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The Enchiridion · The Enchiridion

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The Encarridian by Epictetus, translated by Percy Matheson, Chapter one. Of all
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existing things, some are in our power, and others are not in our
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power. In our power are thought, impulse, will to get, and
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will to avoid, and in a word, everything which is our own doing.
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Things not in our power include the body, property, reputation, office,
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and in a word, everything which is not our own doing. Things
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in our power are by nature free, unhindered, untrammeled. Things not in
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our power are weak, servile, subject to hindrance, dependent on others.
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Remember then, that if you imagine that what is naturally slavish is free,
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and what is naturally in others is your own, you will be hampered,
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You will mourn, you will be put to confusion, You will blame God's
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inn men. But if you think that only your own belongs to you,
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and that what is in other's is indeed in others, no one will ever
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put compulsion or hindrance on you. You will blame none, You will accuse
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none. You will do nothing against your will. No one will harm you.
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You will have no enemy, for no harm can touch you. Aiming
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then at these high matters, you must remember that to attain them requires more
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than ordinary effort. You will have to give up some things entirely and put
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off others for the moment. And if you would have these also, office
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and wealth, it may be that you will fail to get them, just
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because your desire is set on the former, and you will certainly fail to
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attain those things which alone bring freedom and happiness. Make it your study,
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then, to confront every harsh impression with the words, you are but an
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impression, and not at all what you seem to be. Then tested by
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those rules that you possess, and first by this the chief test of all.
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Is it concerned with what is in our power or with what is not
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in our power? And if it is concerned with what is not in our
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power, be ready with the answer that it is nothing to you. Chapter
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two. Remember that the will to get promises attainment of what you will,
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and the will to avoid promises escape from what you avoid. And he who
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fails to get what he wills is unfortunate, and he who does not escape
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what he wills to avoid is miserable. If then you try to avoid only
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what is unnatural in the region within your control, you will escape from all
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that you avoid. But if you try to avoid disease or death or poverty,
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you will be miserable. Therefore, let your will to avoid have no
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concern with what is not in man's power. Direct it only to things in
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man's power that are contrary to nature. But for the moment you must utterly
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remove the will to get. For if you will to get something not in
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man's power, you are bound to be unfortunate. While none of the things
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in man's power that you could honorably will to get is yet within your reach.
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Impulse to act and not to act, these are your concern. Yet
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exercise them gently and without strain, and provisionally. Three. When anything from
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the meanest thing upwards is attractive, or serviceable, or an object of affection,
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remember always to say to yourself, what is its nature. If you
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are fond of a jug, Say you are fond of a jug, then
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you will not be disturbed if it be broken. If you kiss your child
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or your wife, say to yourself that you're kissing a human being, For
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then if death strikes it, you will not be disturbed. Chapter four.
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When you are about to take something in hand, remind yourself what manner of
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thing it is. If you are going to bathe. Put before your mind
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what happens in the bath water, pouring over, some others being jostled,
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some reviling, others, stealing. And you will set to work more securely
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if you say to yourself at once, I want to bathe, and I
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want to keep my will in harmony with nature. And so in each thing
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you do, for in this way, if anything turns up to hinder you
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in your bathing, you will be ready to say, I did not want
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only to bathe, but to keep my will in harmony with nature, and
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I shall not so keep it if I lose my temper at what happens.
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Chapter five. What disturbs men's minds is not events, but their judgments on
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events. For instance, death is nothing dreadful, or else Socrates would have
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thought it so. No, the only dreadful thing about it is men's judgment
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that it is dreadful. And so when we are hindered or disturbed or distressed,
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let us never lay the blame on others, but on ourselves, that
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is, on our own judgments. To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is
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a sign of want of education. To accuse one's self shows that one's education
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has begun to accuse neither one's self nor others, shows that one's education is
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complete. Chapter six. Be not elated at an excellence which is not your
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own. If the horse in his pride were to say I am handsome,
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we could bear with it. But when you say with pride, I have
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a handsome horse, know that the good horse is the ground of your pride.
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You ask, then, what you can call your own. The answer
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is the way you deal with your impressions. Therefore, when you deal with
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your impressions in accord with nature, then you may be proud, indeed,
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for your pride will be in a good which is your own. Chapter seven.
