THE GOLDEN SAYINGS OF EPICTETUS

Translated and Arranged by Hastings Crossley

I

Are these the only works of Providence within us? What words suffice topraise or set them forth? Had we but understanding, should we ever ceasehymning and blessing the Divine Power, both openly and in secret, andtelling of His gracious gifts? Whether digging or ploughing or eating, should we not sing the hymn to God:--

Great is God, for that He hath given us such instruments to tillthe ground withal: Great is God, for that He hath given us hands andthe power of swallowing and digesting; of unconsciously growing andbreathing while we sleep!

Thus should we ever have sung; yea and this, the grandest and divinesthymn of all:--

Great is God, for that He hath given us a mind to apprehend thesethings, and duly to use them!

What then! seeing that most of you are blinded, should there not be someone to fill this place, and sing the hymn to God on behalf of allmen? What else can I that am old and lame do but sing to God? Were Ia nightingale, I should do after the manner of a nightingale. Were Ia swan, I should do after the manner of a swan. But now, since I am areasonable being, I must sing to God: that is my work: I do it, nor willI desert this my post, as long as it is granted me to hold it; and uponyou too I call to join in this self-same hymn. 

II

How then do men act? As though one returning to his country who hadsojourned for the night in a fair inn, should be so captivated therebyas to take up his abode there. 

"Friend, thou hast forgotten thine intention! This was not thydestination, but only lay on the way thither. "

"Nay, but it is a proper place. "

"And how many more of the sort there may be; only to pass throughupon thy way! Thy purpose was to return to thy country; to relieve thykinsmen's fears for thee; thyself to discharge the duties of a citizen;to marry a wife, to beget offspring, and to fill the appointed round ofoffice. Thou didst not come to choose out what places are most pleasant;but rather to return to that wherein thou wast born and where wertappointed to ba a citizen. "

III

Try to enjoy the great festival of life with other men. 

IV

But I have one whom I must please, to whom I must be subject, whom Imust obey:--God, and those who come next to Him. He hath entrusted mewith myself: He hath made my will subject to myself alone and given merules for the right use thereof. 

V

Rufus used to say, If you have leisure to praise me, what I say isnaught. In truth he spoke in such wise, that each of us who sat there, though that some one had accused him to Rufus:--so surely did he lay hisfinger on the very deeds we did: so surely display the faults of eachbefore his very eyes. 

VI

But what saith God?--"Had it been possible, Epictetus, I would have madeboth that body of thine and thy possessions free and unimpeded, but asit is, be not deceived:--it is not thine own; it is but finely temperedclay. Since then this I could not do, I have given thee a portion ofMyself, in the power of desiring and declining and of pursuing andavoiding, and is a word the power of dealing with the things of sense. And if thou neglect not this, but place all that thou hast therein, thoushalt never be let or hindered; thou shalt never lament; thou shaltnot blame or flatter any. What then? Seemth this to thee a littlething?"--God forbid!--"Be content then therewith!"

And so I pray the Gods. 

VII

What saith Antisthenes? Hast thou never heard?--

It is a kingly thing, O Cyrus, to do well and to be evil spoken of. 

VIII

"Aye, but to debase myself thus were unworthy of me. "

"That, " said Epictetus, "is for you to consider, not for me. You knowyourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you willsell yourself. For men sell themselves at various prices. This was why, when Florus was deliberating whether he should appear at Nero's shows, taking part in the performance himself, Agrippinus replied, 'But whydo not you appear?' he answered, 'Because I do not even consider thequestion. ' For the man who has once stooped to consider such questions, and to reckon up the value of external things, is not far fromforgetting what manner of man he is. Why, what is it that you ask me?Is death preferable, or life? I reply, Life. Pain or pleasure? I reply, Pleasure. "

"Well, but if I do not act, I shall lose my head. "

"Then go and act! But for my part I will not act. "

"Why?"

"Because you think yourself but one among the many threads which makeup the texture of the doublet. You should aim at being like men ingeneral--just as your thread has no ambition either to be anythingdistinguished compared with the other threads. But I desire to be thepurple--that small and shining part which makes the rest seem fair andbeautiful. Why then do you bid me become even as the multitude? Thenwere I no longer the purple. "

IX

If a man could be throughly penetrated, as he ought, with this thought, that we are all in an especial manner sprung from God, and that Godis the Father of men as well as of Gods, full surely he would neverconceive aught ignoble or base of himself. Whereas if Cæsar were toadopt you, your haughty looks would be intolerable; will you not beelated at knowing that you are the son of God? Now however it is notso with us: but seeing that in our birth these two things arecommingled--the body which we share with the animals, and the Reason andThought which we share with the Gods, many decline towards this unhappykinship with the dead, few rise to the blessed kinship with the Divine. Since then every one must deal with each thing according to the viewwhich he forms about it, those few who hold that they are born forfidelity, modesty, and unerring sureness in dealing with the thingsof sense, never conceive aught base or ignoble of themselves: but themultitude the contrary. Why, what am I?--A wretched human creature; withthis miserable flesh of mine. Miserable indeed! but you have somethingbetter than that paltry flesh of yours. Why then cling to the one, andneglect the other?

X

Thou art but a poor soul laden with a lifeless body. 

XI

The other day I had an iron lamp placed beside my household gods. Iheard a noise at the door and on hastening down found my lamp carriedoff. I reflected that the culprit was in no very strange case. "Tomorrow, my friend, " I said, "you will find an earthenware lamp; for aman can only lose what he has. "

XII

The reason why I lost my lamp was that the thief was superior to me invigilance. He paid however this price for the lamp, that in exchangefor it he consented to become a thief: in exchange for it, to becomefaithless. 

XIII

But God hath introduced Man to be a spectator of Himself and of Hisworks; and not a spectator only, but also an interpreter of them. Wherefore it is a shame for man to begin and to leave off where thebrutes do. Rather he should begin there, and leave off where Natureleaves off in us: and that is at contemplation, and understanding, and amanner of life that is in harmony with herself. 

See then that ye die not without being spectators of these things. 

XIV

You journey to Olympia to see the work of Phidias; and each of you holdsit a misfortune not to have beheld these things before you die. Whereaswhen there is no need even to take a journey, but you are on the spot, with the works before you, have you no care to contemplate and studythese?

Will you not then perceive either who you are or unto what end you wereborn: or for what purpose the power of contemplation has been bestowedon you?

"Well, but in life there are some things disagreeable and hard to bear. "

And are there none at Olympia? Are you not scorched by the heat? Are younot cramped for room? Have you not to bathe with discomfort? Are you notdrenched when it rains? Have you not to endure the clamor and shoutingand such annoyances as these? Well, I suppose you set all this overagainst the splendour of the spectacle and bear it patiently. What then?have you not received greatness of heart, received courage, receivedfortitude? What care I, if I am great of heart, for aught that can cometo pass? What shall cast me down or disturb me? What shall seem painful?Shall I not use the power to the end for which I received it, instead ofmoaning and wailing over what comes to pass?

XV

If what philosophers say of the kinship of God and Man be true, whatremains for men to do but as Socrates did:--never, when asked one'scountry, to answer, "I am an Athenian or a Corinthian, " but "I am acitizen of the world. "

XVI

He that hath grasped the administration of the World, who hath learnedthat this Community, which consists of God and men, is the foremost andmightiest and most comprehensive of all:--that from God have descendedthe germs of life, not to my father only and father's father, but to allthings that are born and grow upon the earth, and in an especial mannerto those endowed with Reason (for those only are by their nature fittedto hold communion with God, being by means of Reason conjoined withHim)--why should not such an one call himself a citizen of the world?Why not a son of God? Why should he fear aught that comes to pass amongmen? Shall kinship with Cæsar, or any other of the great at Rome, beenough to hedge men around with safety and consideration, without athought of apprehension: while to have God for our Maker, and Father, and Kinsman, shall not this set us free from sorrows and fears?

XVII

I do not think that an old fellow like me need have been sitting hereto try and prevent your entertaining abject notions of yourselves, andtalking of yourselves in an abject and ignoble way: but to prevent therebeing by chance among you any such young men as, after recognising theirkindred to the Gods, and their bondage in these chains of the body andits manifold necessities, should desire to cast them off as burdenstoo grievous to be borne, and depart their true kindred. This is thestruggle in which your Master and Teacher, were he worthy of the name, should be engaged. You would come to me and say: "Epictetus, we can nolonger endure being chained to this wretched body, giving food anddrink and rest and purification: aye, and for its sake forced to besubservient to this man and that. Are these not things indifferent andnothing to us? Is it not true that death is no evil? Are we not ina manner kinsmen of the Gods, and have we not come from them? Let usdepart thither, whence we came: let us be freed from these chains thatconfine and press us down. Here are thieves and robbers and tribunals:and they that are called tyrants, who deem that they have after afashion power over us, because of the miserable body and what appertainsto it. Let us show them that they have power over none. "

XVIII

And to this I reply:--

"Friends, wait for God. When He gives the signal, and releases you fromthis service, then depart to Him. But for the present, endure to dwellin the place wherein He hath assigned you your post. Short indeed is thetime of your habitation therein, and easy to those that are minded. Whattyrant, what robber, what tribunals have any terrors for those who thusesteem the body and all that belong to it as of no account? Stay; departnot rashly hence!"

XIX

Something like that is what should pass between a teacher and ingenuousyouths. As it is, what does pass? The teacher is a lifeless body, andyou are lifeless bodies yourselves. When you have had enough to eattoday, you sit down and weep about tomorrow's food. Slave! if youhave it, well and good; if not, you will depart: the door is open--whylament? What further room is there for tears? What further occasion forflattery? Why should one envy another? Why should you stand in awe ofthem that have much or are placed in power, especially if they be alsostrong and passionate? Why, what should they do to us? What they can do, we will not regard: what does concern us, that they cannot do. Who thenshall rule one that is thus minded?

XX

Seeing this then, and noting well the faculties which you have, youshould say, --"Send now, O God, any trial that Thou wilt; lo, I havemeans and powers given me by Thee to acquit myself with honour throughwhatever comes to pass!"--No; but there you sit, trembling for fearcertain things should come to pass, and moaning and groaning andlamenting over what does come to pass. And then you upbraid the Gods. Such meanness of spirit can have but one result--impiety. 

Yet God has not only given us these faculties by means of which we maybear everything that comes to pass without being crushed or depressedthereby; but like a good King and Father, He has given us this withoutlet or hindrance, placed wholly at our own disposition, withoutreserving to Himself any power of impediment or restraint. Thoughpossessing all these things free and all you own, you do not use them!you do not perceive what it is you have received nor whence it comes, but sit moaning and groaning; some of you blind to the Giver, making noacknowledgment to your Benefactor; others basely giving themselves tocomplaints and accusations against God. 

Yet what faculties and powers you possess for attaining courage andgreatness of heart, I can easily show you; what you have for upbraidingand accusation, it is for you to show me!

XXI

How did Socrates bear himself in this regard? How else than as becameone who was fully assured that he was the kinsman of Gods?

XXII

If God had made that part of His own nature which He severed fromHimself and gave to us, liable to be hindered or constrained either byHimself or any other, He would not have been God, nor would He have beentaking care of us as He ought . . . . If you choose, you are free; ifyou choose, you need blame no man--accuse no man. All things will be atonce according to your mind and according to the Mind of God. 

XXIII

Petrifaction is of two sorts. There is petrifaction of theunderstanding; and also of the sense of shame. This happens when aman obstinately refuses to acknowledge plain truths, and persists inmaintaining what is self-contradictory. Most of us dread mortificationof the body, and would spare no pains to escape anything of that kind. But of mortification of the soul we are utterly heedless. With regard, indeed, to the soul, if a man is in such a state as to be incapable offollowing or understanding anything, I grant you we do think him in abad way. But mortification of the sense of shame and modesty we go sofar as to dub strength of mind!

XXIV

If we were as intent upon our business as the old fellows at Rome areupon what interests them, we too might perhaps accomplish something. I know a man older than I am, now Superintendent of the Corn-market atRome, and I remember when he passed through this place on his way backfrom exile, what an account he gave me of his former life, declaringthat for the future, once home again, his only care should be to passhis remaining years in quiet and tranquility. "For how few years haveI left!" he cried. "That, " I said, "you will not do; but the moment thescent of Rome is in your nostrils, you will forget it all; and if youcan but gain admission to Court, you will be glad enough to elbow yourway in, and thank God for it. " "Epictetus, " he replied, "if ever youfind me setting as much as one foot within the Court, think what youwill of me. "

Well, as it was, what did he do? Ere ever he entered the city, he wasmet by a despatch from the Emperor. He took it, and forgot the wholeof his resolutions. From that moment, he has been piling one thing uponanother. I should like to be beside him to remind him of what he saidwhen passing this way, and to add, How much better a prophet I am thanyou!

What then? do I say man is not made for an active life? Far from it!. . . But there is a great difference between other men's occupations andours. . . . A glance at theirs will make it clear to you. All day longthey do nothing but calculate, contrive, consult how to wring theirprofit out of food-stuffs, farm-plots and the like. . . . Whereas, Ientreat you to learn what the administration of the World is, and whatplace a Being endowed with reason holds therein: to consider what youare yourself, and wherein your Good and Evil consists. 

