own life.”
Epictetus
“It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
Epictetus
“Keep your intention pure. Emotions will try to distract you. So keep going. That’s the cure.”
Epictetus
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”
Epictetus
“We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.”
Epictetus
“I cannot escape death, but at least I can escape the fear of it.”
Epictetus
“No man is free who is not master of himself.”
Epictetus
“Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.”
Epictetus
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
Epictetus
“How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?”
Epictetus
“It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death.”
Epictetus
“Seek not the good in external things; seek it in yourselves.”
Epictetus
“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.”
Epictetus
“Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.”
Epictetus
“If you wish to be a writer, write.”
Epictetus
“Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself.”
Epictetus
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
Epictetus
“The wise man loves, but he loves only what is in his power.”
Epictetus
“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.”
Epictetus
“Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.”
Epictetus
“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.”
Epictetus
“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.”
Epictetus
“He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at.”
Epictetus
“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”
Epictetus
“Other people’s views and troubles can be contagious. Don’t sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others.”
Epictetus
“I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not know who I am, they do not know what I think, they cannot even touch the things which are really mine and with which I live.”
Epictetus
“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”
Epictetus
“You become what you give your attention to.”
Epictetus
Final Thoughts
As we reflect on these quotes, let us remember that the wisdom of the Stoic philosophers can help us endure life’s hardships and find joy, meaning and purpose in life.
These 90 quotes are but a glimpse into the rich tapestry of the Stoic Philosophers thoughts, offering guidance, comfort, and a path to inner peace. If these insights have sparked a curiosity within you, a desire to delve deeper into the art of living a Stoic life, we invite you to take the next step.
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