A collection of over 55 stoic quotes on life, love, strength, resilience and more.
Stoic philosophy, rooted in ancient Greece and Rome, has inspired countless individuals through its teachings on wisdom, resilience, and control. Influential stoics like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus have left behind profound quotes that continue to guide us in modern times. This post explores their timeless wisdom on life, love, anxiety, control, strength, and resilience.
Stoic Quotes on Life
The stoic approach to life emphasizes wisdom, acceptance, and the pursuit of virtue. Check out these powerful stoic quotes on life from influential figures like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca.
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“Life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future.”
— Seneca
“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.”
— Seneca
“Do not act as if you had a thousand years to live. Act as if your actions mattered now.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”
— Seneca
“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“He who fears death will never do anything worth of a man who is alive.”
— Seneca
“No man is free who is not master of himself.”
— Epictetus
“The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.”
— Seneca
“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.”
— Epictetus
“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.”
— Seneca
Stoic Quotes on Love
Stoicism provides deep insights into the nature of love, focusing on selflessness, acceptance, and understanding. Let’s explore the best stoic quotes on love.
“Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality.”
— Viktor Frankl
“To love is to value. This is the central tenet of Stoic love.”
— Anonymous
“To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another.”
— Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
“Love is a powerful tool of emotional resilience, embrace it.”
— Anonymous
“True love is eternal, infinite, and always like itself. It is equal and pure, without violent demonstrations: it is seen with white hairs and is always young in the heart.”
— Honore de Balzac
“We love life, not because we are used to living but because we are used to loving.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
“Love sometimes injures. Friendship always benefits. After friendship is formed you must trust, but before that you must judge.”
— Seneca
“Love in its essence is spiritual fire.”
— Seneca
“He who does not love his own life does not care about the lives of others.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“True love can withstand time, distance, and silence.”
— Anonymous
“Love is the expansion of two natures in such fashion that each includes the other, each is enriched by the other.”
— Felix Adler
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Stoic Quotes on Anxiety
Stoicism teaches us to manage anxiety by focusing on what we can control and letting go of what we cannot. Check out these powerful stoic quotes on anxiety by the famous stoic philosophers.
“He who suffers before it is necessary, suffers more than is necessary.”
— Seneca
“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions — not outside.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“If you are pained by external things, it is not they that disturb you, but your own judgment of them. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgment now.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“It is not the things themselves that disturb people, but their judgments about these things.”
— Epictetus
“The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.”
— Epicurus
“The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable.”
— Seneca
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
— Marcus Aurelius
Stoic Quotes on Control
Stoic philosophy emphasizes the importance of focusing on what we can control and accepting what we cannot. Disover the most empowering stoic quotes on control.
“We should always be asking ourselves: ‘Is this something that is, or is not, in my control?'”
— Epictetus
“Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.”
— Epictetus
“The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”
— Seneca
“Man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them.”
— Epictetus
“To live a good life: We have the potential for it. If we learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“Don’t hope that events will turn out the way you want, welcome events in whichever way they happen: this is the path to peace.”
— Epictetus
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
— Epictetus
“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.”
— Dalai Lama (though not a Stoic, this quote aligns well with Stoic teachings)
“If it is not right, do not do it, if it is not true, do not say it.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life.”
— Marcus Aurelius
Stoic Quotes on Strength
Stoicism teaches inner strength, resilience, and the power of perseverance. Check out the most powerful stoic quotes below to find strength.
“He who is brave is free.”
— Seneca
“If you wish to be a writer, write.”
— Epictetus
“The obstacle is the way.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands — and then eat just one of the pieces.”
— Judith Viorst (again, not a Stoic, but applicable)
“The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.”
— Epictetus
“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”
— Seneca
“No man is good by chance. Virtue is something which must be learned.”
— Seneca
“Every duty is a charge, but the charge of oneself is the root of all others.”
— Mencius
Stoic Quotes on Resilience
Stoicism teaches resilience by encouraging us to accept and adapt to life’s challenges. Here are the best stoic quotes on resilience that are worth checking.
“The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”
— Epictetus
“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.”
— Epictetus
“Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself.”
— Epictetus
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”
— Epictetus
“He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary.”
— Seneca
“The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.”
— Marcus Aurelius
“Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?”
— Marcus Aurelius
“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.”
— Epictetus
Over to You
Stoic philosophy offers timeless wisdom that can help us navigate life’s challenges with grace and resilience. These stoic quotes from influential stoics like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus provide profound insights into life, love, anxiety, control, strength, and resilience. Share these quotes with your friends and family to spread the wisdom of stoicism.
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