All Quotes

"For a man can lose neither the past nor the future; for how can one take from him that which is not his? So remember these two points: first, that each thing is of like form from everlasting and comes round again in its cycle, and that it signifies not whether a man shall look upon the same things for a hundred years or two hundred, or for an infinity of time; second, that the longest lived and the shortest lived man, when they come to die, lose one and the same thing."

"Human life. Duration: momentary. Nature: changeable. Perception: dim. Condition of Body: decaying. Soul: spinning around. Fortune: unpredictable. Lasting Fame: uncertain. Sum Up: The body and its parts are a river, the soul a dream and mist, life is warfare and a journey far from home, lasting reputation is oblivion. (Hays translation)"

"As for life, it is a battle and a sojourning in a strange land; but the fame that comes after is oblivion."

"What means all this?"

"Waste not the remnant of thy life in those imaginations touching other folk, whereby thou contributest not to the common weal."

"...undefiled by pleasures, invulnerable to any pain, untouched by arrogance, unaffected by meanness, an athlete in the greatest of all contests—the struggle not to be overwhelmed by anything that happens. (Hays translation)"

"The lot assigned to every man is suited to him, and suits him to itself."

"For we carry our fate with us — and it carries us. (Hays translation)"

"Be not unwilling in what thou doest, neither selfish nor unadvised nor obstinate; let not over-refinement deck out thy thought; be not wordy nor a busybody."

"A man should be upright, not kept upright."

"But that which is useful is the better."

"Choose what's best.—Best is what benefits me. (Hays translation)"

"Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect."

"Respect the faculty that forms thy judgments."

"Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed. Short, therefore, is man's life, and narrow is the corner of the earth wherein he dwells."

"Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. (Hays translation)"

"The span we live is small—small as the corner of the earth in which we live it. Small as even the greatest renown, passed from mouth to mouth by short-lived stick figures, ignorant alike of themselves and those long dead. (Hays translation)"

"Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life."

"If you do the job in a principled way, with diligence, energy and patience, if you keep yourself free of distractions, and keep the spirit inside you undamaged, as if you might have to give it back at any moment— If you can embrace this without fear or expectation—can find fulfillment in what you're doing now, as Nature intended, and in superhuman truthfulness (every word, every utterance)—then your life will be happy. (Hays translation)—"

"As surgeons keep their instruments and knives always at hand for cases requiring immediate treatment, so shouldst thou have thy thoughts ready to understand things divine and human, remembering in thy every act, even the smallest, how close is the bond that unites the two."

"Nothing earthly succeeds by ignoring heaven, nothing heavenly by ignoring the earth. (Hays translation)"

"The ruling power within, when it is in its natural state, is so related to outer circumstances that it easily changes to accord with what can be done and what is given it to do."

"Let no act be done at haphazard, nor otherwise than according to the finished rules that govern its kind."

"By a tranquil mind I mean nothing else than a mind well ordered."

"Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, sea-shores, and mountains; and thou too art wont to desire such things very much. But this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men, for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself. For nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul."

"The universe is flux, life is opinion."

"Think on this doctrine,—that reasoning beings were created for one another's sake; that to be patient is a branch of justice, and that men sin without intending it."

"People try to get away from it all—to the country, to the beach, to the mountains. You always wish that you could too. Which is idiotic: you can get away from it anytime you like. By going within. Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of interruptions—than your own soul. (Hays translation)"

"The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of all those applauding hands. The people who praise us—how capricious they are, how arbitrary. And the tiny region in which it all takes place. (Hays translation)"

"Be straightforward. Look at things like a man, like a human being, like a citizen, like a mortal. (Hays translation)"

"Disturbance comes only from within—from our own perceptions. (Hays translation)"

"“The world is nothing but change. Our life is only perception.” (Hays translation)"

"Nothing can come out of nothing, any more than a thing can go back to nothing."

"If mind is common to us, then also the reason, whereby we are reasoning beings, is common. If this be so, then also the reason which enjoins what is to be done or left undone is common. If this be so, law also is common; if this be so, we are citizens; if this be so, we are partakers in one constitution; if this be so, the Universe is a kind of Commonwealth."

"Death, like generation, is a secret of Nature."

"Choose not to be harmed—and you won't feel harmed. Don't feel harmed—and you haven't been. (Hays translation)"

"That which makes the man no worse than he was makes his life no worse: it has no power to harm, without or within."

"Whatever happens at all happens as it should; you will find this true, if you watch narrowly."

"You have a mind? —Yes. Well, why not use it? (Hays translation)"

"Death hangs over thee: whilst yet thou livest, whilst thou mayest, be good."

"Many the lumps of frankincense on the same altar; one falls there early and another late, but it makes no difference."

"Not to live as if you had endless years ahead of you. Death overshadows you. While you're alive and able—be good. (Hays translation)"

"How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy."

"Doth perfect beauty stand in need of praise at all? Nay; no more than law, no more than truth, no more than loving kindness, nor than modesty."

"Whatever is in any way beautiful hath its source of beauty in itself, and is complete in itself; praise forms no part of it. So it is none the worse nor the better for being praised."

"No form of Nature is inferior to Art; for the arts merely imitate natural forms."

"Does anything genuinely beautiful need supplementing? No more than justice does—or truth, or kindness, or humility. Are any of those improved by being praised? Or damaged by contempt? Is an emerald suddenly flawed if no one admires it? Or gold, or ivory, or purple? Lyres? Knives? Flowers? Bushes? (Hays translation)"

"All that is harmony for you, my Universe, is in harmony with me as well. Nothing that comes at the right time for you is too early or too late for me. Everything is fruit to me that your seasons bring, Nature. All things come of you, have their being in you, and return to you."

"Let your occupations be few," says the sage, "if you would lead a tranquil life."

"Because most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you'll have more time, and more tranquillity. Ask yourself at every moment, “Is this necessary?” But we need to eliminate unnecessary assumptions as well. To eliminate the unnecessary actions that follow. (Hays translation)"