"It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your opinion that these things are insulting"

This quote by Epictetus is a suggestion that it is not the words or actions of another person that can really hurt us, but our own viewpoint of them. It is our own interpretation of the situation that can trigger us to feel insulted or hurt. We can pick to take the words or actions of another individual as an insult, or we can pick to interpret them in a different way. We can pick to take them as useful criticism or as a sign of regard. It is our own opinion that determines how we feel about a situation, and it is up to us to decide how we will translate it. By understanding this, we can take control of our feelings and responses to the words and actions of others. We can choose to take them as an insult or as an indication of regard, and it is our own opinion that will identify how we feel.