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When you are on a voyage and your ship is at anchorage, and
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you disembark to get fresh water, you may pick up a small shellfish or
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a shuffle by the way, but you must keep your attention fixed on the
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ship and keep looking towards it constantly to see if the helmsman calls you,
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And if he does, you have to leave everything or be bundled on board
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with your legs tied like a sheep. So it is in life. If
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you have a dear wife or child given you, they are like the shellfish
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or the truffle. They are very well in their way. Only if the
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helmsman call, run back to your ship. Leave all else, and do
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not look behind you. And if you are old, never go far from
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the ship, so that when you are called you may not fail to appear.
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Chapter eight. Ask not that events should happen as you will, but
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let your will be that events should happen as they do, and you shall
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have peace. Chapter nine. Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but
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not to the will, unless the will consent. Lameness is a hindrance to
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the leg, but not to the will. Say this to yourself at each
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event that happens, for you shall find that though it hinders something else,
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it will not hinder you. Chapter ten. When anything happens to you,
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always remember to turn to yourself and ask what faculty you have to deal with
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it. If you see a beautiful boy or a beautiful woman, you will
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find continence the faculty to exercise there. If trouble is laid on you,
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you will find endurance. If rivalry, you will find patience. And if
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you train yourself in this habit, your impressions will not carry you away.
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End of chapters one through ten. Chapter eleven. Never say of anything I
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lost it, but say I gave it back. Has your child died it
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was given back? Has your wife died she was given back? Has your
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estate been taken from you? Was not this also given back? But you
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say he who took it from me is wicked? What does it matter to
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you through whom the giver asked it back? As long as he gives it,
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you take care of it, but not as your own. Treat it
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as passers by treat an inn. Chapter twelve. If you wish to make
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progress, abandon reasonings of this sort. If I neglect my affairs, I
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shall have nothing to live on. If I do not punish my son,
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he will be wicked. For it is better to die of hunger so that
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you be free from pain and free from fear, than to live in plenty
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and be troubled in mind. It is better for your son to be wicked
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than for you to be miserable. Wherefore, begin with little things. Is
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your drop of oil spilt? Is your sup of wine stolen? Say to
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yourself, this is the price paid for freedom com passion. This is the
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price of a quiet mind. Nothing can be had without a price. When
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you call your slave boy, reflect that he may not be able to hear
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you, and if he hears you, he may not be able to do
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anything you want. But he is not so well off that a rest with
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him to give you peace of mind. Chapter thirteen. If you wish to
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make progress, you must be content in external matters to seem a fool and
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a simpleton. Do not wish men to think you know anything. And if
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any should think you to be somebody, distrust yourself. For know that it
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is not easy to keep your will in accord with nature and at the same
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time keep outward things. If you attend to one, you must needs neglect
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the other. Chapter fourteen. It is silly to want your children, and
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your wife and your friends to live forever, for that means that you want
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what is not in your control to be in your control, and what is
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not your own to be yours. In the same way, if you want
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your servant to make no mistakes, you are a fool, for you want
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vice not to be vice, but something different. But if you want not
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to be disappointed in your will to get, you can attain to that exercise
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yourself. Then in what lies in your power. Each man's master is the
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man who has authority over what he wishes or does not wish to secure the
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one or to take away the other. Let him, then, who wishes
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to be free, not wish for anything or avoid anything that depends on others
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or else, he is bound to be a slave. Chapter fifteen. Remember
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that you must behave in life as you would at a banquet. A dish
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is handed round and comes to you. Put out your hand and take it
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politely it passes you, do not stop it. It has not reached you.
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Do not be impatient to get it, but wait till your turn comes.
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Bear yourself thus towards children, wife, office, wealth, and one
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day you will be worthy to banquet with the gods. But if, when
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there are set before you, you do not take them but despise them,
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then you shall not only share the god's banquet, but shall share their rule.
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For by doing so, Diogenes and Heraclitus and men like them were called
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divine and deserve the name. Chapter sixteen. When you see a man shedding
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tears and sorrow for a child abroad or dead, or for loss of property,
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beware that you are not carried away by the impression that it is outward
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ills that make him miserable. Keep this thought by you. What distresses him
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is not the event, for that is not to stress another, but his
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judgment on the event. Therefore, do not hesitate to sympathize with him so
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far as words go, and if it's so chance, even to groan with
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him, but take heed that you do not also groan in your inner being.
