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
The essence of good and evil is a certain disposition of the will.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good and evil stem from the intentions and choices we make.
Epictetus suggests that the concepts of good and evil are not inherent traits of actions or events, but rather they reflect the disposition of our will. It is our intentions and the choices we make that ultimately define our moral character and how we perceive right from wrong.
Themes
GoodEvilWillDispositionPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speech discussing the nature of morality.
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
And that's what I don't like about magic, Captain. 'cos it's *magic*. You can't ask questions, it's magic. It doesn't explain anything, it's magic. You don't know where it comes from, it's magic! That's what I don't like about magic, it does everything by magic!
Terry PratchettRead
The love of posterity is the consequence of the necessity of death. If a man were sure of living forever here, he would not care about his offspring.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
How can I keep my soul in me, so that it doesn't touch your soul? How can I raise it high enough, past you, to other things?
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
H. G. Wells was not the only one to mention Churchill and Hitler in the same breath: "Churchill and Hitler are striving to change the nature of their respective countrymen by forcing and hammering violent methods on them. Man may be suppressed in this manner but he cannot be changed. Ahimsa [non-violence in the Hindu tradition], on the other hand, can change human nature and sooner than men like Churchill and Hitler."
Mahatma GandhiRead
You are the Children of God, the sharers of immortal bliss, holy and perfect beings. You divinities on earth. Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are souls immortal, spirits free, blest and eternal; you are not matter, you are not bodies; matter is your servant,not you the servant of matter.
Swami VivekanandaRead
If you give your soul up to anything earthly, whether it be the wealth, or the honours, or the pleasures of this world, you might as well hunt after the mirage of the desert or try to collect the mists of the morning, or to store up for yourself the clouds of the sky, for all these things are passing away.
Charles SpurgeonRead