Arthur Schopenhauer on Stoicism Quotes

"Solitude is the natural element of the Stoic, for it is only in solitude that the mind is truly its own master."

"A high degree of intellect tends to make a man unsocial embrace the isolation"

"The Stoic's life is a constant preparation for death, which is the ultimate test of his philosophy."

"The fundamental flaw of Stoicism is the belief that reason alone can overcome the blind impulses of the Will."

"The Stoic sage does not seek pleasure; he only seeks the absence of pain."

"The Stoic seeks to be indifferent to all things, but this indifference is not a lack of feeling; it is a mastery over feeling."

"The Stoic sage is a hero of the intellect, battling the irrationality of existence with the shield of logic."

"The Stoics taught that the only real evil is moral baseness, and the only real good is virtue."

"Seneca is the most excellent guide for those who wish to understand how to bear the burdens of life with dignity."

"By reducing our desires to a minimum, we approach the Stoic ideal of self-sufficiency."

"Destiny shuffles the cards but we must play them"

"We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people dare to stand apart"

"Epictetus shows us that even in the most restricted circumstances, the mind can remain free and sovereign."

"The Stoic philosopher finds that his happiness depends upon his own internal disposition, and not upon the external world."

"Stoicism is a system of spiritual gymnastics, intended to harden the mind against the blows of fortune."

"We should live as if we were already dead to the world, for that is the secret of Stoic peace."

"The aim of the Stoic is to live in a state of unshakeable tranquility, an ataraxia that is achieved by recognizing what is in our power and what is not."

"Pain is the positive element of life pleasure is merely the absence of pain use the pain"

"The Stoic sage is the personification of the ideal of human reason, representing the highest point to which man can attain by the mere use of his faculty of reason."

"Wealth is like sea-water the more we drink the thirstier we become discipline is the cure"

"The Stoic ideal is to be like a flame that burns steadily, regardless of the wind that blows around it."

"The Stoic seeks to make himself invulnerable by withdrawing into the inner fortress of his own soul."

"The Stoics mistook the symptom for the cause; they tried to cure the heart by silencing the head."

"To be free from the bondage of the Will, one must first adopt the Stoic's detachment from the fruits of action."

"The Stoic does not complain of the inevitable, but accepts it as a law of nature."

"Everything that is outside the limit of our power should be to us as if it did not exist."

"The Stoics were right to point out that we are disturbed not by things, but by the views we take of things."

"Reason is the only weapon we have against the tyranny of the Will, and the Stoics used it with the greatest skill."

"A man who has mastered the Stoic art of life is like a rock in the sea, which the waves may wash over but cannot move."

"In the face of inevitable misfortune, the Stoic's resignation is the only rational path."

"Life is a constant war against want and boredom choose your battlefield wisely"

"The true Stoic is one who has realized that the will is the source of all suffering and has sought to quiet it through reason."

"A clear understanding of the vanity of existence is the first step toward conquering it"