Stoic Philosophy: Applying Principles for Inner Peace

The main takeaway from the input is: "Focus on controlling one's own actions and reactions, not external events or opinions."

### Epictetus: The Handbook of the Stoic Philosopher
* 🧠 Epictetus explains that some things are under our control, like our **conception, choice, and desire**, while others are not, such as our **body and property**.
* 🤔 "Remember, therefore, that if what is naturally slavish you think to be **free** and what is not your own to be **your own**, you will be hampered, will grieve, and will blame both gods and men."
* 🧘 To achieve freedom and happiness, we should withdraw our aversion from things not under our control and transfer it to **what is unnatural among things under our control**.
* 💭 "For it is not the things themselves that disturb men, but their **judgments about these things**."
* 🚶 Epictetus advises us to behave in life as we would act at a banquet, taking what comes to us **without projecting our desires**.
* 💪 "You can be invincible if you never enter a contest in which **victory is not under your control**."
* 👂 Epictetus teaches us to be careful with our **speech, actions, and thoughts**, and to live according to the **principles we have accepted**.
* 🙏 "Lead thou me on, no Zeus and destiny to that goal long ago to me assigned. I'll follow and not falter if my will prove we can craven. **Still I'll follow on**."

the enchiridion of Epictetus translated by William Abbot old father read by Robin homer won some things are under our control while others are not under our control under our control our conception choice desire aversion and in a word everything that is our own doing not under our control our our body our property reputation office and in a word everything that is not our own doing furthermore the things under our control are by nature free unhindered and unimpeded while the things not under our control are weak surveil subject to hindrance and not our own remember therefore that if what is naturally slavish you think to be free and what is not your own to be your own you will be hampered will grieve will be in turmoil and will blame both gods and men while if you think only what is your own to be your own and what is not your own to be as it really is not your own then no one will ever be able to exert compulsion upon you no one will ever hinder you

will blame no one. Will find fault with no one. Will do absolutely nothing against your will. You will have no personal enemy. No one will harm you. For neither is there any harm that can touch you with such high aims. Therefore, remember that you must be stir yourself with no slight effort to lay hold of them. But you will have to give up some things entirely and defer others for the time being. But if you wish for these things also and at the same time for both office and wealth, it may be that you will not even get these latter because you aim also of the former. And certainly you will fail to get the former which alone bring freedom and happiness. Make it therefore your study at the very outset to say to every harsh external impression, You are an external impression and not at all what you appear to be. After that, examine it and tested by these rules which you have. The first and most important of which is this: Whether the impression has to do with the things which are under our control or with those which are not.

under our control. And if it has to do with some one of these things, not and there are control, have ready to hand the answer. It is nothing to me to remember that the promise of desire is the attainment of what you desire, that of aversion is not to fall into what is avoided, and that he who fails in his desire is unfortunate, while he who falls into what he would avoid experiences misfortune. If then you avoid only what is unnatural among those things which are under your control, you will fall into none of the things which you avoid. But if you try to avoid disease or death or poverty, you will experience misfortune. Withdraw, therefore, your aversion from all the matters that are not under our control, and transfer it to what is unnatural among those things which are under our control. But for the time being, remove, uh, turley, your desire for if you desire some one of the things which are not under our control, you are bound to be unfortunate. And at the same time, not one of the things that are under our control, which it would be

excellent for you to desire is within your grasp, but employ only choice and refusal, and these two, but lightly and with reservations, and without straining. Three, with everything which entertains you, is useful or of which you are fond. Remember to say to yourself, beginning with the very least things, what is its nature. If you are fond of a jug, say, I am fond of a jug, for when it is broken, you will not be disturbed. If you kiss your own child or wife, say to yourself that you are kissing a human being, for when it dies, you will not be disturbed. For when you are on the point of putting your hand to some undertaking, remind yourself what the nature of that undertaking is. If you are going out of the house to bathe, put before your mind what happens at a public bath: those who splash you with water, those who jostle against you, those who vilify you and rob you, and thus you will set about your undertaking more securely. If at the outset you say to yourself, I want to take a bath, and at

