Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
Meaning of the quote
The quote is saying that we shouldn't ruin the good things we already have by always wanting more. Instead, we should be grateful for what we have now, because there was a time when we didn't have those things and could only hope for them. It's important to appreciate and take care of the blessings in our lives, rather than constantly wishing for more.
About Epicurus
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded the Epicurean school of philosophy. He taught that the purpose of philosophy is to help people attain a happy and tranquil life, free from fear and pain. Epicureanism was widely influential, but also controversial, and its teachings gradually became more widely known in the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods.
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More quotes from Epicurus
Justice… is a kind of compact not to harm or be harmed.
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I would rather be first in a little Iberian village than second in Rome.
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The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.
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Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.
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It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.
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The misfortune of the wise is better than the prosperity of the fool.
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If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.
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It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a pallet, than to have a golden couch and a rich table and be full of trouble.
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I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not know.
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Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.
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If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another.
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Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.
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I never desired to please the rabble. What pleased them, I did not learn; and what I knew was far removed from their understanding.
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It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.
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You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.
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Riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as they torment us with their loss.
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The art of living well and the art of dying well are one.
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Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempest.
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Misfortune seldom intrudes upon the wise man; his greatest and highest interests are directed by reason throughout the course of life.
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There is no such thing as justice in the abstract; it is merely a compact between men.
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The time when most of you should withdraw into yourself is when you are forced to be in a crowd.
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It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls.
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We do not so much need the help of our friends as the confidence of their help in need.
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