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Chapter seventeen. Remember that you are an actor in a play, and
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the playwright chooses the manner of it. If he wants it short, it
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is short. If long, it is long. If he wants you to
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act a poor man, you must act the part with all your powers.
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And so if your part be a cripple, or a magistrate, or a
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plain man, for your business is to act the character that has given you,
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and act it well. The choice of the cast is in Other's chapter
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eighteen, when a raven croaks with evil omen, Let not the impression carry
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you away, but stray away. Distinguish in your own mind and say,
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these importance mean nothing to me, but only to my bit of a body,
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or my bit of property, or name, or my children or my
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wife. But for me, all omens are favorable. If I will,
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for whatever the issue may be, it is in my power to benefit therefrom
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Chapter nineteen. You can be invincible if you never enter on a contest where
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victory is not in your power. Beware, then, that when you see
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a man raised to honor, or to great power or high repute, you
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do not let your impression carry you away. For if the reality of good
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lies in what is in our power, there is no room for envy or
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jealousy, and you will not wish to be prie to her, or prefect
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or counsel, but to be free. And there is but one way to
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freedom, to despise what is not in our power. Chapter twenty. Remember
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that foul words or blow and themselves are no outrage, but your judgment that
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they are so. So when anyone makes you angry, know that it is
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your own thought that has angered you. Wherefore, make it your first endeavor
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not to let your impressions carry you away, For if once you gain time
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and delay, you will find it easier to control yourself. End of Chapters
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eleven through twenty. Chapter twenty one, keep before your eyes from day to
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day, death and exile, and all things that seem terrible. By death,
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most of all, and then you will never set your thoughts on what
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is low, and will never desire anything beyond measure. Chapter twenty two.
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If you set your desire on philosophy, you must at once prepare to meet
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with ridicule and the jeers of many, who will say, here he is
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again, turn philosopher. Where has he got these proud looks? Nay,
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put on no proud looks. But hold fast to what seems best to you,
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and confidence that God has set you at this post. And remember that
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if you abide where you are, those who first laugh at you will one
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day admire you, and that if you give way to them, you will
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get doubly laughed at. Chapter twenty three. If it ever happened to you
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to be diverted to things outside so that you desire to please another, know
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that you have lost your life's plan. Be content, then always to be
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a philosopher. If you wish to be regarded as one, too, show
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yourself that you are one, and you will be able to achieve it.
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Chapter twenty four. Let not reflections such as these afflict to you. I
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shall live with honor and never be of any account, for a lack of
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honor is an evil. No one but yourself can involve you in evil any
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more than in shame. Is it your business to get office or to be
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invited to an entertainment? Not? Where then, is the dishonor that you
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talk of? How can you be of no account anywhere when you want to
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count for something in those matters only which are in your power, where you
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may achieve the highest worth. But by friends you say, well, lack
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assistance. What do you mean by lack of assistance? They will not have
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cash from you, and you will not make them. Roman citizens who told
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you that to do these things is in our power and not dependent upon others.
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Who can give to another what is not his to give? Get them?
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Then says he that we may have them if I can get them and
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keep my self, respect, honor, magnanimity, Show the way, and
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I will get them. But if you call on me to lose the good
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things that are mine in order that you may win things that are not good,
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look how unfair and thoughtless you are, and which do you really prefer
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money or a faithful, modest friend. Therefore, help me rather to keep
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these qualities, and do not expect from me actions which will make me lose
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them, But my country says he will lack assistance so far as lies in
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me. Once more, I ask, what assistance do you mean? It
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will not owe colonnades or baths to you? What of that? It does
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not owe shoes to the blacksmith or arms to the shoemaker. It is sufficient
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if each man fulfills his own function. Would you do it no good?
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If you secured to it another faithful and modest citizen. Yes, well,
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then you will not be useless to it. What place then shall I have
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in the city, whatever place you can hold while you keep your character for
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honor and self respect. But if you are going to lose these qualities and
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trying to benefit your city, what benefit I ask, would you have done
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her when you attain to the perfection of being lost to shame and honor?