the same time to keep my moral purpose in harmony with nature, and so do in every undertaking. For thus, if anything happens to hinder you in your bathing, you will be ready to say, Oh well, this was not the only thing that I wanted, but I wanted also to keep my moral purpose in harmony with nature. And I shall not keep it if I am vexed at what is going on. For it is not the things themselves that disturb men, but their judgments about these things. For example, death is nothing dreadful, or else Socrates too would have thought so. But the judgment that death is dreadful, this is the dreadful thing. When, therefore, we are hindered or disturbed or grieved, let us never blame anyone but ourselves, that means our own judgments. It is the part of an uneducated person to blame others where he himself fares ill. To blame himself is the one whose education has begun. To blame neither another nor his own self is the part of one whose education is already complete. Be not elated at any excellence which is not your own. If the

horse in his elation were to say, I am beautiful, it could be endured, but when you say, In your relation, I have a beautiful horse, rest assured that you are elated at something good which belongs to a horse. What then is your own? The use of external impressions, therefore, when you are in harmony with nature in the use of external impressions, then be elated, for then it will be some good of your own at which you will be elated. Just as on a voyage when your ship has anchored, if you should go on shore to get fresh water, you may pick up a small shellfish or little bulb on the way, but you have to keep your attention fixed on the ship and turn about frequently for fear lest the captain should call, and if he calls, you must give up all these things if you would escape being thrown on board all tied up like the sheep. So it is also in life, if there be given to you instead of a little bulb and a small shellfish, a little wife and child, there will be no objection to that, only

if the captain calls, give up all these things and run to the ship without even turning around to look back. And if you are an old man, never even get very far away from the ship for fear that when he calls you may be missing. Do not seek to have everything that happens happen as you wish, but wish for everything to happen as it actually does happen, and your life will be serene. Disease is an impediment to the body, but not to the moral purpose, unless that can sense lameness is an impediment to the leg, but not to the moral purpose, and say this to yourself at each thing that befalls you. You will find the thing to be an impediment to something else, but not to yourself. In the case of everything that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and see what faculty you have to deal with it. If you see a handsome lad or woman, you will find continents, the faculty to employ here. If hard labor is laid upon you, you will find endurance. If revealing, you will

find patience to bear evil and if you have bitchu ate yourself in this fashion your external impressions will not run away with you. Never say about anything, I have lost it, but only, I have given it back. Is your child dead? It has been given back. Is your wife dead? She has been given back. I have had my farm taken away, very well, this too has been given back. Yet it was a rascal who took it away. About what concern is it of yours by whose instrumentality the giver called for its return? So long as he gives it to you, take care of it as of a thing that is not your own, as travelers treat their inn. If you wish to make progress, dismiss all reasoning of this sort: If I neglect my affairs, I shall have nothing to live on; if I do not punish my slave boy, he will turn out bad. It is better to die of hunger but in a state of freedom from grief and fear than to live in plenty but troubled in mind. And it is better for your slave

boy to be then for you to be unhappy. Begin therefore with the little things: your poultry oil gets spilled, your miserable wine stolen. Say to yourself, This is the price paid for a calm spirit, this is the price for peace of mind. Nothing is got without a price. And when you call your slave-boy, bear in mind that it is possible he may not heed you, and again that even if he does, he may not do what you want done. But he is not in so happier condition that your peace of mind depends upon him. If you wish to make progress, then be content to appear senseless and foolish in externals. Do not make it your wish to give the appearance of knowing anything. And if some people think you to be an important personage, distrust yourself. For be assured that it is no easy matter to keep your moral purpose in a state of conformity with nature, and at the same time to keep externals. But the man who devotes his attention to one of these two things must inevitably neglects the

other 14 if you make it your will that your children, and your wife, and your friends should live forever you are silly for you are making it your will that things not under your control should be under your control and that what is not your own should be your own in the same way too if you make it your will that your slave-boy be free from faults you are a fool for you are making it your will that vice be not vice but something else if however it is your will not to fail in what you desire this is in your power wherefore exercise yourself in that which is in your power each man's master is the person who has the authority over what the man wishes or does not wish so as to secure it or take it away whoever therefore wants to be free let him neither wish for anything nor avoid anything that is under the control of others or else he is necessarily a slave 15 remember that you ought to behave in life as you would act at a banquet as something is being passed

around it comes to you, stretch out your hand and take a portion of it. Politely it passes on. Do not detain it, or it has not come to you yet. Do not project your desire to meet it, but wait until it comes in front of you. So act toward your children, so toward your wife, so toward office, so toward wealth, and then someday you will be worthy of the banquets of the gods. But if you do not take these things, even when they are set before you, but despise them, then you will not only share the banquet of the gods, but share also their rule. For it was by doing so that Diogenes and Heraclitus, and men like them, were deservedly divine, and deservedly so called. When you see someone weeping in sorrow, either because a child has gone on a journey, or because he has lost his property, beware that you be not carried away by the impression that the man is in the midst of external ills, but straightway keep before you this thought.

