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Who really said it

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has

Written by Epictetus c. 50 – c. 135 AD · Greek Stoic philosopher, born a slave at Hierapolis
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This exact English wording is Fragment CXXIX in George Long’s 1877 translation of Epictetus’s Fragments (preserved in the anthology of Stobaeus), confirmed on both Wikisource and Perseus. Note that the Fragments collected by Stobaeus are of debated authenticity, and the words themselves are Long’s English rendering of a Greek original.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has” Epictetus, Fragments CXXIX (trans. George Long, 1877)

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Provenance

The source

Work
Fragments (Fragment CXXIX / 129)
Author
Epictetus (attributed; preserved by Stobaeus)
Translation
George Long, 1877 — The Discourses of Epictetus, with the Encheiridion and Fragments
Language of original
Ancient Greek

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

Fragment CXXIX in George Long’s numbering, sitting among short maxims on contentment and endurance drawn from Stobaeus’s anthology.

Epictetus, Fragments (George Long trans.) on Wikisource

How we verified this

  • The identical wording appears as Fragment CXXIX in George Long’s 1877 translation on Wikisource.
  • The same fragment and English text are indexed in the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Epictetus published nothing himself; the fragments were collected later, chiefly from Stobaeus’s anthology, and few of the ~180 are certainly genuine — this one sits among the doubtful and spurious fragments ↗ in Oldfather’s Loeb edition.
Public domain

The displayed English wording is George Long’s translation, first published in 1877 — long before the 1931 threshold — so it is in the public domain in the United States. The underlying ancient Greek text is likewise public domain.

This reflects the original work, which is public domain. If your exact English wording comes from a specific modern translation, that translation may itself still be under copyright — check the edition you quote.

Fact-check

Wording & authenticity

The attribution to Epictetus is sound, but two honest caveats matter for a quote like this.

George Long, 1877 translation

Epictetus taught in Greek and wrote nothing down; this specific English phrasing is George Long’s Victorian rendering, confirmed as Fragment CXXIX on Wikisource. Other translators word it differently.

Preserved by Stobaeus doubtful

This line comes from the Fragments gathered mostly from the anthology of Stobaeus, a body of material that scholars flag as being of uneven and sometimes doubtful authenticity, unlike the well-attested Discourses and Enchiridion recorded by Arrian — see the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

The quote is genuinely printed as Epictetus, Fragment CXXIX, in George Long’s standard 1877 translation — verifiable on Perseus and Wikisource — but remember the words are Long’s English and the fragment tradition is not as secure as the Discourses.

Context

Why it resonates

The maxim distills a core Stoic move: happiness is a matter of directing attention. Grief over what we lack is treated as a self-inflicted disturbance, while gratitude for what is already ours is presented as the mark of the wise. It sits comfortably alongside Epictetus’s central teaching in the Enchiridion that some things are within our power and others are not.

Rejoice for what you have, rather than grieve for what you have not.

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Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Wisdom Gratitude

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Fragments (George Long trans.)Wikisource

Full public-domain text of the 1877 translation, showing Fragment CXXIX.
Epictetus, FragmentsPerseus Digital Library

Scholarly edition indexing the same fragment and English text.
EpictetusStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Authoritative overview of his life, works, and the transmission of the Fragments.
EpictetusWikipedia

Biography and summary of the Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments.
EpictetusEncyclopaedia Britannica

Reference biography of the Stoic philosopher.

The author

About Epictetus

Epictetus

c. 50 – c. 135 AD · Greek Stoic philosopher, born a slave at Hierapolis

Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher born into slavery at Hierapolis in Phrygia (modern Pamukkale, Turkey). After his manumission he taught in Rome until Domitian banished philosophers, then founded a school at Nicopolis in Greece. He wrote nothing himself; his teaching survives through his pupil Arrian’s notes — the Discourses and the Enchiridion — supplemented by later Fragments quoted in the anthology of Stobaeus.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Epictetus. The Discourses of Epictetus; with the Encheiridion and Fragments. Translated by George Long. London: George Bell & Sons, 1877, Fragment CXXIX.

MLA (9th ed.)

Epictetus. “Fragment CXXIX.” The Discourses of Epictetus; with the Encheiridion and Fragments, translated by George Long, George Bell & Sons, 1877.

APA (7th ed.)

Epictetus. (1877). The Discourses of Epictetus; with the Encheiridion and Fragments (G. Long, Trans.). George Bell & Sons.

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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/he-is-a-wise-man-who-does-not-grieve-for-the-things-which

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