The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, with the Hymn of CleanthesEpictetus
Religion
The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, with the Hymn of Cleanthes
Epictetus
Philosophy; Stoics
Even as the Sun doth not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, but
shines forth and is welcomed by all: so thou also wait not for clapping
of hands and shouts and praise to do thy duty; nay, do good of thine
own accord, 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 that
thou doest; whether in the body or in the soul, thou surely wilt not
err in any prayer or deed; and thou shalt have God to dwell with thee.
Note.—Schweighæuser’s great edition collects 181 fragments attributed
to Epictetus, of which but a few are certainly genuine. Some (as xxi.,
xxiv., above) bear the stamp of Pythagorean origin; others, though
changed in form, may well be based upon Epictetean sayings. Most have
been preserved in the Anthology of John of Stobi (Stobæus), a Byzantine
collector, of whom scarcely anything is known but that he probably
wrote towards the end of the fifth century, and made his vast body of
extracts from more than five hundred authors for his son’s use. The
best examination of the authenticity of the Fragments is _Quaestiones
Epicteteæ_, by R. Asmus, 1888. The above selection includes some of
doubtful 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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