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Stoic Quotes

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Stoic Quotes

“Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control.”

PhilosophySelf ControlStoicismStoic
Book:The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness
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“Think of your many years of procrastination; how the gods have repeatedly granted you further periods of grace, of which you have taken no advantage. It is time now to realise the nature of the universe to which you belong, and of that controlling Power whose offspring you are; and to understand that your time has a limit set to it. Use it, then, to advance your enlightenment; or it will be gone, and never in your power again.”

PhilosophyMotivationProcrastinationStoicismStoic
Book:Meditations
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“When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of it. If you understand that, you'll feel sympathy rather than outrage or anger. Your sense of good and evil may be the same as theirs, or near it, in which case you have to excuse them. Or your sense of good and evil may differ from theirs. In which case they're misguided and deserve your compassion. Is that so hard?”

PhilosophyStoicMeditationsMarcus Aurelius
Book:Meditations
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“Remember to act always as if you were at a symposium. When the food or drink comes around, reach out and take some politely; if it passes you by don't try pulling it back. And if it has not reached you yet, don't let your desire run ahead of you, be patient until your turn comes. Adopt a similar attitude with regard to children, wife, wealth and status, and in time, you will be entitled to dine with the gods. Go further and decline these goods even when they are on offer and you will have a share in the gods' power as well as their company. That is how Diogenes, Heraclitus and philosophers like them came to be called, and considered, divine.”

PhilosophySelf ControlStoicismStoic
Book:The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness
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“If you want to make progress, put up with being perceived as ignorant or naive in worldly matters, don't aspire to a reputation for sagacity. If you do impress others as somebody, don't altogether believe it. You have to realize, it isn't easy to keep your will in agreement with nature, as well as externals. Caring about the one inevitably means you are going to shortchange the other.”

PhilosophyReputationStoicismStoic
Book:The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness
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“Some of the best things that have ever happened to us wouldn’t have happened to us, if it weren’t for some of the worst things that have ever happened to us.”

PhilosophyHumorQuotesPrayerAttitudeWorstHumourGratitudeBlessingLuckyAppreciateQuoteLuckFortunePhilosopherAppreciationKarmaGiftFortunateCurseSatirePrayBestAphorismDisguiseQuotationsBlessingsStoicismThankfulnessThankfulGiftsAphorismsPrayersStoicQuotationWorseAttitudesCursesPhilosophersBlessing In DisguisePhilosophiesStoicsFortunes
Author:Mokokoma Mokhonoana
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“The first and most important field of philosophy is the application of principles such as “Do not lie.” Next come the proofs, such as why we should not lie. The third field supports and articulates the proofs, by asking, for example, “How does this prove it? What exactly is a proof, what is logical inference, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood?” Thus, the third field is necessary because of the second, and the second because of the first. The most important, though, the one that should occupy most of our time, is the first. But we do just the opposite. We are preoccupied with the third field and give that all our attention, passing the first by altogether. The result is that we lie – but have no difficulty proving why we shouldn’t.”

PhilosophyMoralityEthicsProofStoicismStoic
Book:The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness
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“Well, when do we act like sheep: when we act for the sake of the belly, or of our sex-organs, or at random, or in a filthy fashion, or without due consideration, to what level have we degenerated? To the level of sheep.”

PhilosophyPleasureVirtueStoicismStoicAncient GreekDiscourses
Book:Epictetus. The Discourses as Reported By Arrian. Vol. I. Books 1 and 2. With an English Translation By W. A. Oldfather
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“Here is your great soul—the man who has given himself over to Fate; on the other hand, that man is a weakling and a degenerate who struggles and maligns the order of the universe and would rather reform the gods than reform himself.”

