The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.
Meaning of the quote
The quote suggests that the world, or society, will make way for people who are confident and have a clear sense of direction in their lives. If you know what you want to achieve, the world will step aside and let you pursue your goals without getting in your way.
About Epictetus
Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher who lived in the 1st-2nd century AD. He was born into slavery but became a renowned teacher, with his teachings written down by his student Arrian. Epictetus believed that philosophy should be a way of life, and that individuals should accept external events calmly while taking responsibility for their own actions.
More quotes from Epictetus
You may be always victorious if you will never enter into any contest where the issue does not wholly depend upon yourself.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Not every difficult and dangerous thing is suitable for training, but only that which is conducive to success in achieving the object of our effort.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
We are not to give credit to the many, who say that none ought to be educated but the free; but rather to the philosophers, who say that the well-educated alone are free.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
When you are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means, and if you find truth you will become invincible.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
God has entrusted me with myself.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he be master of the world.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Silence is safer than speech.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
To accuse others for one’s own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one’s education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one’s education is complete.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
All religions must be tolerated… for every man must get to heaven in his own way.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, and you will find them.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Is freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish? Nothing else.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
No greater 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 you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
It takes more than just a good looking body. You’ve got to have the heart and soul to go with it.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
No great thing is created suddenly.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Only the educated are free.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a habit.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
No man is free who is not master of himself.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
If you wish to be a writer, write.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your opinion that these things are insulting.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Keep silence for the most part, and speak only when you must, and then briefly.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Practice yourself, for heaven’s sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Freedom is the right to live as we wish.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
Never in any case say I have lost such a thing, but I have returned it. Is your child dead? It is a return. Is your wife dead? It is a return. Are you deprived of your estate? Is not this also a return?
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
We should not moor a ship with one anchor, or our life with one hope.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
There is nothing good or evil save in the will.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
If virtue promises happiness, prosperity and peace, then progress in virtue is progress in each of these for to whatever point the perfection of anything brings us, progress is always an approach toward it.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)
It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them.
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50-c. 138)