A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion — John Shaqi
A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the EncheiridionEpictetus
Philosophy
A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion
Epictetus
Philosophy -- Early works to 1800
Next to this, if you are a senator of any state, remember that you are
a senator; if a youth, that you are a youth; if an old man, that you
are an old man; for each of such names, if it comes to be examined,
marks out the proper duties. But if you go and blame your brother, I
say to you, You have forgotten who you are and what is your name. In
the next place, if you were a smith and made a wrong use of the hammer,
you would have forgotten the smith; and if you have forgotten the
brother and instead of a brother have become an enemy, would you appear
not to have changed one thing for another in that case? And if instead
of a man, who is a tame animal and social, you are become a mischievous
wild beast, treacherous, and biting, have you lost nothing? But (I
suppose) you must lose a bit of money that you may suffer damage? And
does the loss of nothing else do a man damage? If you had lost the art
of grammar or music, would you think the loss of it a damage? and if
you shall lose modesty, moderation ([Greek: chtastolaen]) and
gentleness, do you think the loss nothing? And yet the things first
mentioned are lost by some cause external and independent of the will,
and the second by our own fault; and as to the first neither to have
them nor to lose them is shameful; but as to the second, not to have
them and to lose them is shameful and matter of reproach and a
misfortune.
What then? shall I not hurt him who has hurt me? In the first place
consider what hurt ([Greek: blabae]) is, and remember what you have
heard from the philosophers. For if the good consists in the will
(purpose, intention, [Greek: proaireeis]), and the evil also in the
will, see if what you say is not this: What then, since that man has
hurt himself by doing an unjust act to me, shall I not hurt myself by
doing some unjust act to him? Why do we not imagine to ourselves
(mentally think of) something of this kind? But where there is any
detriment to the body or to our possession, there is harm there; and
where the same thing happens to the faculty of the will, there is (you
suppose) no harm; for he who has been deceived or he who has done an
unjust act neither suffers in the head nor in the eye nor in the hip,
nor does he lose his estate; and we wish for nothing else than
(security to) these things. But whether we shall have the will modest
and faithful or shameless and faithless, we care not the least, except
only in the school so far as a few words are concerned. Therefore our
proficiency is limited to these few words; but beyond them it does not
exist even in the slightest degree.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account