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Till then these sound opinions have taken firm root in you, and you have gained a measure of strength for your security, I counsel you to be cautious in associating with the uninstructed. Else whatever impressions you receive upon the tablets of your mind in the School will day by day melt and disappear, like wax in the sun. Withdraw then somewhere far from the sun, while you have these waxen sentiments. (107)

Epictetus#47

PhilosophyCritical thinkingInfluenceMindset

About this quote

What does it mean?
Sound opinions give you strength, but beware of uninformed influences that can melt away like wax in the sun; distance yourself from harmful ideas.
In plain terms
Protect your mind from weak, uninformed ideas.
What can you take from it?
Guard your beliefs by avoiding harmful influences.

Where it applies

  • social media consumption
  • academic study

Putting it to work

  • evaluate sources critically
  • limit exposure to toxic rhetoric

Questions to consider

  • How do you discern strong from weak ideas?
  • When is engagement with opposing views beneficial?

Another view

Total isolation can limit growth and perspective.

More from Epictetus

  1. 'My brother ought not to have treated me thus.' True: but he must see to that. However he may treat me, I must deal rightly by him. This is what lies with me, …

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  2. If you seek Truth, you will not seek to gain a victory by every possible means; and when you have found Truth, you need not fear being defeated. (149)

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  3. To you, all you have seems small: to me, all I have seems great. Your desire is insatiable, mine is satisfied. See children thrusting their hands into a narrow…

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