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Chapter twenty five. Has someone had precedence of you at an entertainment or a
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levey or been called in before you to give advice? If these things are
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good, you ought to be glad that he got them. If they are
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evil, do not be angry that you do not get them yourself. Remember
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that if you want to get what is not in your power, you cannot
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earn the same reward as others unless you act as they do. How is
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it possible for one who does not haunt the great Man's door to have equal
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shares with one who does, or one who does not go in his train,
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equality with one who does, or one who does not praise him with
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one who does. You will be unjust then and insatiable if you wish to
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get these privileges for nothing without paying their price. What is the price of
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a lettuce an obol? Perhaps If then a man pays his obol and gets
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his lettuces, and you do not pay and do not get them, do
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not think you are defrauded. For as he has lettuces, so you have
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the obol you do not give the same principle holds good too in conduct.
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You were not invited to someone's entertainment because you do not give the host the
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price for which he sells his dinner. He sells it for compliments, he
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sells it for attentions. Pay him the price then, if it is to
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your profit. But if you wish to get the one and yet not give
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up the other, nothing can satisfy you in your folly. What you say
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you have nothing instead of the dinner. Nay, you have this. You
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have not praised the man you do not want to praise. You have not
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had to bear with the insults of his door step. Chapter twenty six.
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It is in our power to discover the will of nature from those matters on
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which we have no difference of opinion. For instance, when another man's slave
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has broken the wine cup, we are very ready to say at once such
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things must happen. Know then, that when your own cup is broken,
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you ought to behave in the same way as when your neighbors was broken.
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Apply the same principle to higher matters. Is another's child or wife dead not
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one of us, but would say, such as the lot of man.
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But when one's own dies straightway, one cries alas miserable, am I?
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But we ought to remember what our feelings are when we hear it of another
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Chapter twenty seven, as a mark is not set up for men to miss
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it. So there is nothing intrinsically evil in the world. Chapter twenty eight.
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If anyone trusted your body to the first man he met, you would
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be indignant. But yet you trust your mind to the chance corner, and
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allow it to be disturbed and confounded. If he revile you, are you
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not ashamed to do so? Chapter twenty nine. In everything you do,
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consider what comes first and what follows, and so approach it. Otherwise you
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will come to it with a good heart at first because you have not reflected
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on any of the consequences. And afterwards, when difficulties have appeared, you
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will desist to your shame. Do you wish to win at a line,
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so do I, by the gods, for it is a fine thing.
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But consider the first steps to it and the consequences, and so lay your
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hand to the work. You must submit to discipline, eat to order,
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touch no sweets, train under compulsion at a fixed hour, in heat and
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cold. Drink no cold water nor wine except by order. You must hand
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yourself over completely to your trainer, as you would to a physician. And
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then when the contest comes, you must risk getting hacked and sometimes dislocate your
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hand, twist your ankle, swallow plenty of sand, sometimes get a flogging,
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and with all this suffer defeat. When you have considered all this well,
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then enter on the athlete's course if you still wish it. If you
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act without thought, you will be behaving like children who one day play at
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wrestlers, another day at gladiators. Now sound the trumpet, and next start
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the stage like them. You will be now an athlete, now a gladiator.
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Then order then philosophy, but nothing with all your soul. Like an
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ape, you imitate every site you see, and one thing after another takes
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your fancy. When you undertake a thing, you do it casually and half
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heartedly, instead of considering it and looking at it all round. In the
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same way, some people, when they see a philosopher and hear a man
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speaking like euphrates, and indeed who can speak as he can, wish to
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be philosophers themselves. Man, consider first what it is you are undertaking.
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Then look at your own powers and see if you can bear it. Do
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you want to compete in the pentathlon or in wrestling? Look to your arms,
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your thighs, see what your loins are like. For different men are
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born for different tasks. Do you suppose that if you do this you can
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live as you do now, eat and drink as you do now, indulge
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desire and discontent just as before. Nay, you must sit up late,
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work hard, abandon your own people, be looked down on by a mere
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slave, be ridiculed by those who meet you, get the worst of it
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in everything, in honor, in office, in justice, in every possible
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thing. This is what you have to consider, whether you are willing to
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pay this price for peace of mind, freedom, tranquility. If not,
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do not come near. Do not be like the children. First a philosopher,
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then a tax collector, than an orator, than one of Caesar's procurators.