XXV

A man asked me to write to Rome on his behalf who, as most peoplethought, had met with misfortune; for having been before wealthy anddistinguished, he had afterwards lost all and was living here. So Iwrote about him in a humble style. He however on reading the letterreturned it to me, with the words: "I asked for your help, not for yourpity. No evil has happened unto me. "

XXVI

True instruction is this:--to learn to wish that each thing should cometo pass as it does. And how does it come to pass? As the Disposer hasdisposed it. Now He has disposed that there should be summer and winter, and plenty and dearth, and vice and virtue, and all such opposites, forthe harmony of the whole. 

XXVII

Have this thought ever present with thee, when thou losest any outwardthing, what thou gainest in its stead; and if this be the more precious, say not, I have suffered loss. 

XXVIII

Concerning the Gods, there are who deny the very existence of theGodhead; others say that it exists, but neither bestirs nor concernsitself nor has forethought for anything. A third party attribute to itexistence and forethought, but only for great and heavenly matters, notfor anything that is on earth. A fourth party admit things on earth aswell as in heaven, but only in general, and not with respect to eachindividual. A fifth, of whom were Ulysses and Socrates are those thatcry:--

I move not without Thy knowledge!

XXIX

Considering all these things, the good and true man submits hisjudgement to Him that administers the Universe, even as good citizens tothe law of the State. And he that is being instructed should come thusminded:--How may I in all things follow the Gods; and, How may I restsatisfied with the Divine Administration; and, How may I become free?For he is free for whom all things come to pass according to his will, and whom none can hinder. What then, is freedom madness? God forbid. Formadness and freedom exist not together. 

"But I wish all that I desire to come to pass and in the manner that Idesire. "

--You are mad, you are beside yourself. Know you not that Freedom is aglorious thing and of great worth? But that what I desired at random Ishould wish at random to come to pass, so far from being noble, may wellbe exceeding base. 

XXX

You must know that it is no easy thing for a principle to become a man'sown, unless each day he maintain it and hear it maintained, as well aswork it out in life. 

XXXI

You must know that it is no easy thing for a principle to become a man'sown, unless each day he maintain it and hear it maintained, as well aswork it out in life. 

XXXII

What then is the chastisement of those who accept it not? To be as theyare. Is any discontented with being alone? let him be in solitude. Isany discontented with his parents? let him be a bad son, and lament. Isany discontented with his children? let him be a bad father. --"Throwhim into prision!"--What prision?--Where he is already: for he is thereagainst his will; and wherever a man is against his will, that to him isa prision. Thus Socrates was not in prision, since he was there with hisown consent. 

XXXIII

Knowest thou what a speck thou art in comparison with theUniverse?---That is, with respect to the body; since with respect toReason, thou art not inferior to the Gods, nor less than they. For thegreatness of Reason is not measured by length or height, but by theresolves of the mind. Place then thy happiness in that wherein thou artequal to the Gods. 

XXXIV

Asked how a man might eat acceptably to the Gods, Epictetus replied:--Ifwhen he eats, he can be just, cheerful, equable, temperate, and orderly, can he not thus eat acceptably to the Gods? But when you call for warmwater, and your slave does not answer, or when he answers brings itlukewarm, or is not even found to be in the house at all, then not to bevexed nor burst with anger, is not that acceptable to the Gods?

"But how can one endure such people?"

Slave, will you not endure your own brother, that has God to hisforefather, even as a son sprung from the same stock, and of the samehigh descent as yourself? And if you are stationed in a high position, are you therefor forthwith set up for a tyrant? Remember who you are, and whom you rule, that they are by nature your kinsmen, your brothers, the offspring of God. 

"But I paid a price for them, not they for me. "

Do you see whither you are looking--down to the earth, to the pit, tothose despicable laws of the dead? But to the laws of the Gods you donot look. 

XXXV

When we are invited to a banquet, we take what is set before us; andwere one to call upon his host to set fish upon the table or sweetthings, he would be deemed absurd. Yet in a word, we ask the Gods forwhat they do not give; and that, although they have given us so manythings!

XXXVI

Asked how a man might convince himself that every single act of his wasunder the eye of God, Epictetus answered:--

"Do you not hold that things on earth and things in heaven arecontinuous and in unison with each other?"

"I do, " was the reply. 

"Else how should the trees so regularly, as though by God's command, at His bidding flower; at His bidding send forth shoots, bear fruit andripen it; at His bidding let it fall and shed their leaves, and foldedup upon themselves lie in quietness and rest? How else, as the Moonwaxes and wanes, as the Sun approaches and recedes, can it be that suchvicissitude and alternation is seen in earthly things?

"If then all things that grow, nay, our own bodies, are thus bound upwith the whole, is not this still truer of our souls? And if our soulsare bound up and in contact with God, as being very parts and fragmentsplucked from Himself, shall He not feel every movement of theirs asthough it were His own, and belonging to His own nature?"

XXXVII

"But, " you say, "I cannot comprehend all this at once. "

"Why, who told you that your powers were equal to God's?"

Yet God hath placed by the side of each a man's own Guardian Spirit, whois charged to watch over him--a Guardian who sleeps not nor is deceived. For to what better or more watchful Guardian could He have committedwhich of us? So when you have shut the doors and made a darkness within, remember never to say that you are alone; for you are not alone, butGod is within, and your Guardian Spirit, and what light do they need tobehold what you do? To this God you also should have sworn allegiance, even as soldiers unto Cæsar. They, when their service is hired, swearto hold the life of Cæsar dearer than all else: and will you not swearyour oath, that are deemed worthy of so many and great gifts? And willyou not keep your oath when you have sworn it? And what oath will youswear? Never to disobey, never to arraign or murmur at aught that comesto you from His hand: never unwillingly to do or suffer aught thatnecessity lays upon you. 

"Is this oath like theirs?"

They swear to hold no other dearer than Cæsar: you, to hold our trueselves dearer than all else beside. 

XXXVIII

"How shall my brother cease to be wroth with me?"

Bring him to me, and I will tell him. But to thee I have nothing to sayabout his anger. 

XXXIX

When one took counsel of Epictetus, saying, "What I seek is this, howeven though my brother be not reconciled to me, I may still remain asNature would have me to be, " he replied: "All great things are slow ofgrowth; nay, this is true even of a grape or of a fig. If then you sayto me now, I desire a fig, I shall answer, It needs time: wait till itfirst flower, then cast its blossom, then ripen. Whereas then the fruitof the fig-tree reaches not maturity suddenly nor yet in a single hour, do you nevertheless desire so quickly, and easily to reap the fruit ofthe mind of man?--Nay, expect it not, even though I bade you!"

XL

Epaphroditus had a shoemaker whom he sold as being good-for-nothing. This fellow, by some accident, was afterwards purchased by one ofCæsar's men, and became a shoemaker to Cæsar. You should have seenwhat respect Epaphroditus paid him then. "How does the good Felicion?Kindly let me know!" And if any of us inquired, "What is Epaphroditusdoing?" the answer was, "He is consulting about so and so withFelicion. "--Had he not sold him as good-for-nothing? Who had in a triceconverted him into a wiseacre?

This is what comes of holding of importance anything but the things thatdepend on the Will. 

XLI

What you shun enduring yourself, attempt not to impose on others. Youshun slavery--beware of enslaving others! If you can endure to do that, one would thing you had been once upon a time a slave yourself. For Vicehas nothing in common with virtue, nor Freedom with slavery. 

XLII

Has a man been raised to tribuneship? Every one that he meetscongratulates him. One kisses him on the eyes, another on the neck, while the slaves kiss his hands. He goes home to find torches burning;he ascends to the Capitol to sacrifice. --Who ever sacrificed for havinghad right desires; for having conceived such inclinations as Naturewould have him? In truth we thank the Gods for that wherein we place ourhappiness. 

XLIII

A man was talking to me to-day about the priesthood of Augustus. I saidto him, "Let the thing go, my good Sir; you will spend a good deal to nopurpose. "

"Well, but my name will be inserted in all documents and contracts. "

"Will you be standing there to tell those that read them, That is myname written there? And even if you could now be there in every case, what will you do when you are dead?"

"At all events my name will remain. "

"Inscribe it on a stone and it will remain just as well. And think, beyond Nicopolis what memory of you will there be?"

"But I shall have a golden wreath to wear. "

"If you must have a wreath, get a wreath of roses and put it on; youwill look more elegant!"

XLIV

Above all, remember that the door stands open. Be not more fearful thanchildren; but as they, when they weary of the game, cry, "I will playno more, " even so, when thou art in the like case, cry, "I will play nomore" and depart. But if thou stayest, make no lamentation. 

XLV

Is there smoke in the room? If it be slight, I remain; if grievous, I quit it. For you must remember this and hold it fast, that the doorstands open. 

"You shall not dwell at Nicopolis!"

Well and good. 

"Nor at Athens. "

Then I will not dwell at Athens either. 

"Nor at Rome. "

Nor at Rome either. 

"You shall dwell in Gyara!"

Well: but to dwell in Gyara seems to me like a grievous smoke; I departto a place where none can forbid me to dwell: that habitation is openunto all! As for the last garment of all, that is the poor body; beyondthat, none can do aught unto me. This why Demetrius said to Nero: "Youthreaten me with death; it is Nature who threatens you!"

XLVI

The beginning of philosophy is to know the condition of one's own mind. If a man recognises that this is in a weakly state, he will not thenwant to apply it to questions of the greatest moment. As it is, men whoare not fit to swallow even a morsel, buy whole treatises and try todevour them. Accordingly they either vomit them up again, or suffer fromindigestion, whence come gripings, fluxions, and fevers. Whereas theyshould have stopped to consider their capacity. 

XLVII

In theory it is easy to convince an ignorant person: in actual life, mennot only object to offer themselves to be convinced, but hate the manwho has convinced them. Whereas Socrates used to say that we shouldnever lead a life not subjected to examination. 

XLVIII

This is the reason why Socrates, when reminded that he should preparefor his trial, answered: "Thinkest thou not that I have been preparingfor it all my life?"

"In what way?"

"I have maintained that which in me lay!"

"How so?"

"I have never, secretly or openly, done a wrong unto any. "

XLIX

In what character dost thou now come forward?

As a witness summoned by God. "Come thou, " saith God, "and testify forme, for thou art worthy of being brought forward as a witness by Me. Isaught that is outside thy will either good or bad? Do I hurt any man?Have I placed the good of each in the power of any other than himself?What witness dost thou bear to God?"

"I am in evil state, Master, I am undone! None careth for me, nonegiveth me aught: all men blame, all speak evil of me. "

Is this the witness thou wilt bear, and do dishonour to the callingwherewith He hath called thee, because He hath done thee so greathonour, and deemed thee worthy of being summoned to bear witness in sogreat a cause?

L

Wouldst thou have men speak good of thee? speak good of them. And whenthou hast learned to speak good of them, try to do good unto them, andthus thou wilt reap in return their speaking good of thee. 

LI

When thou goest in to any of the great, remember that Another from abovesees what is passing, and that thou shouldst please Him rather than man. He therefore asks thee:--

"In the Schools, what didst thou call exile, imprisionment, bonds, deathand shame?"

"I called them things indifferent. "

"What then dost thou call them now? Are they at all changed?"

"No. "

"Is it then thou that art changed?"

"No. "

"Say then, what are things indifferent?"

"Things that are not in our power. "

"Say then, what follows?"

"That things which are not in our power are nothing to me. "

"Say also what things you hold to be good. "

"A will such as it ought to be, and a right use of the things of sense. "

"And what is the end?"

"To follow Thee!"

LII

"That Socrates should ever have been so treated by the Athenians!"

Slave! why say "Socrates"? Speak of the thing as it is: That ever thenthe poor body of Socrates should have been dragged away and haled bymain force to prision! That ever hemlock should have been given to thebody of Socrates; that that should have breathed its life away!--Do youmarvel at this? Do you hold this unjust? Is it for this that you accuseGod? Had Socrates no compensation for this? Where then for him was theideal Good? Whom shall we hearken to, you or him? And what says he?

"Anytus and Melitus may put me to death: to injure me is beyond theirpower. "

And again:--

"If such be the will of God, so let it be. "

LIII

Nay, young man, for heaven's sake; but once thou hast heard these words, go home and say to thyself:--"It is not Epictetus that has told me thesethings: how indeed should he? No, it is some gracious God through him. Else it would never have entered his head to tell me them--he that isnot used to speak to any one thus. Well, then, let us not lie under thewrath of God, but be obedient unto Him. "---Nay, indeed; but if a ravenby its croaking bears thee any sign, it is not the raven but God thatsends the sign through the raven; and if He signifies anything to theethrough human voice, will He not cause the man to say these words tothee, that thou mayest know the power of the Divine--how He sends a signto some in one way and to others in another, and on the greatest andhighest matters of all signifies His will through the noblest messenger?

What else does the poet mean:--

 I spake unto him erst Myself, and sent Hermes the shining One, to check and warn him, The husband not to slay, nor woo the wife!

LIV

In the same way my friend Heraclitus, who had a trifling suit about apetty farm at Rhodes, first showed the judges that his cause was just, and then at the finish cried, "I will not entreat you: nor do I carewhat sentence you pass. It is you who are on your trial, not I!"--And sohe ended the case. 

