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From Vol. 4, Issue 7, July 2022

Stoic quotes for every day of the month

Stoic Everyday || Editor

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1 – One person does not harm another, but it is a man’s own actions which both harm and help him. [Epictetus D4.13]

2 – If something in your character is causing pain, who stops you from correcting it? If it is because you are not doing anything to correct it, why don’t you act instead of complaining? [Marcus Aurelius, M8.47]

3 – We should not call things that casually influence the mind “passions”. The mind does not cause them but experiences them. [Seneca, A2.3]

4 – Reason alone can understand and judge itself: what it is, what it is capable of, and the power it has. It can also pass judgment on other disciplines. [Epictetus D1.1]

5 Accept the frustration gracefully. Die like a human being in full activity whose actions are not obstructed. [Marcus Aurelius, M8.47]

6 Passion does not mean that we are merely affected by the impressions we receive. Instead, it means that we give way to our emotions in response to these chance promptings. [Seneca, A2.3]

7 – Reason gives us the ability to act or not act and to desire something or move toward or away from it by properly judging our perceptions or impressions. If we pay attention to just this one thing, we will never be hindered, and we will never complain, flatter, or find fault. [Epictetus D1.1]

8 –Your ruling faculty is invincible when it withdraws into itself. It calmly refuses to do anything against its will. [Marcus Aurelius, M8.48]

9 Anger is not just a movement but, being impulsive, it breaks the bounds. This cannot happen without the consent of the mind. [Seneca, A2.3]

10 – Agrippinus said, “I will not become an obstacle to myself ”. [Epictetus D1.1]

11 – Think how invincible [your ruling faculty] will be when based on reason and analysis. [Marcus Aurelius, M8.48]

12 It is not possible to deal with revenge and punishment, without our mind knowing about it. [Seneca, A2,3]

13 “I must die. If now, I will die now. If later, I will dine now because it is dinner time. How? Like a person giving back what is not his own.” [Epictetus D1.1]

14 A mind that is free from passion is a citadel. No place is more secure to seek protection and challenge attacks. Not to see this is ignorance. To see it, and yet not seek its refuge, is truly unfortunate. [Marcus Aurelius, M8.48]

15 – Anger, the arousal of the mind to avenge, is a deliberate choice. [Seneca, A2.3]

16 A rational person can endure anything except things that are against reason. [Epictetus D1.2]

17 Always, then, keep the first impressions. Don’t add anything of your own and you are safe. [Marcus Aurelius, M8.49]

18 – There can be no doubt that fear results in flight, and anger results in a pursuit. [Seneca, A2.3]

19 – It is you who know yourself, the value you place on yourself, and the price at which you would sell yourself. Different people sell themselves at different prices. [Epictetus D1.2]

20 – Is the cucumber bitter? Throw it out. Are their briars in your path? Go around them. That’s enough. Don’t add, “Why are such things in the world?” [Marcus Aurelius, M8.50]

21 – We cannot use reason to escape from that first impression on the mind, any more than we can escape the other involuntary movements of the body we talked about. [Seneca, A2.4]

22 Once you start placing a value on external things, you come close to a person who has lost all sense of their character. [Epictetus D1.2]

23 Avoid lazy actions, muddled speech, wandering thoughts, inner conflict, and outer gushing. [Marcus Aurelius, M8.51]

24 – This evil [cruelty] starts from anger that has lost any thought of mercy and human connection by its frequent use. It finally becomes cruelty. [Seneca, A2.5]

25 – I consider myself that small shiny purple band in that garment that gives beauty and luster to others. Don’t tell me to be just another thread in the garment. [Epictetus D1.2]

26 – Don’t be too busy in life to have leisure. [Marcus Aurelius, M8.51]

27 – Joy derived from a good action is grand and glorious, while anger at another’s wrongdoing is mean and a sign of narrow-mindedness. [Seneca, A2.6]

28 Nobility is not achieved overnight. We must endure winter training and take care not to rush into situations without preparation. [Epictetus D1.2]

29 – Suppose someone kills you, cuts you with a knife, or curses you. How can it affect your mind from being pure, wise, temperate, and just? [Marcus Aurelius, M8.51]

30 Anger can be fought by rational principles, because it is a voluntary defect of the mind. [Seneca, A2.2]

31 – If you decide to sell your power to choose for security, decide at what price you will sell it, so you may not sell it too cheap. [Epictetus D1.2]

D: Discourses. M: Meditations. A: On Anger