Encheiridion — Epictetus

254 Gbe £ncbetrtolon worthy of the best things, and in no matter transgressing the distinctive reason? Have you accepted the theorems (rules), which it was your duty to agree to, and have you agreed to them ? what teacher then do you still expect that you defer to him the correction of yourself? You are no longer a youth, but already a full-grown man.

If, theu, you are negligent and slothful, and are continually making procrastination after procrastination, and proposal (intention) after proposal, and fixing day after day, after which you will attend to yourself, you will not know that you are not making improvement, but you will continue ignorant (uninstructed) both while you live and till you die.

Immediately then think it right to live as a full-grown man, and one who is making proficiency, and let everything which appears to you to be the best be to you a law which must not be transgressed.

And if anything laborious or pleasant or glorious or inglorious be presented to you, remember that now is the contest, now are the Olympic games, and they cannot be deferred ; and that it depends on one defeat and one giving way that progress is either lost or maintained. Socrates in this way became perfect, in all things improving himself, attending to nothing except to reason. But you, though you are not yet a Socrates,

Gbe EncbefrtDton 255 ought to live as one who wishes to be a Socrates. U. The first and most necessary place (part, ronoi) in philosophy is the use of theorems (precepts, becoftrjfxara), for instance, that we must not lie ; the second part is that of demonstrations, for instance, How is it proved that we ought not to lie ? The third is that which is confirmatory of these two, and explanatory, for example, How is this a demonstration ? For what is demonstration, what is consequence, what is contradiction, what is truth, what is falsehood ? The third part (topic) is necessary on account of the second, and the second on account of the first ; but the most necessary and that on which we ought to rest is the first. But we do the contrary. For we spend our time on the third topic, and all our earnestness is about it ; but we entirely neglect the first. Therefore we lie ; but the demonstration that we ought not to lie we have ready to hand. IA In every thing (circumstance) we should hold these maxims ready to hand :

256 TTbe Encbeirtâfon Lead me, O Zeus, and thou O Destiny, The way that I am bid by you to go : To follow I am ready. If I choose not, I make myself a wretch, and still must follow. But whoso nobly yields unto necessity, We hold him wise, and skill'd in things divine. And the third also : O Crito, if so it pleases the gods, so let it be ; Anytus and Melitus are able indeed to kill me, but they cannot harm me.

INDEX.

Academics, against the, n. Accept consequences, 236. Actions, nature of, 222. Admiration, desire for, 30. Agamemnon and Achilles, 31. Anger, 41. Anxiety, 83. Appearances, 38, 99, 131, 223, 225, 228, 230. Arrogance and pride, 114. Attention, 212. Auditor, qualities needed for an, 115.

Caution necessary in conversation, 148. Character, maintenance of, 3. Charity to faults of others, 24. Chrysippus, books of, 7. Circumspection, 145. Circumstances, struggle with, 34, 35. Communicativeness, 215. Community of misfortune, 23.5. Compensation, 184. Conduct of life, 227, 229, 238, 242, 246, 247, 253. Constancy, 45. Contentment, 18. 257

258 UnOef Courage and action, 246. Courage not inconsistent with caution, 51. Cynics, 152. Death, readiness for, 224, 230. Desire for things out of our power, 158, 221, 224, 227. Discussion, S2. Disease no impediment to the mind, 224. Divination, 65, 240. Dress, finery in, 118. Duties of life, 73, 238. Duty a question of opinion, 248. Education, nature of, 32. Employment, 124. Encheiridion, 219. Epicureanism, 128. Errors of others, 24. Evil, 92, 235. Exercise, 140. False pretence, 247. Fear, freedom from, 201. Finery, 118. Freedom, 173. Friendship, 105. God as providence, 12. God, kinship of man to, 16. God the father of all men, 5. Gods, action made accep;able to the, «. Good and evil, 92 Good from everything, Honor, 231, 233. Humility, false, 251.

fnOej 259