LV

As for us, we behave like a herd of deer. When they flee from thehuntsman's feathers in affright, which way do they turn? What haven ofsafety do they make for? Why, they rush upon the nets! And thus theyperish by confounding what they should fear with that wherein no dangerlies. . . . Not death or pain is to be feared, but the fear of death orpain. Well said the poet therefore:--

Death has no terror; only a Death of shame!

LVI

How is it then that certain external things are said to be natural, andother contrary to Nature?

Why, just as it might be said if we stood alone and apart from others. A foot, for instance, I will allow it is natural should be clean. But ifyou take it as a foot, and as a thing which does not stand by itself, itwill beseem it (if need be) to walk in the mud, to tread on thorns, andsometimes even to be cut off, for the benefit of the whole body; elseit is no longer a foot. In some such way we should conceive of ourselvesalso. What art thou?--A man. --Looked at as standing by thyself andseparate, it is natural for thee in health and wealth long to live. But looked at as a Man, and only as a part of a Whole, it is for thatWhole's sake that thou shouldest at one time fall sick, at another bravethe perils of the sea, again, know the meaning of want and perhaps diean early death. Why then repine? Knowest thou not that as the foot isno more a foot if detached from the body, so thou in like case art nolonger a Man? For what is a Man? A part of a City:--first of the Cityof Gods and Men; next, of that which ranks nearest it, a miniature ofthe universal City. . . . In such a body, in such a world enveloping us, among lives like these, such things must happen to one or another. Thypart, then, being here, is to speak of these things as is meet, and toorder them as befits the matter. 

LVII

That was a good reply which Diogenes made to a man who asked him forletters of recommendation. --"That you are a man, he will know when hesees you;--whether a good or bad one, he will know if he has any skillin discerning the good or bad. But if he has none, he will never know, though I write him a thousand times. "--It is as though a piece of silvermoney desired to be recommended to some one to be tested. If the man bea good judge of silver, he will know: the coin will tell its own tale. 

LVIII

Even as the traveller asks his way of him that he meets, inclined in nowise to bear to the right rather than to the left (for he desires onlythe way leading whither he would go), so should we come unto God as to aguide; even as we use our eyes without admonishing them to show us somethings rather than others, but content to receive the images of suchthings as they present to us. But as it is we stand anxiouslywatching the victim, and with the voice of supplication call upon theaugur:--"Master, have mercy on me: vouchsafe unto me a way of escape!"Slave, would you then have aught else then what is best? is thereanything better than what is God's good pleasure? Why, as far as in youlies, would you corrupt your Judge, and lead your Counsellor astray?

LIX

God is beneficent. But the Good also is beneficent. It should seem thenthat where the real nature of God is, there too is to be found the realnature of the Good. What then is the real nature of God?--Intelligence, Knowledge, Right Reason. Here then without more ado seek the real natureof the Good. For surely thou dost not seek it in a plant or in an animalthat reasoneth not. 

LX

Seek then the real nature of the Good in that without whose presencethou wilt not admit the Good to exist in aught else. --What then? Are notthese other things also works of God?--They are; but not preferred tohonour, nor are they portions of God. But thou art a thing preferred tohonour: thou art thyself a fragment torn from God:--thou hast a portionof Him within thyself. How is it then that thou dost not know thy highdescent--dost not know whence thou comest? When thou eatest, wiltthou not remember who thou art that eatest and whom thou feedest? Inintercourse, in exercise, in discussion knowest thou not that it isa God whom thou feedest, a God whom thou exercisest, a God whom thoubearest about with thee, O miserable! and thou perceivest it not. Thinkest thou that I speak of a God of silver or gold, that is withoutthee? Nay, thou bearest Him within thee! all unconscious of polluting Himwith thoughts impure and unclean deeds. Were an image of God present, thou wouldest not dare to act as thou dost, yet, when God Himself ispresent within thee, beholding and hearing all, thou dost not blush tothink such thoughts and do such deeds, O thou that art insensible ofthine own nature and liest under the wrath of God!

LXI

Why then are we afraid when we send a young man from the Schools intoactive life, lest he should indulge his appetites intemperately, lesthe should debase himself by ragged clothing, or be puffed up by fineraiment? Knows he not the God within him; knows he not with whom he isstarting on his way? Have we patience to hear him say to us, Would Ihad thee with me!--Hast thou not God where thou art, and having Him dostthou still seek for any other! Would He tell thee aught else than thesethings? Why, wert thou a statue of Phidias, an Athena or a Zeus, thouwouldst bethink thee both of thyself and thine artificer; and hadst thouany sense, thou wouldst strive to do no dishonour to thyself or him thatfashioned thee, nor appear to beholders in unbefitting guise. But now, because God is thy Maker, is that why thou carest not of what sortthou shalt show thyself to be? Yet how different the artists and theirworkmanship! What human artist's work, for example, has in it thefaculties that are displayed in fashioning it? Is it aught but marble, bronze, gold, or ivory? Nay, when the Athena of Phidias has put forthher hand and received therein a Victory, in that attitude she standsfor evermore. But God's works move and breathe; they use and judge thethings of sense. The workmanship of such an Artist, wilt thou dishonorHim? Ay, when he not only fashioned thee, but placed thee, like a ward, in the care and guardianship of thyself alone, wilt thou not only forgetthis, but also do dishonour to what is committed to thy care! If God hadentrusted thee with an orphan, wouldst thou have thus neglected him? Hehath delivered thee to thine own care, saying, I had none more faithfulthan myself: keep this man for me such as Nature hath made him--modest, faithful, high-minded, a stranger to fear, to passion, to perturbation. . . . 

Such will I show myself to you all. --"What, exempt from sickness also:from age, from death?"--Nay, but accepting sickness, accepting death asbecomes a God!

LXII

No labour, according to Diogenes, is good but that which aims atproducing courage and strength of soul rather than of body. 

LXIII

A guide, on finding a man who has lost his way, brings him back to theright path--he does not mock and jeer at him and then take himself off. You also must show the unlearned man the truth, and you will see that hewill follow. But so long as you do not show it him, you should not mock, but rather feel your own incapacity. 

LXIV

It was the first and most striking characteristic of Socrates never tobecome heated in discourse, never to utter an injurious or insultingword--on the contrary, he persistently bore insult from others and thusput an end to the fray. If you care to know the extent of his powerin this direction, read Xenophon's Banquet, and you will see how manyquarrels he put an end to. This is why the Poets are right in so highlycommending this faculty:--

Quickly and wisely withal even bitter feuds would he settle. 

Nevertheless the practice is not very safe at present, especially inRome. One who adopts it, I need not say, ought not to carry it out in anobscure corner, but boldly accost, if occasion serve, some personage ofrank or wealth. 

"Can you tell me, sir, to whose care you entrust your horses?"

"I can. "

"Is it to the first corner, who knows nothing about them?"

"Certainly not. "

"Well, what of the man who takes care of your gold, your silver or yourraiment?"

"He must be experienced also. "

"And your body--have you ever considered about entrusting it to anyone's care?"

"Of course I have. "

"And no doubt to a person of experience as a trainer, a physician?"

"Surely. "

"And these things the best you possess, or have you anything moreprecious?"

"What can you mean?"

"I mean that which employs these; which weights all things; which takescounsel and resolve. "

"Oh, you mean the soul. "

"You take me rightly; I do mean the soul. By Heaven, I hold that farmore precious than all else I possess. Can you show me then what careyou bestow on a soul? For it can scarcely be thought that a man of yourwisdom and consideration in the city would suffer your most preciouspossession to go to ruin through carelessness and neglect. "

"Certainly not. "

"Well, do you take care of it yourself? Did any one teach you the rightmethod, or did you discover it yourself?"

Now here comes in the danger: first, that the great man may answer, "Why, what is that to you, my good fellow? are you my master?" And then, if you persist in troubling him, may raise his hand to strike you. It isa practice of which I was myself a warm admirer until such experiencesas these befell me. 

LXV

When a youth was giving himself airs in the Theatre and saying, "I amwise, for I have conversed with many wise men, " Epictetus replied, "Itoo have conversed with many rich men, yet I am not rich!"

LXVI

We see that a carpenter becomes a carpenter by learning certain things:that a pilot, by learning certain things, becomes a pilot. Possibly alsoin the present case the mere desire to be wise and good is not enough. It is necessary to learn certain things. This is then the object of oursearch. The Philosophers would have us first learn that there is a God, and that His Providence directs the Universe; further, that to hidefrom Him not only one's acts but even one's thoughts and intentions isimpossible; secondly, what the nature of God is. Whatever that nature isdiscovered to be, the man who would please and obey Him must strive withall his might to be made like unto him. If the Divine is faithful, healso must be faithful; if free, he also must be free; if beneficent, healso must be beneficent; if magnanimous, he also must be magnanimous. Thus as an imitator of God must he follow Him in every deed and word. 

LXVII

If I show you, that you lack just what is most important and necessaryto happiness, that hitherto your attention has been bestowed oneverything rather than that which claims it most; and, to crown all, that you know neither what God nor Man is--neither what Good or Evil is:why, that you are ignorant of everything else, perhaps you may bear tobe told; but to hear that you know nothing of yourself, how could yousubmit to that? How could you stand your ground and suffer that to beproved? Clearly not at all. You instantly turn away in wrath. Yet whatharm have I done to you? Unless indeed the mirror harms the ill-favouredman by showing him to himself just as he is; unless the physician canbe thought to insult his patient, when he tells him:--"Friend, do yousuppose there is nothing wrong with you? why, you have a fever. Eatnothing to-day, and drink only water. " Yet no one says, "What aninsufferable insult!" Whereas if you say to a man, "Your desires areinflamed, your instincts of rejection are weak and low, your aimsare inconsistent, your impulses are not in harmony with Nature, youropinions are rash and false, " he forthwith goes away and complains thatyou have insulted him. 

LXVIII

Our way of life resembles a fair. The flocks and herds are passing alongto be sold, and the greater part of the crowd to buy and sell. But thereare some few who come only to look at the fair, to inquire how and whyit is being held, upon what authority and with what object. So too, inthis great Fair of life, some, like the cattle, trouble themselves aboutnothing but the fodder. Know all of you, who are busied about land, slaves and public posts, that these are nothing but fodder! Some fewthere are attending the Fair, who love to contemplate what the worldis, what He that administers it. Can there be no Administrator? is itpossible, that while neither city nor household could endure even amoment without one to administer and see to its welfare, this Fabric, sofair, so vast, should be administered in order so harmonious, without apurpose and by blind chance? There is therefore an Administrator. Whatis His nature and how does He administer? And who are we that areHis children and what work were we born to perform? Have we any closeconnection or relation with Him or not?

Such are the impressions of the few of whom I speak. And further, theyapply themselves solely to considering and examining the great assemblybefore they depart. Well, they are derided by the multitude. So are thelookers-on by the traders: aye, and if the beasts had any sense, theywould deride those who thought much of anything but fodder!

LXIX

I think I know now what I never knew before--the meaning of the commonsaying, A fool you can neither bend nor break. Pray heaven I may neverhave a wise fool for my friend! There is nothing more intractable. --"Myresolve is fixed!"--Why so madman say too; but the more firmly theybelieve in their delusions, the more they stand in need of treatment. 

LXX

--"O! when shall I see Athens and its Acropolis again?"--Miserable man!art thou not contented with the daily sights that meet thine eyes? canstthou behold aught greater or nobler than the Sun, Moon, and Stars;than the outspread Earth and Sea? If indeed thous apprehendest Him whoadministers the universe, if thou bearest Him about within thee, canstthou still hanker after mere fragments of stone and fine rock? When thouart about to bid farewell to the Sun and Moon itself, wilt thou sit downand cry like a child? Why, what didst thou hear, what didst thou learn?why didst thou write thyself down a philosopher, when thou mightest havewritten what was the fact, namely, "I have made one or two Compendiums, I have read some works of Chrysippus, and I have not even touched thehem of Philosophy's robe!"

LXXI

Friend, lay hold with a desperate grasp, ere it is too late, on Freedom, on Tranquility, on Greatness of soul! Lift up thy head, as one escapedfrom slavery; dare to look up to God, and say:--"Deal with me henceforthas Thou wilt; Thou and I are of one mind. I am Thine: I refuse nothingthat seeeth good to Thee; lead on whither Thou wilt; clothe me in whatgarb Thou pleasest; wilt Thou have me a ruler or a subject--at home orin exile--poor or rich? All these things will I justify unto men forThee. I will show the true nature of each. . . . "

Who would Hercules have been had he loitered at home? no Hercules, butEurystheus. And in his wanderings through the world how many friends andcomrades did he find? but nothing dearer to him than God. Wherefore hewas believed to be God's son, as indeed he was. So then in obedience toHim, he went about delivering the earth from injustice and lawlessness. 

