01 / A LITTLE PERSPECTIVESTOICISM
Some things are in our control and others not.
Epictetus
Enchiridion, §1THE ART OF PAYING ATTENTION
Words to
live with.
A few voices across the centuries. On what we can change, what we might notice, and how we choose to live.
PHILOSOPHY & LITERATURE
Read the source (opens in a new tab)
On the examined life
SMALL PASSAGES, BIG QUESTIONS02 / SELF-KNOWLEDGE
“The life which is unexamined is not worth living.”
Socrates, in Plato
Apology, 38a03 / CURIOSITY
“All men by nature desire to know.”
Aristotle
Metaphysics, Book I, Part 104 / INNER LIFE
“Every man's happiness depends from himself.”
Marcus Aurelius
Meditations, Book II, §IIIMeric Casaubon translation
From the bookshelf
FICTION THAT STAYS WITH US05 / ON TENDERNESS
“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.”
Jane Austen
Emma · Emma's thoughts06 / ON BELONGING
“I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel”
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein · The creature speakingA note in the margin
These passages come from the linked editions, not quote collections. Ancient works appear in English translation; wording varies between editions. The literary passages belong to characters within their stories.
Editions & quotation notes
- Epictetus: Elizabeth Carter translation, section 1, Internet Classics Archive.
- Plato: Benjamin Jowett translation. The excerpt is spoken by Socrates in Apology.
- Aristotle: W. D. Ross translation. Opening word capitalisation is normalised.
- Marcus Aurelius: Meric Casaubon translation, Book II, section III, Project Gutenberg.
- Jane Austen: Emma, Volume III, Chapter XIII, Project Gutenberg. The quotation is Emma's internal reflection.
- Mary Shelley: Frankenstein, Chapter 10, Project Gutenberg. This is an excerpt from the creature's longer sentence.