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What Would Stoics Do

Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE

Fragments 90 — Epictetus

Translation by George Long (1877)

Epictetus, Fragments 90

We ought to stretch our legs and stretch our hopes only to that which is possible.
— Epictetus, Fragments 90 · tr. George Long (1877)Read in context →

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Epictetus, Fragments 90, tr. George Long (1877)

https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/90

Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences

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Match your hopes to what is actually possible, the way you stretch your legs only as far as the bed allows. Pinning hopes on the impossible only sets you up for frustration.

Themes and situations

  • Desire and craving
  • Acceptance and fate
  • What is in our control
  • Ambition and success

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Epictetus, Fragments 90, tr. George Long (1877)