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Were I a nightingale, I would act the part of a nightingale; were I a swan, the part of a swan.

εἰ γοῦν ἀηδὼν ἤμην, ἐποίουν τὰ τῆς ἀηδόνος, εἰ κύκνος, τὰ τοῦ κύκνου.

Original text (Ancient Greek)

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More quotes by Epictetus

For freedom is not acquired by satisfying yourself with what you desire, but by destroying your desire.

Although life is a matter of indifference, the use which you make of it is not a matter of indifference.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

It is difficulties that show what men are.

For what is it that everyone is seeking? To live securely, to be happy, to do everything as they wish to do, not to be hindered, not to be subject to compulsion.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Epictetus (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.