Encheiridion — Epictetus
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Gbe Discourses of Bptctetus 123 This, he said, is the certain person : I have pointed him out to you. For a man is not shown by the finger, as a stone or a piece of wood ; but when any person shows the man's principles, then he shows him as a man. Let us look at your principles also. For is it not plain that you value not at all your own will (TtpoaipediS), but you look externally to things which are independent of your will?
For instance, what will a certain person say? and what will people think of you ? Will you be considered a man of learning ; have you read Chrysippus or Antipater ? for if you have read Archedamus also, you have every thing [that you can desire]. Why are you still uneasy lest you should not show us who you are? Would you let me tell you what manner of man you have shown us that you are ?
You have exhibited yourself to us as a mean fellow, querulous, passionate, cowardly, finding fault with everything, blaming everybody, never quiet, vain : this is what you have exhibited to us. Go away now and read Archedamus ; then if a mouse should leap down and make a noise, you are a dead man. For such a death awaits you as it did — what was the man's name — Crinis ; and he too was proud, because he understood Archedamus. Wretch, will you not dismiss these thing9 f24 Zbe ^Discourses of Bptctetus that do not concern you at all ? These things are suitable to those who are able to learn them without perturbation, to those who can say : " I am not subject to anger, to grief, to envy : I am not hindered, I am not restrained. What remains for me ?
I have leisure, I am tranquil- : let us see how we must deal with sophistical arguments ; let us see how when a man has accepted an hypothesis he shall not be led away to any thing absurd. To them such things belong. To those who are happy it is appropriate to light a fire, to dine ; if they choose, both to sing and to dance. But when the vessel is sinking, you come to me and hoist the sails.
What is the Matter on which a Good Man should be Employed, and in what we ought Chiefly to Practise ourselves. — The material for the wise and good man is his own ruling faculty : and the body is the material for the physician and the aliptes (the man who oils persons) ; the land is the matter for the husbandman.
The business of the wise and good man is to use appearances conformably to nature : and as it is the nature of every soul to assent to the truth, to dissent from the false, and to remain in suspense as to that which is uncertain ; so it is its nature to be
XTbe SNecourses of Bplctetus 125 moved towards the desire for the good, and to aversion from the evil ; and with respect to that which is neither good nor bad it feels indifferent. For as the money-changer (banker) is not allowed to reject Caesar's coin, nor the seller of herbs, but if you show the coin, whether he chooses or not, he must give up what is sold for the coin ; so it is also in the matter of the soul.
When the good appears, it immediately attracts to itself; the evil repels from itself. But the soul will never reject the manifest appearance of the good, any more than persons will reject Caesar's coin. On this principle depends every movement both of man and God. Against (or with respect to) this kind of thing chiefly a man should exercise himself.
As soon as you go out in the morning, examine every man whom you see, every man whom you hear ; answer as to a question, What have you seen ? A handsome man or woman ? Apply the rule. Is this independent of the will, or dependent ? Independent. Take it away. What have you seen ? A man lamenting over the death of a child. Apply the rule. Death is a thing independent of the will. Take it away. Has the proconsul met you ? Apply the rule.
What kind of a thing is a proconsul's office ? Independent of the will or dependent on it ? Indei26 Ube Discourses of JEpictetus pendent. Take this away also ; it does not stand examination ; cast it away ; it is nothing to you. If we practised this and exercised ourselves in it daily from morning to night, something indeed would be done.
But now we are forthwith caught half asleep by every appearance, and it is only, if ever, that in the school we are roused a little. Then when we go out, if we see a man lamenting, we say, He is undone. If we see a consul, we say, He is happy. If we see an exiled man, we say, He is miserable. If we see a poor man, we say, He is wretched ; he has nothing to eat.
We ought then to eradicate these bad opinions, and to this end we should direct all our efforts. For what is weeping and lamenting? Opinion. What is bad fortune? Opinion. What is civil sedition, what is divided opinion, what is blame, what is accusation, what is impiety, what is trifling ? All these things are opinions, and nothing more, and opinions about things independent of the will, as if they were good and bad.
Let a man trausfer these opinions to things dependent on the will, and I engage for him that he will be firm and constant, whatever may be the state of things around him. Such as is a dish of water, such is the soul. Such as is the ray of light which falls on the water, such are
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