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These callings do not agree. You must be one man, good or
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bad. You must develop either your governing principle or your outward endowments. You
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must study either your inner man or outward things. In a word, you
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must choose between the position of a philosopher and that of a mere outsider.
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Chapter thirty. Appropriate acts are in general measured by the relations they are concerned
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with. He is your father. This means you are called on to take
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care of him, give way to him in all things, bear with him
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if he reviles or strikes you. But he is a bad father, Well
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have you not any natural claim to a good father? No, only to
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a father My brother wrongs me. Be careful, then, to maintain the
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relation you hold to him, And do not consider what he does, but
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what you must do if your purpose is to keep in accord with nature,
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for no one shall harm you without your consent. You will only be harmed
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when you think you are harmed. You will only discover what is proper to
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expect from neighbor, citizen, or praetor if you get into the habit of
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looking at the relations implied by each end of chapters twenty one through thirty Chapter
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thirty one, for piety towards the Gods, know that the most important thing
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is this, to have right opinions about them, that they exist, and
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that they govern the universe well and justly, and to have set yourself to
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obey them, and to give way to all that happens following events with a
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free will, in the belief that they are fulfilled by the highest mind.
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For thus you will never blame the gods nor accuse them of neglecting you.
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But this you cannot achieve unless you apply your conception of good and evil to
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those things only which are in our power, and not to those which are
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out of our power. If you apply your notion of good or evil to
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the latter, then as soon as you fail to get what you will to
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get, or fail to avoid what you will to avoid, you will be
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bound to blame and hate those you hold responsible for. Every living creature has
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a natural tendency to avoid and shun what seems harmful and all that causes it,
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and to pursue and admire what is helpful and all that causes it.
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It is not possible, then, for one who thinks he is harmed,
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to take pleasure in what he thinks is the author of the harm, any
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more than to take pleasure in the harm itself. That is why a father
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is reviled by his son when he does not give his son a share of
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what the son regards as good things. Thus, polynices and ethiocles were set
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at enemony with one another by thinking that a king's throne was a good thing.
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That is why the farmer and the sailor, and the merchant, and
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those who lose wife for children revile the gods. For men's religion is bound
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up with their interest. Therefore, he who makes it his concern rightly to
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direct his will to get and his will to avoid, is thereby making piety
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his concern. But it is proper on each occasion to make libation and sacrifice,
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and to offer first fruits according to the custom of our fathers, with
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purity and not in slovenly or careless fashion, without meanness, and without extravagance
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Chapter thirty two. When you make use of prophecy, remember that while you
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know not what the issue will be, but are come to learn it from
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the Prophet, you do know before you come what manner of thing it is
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if you are really a philosopher. For if the event is not in our
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control, it cannot be either good or evil. Therefore, do not bring
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with you to the Propheit the will to get or the will to avoid,
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and do not approach him with trembling, but with your mind made up that
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the whole issue is indifferent and does not affect you, and that wherever it
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be, it will be in your power to make good use of it,
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and no one shall hinder this. With confidence, then approach the gods as
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counselors. And further, when the council has given you, remember whose counsel
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it is and whom you will be disregarding if you disobey and consult the oracle.
