Quotes from Discourses and Selected Writings

“So what oppresses and scares us? It is our own thoughts, obviously, What overwhelms people when they are about to leaves friends, family, old haunts and their accustomed way of life? Thoughts.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Remember from now on whenever something tends to make you unhappy, draw on this principle: 'This is no misfortune; but bearing with it bravely is a blessing.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Sickness is a problem for the body, not the mind — unless the mind decides that it is a problem. Lameness, too, is the body's problem, not the mind's. Say this to yourself whatever the circumstance and you will find without fail that the problem pertains to something else, not to you.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do not wish to have, or avoid, things that other people control, because then you must serve as their slave.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Keep the prospect of death, exile and all such apparent tragedies before you every day – especially death – and you will never have an abject thought, or desire anything to excess.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“The gods do not exists, and even if they exist they do not trouble themselves about people, and we have nothing in common with them. The piety and devotion to the gods that the majority of people invoke is a lie devised by swindlers and con men and, if you can believe it, by legislators, to keep criminals in line by putting the fear of God into them.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“It is a universal law — have no illusion — that every creature alive is attached to nothing so much as to its own self-interest.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“There is no shame in making an honest effort.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“People with a strong physical constitution can tolerate extremes of hot and cold; people of strong mental health can handle anger, grief, joy and the other emotions.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Don't hope that events will turn out the way you want, welcome events in whichever way they happen: this is the path to peace.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Whenever anyone criticizes or wrongs you, remember that they are only doing or saying what they think is right. They cannot be guided by your views, only their own; so if their views are wrong, they are the ones who suffer insofar as they are misguided.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Protect what belongs to you at all costs; don't desire what belongs to another.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“So if you like doing something, do it regularly; if you don't like doing something, make a habit of doing something different.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“In literature, too, it is not great achievement to memorize what you have read while not formulating an opinion of your own.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Adopt new habits yourself: consolidate your principles by putting them into practice.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“For where you find unrest, grief, fear, frustrated desire, failed aversion, jealousy and envy, happiness has no room for admittance. And where values are false, these passions inevitably follow.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Tell yourself what you want to be, then act your part accordingly.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Free is the person who lives as he wishes and cannot be coerced, impeded or compelled, whose impulses cannot be thwarted, who always gets what he desires and never has to experience what he would rather avoid.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Freedom is not archived by satisfying desire, but by eliminating it.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“You should be especially careful when associating with one of your former friends or acquaintances not to sink to their level; otherwise you will lose yourself. If you are troubled by the idea that ‘He’ll think I’m boring and won’t treat me the way he used to,’ remember that everything comes at a price. It isn’t possible to change your behavior and still be the same person you were before.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Never praise or blame people on common grounds; look to their judgements exclusively. Because that is the determining factor, which makes everyone's actions either good or bad.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Restrict yourself to choice and refusal; and exercise them carefully, with discipline and detachment.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Don't put your purpose in one place and expect to see progress made somewhere else.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“You ought to realize, you take up very little space in the world as a whole—your body, that is; in reason, however, you yield to no one, not even to the gods, because reason is not measured in size but sense. So why not care for that side of you, where you and the gods are equals?”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“That is the way things are weighed and disagreements settled — when standards are established. Philosophy aims to test and set such standards. And the wise man is advised to make use of their findings right way.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Most people are impulsive, however, and having committed to the thing, they persist, just making more confusion for themselves and others until it all end in mutual recrimination.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“He wants what he cannot have, and does not want what he can't refuse — and isn't aware of it. He doesn't know the difference between his own possessions and others'. Because, if he did, he would never be thwarted of disappointed.
Or nervous.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“We aren't filled with fear except by things that are bad; and not by them, either, as long as it is in our power to avoid them.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

“Don't concern yourself with other people's business. It's his problem if he receives you badly. And you cannot suffer for another person's fault. So don't worry about the behavior of other.”
― Epictetus, quote from Discourses and Selected Writings

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Popular quotes

“You can't be too careful about work. It's the most dangerous habit known to medical science.”
― Eugene O'Neill, quote from The Iceman Cometh

“Good sense is, of all things among men, the most equally distributed; for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it, that those even who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else, do not usually desire a larger measure of this quality than they already possess. And in this it is not likely that all are mistaken the conviction is rather to be held as testifying that the power of judging aright and of distinguishing truth from error, which is properly what is called good sense or reason, is by nature equal in all men; and that the diversity of our opinions, consequently, does not arise from some being endowed with a larger share of reason than others, but solely from this, that we conduct our thoughts along different ways, and do not fix our attention on the same objects. For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellences, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations; and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress, provided they keep always to the straight road, than those who, while they run, forsake it.”
― René Descartes, quote from Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy

“Divide and rule, subdivide and rule even more powerfully, fragment and rule absolutely.” “That’s”
― Frank Herbert, quote from The Dosadi Experiment

“In the spring of the year that I was supposed to be married, a comet launched itself over the skies of my village. It was brighter than any comet we had ever seen, and more evil. Night after night, as it crawled across our skies spraying its cold white seeds of sorrow, we tried to decipher the fearsome messages of the stars.”
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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.