51 Stoicism Quotes by Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca

Last Updated on March 12, 2024 by The Unbounded Thinker

I gathered 51 stoicism quotes that encourage you to embrace hardships and live in harmony with nature. These stoicism quotes show how stoics encourage you to go with the flow of life rather than focus on things you cannot control.

Most importantly, these stoicism quotes will enable you to handle the problems of modern life by giving you a different perception of hardships.

Here are the stoicism quotes that will show you the Stoic way of life.

EPICTETUS

“As was fitting, therefore, the gods have put under our control only the most excellent faculty of all and that which dominates the rest, namely, the power to make correct use of external impressions, but all the others they have not put under our control.”
“We must make the best of what is under our control, and take the rest as its nature is. ” How, then, is its nature? ” As God wills.”
“He who craves or shuns the things that are not under his control can be neither faithful nor free, but must himself of necessity be changed and tossed to and fro with them, and must end by subordinating himself to others, those, namely, who are able to procure or prevent these things that he craves or shuns.”
“For the only thing that is under your control—the proper use of thoughts. Why, then, do you draw upon yourself that for which you are not responsible? This is to make trouble for yourself.”
“I have learned to see that everything which happens, if it be outside the realm of my moral purpose, is nothing to me.”
“If you are willing to keep guard over those things which are under your direct authority and by nature free, and if you are satisfied with them, what else do you care about?”
“When I see a man in anxiety, I say to myself, What can it be that this fellow wants? For if he did not want something that was outside of his control, how could he still remain in anxiety?”
“All matters of moral purpose are under our control, and no man can either take them away from us, or bring upon us such of them as we do not wish, what room is there left for anxiety?”
“Of things some are in our power, and others are not. In our power are opinion, movement toward a thing, desire, aversion (turning from a thing); and in a word, whatever are our own acts: not in our power are the body, property, reputation, offices (magisterial power), and in a word, whatever are not our own acts. And the things in our power are by nature free, not subject to restraint nor hindrance: but the things not in our power are weak, slavish, subject to restraint, in the control of others.”
“Remember then that if you think the things which are in the power of others to be your own, you will be hindered, you will lament, you will be disturbed, you will blame both gods and men.”
“Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinions about the things.”
“When then we are impeded or disturbed or grieved, let us never blame others, but ourselves, that is, our opinions.”
“Seek 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.”
“Remember that in life you ought to behave as at a banquet. Suppose that something is carried round and is opposite to you. Stretch out your hand and take a portion with decency. Suppose that it passes by you. Do not detain it, suppose that it is not yet come to you.”
“Remember that it is not he who reviles you or strikes you, who insults you, but it is your opinion about these things as being insulting. When then a man irritates you, you must know that it is your own opinion which has irritated you.”
“Conduct me, O God, and thou, O destiny, Wherever Your decrees have fixed my lot, I follow cheerfully; and, did I not, Wicked and wretched, I must follow still. To follow I am ready. If I choose not, I make myself a wretch, and still must follow.”
“As to piety toward the Gods you must know that this is the chief thing, to have right opinions about them, to think that they exist, and that they administer the All well and justly; and you must fix yourself in this principle (duty), to obey them, and yield to them in everything which happens, and voluntarily to follow it as being accomplished by the wisest intelligence.”

