Discourses and Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)
The Stoics, of course, rejected such thinking. They were convinced that what stands between most of us and happiness is not our government or the society in which we live, but defects in our philosophy of life—or our failing to have a philosophy at all. It is true that our government and our society determine, to a considerable extent, our external
... See moreWilliam B. Irvine • A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
‘our end lies in following the gods, and the essence of the good in the correct use of impressions’?
Epictetus • Discourses, Fragments, Handbook (Oxford World's Classics)
What are we to do, then? To make the best of what lies within our power, and deal with everything else as it comes. ‘How does it come, then?’ As God wills.
Epictetus • Discourses, Fragments, Handbook (Oxford World's Classics)
“Ask yourself the following first thing in the morning: What am I lacking in attaining freedom from passion? What for tranquility? What am I? A mere body, estate-holder, or reputation? None of these things. What, then? A rational being. What then is demanded of me? Meditate on your actions. How did I steer away from serenity? What did I do that was
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