But thou art not Hercules, thou sayest, and canst not deliver othersfrom their iniquity--not even Theseus, to deliver the soil of Atticafrom its monsters? Purge away thine own, cast forth thence--from thineown mind, not robbers and monsters, but Fear, Desire, Envy, Malignity, Avarice, Effeminacy, Intemperance. And these may not be cast out, exceptby looking to God alone, by fixing thy affections on Him only, and byconsecrating thyself to His commands. If thou choosest aught else, withsighs and groans thou wilt be forced to follow a Might greater thanthine own, ever seeking Tranquillity without, and never able to attainunto her. For thou seekest her where she is not to be found; and whereshe is, there thou seekest her not!

LXXII

If a man would pursue Philosophy, his first task is to throw awayconceit. For it is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he has aconceit that he already knows. 

LXXIII

Give me but one young man, that has come to the School with thisintention, who stands forth a champion of this cause, and says, "Allelse I renounce, content if I am but able to pass my life free fromhindrance and trouble; to raise my head aloft and face all things as afree man; to look up to heaven as a friend of God, fearing nothing thatmay come to pass!" Point out such a one to me, that I may say, "Enter, young man, into possession of that which is thine own. For thy lot is toadorn Philosophy. Thine are these possessions; thine these books, thesediscourses!"

And when our champion has duly exercised himself in this part of thesubject, I hope he will come back to me and say:--"What I desire is tobe free from passion and from perturbation; as one who grudges no painsin the pursuit of piety and philosophy, what I desire is to know my dutyto the Gods, my duty to my parents, to my brothers, to my country, tostrangers. "

"Enter then on the second part of the subject; it is thine also. "

"But I have already mastered the second part; only I wished to standfirm and unshaken--as firm when asleep as when awake, as firm whenelated with wine as in despondency and dejection. "

"Friend, you are verily a God! you cherish great designs. "

LXXIV

"The question at stake, " said Epictetus, "is no common one; it isthis:--Are we in our senses, or are we not?"

LXXV

If you have given way to anger, be sure that over and above the evilinvolved therein, you have strengthened the habit, and added fuel tothe fire. If overcome by a temptation of the flesh, do not reckon ita single defeat, but that you have also strengthened your dissolutehabits. Habits and faculties are necessarily affected by thecorresponding acts. Those that were not there before, spring up: therest gain in strength and extent. This is the account which Philosophersgive of the origin of diseases of the mind:--Suppose you have oncelusted after money: if reason sufficient to produce a sense of evilbe applied, then the lust is checked, and the mind at once regains itsoriginal authority; whereas if you have recourse to no remedy, you canno longer look for this return--on the contrary, the next time it isexcited by the corresponding object, the flame of desire leaps up morequickly than before. By frequent repetition, the mind in the longrun becomes callous; and thus this mental disease produces confirmedAvarice. 

One who has had fever, even when it has left him, is not in the samecondition of health as before, unless indeed his cure is complete. Something of the same sort is true also of diseases of the mind. Behind, there remains a legacy of traces and blisters: and unless these areeffectually erased, subsequent blows on the same spot will produceno longer mere blisters, but sores. If you do not wish to be proneto anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend itsincrease. At first, keep quiet and count the days when you were notangry: "I used to be angry every day, then every other day: next everytwo, next every three days!" and if you succeed in passing thirty days, sacrifice to the Gods in thanksgiving. 

LXXVI

How then may this be attained?--Resolve, now if never before, to approvethyself to thyself; resolve to show thyself fair in God's sight; long tobe pure with thine own pure self and God!

LXXVII

That is the true athlete, that trains himself to resist such outwardimpressions as these. 

"Stay, wretched man! suffer not thyself to be carried away!" Great isthe combat, divine the task! you are fighting for Kingship, for Liberty, for Happiness, for Tranquillity. Remember God: call upon Him to aidthee, like a comrade that stands beside thee in the fight. 

LXXVIII

Who then is a Stoic--in the sense that we call a statue of Phidiaswhich is modelled after that master's art? Show me a man in this sensemodelled after the doctrines that are ever upon his lips. Show me a manthat is sick--and happy; an exile--and happy; in evil report--and happy!Show me him, I ask again. So help me Heaven, I long to see one Stoic!Nay, if you cannot show me one fully modelled, let me at least see onein whom the process is at work--one whose bent is in that direction. Dome that favour! Grudge it not to an old man, to behold a sight he hasnever yet beheld. Think you I wish to see the Zeus or Athena of Phidias, bedecked with gold and ivory?--Nay, show me, one of you, a human soul, desiring to be of one mind with God, no more to lay blame on God or man, to suffer nothing to disappoint, nothing to cross him, to yield neitherto anger, envy, nor jealousy--in a word, why disguise the matter? onethat from a man would fan become a God; one that while still imprisonedin this dead body makes fellowship with God his aim. Show me him!--Ah, you cannot! Then why mock yourselves and delude others? why stalk abouttricked out in other men's attire, thieves and robbers that you are ofnames and things to which you can show no title!

LXXIX

If you have assumed a character beyond your strength, you have bothplayed a poor figure in that, and neglected one that is within yourpowers. 

LXXX

Fellow, you have come to blows at home with a slave: you have turned thehousehold upside down, and thrown the neighbourhood into confusion; anddo you come to me then with airs of assumed modesty--do you sit downlike a sage and criticise my explanation of the readings, and whateveridle babble you say has come into my head? Have you come full of envy, and dejected because nothing is sent you from home; and while thediscussion is going on, do you sit brooding on nothing but how yourfather or your brother are disposed towards you:--"What are they sayingabout me there? at this moment they imagine I am making progress andsaying, He will return perfectly omniscient! I wish I could becomeomniscient before I return; but that would be very troublesome. No onesends me anything--the baths at Nicopolis are dirty; things are wretchedat home and wretched here. " And then they say, "Nobody is any the betterfor the School. "--Who comes to the School with a sincere wish to learn:to submit his principles to correction and himself to treatment? Who, togain a sense of his wants? Why then be surprised if you carry home fromthe School exactly what you bring into it?

LXXXI

"Epictetus, I have often come desiring to hear you speak, and you havenever given me any answer; now if possible, I entreat you, say somethingto me. "

"Is there, do you think, " replied Epictetus, "an art of speaking asof other things, if it is to be done skilfully and with profit to thehearer?"

"Yes. "

"And are all profited by what they hear, or only some among them? Sothat it seems there is an art of hearing as well as of speaking. . . . To make a statue needs skill: to view a statue aright needs skill also. "

"Admitted. "

"And I think all will allow that one who proposes to hear philosophersspeak needs a considerable training in hearing. Is that not so? The tellme on what subject your are able to hear me. "

"Why, on good and evil. "

"The good and evil of what? a horse, an ox?"

"No; of a man. "

"Do we know then what Man is? what his nature is? what is the idea wehave of him? And are our ears practised in any degree on the subject?Nay, do you understand what Nature is? can you follow me in any degreewhen I say that I shall have to use demonstration? Do you understandwhat Demonstration is? what True or False is? . . . Must I drive you toPhilosophy? . . . Show me what good I am to do by discoursing with you. Rouse my desire to do so. The sight of a pasture it loves stirs ina sheep the desire to feed: show it a stone or a bit of bread and itremains unmoved. Thus we also have certain natural desires, aye, and onethat moves us to speak when we find a listener that is worth his salt:one that himself stirs the spirit. But if he sits by like a stone or atuft of grass, how can he rouse a man's desire?"

"Then you will say nothing to me?"

"I can only tell you this: that one who knows not who he is and towhat end he was born; what kind of world this is and with whom he isassociated therein; one who cannot distinguish Good and Evil, Beauty andFoulness, . . . Truth and Falsehood, will never follow Reason in shapinghis desires and impulses and repulsions, nor yet in assent, denial, orsuspension of judgement; but will in one word go about deaf and blind, thinking himself to be somewhat, when he is in truth of no account. Isthere anything new in all this? Is not this ignorance the cause of allthe mistakes and mischances of men since the human race began? . . . "

"This is all I have to say to you, and even this against the grain. Why?Because you have not stirred my spirit. For what can I see in you tostir me, as a spirited horse will stir a judge of horses? Your body?That you maltreat. Your dress? That is luxurious. You behavior, yourlook?--Nothing whatever. When you want to hear a philosopher, do notsay, You say nothing to me'; only show yourself worthy or fit to hear, and then you will see how you will move the speaker. "

LXXXII

And now, when you see brothers apparently good friends and living inaccord, do not immediately pronounce anything upon their friendship, though they should affirm it with an oath, though they should declare, "For us to live apart in a thing impossible!" For the heart of a badman is faithless, unprincipled, inconstant: now overpowered by oneimpression, now by another. Ask not the usual questions, Were they bornof the same parents, reared together, and under the same tutor; but askthis only, in what they place their real interest--whether in outwardthings or in the Will. If in outward things, call them not friends, anymore than faithful, constant, brave or free: call them not even humanbeings, if you have any sense. . . . But should you hear that these menhold the Good to lie only in the Will, only in rightly dealing with thethings of sense, take no more trouble to inquire whether they are fatherand son or brothers, or comrades of long standing; but, sure of thisone thing, pronounce as boldly that they are friends as that they arefaithful and just: for where else can Friendship be found than whereModesty is, where there is an interchange of things fair and honest, andof such only?

LXXXIII

No man can rob us of our Will--no man can lord it over that!

LXXXIV

When disease and death overtake me, I would fain be found engaged inthe task of liberating mine own Will from the assaults of passion, fromhindrance, from resentment, from slavery. 

Thus would I fain to be found employed, so that I may say to God, "HaveI in aught transgressed Thy commands? Have I in aught perverted thefaculties, the senses, the natural principles that Thou didst give me?Have I ever blamed Thee or found fault with Thine administration? Whenit was Thy good pleasure, I fell sick--and so did other men: by my willconsented. Because it was Thy pleasure, I became poor: but my heartrejoiced. No power in the State was mine, because Thou wouldst not:such power I never desired! Hast Thou ever seen me of more dolefulcountenance on that account? Have I not ever drawn nigh unto Thee withcheerful look, waiting upon Thy commands, attentive to Thy signals? WiltThou that I now depart from the great Assembly of men? I go: I give Theeall thanks, that Thou hast deemed me worthy to take part with Theein this Assembly: to behold Thy works, to comprehend this Thineadministration. "

Such I would were the subject of my thoughts, my pen, my study, whendeath overtakes me. 

LXXXV

Seemeth it nothing to you, never to accuse, never to blame either God orMan? to wear ever the same countenance in going forth as in comingin? This was the secret of Socrates: yet he never said that he knewor taught anything. . . . Who amongst you makes this his aim? Were itindeed so, you would gladly endure sickness, hunger, aye, death itself. 

LXXXVI

How are we constituted by Nature? To be free, to be noble, to be modest(for what other living thing is capable of blushing, or of feeling theimpression of shame?) and to subordinate pleasure to the ends for whichNature designed us, as a handmaid and a minister, in order to call forthour activity; in order to keep us constant to the path prescribed byNature. 

LXXXVII

The husbandman deals with land; physicians and trainers with the body;the wise man with his own Mind. 

LXXXVIII

Which of us does not admire what Lycurgus the Spartan did? A youngcitizen had put out his eye, and been handed over to him by the peopleto be punished at his own discretion. Lycurgus abstained from allvengeance, but on the contrary instructed and made a good man of him. Producing him in public in the theatre, he said to the astonishedSpartans:--"I received this young man at your hands full of violenceand wanton insolence; I restore him to you in his right mind and fit toserve his country. "

LXXXIX

A money-changer may not reject Cæsar's coin, nor may the seller ofherbs, but must when once the coin is shown, deliver what is sold forit, whether he will or no. So is it also with the Soul. Once the Goodappears, it attracts towards itself; evil repels. But a clear andcertain impression of the Good the Soul will never reject, any more thanmen do Cæsar's coin. On this hangs every impulse alike of Man and God. 

XC

Asked what Common Sense was, Epictetus replied:--

As that may be called a Common Ear which distinguishes only sounds, while that which distinguishes musical notes is not common but producedby training; so there are certain things which men not entirelyperverted see by the natural principles common to all. Such aconstitution of the Mind is called Common Sense. 

XCI

Canst thou judge men? . . . Then make us imitators of thyself, asSocrates did. Do this, do not do that, else will I cast thee intoprision; this is not governing men like reasonable creatures. Sayrather, As God hath ordained, so do; else thou wilt suffer chastisementand loss. Askest thou what loss? None other than this: To have leftundone what thou shouldst have done: to have lost the faithfulness, thereverence, the modesty that is in thee! Greater loss than this seek notto find!

XCII

"His son is dead. "

What has happened?

"His son is dead. "

Nothing more?

"Nothing. "

"His ship is lost. "

"He has been haled to prision. "

What has happened?

"He has been haled to prision. "

But that any of these things are misfortunes to him, is an additionwhich every one makes of his own. But (you say) God is unjust isthis. --Why? For having given thee endurance and greatness of soul? Forhaving made such things to be no evils? For placing happiness within thyreach, even when enduring them? For open unto thee a door, when thingsmake not for thy good?--Depart, my friend and find fault no more!