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As Socrates thought, men should only when the whole question turns upon the
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issue of events, and neither reason nor any art of man provides opportunities for
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discovering what lies before you. Therefore, when it is your duty to risk
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your life with friend or country, do not ask the oracle whether you should
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risk your life. For if the prophet warns you that the sacrifice is unfavorable,
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though it is plain that this means death or exile, or injury to
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some part of your body. Yet reason requires that even at this cost,
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you must stand by your friend and share your country's danger. Wherefore, pay
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heed to the greater prophet Pythion Apollo, who cast out of his temple the
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man who did not help his friend when he was being killed. Chapter thirty
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three. Lay down for yourself from the first a definite stamp and style of
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conduct which you will maintain when you are alone and also in the society of
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men. Be silent for the most part, or if you speak, say
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only what is necessary, and in a few words, talk but rarely if
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occasion calls you. But do not talk of ordinary things, of gladiators or
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horse races, or athletes, or of meats or drinks. These are topics
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that arise everywhere. But above all, do not talk about men in blame
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or compliments or comparison. If you can turn the conversation of your company by
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your talk to some fitting subject. But if you should chance to be isolated
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amongst strangers, be silent. Do not laugh much, nor at many things,
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nor without restraint. Refuse to take oaths altogether, if that be possible,
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but if not, as far as circumstances allow. Refuse the entertainments of
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strangers and the vulgar. But if occasion arise to accept them, then strain
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every nerve to avoid lapsing into the state of the vulgar. For know that
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if your comrade have a stain on him, he that associates with him must
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needs share the stain, even though he be clean in himself. For your
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body, take just so much as your baar need requires, such as food,
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drink, clothing, house servants. But cut down all that tends to
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luxury and outward show. Avoid impurity to the utmost of your power before marriage,
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and if you indulge your passion, let it be done lawfully. Do
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not be offensive or censorious to those who indulge it, and do not be
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always bringing up your own chastity. If someone tells you that so and so
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speaks ill of you, do not defend yourself against what he says, but
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answer he did not know my other faults, or he would not have mentioned
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these alone. It is not necessary, for the most part to go to
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the games. But if you should have vacasion to go, show that your
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first concern is for yourself. That is wish that only to happen, which
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does happen in him, only to win who does win? For so you
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will suffer no hindrance. But refrain entirely from applause or ridicule or prolonged excitement.
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And when you go away, do not talk much of what happened there,
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except so far as it tends to your improvement. For to talk about
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it implies that the spectacle excited your wonder. Do not go lightly or casually
30:49
to hear lectures. But if you do go, maintain your gravity and dignity,
30:55
and do not make yourself offensive. When you are going to meet anyone,
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and particularly some man of reputed eminence, set before your mind the thought
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what would Socrates or Zeno have done? And you will not fail to make
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proper use of the occasion. When you go to visit some great man,
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prepare your mind by thinking that you will not find him in that you will
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be shut out, that the doors will be slammed in your face, that
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he will pay no heed to you. And if in spite of all this
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you find it fitting for you to go, go and bear what happens,
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and never say to yourself it was not worth all this, for that shows
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a vulgar mind and one at odds with outward things. In your conversation,
31:37
avoid frequent and disapportionate mention of your own doings or adventures, for other people.
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Do not take the same pleasure in hearing what has happened to you as
31:45
you take in recounting your adventures. Avoid raising men's laughter, for it is
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a habit that easily slips into vulgarity, and it may well suffice to lessen
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your neighbour's respect. It is dangerous, too to lie into foul language when
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anything of the kind occurs. Rebuke the offender, if the occasion allow,
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and if not, make it plain to him by your silence or a blush
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or a frown that you are angry at his words Chapter thirty four. When
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you imagine some pleasure, beware that it does not carry you away like other
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imaginations. Wait awhile and give yourself. Pause. Next, remember two things,
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how long you will enjoy the pleasure, and also how long you will
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afterwards repent and revile yourself and set on the other side the joy and self
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satisfaction you will feel if you refrain, And if the moment seems come to
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realize it, take heed that you be not overcome by the winning, sweetness
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and attraction of it. Set in the other scale the thought, how much
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better is the consciousness of having vanquished it? Chapter thirty five. When you
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do a thing because you have determined that it all to be done, never
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avoid being seen doing it, even if the opinion of the multitude is going
33:05
to condemn you. For if your action is wrong, then avoid doing it
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altogether. But if it is right, why do you fear those who will
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rebuke you wrongly? Chapter thirty six. The phrase is it is day and
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it as night mean a great deal if taken separately, but have no meaning
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if combined. In the same way, to choose the larger portion of a
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banquet may be worth while for your body, but if you want to maintain
33:31
social decencies, it is worthless. Therefore, when you are at meet with
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another, remember not only to consider the value of what is set before you
33:39
for the body, but also to maintain your self respect before your host.
