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045 - XIV To Naso · Discourses of Epictetus

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  Speaker 1: Section forty four of Discourses of Epictetus by Epictetus, translated
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  Speaker 1: by George Long. The s LibriVox recording is in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. Read by Christine Rucker, January eleventh, twenty twenty two, Westford, Massachusetts,
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  Speaker 1: Book to chapter fourteen to Naso. When a certain Roman
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  Speaker 1: entered with his son and listened to one reading, Epictetus said,
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  Speaker 1: this is the method of instruction, and he stopped when
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  Speaker 1: the Roman asked him to go on. Epictetus said, every art,
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  Speaker 1: when it is taught, causes labour to him who is
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  Speaker 1: unacquainted with it and is unskilled in it. And indeed,
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  Speaker 1: the things which proceed from the art immediately show their
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  Speaker 1: use in the purpose for which they were made, and
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  Speaker 1: most of them contained something attractive and pleasing. For Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: to be present and to observe how a shoemaker learned
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  Speaker 1: is not a pleasant thing. But the shoe is useful
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  Speaker 1: and also not disagreeable to look at. And the discipline
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  Speaker 1: of a smith when he is learning, is very disagreeable
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  Speaker 1: to one who chances to be present and is a
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  Speaker 1: stranger to the art. But the work shows the use
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  Speaker 1: of the art. But you will see this much more
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  Speaker 1: in music, For if you are present while a person
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  Speaker 1: is learning the discipline, will appear most disagreeable. And yet
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  Speaker 1: the results of music are pleasing and delightful to those
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  Speaker 1: who know nothing of music. And here we conceive the
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  Speaker 1: work of a philosopher to be something of this kind.
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  Speaker 1: He must adapt his wish hully scene to what is
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  Speaker 1: going on, so that neither any of the things which
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  Speaker 1: are taking place shall take place contrary to our wish,
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  Speaker 1: nor any of the things which do not take place
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  Speaker 1: shall not take place when we wish that they should.
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  Speaker 1: From this, the result is to those who have so
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  Speaker 1: arranged the work of philosophy not to fail in the desire,
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  Speaker 1: nor to fall in with that which they would avoid,
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  Speaker 1: without uneasiness, without fear, without perturbation, to pass through life
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  Speaker 1: themselves together with their associates, maintaining the relations both natural
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  Speaker 1: and acquired, as the relation of son of father, of brother,
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  Speaker 1: of citizen, of man, of wife, of neighbor, of fellow traveler,
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  Speaker 1: of ruler, of ruled. The work of a philosopher we
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  Speaker 1: conceive to be something like this. It remains next to
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  Speaker 1: inquire how this must be accomplished. We see, then, that
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  Speaker 1: the carpenter tecton when he has learned certain things, becomes
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  Speaker 1: a carpenter. The pilot, by learning certain things becomes a pilot.
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  Speaker 1: May not, then, in philosophy, also not be sufficient to
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  Speaker 1: wish to be wise and good, and that there is
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  Speaker 1: also a necessity to learn certain things. We inquire, then,
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  Speaker 1: what these things are. The philosophers say that we ought
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  Speaker 1: first to learn that there is a God, and that
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  Speaker 1: he provides for all things, also that it is not
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  Speaker 1: possible to conceal from him our acts, or even our
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  Speaker 1: intentions and thoughts. The next thing is to learn what
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  Speaker 1: is the nature of the gods. For such as they
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  Speaker 1: are discovered to be, he who would please and obey
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  Speaker 1: them must try with all his power to be like them.
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  Speaker 1: If the divine is faithful, man also must be faithful.