XCIII

You are sailing to Rome (you tell me) to obtain the post of Governor ofCnossus. You are not content to stay at home with the honours you hadbefore; you want something on a larger scale, and more conspicuous. Butwhen did you ever undertake a voyage for the purpose of reviewing yourown principles and getting rid of any of them that proved unsound? Whomdid you ever visit for that object? What time did you ever set yourselffor that? What age? Run over the times of your life--by yourself, if youare ashamed before me. Did you examine your principles when a boy? Didyou not do everything just as you do now? Or when you were a stripling, attending the school of oratory and practising the art yourself, whatdid you ever imagine you lacked? And when you were a young man, enteredupon public life, and were pleading causes and making a name, who anylonger seemed equal to you? And at what moment would you have enduredanother examining your principles and proving that they were unsound?What then am I to say to you? "Help me in this matter!" you cry. Ah, forthat I have no rule! And neither did you, if that was your object, cometo me as a philosopher, but as you might have gone to a herb-seller ora cobbler. --"What do philosophers have rules for, then?"--Why, thatwhatever may betide, our ruling faculty may be as Nature would have it, and so remain. Think you this a small matter? Not so! but the greatestthing there is. Well, does it need but a short time? Can it be graspedby a passer-by?--grasp it, if you can!

Then you will say, "Yes, I met Epictetus!"

Aye, just as you might a statue or a monument. You saw me! and that isall. But a man who meets a man is one who learns the other's mind, andlets him see is in turn. Learn my mind--show me yours; and then goand say that you met me. Let us try each other; if I have any wrongprinciple, rid me of it; if you have, out with it. That is what meetinga philosopher means. Not so, you think; this is only a flying visit;while we are hiring the ship, we can see Epictetus too! Let us seewhat he has to say. Then on leaving you cry, "Out on Epictetus for aworthless fellow, provincial and barbarous of speech!" What else indeeddid you come to judge of?

XCIV

Whether you will or no, you are poorer than I!

"What then do I lack?"

What you have not: Constancy of mind, such as Nature would have it be:Tranquillity. Patron or no patron, what care I? but you do care. I amricher than you: I am not racked with anxiety as to what Cæsar maythink of me; I flatter none on that account. This is what I have, instead of vessels of gold and silver! your vessels may be of gold, butyour reason, your principles, your accepted views, your inclinations, your desires are of earthenware. 

XCV

To you, all you have seems small: to me, all I have seems great. Yourdesire is insatiable, mine is satisfied. See children thrusting theirhands into a narrow-necked jar, and striving to pull out the nuts andfigs it contains: if they fill the hand, they cannot pull it out again, and then they fall to tears. --"Let go a few of them, and then youcan draw out the rest!"--You, too, let your desire go! covet not manythings, and you will obtain. 

XCVI

Pittacus wronged by one whom he had it in his power to punish, lethim go free, saying, Forgiveness is better than revenge. The one showsnative gentleness, the other savagery. 

XCVII

"My brother ought not to have treated me thus. "

True: but he must see to that. However he may treat me, I must dealrightly by him. This is what lies with me, what none can hinder. 

XCVIII

Nevertheless a man should also be prepared to be sufficient untohimself--to dwell with himself alone, even as God dwells with Himselfalone, shares His repose with none, and considers the nature of His ownadministration, intent upon such thoughts as are meet unto Himself. Soshould we also be able to converse with ourselves, to need none elsebeside, to sigh for no distraction, to bend our thoughts upon the DivineAdministration, and how we stand related to all else; to observe howhuman accidents touched us of old, and how they touch us now; whatthings they are that still have power to hurt us, and how they maybe cured or removed; to perfect what needs perfecting as Reason woulddirect. 

XCIX

If a man has frequent intercourse with others, either in the way ofconversation, entertainment, or simple familiarity, he must eitherbecome like them, or change them to his own fashion. A live coal placednext a dead one will either kindle that or be quenched by it. Such beingthe risk, it is well to be cautious in admitting intimacies of thissort, remembering that one cannot rub shoulders with a soot-stained manwithout sharing the soot oneself. What will you do, supposing the talkturns on gladiators, or horses, or prize-fighters, or (what is worse) onpersons, condemning this and that, approving the other? Or suppose a mansneers and jeers or shows a malignant temper? Has any among us the skillof the lute-player, who knows at the first touch which strings are outof tune and sets the instrument right: has any of you such power asSocrates had, in all his intercourse with men, of winning them overto his own convictions? Nay, but you must needs be swayed hither andthither by the uninstructed. How comes it then that they prove somuch stronger than you? Because they speak from the fulness of theheart--their low, corrupt views are their real convictions: whereas yourfine sentiments are but from the lips, outwards; that is why they areso nerveless and dead. It turns one's stomach to listen to yourexhortations, and hear of your miserable Virtue, that you prate ofup and down. Thus it is that the Vulgar prove too strong for you. Everywhere strength, everywhere victory waits your conviction!

C

In general, any methods of discipline applied to the body which tendto modify its desires or repulsions, are good--for ascetic ends. But ifdone for display, they betray at once a man who keeps an eye on outwardshow; who has an ulterior purpose, and is looking for spectators toshout, "Oh what a great man!" This is why Apollonius so well said: "Ifyou are bent upon a little private discipline, wait till you are chokingwith heat some day--then take a mouthful of cold water, and spit it outagain, and tell no man!"

CI

Study how to give as one that is sick: that thou mayest hereafter giveas one that is whole. Fast; drink water only; abstain altogether fromdesire, that thou mayest hereafter conform thy desire to Reason. 

CII

Thou wouldst do good unto men? then show them by thine own examplewhat kind of men philosophy can make, and cease from foolish trifling. Eating, do good to them that eat with thee; drinking, to them that drinkwith thee; yield unto all, give way, and bear with them. Thus shalt thoudo them good: but vent not upon them thine own evil humour!

CIII

Even as bad actors cannot sing alone, but only in chorus: so some cannotwalk alone. 

Man, if thou art aught, strive to walk alone and hold converse withthyself, instead of skulking in the chorus! at length think; look aroundthee; bestir thyself, that thou mayest know who thou art!

CIV

You would fain be victor at the Olympic games, you say. Yes, but weighthe conditions, weigh the consequences; then and then only, lay to yourhand--if it be for your profit. You must live by rule, submit to diet, abstain from dainty meats, exercise your body perforce at stated hours, in heat or in cold; drink no cold water, nor, it may be, wine. In aword, you must surrender yourself wholly to your trainer, as though to aphysician. 

Then in the hour of contest, you will have to delve the ground, it maychance dislocate an arm, sprain an ankle, gulp down abundance of yellowsand, be scourge with the whip--and with all this sometimes lose thevictory. Count the cost--and then, if your desire still holds, try thewrestler's life. Else let me tell you that you will be behaving like apack of children playing now at wrestlers, now at gladiators; presentlyfalling to trumpeting and anon to stage-playing, when the fancy takesthem for what they have seen. And you are even the same: wrestler, gladiator, philosopher, orator all by turns and none of them with yourwhole soul. Like an ape, you mimic what you see, to one thing constantnever; the thing that is familiar charms no more. This is because younever undertook aught with due consideration, nor after strictly testingand viewing it from every side; no, your choice was thoughtless; theglow of your desire had waxed cold . . . . 

Friend, bethink you first what it is you would do, and then what yourown nature is able to bear. Would you be a wrestler, consider yourshoulders, your thighs, your lions--not all men are formed to the sameend. Think you to be a philosopher while acting as you do? think you goon thus eating, thus drinking, giving way in like manner to wrath andto displeasure? Nay, you must watch, you must labour; overcome certaindesires; quit your familiar friends, submit to be despised by yourslave, to be held in derision by them that meet you, to take the lowerplace in all things, in office, in positions of authority, in courts oflaw. 

Weigh these things fully, and then, if you will, lay to your hand; ifas the price of these things you would gain Freedom, Tranquillity, andpassionless Serenity. 

CV

He that hath no musical instruction is a child in Music; he that hath noletters is a child in Learning; he that is untaught is a child in Life. 

CVI

Can any profit be derived from these men? Aye, from all. 

"What, even from a reviler?"

Why, tell me what profit a wrestler gains from him you exerciseshim beforehand? The very greatest: he trains me in the practice ofendurance, of controlling my temper, of gentle ways. You deny it. What, the man who lays hold of my neck, and disciplines loins and shoulders, does me good, . . . While he that trains me to keep my temper does menone? This is what it means, not knowing how to gain advantage from men!Is my neighbour bad? Bad to himself, but good to me: he brings my goodtemper, my gentleness into play. Is my father bad? Bad to himself, butgood to me. This is the rod of Hermes; touch what you will with it, they say, and it becomes gold. Nay, but bring what you will and I willtransmute it into Good. Bring sickness, bring death, bring poverty andreproach, bring trial for life--all these things through the rod ofHermes shall be turned to profit. 

CVII

Till then these sound opinions have taken firm root in you, and youhave gained a measure of strength for your security, I counsel you to becautious in associating with the uninstructed. Else whatever impressionsyou receive upon the tablets of your mind in the School will day by daymelt and disappear, like wax in the sun. Withdraw then somewhere farfrom the sun, while you have these waxen sentiments. 

CVIII

We must approach this matter in a different way; it is great andmystical: it is no common thing; nor given to every man. Wisdom alone, it may be, will not suffice for the care of youth: a man needs alsoa certain measure of readiness--an aptitude for the office; aye, andcertain bodily qualities; and above all, to be counselled of God Himselfto undertake this post; even as He counselled Socrates to fill the postof one who confutes error, assigning to Diogenes the royal office ofhigh reproof, and to Zeno that of positive instruction. Whereas youwould fain set up for a physician provided with nothing but drugs! Whereand how they should be applied you neither know nor care. 

CIX

If what charms you is nothing but abstract principles, sit down and turnthem over quietly in your mind: but never dub yourself a Philosopher, nor suffer others to call you so. Say rather: He is in error; for mydesires, my impulses are unaltered. I give in my adhesion to what I didbefore; nor has my mode of dealing with the things of sense undergoneany change. 

CX

When a friend inclined to Cynic views asked Epictetus, what sort ofperson a true Cynic should be, requesting a general sketch of thesystem, he answered:--"We will consider that at leisure. At presentI content myself with saying this much: If a man put his hand to soweighty a matter without God, the wrath of God abides upon him. Thatwhich he covets will but bring upon him public shame. Not even onfinding himself in a well-ordered house does a man step forward and sayto himself, I must be master here! Else the lord of that house takesnotice of it, and, seeing him insolently giving orders, drags him forthand chastises him. So it is also in this great City, the World. Herealso is there a Lord of the House, who orders all thing:--

 "Thou are the Sun! in thine orbit thou hast power to make the year and the seasons; to bid the fruits of the earth to grow and increase, the winds arise and fall; thou canst in due measure cherish with thy warmth the frames of men; go make thy circuit, and thus minister unto all from the greatest to the least! . . . "

 "Thou canst lead a host against Troy; be Agamemnon!"

 "Thou canst meet Hector in single combat; be Achilles!"

"But had Thersites stepped forward and claimed the chief command, hehad been met with a refusal, or obtained it only to his own shame andconfusion of face, before a cloud of witnesses. "

CXI

Others may fence themselves with walls and houses, when they do suchdeeds as these, and wrap themselves in darkness--aye, they have manya device to hide themselves. Another may shut his door and station onebefore his chamber to say, if any comes, He has gone forth! he is not atleisure! But the true Cynic will have none of these things; instead ofthem, he must wrap himself in Modesty: else he will but bring himselfto shame, naked and under the open sky. That is his house; that is hisdoor; that is the slave that guards his chamber; that is his darkness!

CXII

Death? let it come when it will, whether it smite but a part of thewhole: Fly, you tell me--fly! But whither shall I fly? Can any man castme beyond the limits of the World? It may not be! And whithersoever Igo, there shall I still find Sun, Moon, and Stars; there I shall finddreams, and omens, and converse with the Gods!

CXIII

Furthermore the true Cynic must know that he is sent as a Messenger fromGod to men, to show unto them that as touching good and evil they arein error; looking for these where they are not to be found, nor everbethinking themselves where they are. And like Diogenes when broughtbefore Philip after the battle of Chaeronea, the Cynic must rememberthat he is a Spy. For a Spy he really is--to bring back word what thingsare on Man's side, and what against him. And when he had diligentlyobserved all, he must come back with a true report, not terrified intoannouncing them to be foes that are no foes, nor otherwise perturbed orconfounded by the things of sense. 

CXIV

How can it be that one who hath nothing, neither raiment, nor house, nor home, nor bodily tendance, nor servant, nor city, should yet livetranquil and contented? Behold God hath sent you a man to show you inact and deed that it may be so. Behold me! I have neither house norpossessions nor servants: the ground is my couch; I have no wife, nochildren, no shelter--nothing but earth and sky, and one poor cloak. Andwhat lack I yet? am I not untouched by sorrow, by fear? am I not free?. . . When have I laid anything to the charge of God or Man? when have Iaccused any? hath any of you seen me with a sorrowful countenance? Andin what wise treat I those of whom you stand in fear and awe? Is it notas slaves? Who when he seeth me doth not think that he beholdeth hisMaster and his King?

CXV

Give thyself more diligently to reflection: know thyself: take counselwith the Godhead: without God put thine hand unto nothing!

CXVI

"But to marry and to rear offspring, " said the young man, "will theCynic hold himself bound to undertake this as a chief duty?"