it is not what has happened that distress is this man for it does not distress another but his judgment about it. Do not however hesitate to sympathize with him so far as words go, and if occasion offers even to groan with him, but be careful not to groan also in the centre of your being. Remember that you are an actor in a play, the character of which is determined by the playwright. If he wishes the play to be shorts, it is short. If long, it is long. If he wishes you to play the part of a beggar, remember to act even this role adroitly. And so, if your role be that of an official or a layman, for this is your business to play admirably the role assigned you, but the selection of that role is another's. When a raven croaks inauspiciously, let not the external impression carry you away, but straightway draw a distinction in your own mind and say, None of these portents are for me, but either for my poultry body or my poultry.

estates, or my poultry, opinion, or my children, or my wife, but for me every portent is favorable if I so wish. For whatever be the outcome, it is within my power to derive benefit from it. 19. You can be invincible if you never enter a contest in which victory is not under your control. Beware lest when you see some person preferred to you in honor or possessing great power or otherwise enjoying high repute, you are ever carried away by the external impression and deem him happy. For if the true nature of the good is one of the things that is under our control, there is no place for either envy or jealousy, and you yourself will not wish to be a praetor, or a senator, or a consul, but a free man. Now there is but one way that leads to this, and that is to despise the things that are not under our control. 20. There mind that it is not the man who reveals or strikes you that insults you, but it is your judgment that these men are insulting you.

therefore, when someone irritates you, be assured that it is your own opinion which has irritated you, and so make it your first endeavor not to be carried away by the external impression. For if once you gain time and delay, you will more easily become the master of yourself. Keep before your eyes day by day death and exile and everything that seems terrible, but most of all death, and then you will never have any abject thought, nor will you yearn for anything beyond measure. If you yearn for philosophy, prepare at once to be met with ridicule, to have many people jeer at you and say, Here he is again, turned philosopher all of a sudden, and where do you suppose he got that high brow? But do you not put on a high brow, and do you so hold fast to the things which to you seem best, as a man who has been assigned by God to this post. And remember that if you abide by the same principles, those who formerly used to laugh at you will later come to admire you. But if you are worsted by

them you will get the laugh on yourself twice. If it ever happened to you that you turn to externals with a view to pleasing someone, rest assured that you have lost your plan in life. Be content, therefore, in everything to be a philosopher, and if you wish also to be taken for one, show to yourself that you are one, and you will be able to accomplish it. Let not these reflections oppress you. I shall live without honor and be nobody anywhere, for if lack of honor is an evil, you cannot be an evil through the instrumentality of some other person any more than you can be in shame. It is not your business. Is it to get office or to be invited to a dinner party? Certainly not. How then can this be any longer a lack of honor, and how is it that you will be nobody anywhere when you ought to be somebody only in those things which are under your control, wherein you are privileged to be a man of the very greatest honor, but your friends will be without assistance. What do you mean by

being without assistance they will not have poultry coin from you, and you will not make them Roman citizens. Well, who told you that these are some of the matters under our control and not rather things which others do? And who is able to give another what he does not himself have? Get money, then, says some friend, in order that we too may have it. If I can get money and at the same time keep myself self-respecting and faithful and high-minded, show me the way and I will get it. But if you require me to lose the good things that belong to me in order that you may require the things that are not good, you can see for yourselves how unfair and inconsiderate you are. And which do you really prefer, money or a faithful and self-respecting friend? Help me, therefore, rather to this end and do not require me to do things which will make me lose these qualities. But my country, says he, so far as lies in me, will be without assistance. Again I ask, what kind of assistance do you mean?

