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

It is wicked to withdraw from being useful to the needy, and cowardly to give way to the worthless.

You can be invincible, if you enter into no contest in which it is not in your power to conquer.

Appear to know only this--never to fail nor fall.

The materials are indifferent, but the use we make of them is not a matter of indifference.

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 of care to all fellow humans. The person who followed these precepts would achieve happiness.

As in walking it is your great care not to run your foot upon a nail, or to tread awry, and strain your leg; so let it be in all the affairs of human life, not to hurt your mind or offend your judgment. And this rule, if observed carefully in all your deportment, will be a mighty security to you in your undertakings.