Although we are mortal, we are not to submit to the corporeal, but as far as possible rise to the eternal and live according to what is best in us.
The man who has attained the highest degree of perfection is above all animals; but he is inferior to all if he lives without laws and without justice. Indeed, there is nothing worse than a gifted but unjust man.
Selfishness is not self-love, but a greater degree of this love than is proper.
The ultimate misfortune lies in the inability to bear misfortune.
The envious person is sad either because misfortune has befallen him, or because another has been lucky.
We must not vilify old age; and we ourselves would be glad to live to old age.
Be careful when you joke. You could be misunderstood.
Arrogance is an obstacle to success.
Avars care about wealth as much as if it were their own, but use it as little as if it belonged to another.
Bion called old age the refuge of all misfortunes, because all misfortunes accumulate at this age.
He who desires his own well-being above all else leads a restless life.
An ugly wife is your punishment, and a beautiful one is a good audience.
The kingdom of beauty can be ruined by a single hair.
The noble man is always concerned with wisdom and friendship: the one of which is a transitory good, and the other, an immortal one.
The gods live in the "intermediate worlds".
Pain is the greatest of all evils.
In a letter to one of his hearers, Epicurus writes: "I say this not to many, but to you, for we are for each other a sufficient audience."
The most precious result of curbing desires is freedom.
In all activities, the result ripens at the end, and in philosophy, knowledge and pleasure run side by side.
Satisfaction does not come after knowledge, but knowledge and satisfaction exist at the same time.
All wishes must be subjected to such an examination: what will happen to me if the wish is fulfilled, and what will happen if it is not fulfilled?
Yes, the gods exist, because their knowledge is evident; only they don't exist as the crowd supposes.
See to it that you always have more sense than pride.
You cannot live pleasantly without living rationally, ethically and justly, and conversely, you cannot live rationally, ethically and justly without living pleasantly.
Always have a new book in your library, a new bottle in your cellar, and a new flower in your garden.
He who pretends to be fearsome is not free from fear.
He who does not remember the happiness of the past is already old today.
He who advises the young to live beautifully, and the old to end his life beautifully, is lacking in reason not only because life is dear to him, but also because the science of living beautifully and dying beautifully is one and the same. But worse is he who thinks in the style of Theognis: "It is better not to be born. If you are still born, quickly go down to the land of Hades." If he speaks thus out of conviction, why does he not depart from this life? For if this is his firm determination, it is also in his power. If he is talking in jest, it is nonsense, because the subject is not at all suitable for such a thing.
Better to be unhappy with reason than happy and without reason.
Men offend one another either out of hatred, or envy, or contempt; but the wise, by reason, is above these things. Once he has reached the level of wisdom, he cannot return to the opposite state even if he pretends. He is more than others exposed to passions, but they do not disturb his wisdom.