MARCUS AURELIUS

“Remember that each man lives only in the present moment: The rest of time is either spent and gone, or is quite unknown.”
“We should therefore say of each event, this comes from God; this happens according to that destined contexture and connexon of events, or by conjunction with them in fortune.”
“Resign yourself willingly to your destiny, allowing it to involve you in what matters it pleases.”
“Observe continually, that all things exist in consequence of changes. Enure yourself to consider that the nature of the universe delights in nothing more than in changing the things now existing, and in producing others like them.”
“Whatever happens, is as natural, and customary, and known, as a rose in the spring, or fruit in summer. Such are diseases, deaths, calumnies, treacheries, and all which gives fools either joy or sorrow.”
“And this, too, you forget, that, whatever now happens, has happened, and will happen; and the like now happens everywhere.”
“When you find yourself forced, as it were into some confusion or disturbance, by surrounding objects, return into yourself as speedily as you can; and depart no more from the true harmony of the soul, than what is absolutely unavoidable. You shall acquire greater power of retaining this harmony, by having frequent recourse to it.”
“Whenever you imagine, any of these things which are not in your power, are good or evil to you; if you fall into such imagined evils, or are disappointed of such goods, you must necessarily accuse the Gods, and hate those men, who, you deem, were the causes, or suspect will be causes of such misfortunes. Our solicitude about such things leads to a great deal of injustice. But, if we judge only the things in our power, to be good or evil, there remains no further cause of accusing the Gods, or of any hostile disposition against men.”
“The external things themselves have no power of causing opinions in us.”
“Upon every accident, keep in view those to whom the like hath happened. They stormed at the event; thought it strange; and complained. But where are they now? They are gone forever. Why would you act the like part?”
“If you remove your own opinions about the things which grieve you, you may presently stand on the surest ground.”
“Nothing can befall a man which is not a natural incident of mankind; nor to an ox, nor to a vine, nor to a stone, which is not a natural incident to these species. If, then, that alone can befall anything, which is usual, and naturally incident to it, what cause is there for indignation? The presiding nature of the whole hath brought nothing upon you, which you cannot bear.”
“If you are grieved about anything external, ’it’s not the thing itself that afflicts you, but your judgment about it; and it is in your power to correct this judgment and get quit of it.”
“Either the Gods have no power at to aid men in anything; or they have power. If, then, they have no power, why do you pray? But if they have power, why don’t you choose to pray to them to enable you, neither to fear any of these things, which are not in our own power nor desire any of them, nor be grieved about any of them.”
“Whatever happens, happens such as you are either formed by nature able to bear it, or not able to bear it. If such as you are by nature formed able to bear, bear it and fret not: But if such as you are not naturally able to bear, don’t fret; for when it has consumed you, itself will perish. Remember, however, you are by nature formed able to bear whatever it is in the power of your own opinion to make supportable or tolerable, according as you conceive it advantageous, or your duty, to do so.”
“I have often wondered how each man should love himself more than any other; and yet make less account of his own opinion concerning himself, than of the opinions of others.”
“When you fret at anything, you have forgot that all happens according to the nature of the whole; and that the fault subsists not in you, but in another.”

SENECA

“Spite of all do you still chafe and complain, not understanding that, in all the evils to which you refer, there is really only one—the fact that you do chafe and complain?”
“I think that for a man there is no misery unless there be something in the universe which he thinks miserable.”
“When everything seems to go hard and uphill, I have trained myself not merely to obey God, but to agree with decisions. I follow Him because my soul wills it, and not because I must. Nothing will ever happen to me that I shall receive with ill humour or with a wry face. I shall pay up all my taxes willingly. Now all the things which cause us to groan or recoil, are part of the tax of life.”
“Things that Fortune looks upon become productive and pleasant, only if he who possesses them is in possession also of himself, and is not in the power of that which belongs to him.”
“For the soul is more powerful than any sort of Fortune; by its own agency it guides its affairs in either direction, and of its own power it can produce a happy life, or a wretched one.”
“The upright and honest man corrects the wrongs of Fortune, and softens hardship and bitterness because he knows how to endure them; he likewise accepts prosperity with appreciation and moderation, and stands up against trouble with steadiness and courage.”
“If you are thus poised, nothing will affect you; and a man will be thus poised if he reflects on the possible ups and downs in human affairs before he feels their force, and if he comes to regard children, or wife, or property, with the idea that he will not necessarily possess them always and that he will not be any more wretched just because he ceases to possess them.”
“It is tragic for the soul to be apprehensive of the future and wretched in anticipation of wretchedness, consumed with an anxious desire that the objects which give pleasure may remain in its possession to the very end. For such a soul will never be at rest; in waiting for the future it will lose the present blessings which it might enjoy.”
“There is no difference between grief for something lost and the fear of losing it.”
“He suffers more than is necessary, who suffers before it is necessary.”
“Life is neither a Good nor an Evil; it is simply the place where good and evil exist.”
“Accept in an unruffled spirit that which is inevitable.”
“Our lack of confidence is not the result of difficulty; the difficulty comes from our lack of confidence.”
“Life is not a dainty business. You have started on a long journey; you are bound to slip, collide, fall, become weary, and cry out.”
“And we cannot change this order of things; but what we can do is to acquire stout hearts, worthy of good men, thereby courageously enduring chance and placing ourselves in harmony with Nature.”
“Winter brings on cold weather; and we must shiver. Summer returns, with its heat; and we must sweat. Unseasonable weather upsets the health; and we must fall ill. In certain places we may meet with wild beasts, or with men who are more destructive than any beasts. Floods, or fires, will cause us loss. And we cannot change this order of things; but what we can do is to acquire stout hearts, worthy of good men, thereby courageously enduring chance and placing ourselves in harmony with Nature.”
“Whatever happens, assume that it was bound to happen, and do not be willing to rail at Nature. That which you cannot reform, it is best to endure and to attend uncomplainingly upon the God under whose guidance everything progresses; for it is a bad soldier who grumbles when following his commander. For this reason, we should welcome our orders with energy and vigour, nor should we cease to follow the natural course of this most beautiful universe, into which all our future sufferings are woven.”

I believe you loved these stoicism quotes from our greatest philosophers. I will share more stoicism quotes in the future that will help you understand stoicism in-depth and live a better life.