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Chapter thirty seven. If you try to act a part beyond your powers,
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you not only disgrace yourself in it, but you neglect the part which you
33:53
could have filled with success. Chapter thirty eight. As in walking, you
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take care not to tread on a nail or to twist your foot, so
34:05
take care that you do not harm your governing principle. And if we guard
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this in everything we do, we shall set to work more securely. Chapter
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thirty nine. Every man's body is a measure for his property, as the
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foot is the measure for his shoe. If you stick to this limit,
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you will keep the right measure. If you go beyond it, you are
34:28
bound to be carried away down a precipice. In the end, just as
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with the shoe. If once you go beyond the foot, your shoe puts
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on gilding, and soon purple and embroidery. For when once you go beyond
34:38
the measure, there is no limit. Chapter forty. Women from fourteen years
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upwards are called madam by men. Wherefore, when they see that the only
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advantage they have got is to be marriageable, that begin to make themselves smart,
34:55
and to set all their hopes on this. We must take pains then
34:59
to make them money. Understand that they are really honored for nothing but a
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modest and decorous life. End of Chapters thirty one through forty. Chapter forty
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one, It is a sign of a dull mind to dwell upon the cares
35:12
of the body, to prolong exercise, eating, drinking, and other bodily
35:17
functions. These things are to be done by the way. All your attention
35:22
must be given to the mind. Chapter forty two. When a man speaks
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evil or does evil to you, remember that he does or says it because
35:32
he thinks it is fitting for him. It is not possible for him to
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follow what seems good to you, but only what seems good to him,
35:40
so that if his opinion is wrong, he suffers, and that he is
35:45
the victim of deception. In the same way, if a composite judgment which
35:50
is true is thought to be false, it is not the judgment that suffers,
35:53
but the man who is deluded about it. If you act on this
35:57
principle, you will be gentle to him who reviles you, saying to yourself,
36:01
on each occasion he thought it right. Chapter forty three. Everything has
36:08
two handles, one by which you can carry it, the other by which
36:14
you cannot. If your brother wrongs, you do not take it by that
36:17
handle. The handle of is wrong, for you cannot carry it by that,
36:22
but rather by the other handle. That he is a brother brought up
36:25
with you, and then you will take it by the handle that you can
36:29
carry by Chapter forty four, it is illogical to reason, Thus I am
36:37
richer than you. Therefore I am superior to you. I am more eloquent
36:39
than you. Therefore I am superior to you. It is more logical to
36:45
reason, I am richer than you, Therefore my property is superior to yours.
36:50
I am more eloquent than you. Therefore my speech is superior to yours.
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You are something more than property or speech. Forty five. If a
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man washed quickly, do not say that he washes badly, but that he
37:06
washes quickly. If a man drank much wine, do not say that he
37:09
drinks badly, but that he drinks much. For till you have decided what
37:14
judgment prompts him, how do you know that he acts badly? If you
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do as I say, you will assent to your apprehensive impressions, and to
37:22
none other Chapter forty six. On no occasion call yourself a philosopher, nor
37:30
talk at large of your principles among the multitude, But act on your principles.
37:36
For instance, at a banquet, do not say how one ought to
37:39
eat, but eat as you ought. Remember that Socrates had so completely got
37:45
rid of the thought of display that when men came and wanted an introduction to
37:49
philosophers, he took them to be introduced. So patient of neglect was he.
37:54
And if a discussion arise among the multitude on some principle, keep silent
37:59
for the most part, for you are in great danger of blurting out some
38:01
undigested thought. And when some one says to you you know nothing, and
38:07
you do not let it provoke you, then know that you are really on
38:10
the right road. For sheep do not bring grass to their shepherds and show
38:15
them how much they have eaten, but they digest their fodder and then produce
38:20
it in the form of wool and milk. Do the same yourself. Instead
38:24
of displaying your principles to the multitude, show them the results of the principles
38:29
you have digested. Chapter forty seven. When you have adopted the simple life,
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do not pride yourself upon it. And if you are a water drinker,
38:39
do not stay on every occasion. I am a water drinker. And
38:44
if you ever want to train laboriously, keep it to yourself, and do
38:47
not make a show of it. Do not embrace statues. If you are
38:52
very thirsty, take a good draft of cold water and rinse your mouth,
38:57
and tell no one Chapter forty eight. The ignorant man's position and character is
39:04
this he never looks to himself for benefit or harm, but to the world
39:07
outside him. The philosopher's position and character is that he always looks to himself
39:14
for benefit and harm. The signs of one who is making progress are he
39:20
blames none, praises none, complains of none, accuses none, never speaks
39:24
of himself as if he were somebody, or as if he knew anything.
