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
Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do. Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Focus on what is meaningful to you, irrespective of others' opinions or circumstances.
This quote by Epictetus emphasizes the importance of aligning oneself with higher spiritual values and personal aspirations. It encourages individuals to remain steadfast in their pursuit of what they believe in, regardless of external distractions or societal pressures. By doing so, one can cultivate inner strength and purpose.
Themes
SpiritualityAspirationsPhilosophyInner StrengthPersonal Growth
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal development.
More from Epictetus
All quotes βLearn 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.
EpictetusRead
Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.
EpictetusRead
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.
EpictetusRead
The people have a right to the truth as they have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
EpictetusRead
Practice yourself, for heaven's sake, in little things, and thence proceed to greater.
EpictetusRead
Similar quotes
Although we give lip service to the notion of freedom, we know the government is no longer the servant of the people but, at last has become the people's master. We have stood by like timid sheep while the wolf killed - first the weak, then the strays, then those on the outer edges of the flock, until at last the entire flock belonged to the wolf.
Gerry SpenceRead
We have more and more ways to communicate, as Thoreau noted, but less and less to say.
Pico IyerRead
Some of mankind's most terrible misdeeds have been committed under the spell of certain magic words or phrases.
James Bryant ConantRead
...yet a memory cannot be trusted, for so much of the experience of the past is determined by the experience of the present.
Jamaica KincaidRead
I was asked in an interview once: You're writing another book with a female lead? Aren't you afraid you're going to be pigeonholed? And I thought, I write a team superhero book, an uplifting solo hero book, I write a horror-western, and I write a ghost story. What am I gonna be pigeonholed as? Has a man in the history of men ever been asked if he was going to be pigeonholed because he wrote two consecutive books with male leads?
Kelly Sue DeconnickRead
What you yourself hate, don't do to your neighbor. This is the whole law; the rest is commentary. Go and study.
Hillel The ElderRead