Encheiridion — Epictetus

102 Zbe Discourses of Bptctetus you do, it will carry you off wherever it pleases. But rather bring in to oppose it some other beautiful and noble appearance, and cast out this base appearance. And if you are accustomed to be exercised in this way, you will see what shoulders, what sinews, what strength you have. But now it is only trifling words, and nothing more. This is the true athlete, the man who exercises hims.jlf against such appearances.

Stay, wretch, do not be carried away. Great is the combat, divine is the work ; it is for kingship, for freedom, for happiness, for freedom from perturbation. Remember God ; call on him as a helper and protector, as men at sea call on the Dioscuri in a storm. For what is a greatei storm than that which comes from appearances which are violent and drive away the reason ? For the storm itself, what else is it but an appearance ?

For take away the fear of death, and suppose as many thunders and lightnings as you please, and you will know what calm and serenity there is in the ruling faculty. But if you have once been defeated and say that you will conquer hereafter, and then say the same again, be assured that you will at last be in so wretched a condition and so weak that you will not even know afterwards that you are doing wrong, but you will even begin to make apolc-

Gbe Discourses of JEpictetus 103 gies (defences) for your wrong-doing, and then you will confirm the saying of Hesiod to be true, With constant ills the dilatory strives. OF Inconsistency. — Some things men readily confess, and other things they do not. No one then will confess that he is a fool or without understanding ; but quite the contrary you will hear all men saying, I wish that I had fortune equal to my understanding.

But men readily confess that they are timid, and they say : I am rather timid, I confess ; but as to other respects you will not find me to be foolish. A man will not readily confess that he is intemperate ; and that he is unjust, he will not confess at all. He will by no means confess that he is envious or a busybody. Most men will confess that they are compassionate. What then is the reason ?

The chief thing (the ruling thing) is inconsistency and confusion in the things which relate to good and evil. But different men have different reasons ; and generally what they imagine to be base, they do not confess at all. But they suppose timidity to be a characteristic of a good disposition, and compassion also ; but silliness to be the absolute characteristic of a slave.

And they do not at all admit (confess) the things which are offences against society. But in the case of most errors for this reason chiefly they

104 Gbe Discourses of Bpictetus are induced to confess them, because they imagine that there is something involuntary in them as in timidity and compassion ; and if a man confess that he is in any respect intemperate, he alleges love (or passion) as an excuse for what is involuntary. But men do not imagine injustice to be at all involuntary.

There is also in jealousy, as they suppose, something involuntary ; and for this reason they confess to jealousy also.

Living then among such men, who are so confused, so ignorant of what they say, and of the evils which they have or have not, and why they have them, or how they shall be relieved of them, I think it is worth the trouble for a man to watch constantly (and to ask) whether I also am one of them, what imagination I have about myself, how I conduct myself, whether I conduct myself as a prudent man, whether I conduct myself as a temperate man, whether I ever say this, that I have been taught to be prepared for everything that may happen.

Have I the consciousness, which a man who knows nothing ought to have, that I know nothing ? Do I go to my teacher as men go to oracles, prepared to obey ? or do I like a snivelling boy go to my school to learn history and understand the books which I did not understand before, and, if it should happen so, to