Grant me a republic of wise men, answered Epictetus, and perhaps nonewill lightly take the Cynic life upon him. For on whose account shouldhe embrace that method of life? Suppose however that he does, there willthen be nothing to hinder his marrying and rearing offspring. For hiswife will be even such another as himself, and likewise her father; andin like manner will his children be brought up. 

But in the present condition of things, which resembles an Army inbattle array, ought not the Cynic to be free from all distraction andgiven wholly to the service of God, so that he can go in and out amongmen, neither fettered by the duties nor entangled by the relations ofcommon life? For if he transgress them, he will forfeit the character ofa good man and true; whereas if he observe them, there is an end to himas the Messenger, the Spy, the Herald of the Gods!

CXVII

Ask me if you choose if a Cynic shall engage in the administration ofthe State. O fool, seek you a nobler administration that that in whichhe is engaged? Ask you if a man shall come forward in the Athenianassembly and talk about revenue and supplies, when his business is toconverse with all men, Athenians, Corinthians, and Romans alike, notabout supplies, not about revenue, nor yet peace and war, but aboutHappiness and Misery, Prosperity and Adversity, Slavery and Freedom?

Ask you whether a man shall engage in the administration of the Statewho has engaged in such an Administration as this? Ask me too if heshall govern; and again I will answer, Fool, what greater governmentshall he hold than he holds already?

CXVIII

Such a man needs also to have a certain habit of body. If he appearsconsumptive, thin and pale, his testimony has no longer the sameauthority. He must not only prove to the unlearned by showing them whathis Soul is that it is possible to be a good man apart from all thatthey admire; but he must also show them, by his body, that a plainand simple manner of life under the open sky does no harm to the bodyeither. "See, I am proof of this! and my body also. " As Diogenes used todo, who went about fresh of look and by the very appearance of his bodydrew men's eyes. But if a Cynic is an object of pity, he seems amere beggar; all turn away, all are offended at him. Nor should he beslovenly of look, so as not to scare men from him in this way either; onthe contrary, his very roughness should be clean and attractive. 

CXIX

Kings and tyrants have armed guards wherewith to chastise certainpersons, though they themselves be evil. But to the Cynic consciencegives this power--not arms and guards. When he knows that he has watchedand laboured on behalf of mankind: that sleep hath found him pure, and left him purer still: that his thoughts have been the thought ofa Friend of the Gods--of a servant, yet one that hath a part in thegovernment of the Supreme God: that the words are ever on his lips:--

Lead me, O God, and thou, O Destiny!

as well as these:--

If this be God's will, so let it be!

Why should he not speak boldly unto his own brethren, unto hischildren--in a word, unto all that are akin to him!

CXX

Does a Philosopher apply to people to come and hear him? does he notrather, of his own nature, attract those that will be benefitedby him--like the sun that warms, the food that sustains them? WhatPhysician applies to men to come and be healed? (Though indeed I hearthat the Physicians at Rome do nowadays apply for patients--in my timethey were applied to. ) I apply to you to come and hear that you are inevil case; that what deserves your attention most in the last thing togain it; that you know not good from evil, and are in short a haplesswretch; a fine way to apply! though unless the words of the Philosopheraffect you thus, speaker and speech are alike dead. 

CXXI

A Philosopher's school is a Surgery: pain, not pleasure, you should havefelt therein. For on entering none of you is whole. One has a shoulderout of joint, another an abscess: a third suffers from an issue, afourth from pains in the head. And am I then to sit down and treat youto pretty sentiments and empty flourishes, so that you may applaud meand depart, with neither shoulder, nor head, nor issue, nor abscess awhit the better for your visit? Is it then for this that young men areto quit their homes, and leave parents, friends, kinsmen and substanceto mouth out Bravo to your empty phrases!

CXXII

If any be unhappy, let him remember that he is unhappy by reason ofhimself alone. For God hath made all men to enjoy felicity and constancyof good. 

CXXIII

Shall we never wean ourselves--shall we never heed the teachings ofPhilosophy (unless perchance they have been sounding in our ears likeand enchanter's drone):--

This World is one great City, and one if the substance whereof it isfashioned: a certain period indeed there needs must be, while these giveplace to those; some must perish for others to succeed; some move andsome abide: yet all is full of friends--first God, then Men, whom Naturehath bound by ties of kindred each to each. 

CXXIV

Nor did the hero weep and lament at leaving his children orphans. For heknew that no man is an orphan, but it is the Father that careth for allcontinually and for evermore. Not by mere report had he heard thatthe Supreme God is the Father of men: seeing that he called Him Fatherbelieving Him so to be, and in all that he did had ever his eyes fixedupon Him. Wherefore in whatsoever place he was, there is was given himto live happily. 

CXXV

Know you not that the thing is a warfare? one man's duty is to mountguard, another must go out to reconnoitre, a third to battle; all cannotbe in one place, nor would it even be expedient. But you, instead ofexecuting you Commander's orders, complain if aught harsher than usualis enjoined; not understanding to what condition you are bringing thearmy, so far as in you lies. If all were to follow your example, nonewould dig a trench, none would cast a rampart around the camp, nonewould keep watch, or expose himself to danger; but all turn out uselessfor the service of war. . . . Thus it is here also. Every life is awarfare, and that long and various. You must fulfil a soldier's duty, and obey each order at your commander's nod: aye, if it be possible, divine what he would have done; for between that Command and this, thereis no comparison, either in might or in excellence. 

CXXVI

Have you again forgotten? Know you not that a good man does nothing forappearance' sake, but for the sake of having done right? . . . 

"Is there no reward then?"

Reward! do you seek any greater reward for a good man than doing what isright and just? Yet at the Great Games you look for nothing else; therethe victor's crown you deem enough. Seems it to you so small a thing andworthless, to be a good man, and happy therein?

CXXVII

It befits thee not to be unhappy by reason of any, but rather to behappy by reason of all men, and especially by reason of God, who formedus to this end. 

CXXVIII

What, did Diogenes love no man, he that was so gentle, so true a friendto men as cheerfully to endure such bodily hardships for the commonweal of all mankind? But how loved he them? As behoved a minister of theSupreme God, alike caring for men and subject unto God. 

CXXIX

I am by Nature made for my own good; not for my own evil. 

CXXX

Remind thyself that he whom thou lovest is mortal--that what thou lovestis not thine own; it is given thee for the present, not irrevocably norfor ever, but even as a fig or a bunch of grapes at the appointed seasonof the year. . . . 

"But these are words of evil omen. ". . . 

What, callest thou aught of evil omen save that which signifies someevil thing? Cowardice is a word of evil omen, if thou wilt, and meannessof spirit, and lamentation and mourning, and shamelessness. . . . 

But do not, I pray thee, call of evil omen a word that is significant ofany natural thing:--as well call of evil omen the reaping of the corn;for that means the destruction of the ears, though not of the World!--aswell say that the fall of the leaf is of evil omen; that the dried figshould take the place of the green; that raisins should be made fromgrapes. All these are changes from a former state into another; notdestruction, but an ordered economy, a fixed administration. Suchis leaving home, a change of small account; such is Death, a greaterchange, from what now is, not to what is not, but to what is not now. 

"Shall I then no longer be?"

Not so; thou wilt be; but something different, of which the World nowhath need. For thou too wert born not when thou chosest, but when theWorld had need of thee. 

CXXXI

Wherefore a good man and true, bearing in mind who he is and whence hecame and from whom he sprang, cares only how he may fill his post withdue discipline and obedience to God. 

Wilt thou that I continue to live? Then will I live, as one that isfree and noble, as Thou wouldst have me. For Thou hast made me free fromhindrance in what appertaineth unto me. But hast Thou no further needof me? I thank Thee! Up to this hour have I stayed for Thy sake and noneother's: and now in obedience to Thee I depart. 

"How dost thou depart?"

Again I say, as Thou wouldst have me; as one that is free, as Thyservant, as one whose ear is open unto what Thou dost enjoin, what Thoudost forbid. 

CXXXII

Whatsoever place or post Thou assignest me, sooner will I die a thousanddeaths, as Socrates said, then depart it. And where wilt Thou have beme? At Rome of Athens? At Thebes or on a desert island? Only remember methere! Shouldst Thou send me where man cannot live as Nature would havehim, I will depart, not in disobedience to Thee, but as though Thou wertsounding the signal for my retreat: I am not deserting Thee--far be thatfrom me! I only perceive that thou needest me no longer. 

CXXXIII

If you are in Gyaros, do not let your mind dwell upon life at Rome, and all the pleasures it offered to you when living there, and all thatwould attend your return. Rather be intent on this--how he that lives inGyaros may live in Gyaros like a man of spirit. And if you are at Rome, do not let your mind dwell upon the life at Athens, but study only howto live at Rome. 

Finally, in the room of all other pleasures put this--the pleasure whichsprings from conscious obedience to God. 

CXXXIV

To a good man there is no evil, either in life or death. And if Godsupply not food, has He not, as a wise Commander, sounded the signalfor retreat and nothing more? I obey, I follow--speaking good of myCommander, and praising His acts. For at His good pleasure I came; and Idepart when it pleases Him; and while I was yet alive that was my work, to sing praises unto God!

CXXXV

Reflect that the chief source of all evils to Man, and of baseness andcowardice, is not death, but the fear of death. 

Against this fear then, I pray you, harden yourself; to this let allyour reasonings, your exercises, your reading tend. Then shall you knowthat thus alone are men set free. 

CXXXVI

He is free who lives as he wishes to live; to whom none can do violence, none hinder or compel; whose impulses are unimpeded, whose desires areattain their purpose, who falls not into what he would avoid. Who thenwould live in error?--None. Who would live deceived and prone to fall, unjust, intemperate, in abject whining at his lot?--None. Then doth nowicked man live as he would, and therefore neither is he free. 

CXXXVII

Thus do the more cautious of travellers act. The road is said to bebeset by robbers. The traveller will not venture alone, but awaits thecompanionship on the road of an ambassador, a quaestor or a proconsul. To him he attaches himself and thus passes by in safety. So doth thewise man in the world. Many are the companies of robbers and tyrants, many the storms, the straits, the losses of all a man holds dearest. Whither shall he fall for refuge--how shall he pass by unassailed? Whatcompanion on the road shall he await for protection? Such and such awealthy man, of consular rank? And how shall I be profited, if heis stripped and falls to lamentation and weeping? And how if myfellow-traveller himself turns upon me and robs me? What am I to do? Iwill become a friend of Cæsar's! in his train none will do me wrong! Inthe first place--O the indignities I must endure to win distinction! Othe multitude of hands there will be to rob me! And if I succeed, Cæsartoo is but a mortal. While should it come to pass that I offend him, whither shall I flee from his presence? To the wilderness? And may notfever await me there? What then is to be done? Cannot a fellow-travellerbe found that is honest and loyal, strong and secure against surprise?Thus doth the wise man reason, considering that if he would pass throughin safety, he must attach himself unto God. 

CXXXVIII

"How understandest thou attach himself to God?"

That what God wills, he should will also; that what God wills not, neither should he will. 

"How then may this come to pass?"

By considering the movements of God, and His administration. 

CXXXIX

And dost thou that hast received all from another's hands, repine andblame the Giver, if He takes anything from thee? Why, who art thou, andto what end comest thou here? was it not He that made the Light manifestunto thee, that gave thee fellow-workers, and senses, and the power toreason? And how brought He thee into the world? Was it not as oneborn to die; as one bound to live out his earthly life in some smalltabernacle of flesh; to behold His administration, and for a littlewhile share with Him in the mighty march of this great FestivalProcession? Now therefore that thou hast beheld, while it was permittedthee, the Solemn Feast and Assembly, wilt thou not cheerfully depart, when He summons thee forth, with adoration and thanksgiving for whatthou hast seen and heard?--"Nay, but I would fain have stayed longer atthe Festival. "--Ah, so would the mystics fain have the rites prolonged;so perchance would the crowd at the Great Games fain behold morewrestlers still. But the Solemn Assembly is over! Come forth, departwith thanksgiving and modesty--give place to others that must come intobeing even as thyself. 

CXL

Why art thou thus insatiable? why thus unreasonable? why encumberthe world?--"Aye, but I fain would have my wife and children with metoo. "--What, are they then thine, and not His that gave them--His thatmade thee? Give up then that which is not thine own: yield it to One whois better than thou. "Nay, but why did He bring one into the world onthese conditions?"--If it suits thee not, depart! He hath no need of aspectator who finds fault with his lot! Them that will take part in theFeast he needeth--that will lift their voices with the rest that menmay applaud the more, and exalt the Great Assembly in hymns and songsof praise. But the wretched and the fearful He will not be displeased tosee absent from it: for when they were present, they did not behaveas at a Feast, nor fulfil their proper office; but moaned as thoughin pain, and found fault with their fate, their fortune and theircompanions; insensible to what had fallen to their lot, insensible tothe powers they had received for a very different purpose--the powers ofMagnanimity, Nobility of Heart, of Fortitude, or Freedom!

CXLI

Art thou then free? a man may say. So help me heaven, I long and prayfor freedom! But I cannot look my masters boldly in the face; I stillvalue the poor body; I still set much store on its preservation wholeand sound. 

