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A reporter called on Edison to interview him about a substitute for lead in the manufacture of storage batteries that the scientist was seeking. Edison informed the man that he had made 20,000 experiments but none had worked. 'Aren’t you discouraged by all this waste of effort?' the reporter asked. Edison: 'Waste! There’s nothing wasted. I have discovered 20,000 things that won’t work.

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Mar 19, 2026

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About Epictetus

Epictetus

Epictetus

Epictetus (Greek: Ἐπίκτητος; ca. 55 - ca. 135) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was probably born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present day Pamukkale, Turkey), and lived in Rome until his exile to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece, where he lived most of his life and died. The name given by his parents, if one was given, is not known—the word epiktetos in Greek simply means "acquired."

Popular Epictetus Quotes

Were I a nightingale, I would sing like a nightingale; were I a swan, like a swan. But as it is, I am a rational being, therefore I must sing hymns of praise to god.

There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

Be not swept off your feet by the vividness of the impression, but say, 'Impression, wait for me a little. Let me see what you are and what you represent. Let me try you.'

There are some faults which men readily admit, but others not so readily.

Shall I show you the sinews of a philosopher? 'What sinews are those?' — A will undisappointed; evils avoided; powers daily exercised; careful resolutions; unerring decisions.

Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but not to the will, unless the will consent. Lameness is a hindrance to the leg, but not to the will. Say this to yourself at each event that happens, for you shall find that though it hinders something else it will not hinder you....

Man is not fully free unless he is master of himself.

Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.

All philosophy lies in two words, 'sustain' and 'abstain.'

Ruin and recovery are alike from within.

Men are disturbed, not by things that happen, but by their opinion of things that happen.

No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

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

We must not believe the many,  who say that only free people ought to be educated,  but we should rather believe the philosophers who say that only the educated are free.

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

If you would be good, first believe you are bad.

Where to do think he got that high brow?

God has made all men to be happy.

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not but rejoices for those which he has.

If anyone tells you a person speaks ill of you, do not make excuse about what is said but answer, 'He was ignorant of my other faults else he would not have mentioned these alone.'

Remember that you are an actor in a play, and that the Playwright chooses the manner of it: If he wants you to act a poor man you must act the part with all your powers; and so if your part be a cripple or a magistrate or a plain man. For your business is to act the character that is given you and act it well. The choice of the cast is Another’s.

Remember that you ought to behave in life as you would at a banquet. As something is being passed around it comes to you; stretch out your hand, take a portion of it politely. It passes on; do not detain it. Or it has not come to you yet; do not project your desire to meet it, but wait until it comes in front of you. So act toward children, so toward a wife, so toward office, so toward wealth.

So when the crisis is upon you, remember that God, like a trainer of wrestlers, has matched you with a tough and stalwart antagonist—that you may prove a victor at the Great Games. Yet without toil or sweat this may not be.

In theory it is easy to convince an ignorant person; in actual life, men not only object to offer themselves to be convinced, but hate the man who has convinced them.

A wise man is he who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man’s task.

Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a Present evil, but that you have increased a habit.

If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend to its increase. At first, keep quiet and count the days when you were not angry: 'I used to be angry every day, then every other day: next, every two, then every three days!' and if you succeed in passing thirty days, sacrifice to the gods in thanksgiving.

When you have closed your doors, and darkened your room, remember never to say that you are alone, for you are not alone; God is within, and your genius is within—and what need have they of light to see what you are doing?

Any one thing in the creation is suffiocient to demonstrate a Providence to a humble and grateful mind.

It is better to advise than upbraid, for the one corrects the erring; the other only convicts them.

It is not he who gives abuse that affronts, but the view that we take of it as insulting; so that when one provokes you it is your own opinion which is provoking.

Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.

First say to yourself what you would be, then do what you have to do.

There is nothing good or evil save in the will.

Who is not attracted by bright and pleasant children, to prattle, to creep, and to play with them?

When the idea of any pleasure strikes your imagination, make a just computation between the duration of the pleasure and that of the repentance that is likely to follow it.

Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed.

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

The Beginning of Philosophy...is a Consciousness of your own Weakness and inability in necessary things.

Envy is the adversary of the fortunate.

All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.

As the touchstone which tries gold, but is not itself tried by the gold; such is he, who has the standard of judgment.

Demand not that events should happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do, and you will go on well.

Difficulties show men what they are. In case of any difficulty remember that God has pitted you against a rough antagonist that you may be a conqueror, and this cannot be without toil.

For it is not death or hardship that is a fearful thing, But the fear of death and hardship.

Fortify yourself with moderation; for this is an impregnable fortress.

Freedom is the right to live as we wish.

If you wish to be good, first believe that you are bad.

If you wish to live a life free from sorrow, think of what is going to happen as if it had already happened.

If you would be a reader, read; if a writer, write.

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he Already knows.

Let death be daily before your eyes, and you will never entertain any abject thought, nor too eagerly covet Anything.

Only the educated are free.

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