PhilosophyFateReformStoicismStoic
Book:Letters From A Stoic: Epistulae Morales AD Lucilium (Illustrated. Newly revised text. Includes Image Gallery + Audio): All Three Volumes
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“My advice is really this: what we hear the philosophers saying and what we find in their writings should be applied in our pursuit of the happy life. We should hunt out the helpful pieces of teaching, and the spirited and noble-minded sayings which are capable of immediate practical application—not far-fetched or archaic expressions or extravagant metaphors and figures of speech—and learn them so well that words become works. No one to my mind lets humanity down quite so much as those who study philosophy as if it were a sort of commercial skill and then proceed to live in a quite different manner from the way they tell other people to live.”

PhilosophyStoicismStoic
Book:Letters from a Stoic
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“Some people avoid thinking deeply in public, only because they are afraid of coming across as suicidal.”

ThinkingPhilosophyHumorFunnyQuotesFearHumourDepressionHumorousQuoteSuicideProfoundPhilosopherQuote Of The DayImpressionThoughtfulSatireThought ProvokingDeepInsightfulThinkerFearfulAphorismSouth AfricaThinkDepressingQuotationsAfricaStoicismSuicidalMaximsSayingsAdagesProverbsAphorismsMake You ThinkAfraidAxiomsDepressedAdageProverbSatiricalSayingEpigramsStoicPublicAfricanQuotationGnomeAvoidSatiristMaximEpigramGnomesProvoke ThoughtMade Me ThinkThinkersAxiomDictumDictumsSouth AfricanPrivateSatiristsDepressStoicsSeemIn Public
Author:Mokokoma Mokhonoana
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“Death devours not only those who have been cooked by old age; it also feasts on those who are half-cooked and even those who are raw.”

ChildrenHumorKidsFunnyYoungDeathQuotesBornChildhoodDyingHumourBirthEatingHumorousQuoteCookingProfoundHungerPhilosopherQuote Of The DayHungryOld AgeImmortalityThoughtfulSatireImmortalThought ProvokingMortalityDeepRetirementInsightfulChildAphorismDeadSouth AfricaQuotationsAfricaConsolationStoicismMaximsSayingsElderlyConsumingAdagesProverbsAphorismsMake You ThinkOldConsoleAxiomsAdageWolfNewbornProverbSatiricalSayingEpigramsStoicAfricanQuotationEatGnomeSatiristMaximObituaryDevouringEpigramGnomesProvoke ThoughtMade Me ThinkKidAxiomFeastDictumDictumsMortalRawSouth AfricanFeastingChildfreeCookConsumeSatiristsChildlessElderDevourRetireStoicsNewbornsSelfish SelfishnessFeastsBoltGulpCookedEat UpHalf CookedBolt DownFeast OnGobbleGobble DownGobble UpGulp DownGuzzleShovel DownWolf Down
Book:The Use and Misuse of Children
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“I'd developed an inability to demonstrate much negative emotion at all. It was another thing that made me seem like a dick - my stomach could be all oiled eels, and you would get nothing from my face and less from my words. It was a constant problem: too much control or no control at all.”

MeanTruthEmotionalJudgingAnxietyEmotionsWordsControlPanicHeartlessStoicJudgementalDickJumping To ConclusionsOuter AppearanceJudging By AppearanceWhat S Inside That Counts
Book:Gone Girl
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“In the first place, sensation (aisthesis) is a corporeal process which we have in common with animals, and in which the impression of an exterior object is transmitted to the soul. By means of this process, an image (phantasia) of the object is produced in the soul, or more precisely in the guiding part (hegemonikon) of the soul”

PhilosophyVirtueJudgmentGreekStoicismRomanStoic
Book:The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
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“Life is neither a glorious highlight reel nor a monstrous tragedy. Every day is a good day to live and a good day to die. Every day is also an apt time to learn and express joy and love for the entire natural world. Each day is an apt time to make contact with other people and express empathy for the entire world. Each day is perfect to accept with indifference all aspects of being.”