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  Speaker 1: If it is free, man also must be free. If beneficent,
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  Speaker 1: man also must be beneficent. If magnanimous, man must also
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  Speaker 1: be magnanimous. As being then an imitator of God, he
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  Speaker 1: must do and say everything consistently with this fact. With
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  Speaker 1: what then must we begin? If you will enter on
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  Speaker 1: the discussion, I will tell you that you must first
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  Speaker 1: understand names ords. So then you say that I do
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  Speaker 1: not now understand names, You do not understand them, How
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  Speaker 1: then do I use them just as the illiterate use
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  Speaker 1: written language, as Catt'll use appearances. For use is one thing,
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  Speaker 1: understanding is another. But if you think that you understand them,
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  Speaker 1: produce whatever word you please, and let us try whether
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  Speaker 1: we understand it. But it is a disagreeable thing for
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  Speaker 1: a man to be confuted. Who is now old, and
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  Speaker 1: it may be, has now served his three campaigns. I
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  Speaker 1: too know this. For now you are come to me
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  Speaker 1: as if you were in want of nothing, And what
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  Speaker 1: could you even imagine to be wanted to you? You
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  Speaker 1: are rich, You have children, and a wife perhaps, and
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  Speaker 1: many slaves. Caesar knows you in Rome you have many friends.
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  Speaker 1: You render their dues to all. You know how to
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  Speaker 1: requite him who does you a favor, and to repay
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  Speaker 1: in the same kind him who does you a wrong.
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  Speaker 1: What do you lack? If then I shall show you
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  Speaker 1: that you lack the things most necessary and the chief
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  Speaker 1: things for happiness, And that hitherto you have looked after
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  Speaker 1: everything rather than what you ought, and to crown all
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  Speaker 1: that you neither know what God is, nor what man is,
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  Speaker 1: nor what is good, nor what is bad. And also
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  Speaker 1: to what I have said about your ignorance of other
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  Speaker 1: matters that may perhaps be endured. But if I say
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  Speaker 1: that you know nothing about yourself, how is it possible
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  Speaker 1: that you should endure me and bear the proof and
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  Speaker 1: stay here? It is not possible. But you immediately go
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  Speaker 1: off in bad humor. And yet what harm have I
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  Speaker 1: done you? Unless the mirror also injures the ugly man
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  Speaker 1: because it shows him to himself such as he is.
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  Speaker 1: Unless the physician also is supposed to insult the sick
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  Speaker 1: man when he says to him, man, do you think
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  Speaker 1: that you ail nothing? But you have a fever? Go
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  Speaker 1: without food today? Drink water? And no one says what
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  Speaker 1: an insult? But if you say to a man your
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  Speaker 1: desires are inflamed, your aversions are low, your intentions are inconsistent,
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  Speaker 1: your pursuits movements are not conformable to nature. Your opinions
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  Speaker 1: are rash and false. The man immediately goes away and
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  Speaker 1: says he has insulted me. Our way of dealing is
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  Speaker 1: like that of a crowded assembly. Beasts are brought to
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  Speaker 1: be sold and oxen, and the greater part of the
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  Speaker 1: men come to buy and sell. And there are some
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  Speaker 1: few who come to look at the market and to
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  Speaker 1: inquire how it is carried on, and why, and who
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  Speaker 1: fixes the meeting, and for what purpose? So it is
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  Speaker 1: here also in this assembly of life, some like cattle,
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  Speaker 1: trouble themselves about nothing except their fodder. For to all
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  Speaker 1: of you, who are busy about possessions and lands and
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  Speaker 1: slaves and magisterial offices, these are nothing except fodder. But
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  Speaker 1: there are a few who attend the assembly, men who
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  Speaker 1: love to look on and consider, what is the world?
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  Speaker 1: Who governs it? Has it no governor? And how is
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  Speaker 1: it possible that a city or a family cannot continue
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  Speaker 1: to exist, not even the shortest time, without an administrator
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  Speaker 1: and guardian? And that so great and beautiful a system
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  Speaker 1: should be administered with such order, and yet without a purpose.
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  Speaker 1: And by chance there is then an administrator? What kind
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  Speaker 1: of administrator? And how does he govern? And who are
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  Speaker 1: we who were produced by him? And for what purpose
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  Speaker 1: have we some connection with him? In relation towards him
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  Speaker 1: or none? This is the way in which these few
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  Speaker 1: are affected. And then they apply themselves only to this
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  Speaker 1: one thing, to examine the meeting, and then go away.
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  Speaker 1: What then they are ridiculed by the many, as the
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  Speaker 1: spectators at the fair are by the traders, And if
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  Speaker 1: the beasts had any understanding, they would ridicule those who
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  Speaker 1: admired anything else than fodder. And of Book two, chapter
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  Speaker 1: fourteen