39:29
And if anyone compliments him, he laughs in himself at his compliment. And
39:32
if one blames him, he makes no defense. He goes about like a
39:37
convalescent, careful not to disturb his constitution on its road to recovery until it
39:43
has got firm hold. He has got rid of the will to get and
39:46
his will to avoid is directed no longer to what is beyond our power,
39:51
but only to what is inner power, and contrary to nature. In all
39:55
things, he exercises his will without strain. If men regard him as foolish
40:00
or ignorant, he pays no heed. In one word, he keeps watching
40:06
guard on himself as his own enemy. Lie in and wait for him.
40:13
Chapter forty nine. When a man prides himself on being able to understand and
40:16
interpret the books of Chrysippus, say to yourself, if Chrysippus had not written
40:22
obscurely, this man would have had nothing on which to pride himself. What
40:25
is my object? To understand nature and follow her? I look then for
40:31
someone who interprets her. And, having heard that Chrysippus does, I come
40:36
to him. But I do not understand his writings, So I seek an
40:39
interpreter. So far there is nothing to be proud of. But when I
40:44
have found the interpreter, it remains for me to act on his precepts.
40:47
That, and that alone is the thing to be proud of. But if
40:52
I admire the mere power of exposition, it comes to this that I am
40:57
turned into a grammarian instead of a philosopher. Except that I interpret Chrysippus in
41:01
place of Homer. Therefore, when someone says to me, read me Chrysippus,
41:07
when I cannot point to actions which are in harmony and correspondence with his
41:10
teaching, I am rather inclined to blush. Chapter fifty Whatever principles you put
41:19
before you, hold fast to them as laws which it will be impious to
41:23
transgress. But pay no heed to what anyone says of you, for this
41:28
is something beyond your own control. Chapter fifty one. How long will you
41:35
wait to think yourself worthy of the highest and transgress in nothing the clear pronouncement
41:39
of reason? You have received the precepts which you ought to accept, and
41:44
you have accepted them. Why then, do you still wait for a master
41:47
that you may delay the amendment of yourself till he comes? You are a
41:52
youth no longer. You are now a full grown man. If now you
41:55
are careless and indolent, and are always putting off, fix seen one day
42:00
after another as the limit when you mean to begin attending to yourself, then
42:05
living or dying you will make no progress, but will continue unawares in ignorance.
42:10
Therefore, make up your mind before it is too late. To live
42:14
as one who is mature and proficient, and let all that seems best to
42:19
you be a law that you cannot transgress. And if you encounter anything troublesome
42:23
or pleasant, or glorious or inglorious, remember that the hour of struggle is
42:29
come, the Olympic contest is here, and you may put off no longer,
42:32
and that one day, in one action determines whether the progress you have
42:37
achieved is lost or maintained. This was how Socrates attained perfection, paying heed
42:43
to nothing but reason in all that he encountered. And if you are not
42:46
yet, Socrates yet ought you to live as one who would wish to be
42:51
a Socrates, Chapter fifty two. The first and most necessary department of philosophy
42:58
deals with the application of principles, for instance, not to lie. The
43:04
second deals with demonstrations, for instance, how comes it that one ought not
43:08
to lie? The third is concerned with establishing and analyzing these processes, For
43:15
instance, how comes it that this is a demonstration? What is demonstration?
43:21
What is consequence? What is contradiction? What is true? What is false?
43:27
It follows then, that the third department is necessary because of the second,
43:30
and the second because of the first. The first is the most necessary
43:35
part, and that in which we must rest. But we reverse the order.
43:39
We occupy ourselves with a third and make that our whole concern, And
43:45
the first we completely neglect. Wherefore we lie, but are ready enough with
43:50
the demonstration that lying is wrong Chapter fifty three. On every occasion we must
43:57
have these thoughts at hand. Lead me, o Zeus, and lead me
44:01
destiny whither ordain. It is by your decree all follow, doubting not or
44:07
if with will recreant i falter i shall follow. Still Cleanthes, who rightly,
44:15
with necessity complies in things divine, we count him skilled and wise.
44:22
Euripides, Fragment nine hundred and sixty five. Well, creto. If this
44:28
be the God's will, so be it. Plato, Credo forty three.
44:32
D Anetas and Melidas have power to put me to death, but not to
44:39
harm me Plato Apology, thirty six, end of chapters forty one through fifty three.