But I can point thee out a free man, that thou mayest be no more insearch of an example. Diogenes was free. How so? Not because he was offree parentage (for that, indeed, was not the case), but because he washimself free. He had cast away every handle whereby slavery might layhold of him to enslave him, nor was it possible for any to approachand take hold of him to enslave him. All things sat loose upon him--allthings were to him attached by but slender ties. Hadst thou seized uponhis possessions, he would rather have let them go than have followedthee for them--aye, had it been even a limb, or mayhap his whole body;and in like manner, relatives, friends, and country. For he knew whencethey came--from whose hands and on what terms he had received them. His true forefathers, the Gods, his true Country, he never wouldhave abandoned; nor would he have yielded to any man in obedience andsubmission to the one nor in cheerfully dying for the other. For hewas ever mindful that everything that comes to pass has its source andorigin there; being indeed brought about for the weal of that his trueCountry, and directed by Him in whose governance it is. 

CXLII

Ponder on this--on these convictions, on these words: fix thine eyes onthese examples, if thou wouldst be free, if thou hast thine heart setupon the matter according to its worth. And what marvel if thou purchaseso great a thing at so great and high a price? For the sake of this thatmen deem liberty, some hang themselves, others cast themselves down fromthe rock; aye, time has been when whole cities came utterly to an end:while for the sake of Freedom that is true, and sure, and unassailable, dost thou grudge to God what He gave, when He claims it? Wilt thou notstudy, as Plato saith, to endure, not death alone, but torture, exile, stripes--in a word, to render up all that is not thine own? Else thouwilt be a slave amid slaves, wert thou ten thousand times a consul; aye, not a whit the less, though thou climb the Palace steps. And thoushalt know how true the saying of Cleanthes, that though the words ofphilosophers may run counter to the opinions of the world, yet have theyreason on their side. 

CXLII

Asked how a man should best grieve his enemy, Epictetus replied, "Bysetting himself to live the noblest life himself. "

CXLIV

I am free, I am a friend of God, ready to render Him willing obedience. Of all else I may set store by nothing--neither by mine own body, norpossessions, nor office, nor good report, nor, in a word, aught elsebeside. For it is not His Will, that I should so set store by thesethings. Had it been His pleasure, He would have placed my Good therein. But now He hath not done so: therefore I cannot transgress one jot ofHis commands. In everything hold fast to that which is thy Good--but toall else (as far as is given thee) within the measure of Reason only, contented with this alone. Else thou wilt meet with failure, illsuccess, let and hindrance. These are the Laws ordained of God--theseare His Edicts; these a man should expound and interpret; to thesesubmit himself, not to the laws of Masurius and Cassius. 

CXLV

Remember that not the love of power and wealth sets us under the heelof others, but even the love of tranquillity, of leisure, of change ofscene--of learning in general, it matters not what the outward thingmay be--to set store by it is to place thyself in subjection to another. Where is the difference then between desiring to be a Senator, anddesiring not to be one: between thirsting for office and thirsting tobe quit of it? Where is the difference between crying, Woe is me, I knownot what to do, bound hand and foot as I am to my books so that I cannotstir! and crying, Woe is me, I have not time to read! As though a bookwere not as much an outward thing and independent of the will, as officeand power and the receptions of the great. 

Or what reason hast thou (tell me) for desiring to read? For if thouaim at nothing beyond the mere delight of it, or gaining some scrap ofknowledge, thou art but a poor, spiritless knave. But if thou desirestto study to its proper end, what else is this than a life that flows ontranquil and serene? And if thy reading secures thee not serenity, whatprofits it?--"Nay, but it doth secure it, " quoth he, "and that is why Irepine at being deprived of it. "--And what serenity is this that lies atthe mercy of every passer-by? I say not at the mercy of the Emperor orEmperor's favorite, but such as trembles at a raven's croak and piper'sdin, a fever's touch or a thousand things of like sort! Whereas thelife serene has no more certain mark than this, that it ever moves withconstant unimpeded flow. 

CXLVI

If thou hast put malice and evil speaking from thee, altogether, orin some degree: if thou hast put away from thee rashness, foulness oftongue, intemperance, sluggishness: if thou art not moved by what oncemoved thee, or in like manner as thou once wert moved--then thou mayestcelebrate a daily festival, to-day because thou hast done well in thismanner, to-morrow in that. How much greater cause is here for offeringsacrifice, than if a man should become Consul or Prefect?

CXLVII

These things hast thou from thyself and from the Gods: only remember whoit is that giveth them--to whom and for what purpose they were given. Feeding thy soul on thoughts like these, dost thou debate in what placehappiness awaits thee? in what place thou shalt do God's pleasure?Are not the Gods nigh unto all places alike; see they not alike whateverywhere comes to pass?

CXLVIII

To each man God hath granted this inward freedom. These are theprinciples that in a house create love, in a city concord, among nationspeace, teaching a man gratitude towards God and cheerful confidence, wherever he may be, in dealing with outward things that he knows areneither his nor worth striving after. 

CXLIX

If you seek Truth, you will not seek to gain a victory by every possiblemeans; and when you have found Truth, you need not fear being defeated. 

CL

What foolish talk is this? how can I any longer lay claim to rightprinciples, if I am not content with being what I am, but am allaflutter about what I am supposed to be?

CLI

God hath made all things in the world, nay, the world itself, free fromhindrance and perfect, and its parts for the use of the whole. Not othercreature is capable of comprehending His administration thereof; but thereasonable being Man possesses faculties for the consideration of allthese things--not only that he is himself a part, but what part he is, and how it is meet that the parts should give place to the whole. Nor isthis all. Being naturally constituted noble, magnanimous, and free, hesees that the things which surround him are of two kinds. Some arefree from hindrance and in the power of the will. Other are subject tohindrance, and depend on the will of other men. If then he place his owngood, his own best interest, only in that which is free from hindranceand in his power, he will be free, tranquil, happy, unharmed, noble-hearted, and pious; giving thanks to all things unto God, finding fault with nothing that comes to pass, laying no charge againstanything. Whereas if he place his good in outward things, depending noton the will, he must perforce be subject to hindrance and restraint, theslave of those that have power over the things he desires and fears;he must perforce be impious, as deeming himself injured at the handsof God; he must be unjust, as ever prone to claim more than his due; hemust perforce be of a mean and abject spirit. 

CLII

Whom then shall I fear? the lords of the Bedchamber, lest they shouldshut me out? If they find me desirous of entering in, let them shut meout, if they will. 

"Then why comest thou to the door?"

Because I think it meet and right, so long as the Play lasts, to takepart therein. 

"In what sense art thou then shut out?"

Because, unless I am admitted, it is not my will to enter: on thecontrary, my will is simply that which comes to pass. For I esteem whatGod wills better than what I will. To Him will I cleave as His ministerand attendant; having the same movements, the same desires, in a wordthe same Will as He. There is no such thing as being shut out for me, but only for them that would force their way in. 

CLIII

But what says Socrates?--"One man finds pleasure in improving his land, another his horses. My pleasure lies in seeing that I myself grow betterday by day. "

CLIV

The dress is suited to the craft; the craftsman takes his name fromthe craft, not from the dress. For this reason Euphrates was right insaying, "I long endeavoured to conceal my following the philosophiclife; and this profited me much. In the first place, I knew that what Idid aright, I did not for the sake of lookers-on, but for my own. Iate aright--unto myself; I kept the even tenor of my walk, my glancecomposed and serene--all unto myself and unto God. Then as I foughtalone, I was alone in peril. If I did anything amiss or shameful, the cause of Philosophy was not in me endangered; nor did I wrong themultitude by transgressing as a professed philosopher. Wherefore thosethat knew not my purpose marvelled how it came about, that whilst all mylife and conversation was passed with philosophers without exception, Iwas yet none myself. And what harm that the philosopher should be knownby his acts, instead of mere outward signs and symbols?"

CLV

First study to conceal what thou art; seek wisdom a little while untothyself. Thus grows the fruit; first, the seed must be buried in theearth for a little space; there it must be hid and slowly grow, that itmay reach maturity. But if it produce the ear before the jointed stalk, it is imperfect--a thing from the garden of Adonis. Such a sorry growthart thou; thou hast blossomed too soon: the winter cold will wither theeaway!

CLVI

First of all, condemn the life thou art now leading: but when thouhast condemned it, do not despair of thyself--be not like them of meanspirit, who once they have yielded, abandon themselves entirely andas it were allow the torrent to sweep them away. No; learn what thewrestling masters do. Has the boy fallen? "Rise, " they say, "wrestleagain, till thy strength come to thee. " Even thus should it be withthee. For know that there is nothing more tractable than the human soul. It needs but to will, and the thing is done; the soul is set upon theright path: as on the contrary it needs but to nod over the task, andall is lost. For ruin and recovery alike are from within. 

CLVII

It is the critical moment that shows the man. So when the crisis is uponyou, remember that God, like a trainer of wrestlers, has matched youwith a rough and stalwart antagonist. --"To what end?" you ask. That youmay prove the victor at the Great Games. Yet without toil and sweat thismay not be!

CLVIII

If thou wouldst make progress, be content to seem foolish and void ofunderstanding with respect to outward things. Care not to be thought toknow anything. If any should make account of thee, distrust thyself. 

CLIX

Remember that in life thou shouldst order thy conduct as at a banquet. Has any dish that is being served reached thee? Stretch forth thy handand help thyself modestly. Doth it pass thee by? Seek not to detainit. Has it not yet come? Send not forth thy desire to meet it, but waituntil it reaches thee. Deal thus with children, thus with wife; thuswith office, thus with wealth--and one day thou wilt be meet to sharethe Banquets of the Gods. But if thou dost not so much as touch thatwhich is placed before thee, but despisest it, then shalt thou not onlyshare the Banquets of the Gods, but their Empire also. 

CLX

Remember that thou art an actor in a play, and of such sort as theAuthor chooses, whether long or short. If it be his good pleasure toassign thee the part of a beggar, a ruler, or a simple citizen, thine itis to play it fitly. For thy business is to act the part assigned thee, well: to choose it, is another's. 

CLXI

Keep death and exile daily before thine eyes, with all else that mendeem terrible, but more especially Death. Then wilt thou never think amean though, nor covet anything beyond measure. 

CLXII

As a mark is not set up in order to be missed, so neither is such athing as natural evil produced in the World. 

CLXIII

Piety toward the Gods, to be sure, consists chiefly in thinking rightlyconcerning them--that they are, and that they govern the Universe withgoodness and justice; and that thou thyself art appointed to obey them, and to submit under all circumstances that arise; acquiescing cheerfullyin whatever may happen, sure it is brought to pass and accomplished bythe most Perfect Understanding. Thus thou wilt never find fault with theGods, nor charge them with neglecting thee. 

CLXIV

Lose no time in setting before you a certain stamp of character andbehaviour both when by yourself and in company with others. Let silencebe your general rule; or say only what is necessary and in few words. Weshall, however, when occasion demands, enter into discourse sparingly. Avoiding common topics as gladiators, horse-races, athletes; andthe perpetual talk about food and drink. Above all avoid speaking ofpersons, either in way of praise or blame, or comparison. 

If you can, win over the conversation of your company to what it shouldbe by your own. But if you find yourself cut off without escape amongstrangers and aliens, be silent. 

CLXV

Laughter should not be much, nor frequent, nor unrestrained. 

CLXVI

Refuse altogether to take an oath if you can, if not, as far as may be. 

CLXVII

Banquets of the unlearned and of them that are without, avoid. Butif you have occasion to take part in them, let not your attention berelaxed for a moment, lest you slip after all into evil ways. For youmay rest assured that be a man ever so pure himself, he cannot escapedefilement if his associates are impure. 

CLXVIII

Take what relates to the body as far as the bare use warrants--as meat, drink, raiment, house and servants. But all that makes for show andluxury reject. 

CLXIX

If you are told that such an one speaks ill of you, make no defenceagainst what was said, but answer, He surely knew not my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these only!

CLXX

When you visit any of those in power, bethink yourself that you will notfind him in: that you may not be admitted: that the door may be shut inyour face: that he may not concern himself about you. If with all this, it is your duty to go, bear what happens, and never say to yourself, It was not worth the trouble! For that would smack of the foolish andunlearned who suffer outward things to touch them. 

CLXXI

In company avoid frequent and undue talk about your own actions anddangers. However pleasant it may be to you to enlarge upon the risksyou have run, others may not find such pleasure in listening to youradventures. Avoid provoking laughter also: it is a habit from whichone easily slides into the ways of the foolish, and apt to diminish therespect which your neighbors feel for you. To border on coarse talk isalso dangerous. On such occasions, if a convenient opportunity offer, rebuke the speaker. If not, at least by relapsing into silence, colouring, and looking annoyed, show that you are displeased with thesubject. 

CLXXII

When you have decided that a thing ought to be done, and are doing it, never shun being seen doing it, even though the multitude should belikely to judge the matter amiss. For if you are not acting rightly, shun the act itself; if rightly, however, why fear misplaced censure?

CLXXIII

It stamps a man of mean capacity to spend much time on the things of thebody, as to be long over bodily exercises, long over eating, long overdrinking, long over other bodily functions. Rather should thesethings take the second place, while all your care is directed to theunderstanding. 

