Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the living, and her eyes they blind.
EpictetusRead
If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the idea that criticism often overlooks our broader character flaws.
Epictetus suggests that when someone speaks negatively about us, rather than defend ourselves or excuse our faults, we should recognize that their view is limited. Their criticism reveals their ignorance of the entirety of our being, as they only highlight what they perceive, neglecting the complexity of our character and other shortcomings.
In practice
In a discussion about resilience, this quote can be used to encourage someone to rise above negative feedback.
Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the living, and her eyes they blind.
Learn to distinguish what you can and can't control. Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, desires and the things that repel us. They are directly subject to our influence.
Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.
Nothing truly stops you. Nothing truly holds you back. For your own will is always within your control. Sickness may challenge your body. But are you merely your body? Lameness may impede your legs. But you are not merely your legs. Your will is bigger than your legs. Your will needn't be affected by an incident unless you let it.
The people have a right to the truth as they have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Practice yourself, for heaven's sake, in little things, and thence proceed to greater.
America never was America to me And yet I swear this oath - America will be!
Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.
When I was younger, not being accepted made me enraged, but now, I am not inclined to dismantle my history. If you banish the dragons, you banish the heroes-and we become attached to the heroic strain in our personal history.
Death is not a blotting-out of existence, a final escape from life; nor is death the door to immortality. He who has fled his Self in earthly joys will not recapture It amidst the gossamer charms of an astral world. There he merely accumulates finer perceptions and more sensitive responses to the beautiful and the good, which are one. It is on the anvil of this gross earth that struggling man must hammer out the imperishable gold of spiritual identity.
Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state.
The essence of life is statistical improbability on a colossal scale.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.