Epictetus (Greek: Ἐπίκτητος; AD 55 – AD 135) was a Greek sage and Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present day Pamukkale, Turkey), and lived in Rome until banishment when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece where he lived the rest of his life. His teachings were noted down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses.

Philosophy, Epictetus taught, is a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are determined by fate, and are thus beyond our control, but we can accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. Individuals, however, are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline.

Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power. As part of the universal city that is the universe, human beings have a duty to care for all fellow humans. The person who follows these precepts will achieve happiness and peace of mind.

we should keep firmly in mind that we are merely actors in a play written by someone else—more precisely, the Fates

Some things are up to us and some are not up to us.

If you wish to be a writer, write.

Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee.

Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire.

He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk.

If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it.

If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.

It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death.

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.

No great thing is created suddenly.

No man is free who is not master of himself.

Silence is safer than speech.

The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.

The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.