CLXXIV

Everything has two handles, one by which it may be borne, the other bywhich it may not. If your brother sin against you lay not hold of it bythe handle of injustice, for by that it may not be borne: but rather bythis, that he is your brother, the comrade of your youth; and thus youwill lay hold on it so that it may be borne. 

CLXXV

Never call yourself a Philosopher nor talk much among the unlearnedabout Principles, but do that which follows from them. Thus at abanquet, do not discuss how people ought to eat; but eat as you ought. Remember that Socrates thus entirely avoided ostentation. Men would cometo him desiring to be recommended to philosophers, and he would conductthem thither himself--so well did he bear being overlooked. Accordinglyif any talk concerning principles should arise among the unlearned, beyou for the most part silent. For you run great risk of spewing up whatyou have ill digested. And when a man tells you that you know nothingand you are not nettled at it, then you may be sure that you have begunthe work. 

CLXXVI

When you have brought yourself to supply the needs of the body at smallcost, do not pique yourself on that, nor if you drink only water, keepsaying on each occasion, I drink water! And if you ever want to practiseendurance and toil, do so unto yourself and not unto others--do notembrace statues!

CLXXVII

When a man prides himself on being able to understand and interpret thewritings of Chrysippus, say to yourself:--

If Chrysippus had not written obscurely, this fellow would have hadnothing to be proud of. But what is it that I desire? To understandNature, and to follow her! Accordingly I ask who is the Interpreter. On hearing that it is Chrysippus, I go to him. But it seems I do notunderstand what he wrote. So I seek one to interpret that. So far thereis nothing to pride myself on. But when I have found my interpreter, what remains is to put in practice his instructions. This itself is theonly thing to be proud of. But if I admire the interpretation and thatalone, what else have I turned out but a mere commentator instead ofa lover of wisdom?--except indeed that I happen to be interpretingChrysippus instead of Homer. So when any one says to me, Prithee, readme Chrysippus, I am more inclined to blush, when I cannot show my deedsto be in harmony and accordance with his sayings. 

CLXXVIII

At feasts, remember that you are entertaining two guests, body and soul. What you give to the body, you presently lose; what you give to thesoul, you keep for ever. 

CLXXIX

At meals, see to it that those who serve be not more in number thanthose who are served. It is absurd for a crowd of persons to be dancingattendance on half a dozen chairs. 

CLXXX

It is best to share with your attendants what is going forward, both inthe labour of preparation and in the enjoyment of the feast itself. Ifsuch a thing be difficult at the time, recollect that you who arenot weary are being served by those that are; you who are eating anddrinking by those who do neither; you who are talking by those who aresilent; you who are at ease by those who are under constraint. Thus nosudden wrath will betray you into unreasonable conduct, nor will youbehave harshly by irritating another. 

CLXXXI

When Xanthippe was chiding Socrates for making scanty preparation forentertaining his friends, he answered:--"If they are friends of oursthey will not care for that; if they are not, we shall care nothing forthem!"

CLXXXII

Asked, Who is the rich man? Epictetus replied, "He who is content. "

CLXXXIII

Favorinus tells us how Epictetus would also say that there were twofaults far graver and fouler than any others--inability to bear, andinability to forbear, when we neither patiently bear the blows thatmust be borne, nor abstain from the things and the pleasures we ought toabstain from. "So, " he went on, "if a man will only have these two wordsat heart, and heed them carefully by ruling and watching over himself, he will for the most part fall into no sin, and his life will betranquil and serene. " He meant the words à ã --"Bear and Forbear. "

CLXXXIV

On all occasions these thoughts should be at hand:--

 Lead me, O God, and Thou, O Destiny Be what it may the goal appointed me, Bravely I'll follow; nay, and if I would not, I'd prove a coward, yet must follow still!

Again:

 Who to Necessity doth bow aright, Is learn'd in wisdom and the things of God. 

Once more:--

 Crito, if this be God's will, so let it be. As for me, Anytus and Meletus can indeed put me to death, but injure me, never!

CLXXXV

We shall then be like Socrates, when we can indite hymns of praise tothe Gods in prison. 

CLXXXVI

It is hard to combine and unite these two qualities, the carefulnessof one who is affected by circumstances, and the intrepidity of onewho heeds them not. But it is not impossible: else were happiness alsoimpossible. We should act as we do in seafaring. 

"What can I do?"--Choose the master, the crew, the day, the opportunity. Then comes a sudden storm. What matters it to me? my part has been fullydone. The matter is in the hands of another--the Master of the ship. The ship is foundering. What then have I to do? I do the only thingthat remains to me--to be drowned without fear, without a cry, withoutupbraiding God, but knowing that what has been born must likewiseperish. For I am not Eternity, but a human being--a part of the whole, as an hour is part of the day. I must come like the hour, and like thehour must pass!

CLXXXVII

And now we are sending you to Rome to spy out the land; but none senda coward as such a spy, that, if he hear but a noise and see a shadowmoving anywhere, loses his wits and comes flying to say, The enemy areupon us!

So if you go now, and come and tell us: "Everything at Rome is terrible:Death is terrible, Exile is terrible, Slander is terrible, Want isterrible; fly, comrades! the enemy are upon us!" we shall reply, Get yougone, and prophesy to yourself! we have but erred in sending such a spyas you. Diogenes, who was sent as a spy long before you, brought us backanother report than this. He says that Death is no evil; for it need noteven bring shame with it. He says that Fame is but the empty noise ofmadmen. And what report did this spy bring us of Pain, what of Pleasure, what of Want? That to be clothed in sackcloth is better than any purplerobe; that sleeping on the bare ground is the softest couch; and inproof of each assertion he points to his own courage, constancy, andfreedom; to his own healthy and muscular frame. "There is no enemynear, " he cries, "all is perfect peace!"

CLXXXVIII

If a man has this peace--not the peace proclaimed by Cæsar (how indeedshould he have it to proclaim?), nay, but the peace proclaimed by Godthrough reason, will not that suffice him when alone, when he beholdsand reflects:--Now can no evil happen unto me; for me there is norobber, for me no earthquake; all things are full of peace, full oftranquillity; neither highway nor city nor gathering of men, neitherneighbor nor comrade can do me hurt. Another supplies my food, whosecare it is; another my raiment; another hath given me perceptions ofsense and primary conceptions. And when He supplies my necessities nomore, it is that He is sounding the retreat, that He hath opened thedoor, and is saying to thee, Come!--Wither? To nought that thou needestfear, but to the friendly kindred elements whence thou didst spring. Whatsoever of fire is in thee, unto fire shall return; whatsoever ofearth, unto earth; of spirit, unto spirit; of water, unto water. Thereis no Hades, no fabled rivers of Sighs, of Lamentation, or of Fire: butall things are full of Beings spiritual and divine. With thoughts likethese, beholding the Sun, Moon, and Stars, enjoying earth and sea, a manis neither helpless nor alone!

CLXXXIX

What wouldst thou be found doing when overtaken by Death? If I mightchoose, I would be found doing some deed of true humanity, of wideimport, beneficent and noble. But if I may not be found engaged in aughtso lofty, let me hope at least for this--what none may hinder, what issurely in my power--that I may be found raising up in myself that whichhad fallen; learning to deal more wisely with the things of sense;working out my own tranquillity, and thus rendering that which is itsdue to every relation of life. . . . 

If death surprise me thus employed, it is enough if I can stretch forthmy hands to God and say, "The faculties which I received at Thy handsfor apprehending this thine Administration, I have not neglected. As faras in me lay, I have done Thee no dishonour. Behold how I have used thesenses, the primary conceptions which Thous gavest me. Have I ever laidanything to Thy charge? Have I ever murmured at aught that came to pass, or wished it otherwise? Have I in anything transgressed the relationsof life? For that Thou didst beget me, I thank Thee for that Thou hastgiven: for the time during which I have used the things that were Thine, it suffices me. Take them back and place them wherever Thou wilt! Theywere all Thine, and Thou gavest them me. "--If a man depart thus minded, is it not enough? What life is fairer and more noble, what end happierthan his?

(APPENDIX A)

Fragments Attributed to Epictetus

I

A life entangled with Fortune is like a torrent. It is turbulentand muddy; hard to pass and masterful of mood: noisy and of briefcontinuance. 

II

The soul that companies with Virtue is like an ever-flowing source. Itis a pure, clear, and wholesome draught; sweet, rich, and generous ofits store; that injures not, neither destroys. 

III

It is a shame that one who sweetens his drink with the gifts of the bee, should embitter God's gift Reason with vice. 

IV

Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer needof them; but flatterers mar the soul of the living, and her eyes theyblind. 

V

Keep neither a blunt knife nor an ill-disciplined looseness of tongue. 

VI

Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear fromothers twice as much as we speak. 

VII

Do not give sentence in another tribunal till you have been yourselfjudged in the tribunal of Justice. 

VIII

If is shameful for a Judge to be judged by others. 

IX

Give me by all means the shorter and nobler life, instead of one that islonger but of less account!

X

Freedom is the name of virtue: Slavery, of vice. . . . None is a slavewhose acts are free. 

XI

Of pleasures, those which occur most rarely give the most delight. 

XII

Exceed due measure, and the most delightful things become the leastdelightful. 

XIII

The anger of an ape--the threat of a flatterer:--these deserve equalregard. 

XIV

Chastise thy passions that they avenge not themselves upon thee. 

XV

No man is free who is not master of himself. 

XVI

A ship should not ride on a single anchor, nor life on a single hope. 

XVII

Fortify thyself with contentment: that is an impregnable stronghold. 

XVIII

No man who is a lover of money, of pleasure, of glory, is likewise alover of Men; but only he that is a lover of whatsoever things are fairand good. 

XIX

Think of God more often than thou breathest. 

XX

Choose the life that is noblest, for custom can make it sweet to thee. 

XXI

Let thy speech of God be renewed day by day, aye, rather than thy meatand drink. 

XXII

Even as the Sun doth not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, butshines forth and is welcomed by all: so thou also wait not for clappingof hands and shouts and praise to do thy duty; nay, do good of thine ownaccord, and thou wilt be loved like the Sun. 

XXIII

Let no man think that he is loved by any who loveth none. 

XXIV

If thou rememberest that God standeth by to behold and visit all thatthou doest; whether in the body or in the soul, thou surely wilt not errin any prayer or deed; and thou shalt have God to dwell with thee. 

Note. --Schweighüser's great edition collects 181 fragments attributedto Epictetus, of which but a few are certainly genuine. Some (as xxi. , xxiv. , above) bear the stamp of Pythagorean origin; others, thoughchanged in form, may well be based upon Epictetean sayings. Most havebeen preserved in the Anthology of John of Stobi (Stobæus), a Byzantinecollector, of whom scarcely anything is known but that he probably wrotetowards the end of the fifth century, and made his vast body ofextracts from more than five hundred authors for his son's use. Thebest examination of the authenticity of the Fragments is QuaestionesEpicteteæ, by R. Asmus, 1888. The above selection includes some ofdoubtful origin but intrinsic interest. --Crossley. 

(APPENDIX B)

The Hymn of Cleanthes

 Chiefest glory of deathless Gods, Almighty for ever, Sovereign of Nature that rulest by law, what Name shall we give Thee?-- Blessed be Thou! for on Thee should call all things that are mortal. For that we are Thine offspring; nay, all that in myriad motion Lives for its day on the earth bears one impress--Thy likeness--upon it. Wherefore my song is of Thee, and I hymn thy power for ever. 

 Lo, the vast orb of the Worlds, round the Earth evermore as it rolleth, Feels Thee its Ruler and Guide, and owns Thy lordship rejoicing. Aye, for Thy conquering hands have a servant of living fire-- Sharp is the bolt!--where it falls, Nature shrinks at the shock and doth shudder. Thus Thou directest the Word universal that pulses through all things, Mingling its life with Lights that are great and Lights that are lesser, E'en as beseemeth its birth, High King through ages unending. 

 Nought is done that is done without Thee in the earth or the waters Or in the heights of heaven, save the deed of the fool and the sinner. Thou canst make rough things smooth; at Thy voice, lo, jarring disorder Moveth to music, and Love is born where hatred abounded. Thus hast Thou fitted alike things good and things evil together, That over all might reign one Reason, supreme and eternal; Though thereunto the hearts of the wicked be hardened and heedless-- Woe unto them!--for while ever their hands are grasping at good things, Blind are their eyes, yea, stopped are their ears to God's Law universal, Calling through wise disobedience to live the life that is noble. This they mark not, but heedless of right, turn each to his own way, Here, a heart fired with ambition, in strife and straining unhallowed; There, thrusting honour aside, fast set upon getting and gaining; Others again given over to lusts and dissolute softness, Working never God's Law, but that which wareth upon it. 

 Nay, but, O Giver of all things good, whose home is the dark cloud, Thou that wields Heaven's bolt, save men from their ignorance grievous; Scatter its night from their souls, and grant them to come to that Wisdom Wherewithal, sistered with Justice, Thou rulest and governest all things; That we, honoured by Thee, may requite Thee with worship and honour, Evermore praising thy works, as is meet for men that shall perish; Seeing that none, be he mortal or God, hath privilege nobler Than without stint, without stay, to extol Thy Law universal.