Stoicism

Some things are within our power and some are not. Epictetus opens his Handbook with that distinction, and it still sums up the whole philosophy. A Stoicism poster is decor with a job: a rule for living, hung where you'll see it on exam days, bad days and every ordinary day in between.

Three voices for a Stoicism poster

Stoicism began in Athens around 300 BC, when Zeno of Citium taught beneath the Stoa Poikile, the painted porch that gave the school its name. The voices most people quote today, though, come from the Roman era.

• Epictetus, a former slave who became a teacher, separates what we control from what we don't. His Handbook also says that people are disturbed not by things but by their judgements about things.
• Seneca, adviser to Nero, wrote to his friend Lucilius that we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.
• Marcus Aurelius, emperor, wrote private notes now known as the Meditations: 'The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.' And, bluntly: waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

One tip before you print anything: plenty of 'Stoic quotes' online are modern paraphrases. Stick to lines you can trace back to the texts.

The Stoic look

White marble veined with grey, calm classical busts, columns, laurel wreaths and Roman capitals carved in stone. Black and marble is the classic pairing; sand and terracotta tones give a warmer, Mediterranean version that suits a sunny room.

Hanging ideas

• Opposite your desk, so you read it before a heavy day.
• As a trio, one philosopher per poster, spaced 3 cm apart.
• Alongside Discipline prints for a wall about effort, or with Philosophers to widen the circle.

Find more in Aura & Quotes, all printed in Tunisia.