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

Τίς εἶναι θέλεις, σαυτῷ πρῶτον ἐιπέ· εἶθ᾿ οὕτως ποίει ἃ ποιεῖς.

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.

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.

What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows.

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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.