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.

What disturbs and alarms man are not the things, but his opinions and fancies about the things.

Don’t consent to be hurt and you won’t be hurt – this is a choice over which you have control

I am not eternity, but a man; a part of the whole, as an hour is of the day.

Liars are the cause of all the sins and crimes in the world.

Difficulty shows what men are.

Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.