PerspectiveEmpathyEnlightenmentPhilosophy Of LifeLife And DeathLove LifePeace Of MindStoicismEnlightenment QuotesStoicLiving In The PresentPeaceful LifeEnlightenment PrinciplesLiving In The MomentPeace Of Mind QuotesLiving In The Present MomentPerspective QuotesPerspective On LifeLife And Living InsightLiving In The NowLiving And DyingStoic PhilosophyPeaceful Living
Book:Dead Toad Scrolls
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“Death would not surprise us as often as it does, if we let go of the misbelief that newborns are less mortal than the elderly.”

LifeChildrenPhilosophyHumorKidsAgeFunnyDeathQuotesBeliefHumourBirthJokesHumorousPreparedSurprisePhilosopherOld AgeImmortalityLife And DeathSatireImmortalMortalityFuneralChildSurprisingAphorismDeadDieQuotationsBeliefsJokeStoicismHilariousEldersRipAphorismsHereafterOldMisconceptionOffspringFallacyNewbornLife After DeathTombstoneStoicBurialUnpreparedPhilosophicRest In PeacePrepareAphoristAphoristsKidMortalCycleFuneralsWeepTombAgedMisconceptionsBuryElderFallaciesMisbeliefGone Too SoonStoicsNewbornsMisbeliefsOld Age HomesOld Age HomeTombstonesThe HereafterPhilosophers CryThe Elders
Author:Mokokoma Mokhonoana
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“We love being mentally strong, but we hate situations that allow us to put our mental strength to good use.”

WantProblemDreamHumorInspirationFunnyPainMotivationSufferingQuotesStrongDifficultChallengesPovertyTroubleStrengthInspireHumourJokesHumorousDeterminationPatienceAdversityEntrepreneurMiseryPerseveranceTrialsPersistenceSatireEnduranceResolveResolutionHardshipKeep GoingNeedProblemsDreamerAphorismNever Give UpPersistDistressQuotationsAfflictionJokeStoicismHilariousChallengePersevereTenacityAphorismsMotivateDifficultiesDeprivationTribulationStubbornnessStartupStaminaStartupsStoicSufferTrials And TribulationsGive UpFirmnessHardshipsWretchednessFollow ThroughDreamersStand FirmAusterityEntrepreneursMisfortuneMental StrengthObstinacyAphoristAphoristsSteadfastnessTrialHang In ThereHold OnStaying PowerContinueNeedinessPurposefulnessCarry OnVenture CapitalistsPress OnTribulationsHang OnGo OnMentally StrongStoicsDoggednessDestitutionStay The CourseVenture CapitalistIntransigenceBe DeterminedBe PersistentKeep OnPrivationDire StraitsPenuryKeep At ItPertinacityGo The DistanceImpecuniousnessIndefatigabilityResolutenessStrength Of PurposeTirelessnessBe TenaciousHammer AwayLeave No Stone UnturnedNot Take No For An AnswerObduracyPlod OnPlug AwayPress AheadSoldier OnStand FastStaunchnessStick It OutStop At NothingStruggle OnTravails
Author:Mokokoma Mokhonoana
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“Life will question you in its vital moments. It's up to you in how you'll respond. You might have drifted from the principles that you once followed. You could've indulged in vices or fallen into unthinking habits. It's your choice to start your practice again. Remind yourself of what's valuable and then act. You still have a choice to be brave, temperate, and wise.”

ChoicesDisciplineMindfulnessSelf ControlStoicismStoicVirtue Ethics
Book:Stoic Practice
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“When our thoughts turn towards the past, we are often mired in the seductive trap of regret or bathed in the illusory glow of nostalgia. We wallow in the murky waters of what once was, reaching out to the shadows of deeds done and words uttered. Yet, the past is but a deserted stage, the actors long departed, the play concluded. No amount of wandering in its hallowed halls can change the script that was once performed.”

ThinkingPastHistoryRegretMemoryNostalgiaThoughtStoicRumination
Book:The Power of the Present: A Stoic's Guide to Unyielding Focus
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