will not have loggias or baths of your providing, and what does that signify before? Neither does it have shoes provided by the blacksmith, nor has it arms provided by the cobbler. But it is sufficient if each man fulfills his own proper function. And if you secured for it another faithful and self-respecting citizen, would you not be doing it any good? Yes, very well. And then you also would not be useless to it. What place then shall I have in the state, says he? Whatever place you can have and at the same time maintain the man of fidelity and self-respect that is in you. But if through your desire to help the state you lose these qualities, of what good would you become to it when in the end you turned out to be shameless and unfaithful? Has someone been honored above you at a dinner party or in salutation or in being called in to give advice? Now, if these matters are good, you ought to be happy that he got them. But if evil, be not distressed because you

did not get them, and bear in mind that if you do not act the same way that others do with a view to getting things which are not under our control, you cannot be considered worthy to receive an equal share with others. Why? How is it possible for a man who does not haunt some man's door to have equal shares with the man who does? For the man who does not do escort duty with the man who does, for the man who does not pray with the man who does. You will be unjust, therefore, and insatiable if, while refusing to pay the price for which such things are bartered, you want to obtain them for nothing. Well, what is the price for heads of lettuce? A no-ball, perhaps. If then somebody gives up his Oh bowl and gets his heads of lettuce, while you do not give your herbal and do not get them, do not imagine that you are worse off than the man who gets his lettuce, for he has his heads of lettuce. So you have your bowl, which you have not given away. Now it is

the same way also in life you have not been invited to somebody's dinner party. Of course not before you didn't give the host the price at which he sells his dinner. He sells it for praise, he sells it for personal attention. Give him the price then for which it is sold if it is to your interest. But if you wish both not to give up the one and yet to get the other, you are insatiable and a simpleton. Have you then nothing in place of the dinner? Indeed you have, you have not had to praise the man you did not want to praise. You have not had to put up with the insolence of his doorkeepers. What the will of nature is may be learned from a consideration of the points in which we do not differ from one another. For example, when some other person's slave boy breaks his drinking cup, you are instantly ready to say, That's one of the things which happen. Rest assured then, but when your own drinking cup gets broken, you ought to behave in the same way that you do.

when the other man's cup is broken, apply now the same principle to the matters of greater importance. Some other person's child or wife has died. No one but would say, Such is the fate of man. Yet when a man's own child dies, immediately the cry is, Alas, woe is me! But we ought to remember how we feel when we hear the same misfortune befalling others. Just as a mark is not set up in order to be missed, so neither does the nature of evil arise in the universe. If someone handed over your body to any person who met you, you would be vexed. But that you hand over your mind to any person that comes along, so that if he reviles you, it is disturbed and troubled. Are you not ashamed of that? In each separate thing that you do, consider the matters which come first and those which follow after, and only then approach the thing itself. Otherwise, at the start, you will come to it enthusiastically because you have never reflected upon any of the subsequent

steps but later on when some difficulties appear you will give up disgracefully. Do you wish to win an Olympic victory? So do I, by the gods, for it is a fine thing. But consider the matters which come before that and those which follow after, and only when you have done that put your hand to the task. You have to submit to discipline, follow a strict diet, give up sweet cakes, train under compulsion at fixed hours, in heat or in cold. You must not drink cold water nor wine just whenever you feel like it. You must have turned yourself over to your trainer precisely as you would to a physician. Then when the contest comes on, you have to dig in beside your opponent and sometimes dislocate your wrist, sprain your ankle, swallow quantities of sand, sometimes take a scourging, and along with all that get beaten. After you have considered all these points, go on into the games if you still wish to do so. Otherwise, you will be turning back like children. Sometimes they play wrestlers, again gladiators, again they blow trumpets.

then act to play so you two are now an athlete. Now our gladiator then a rhetorician then the philosopher yet with your whole soul nothing but like an ape you imitate whatever you see and one thing after another strikes your fancy for you have never gone out after anything with circumspection nor after you had examined it all over but you acted it haphazard and arth heartedly. In the same way when some people have seen a philosopher and have heard him speaking like Euphrates though indeed who can speak like him they wish to be philosophers themselves man consider first the nature of the business and then learn your own ability. If you are able to bear it do you wish to be a contender in the pentathlon or a wrestler look to your arms your thighs see what your loins are like for one man has a natural talent for one thing another for another. Do you suppose that you can eat in the same fashion drink in the same fashion give way to impulse and

to irritation just as you do now. You must keep vigils, work hard, abandon your own people, be despised by a poultry slave, be laughed to scorn by those who meet you in everything, get the worst of it in honor, in office, in courts, in every poultry affair. Look these drawbacks over carefully. If you are willing, at the price of these things, to secure tranquility, freedom, and calm. Otherwise, do not approach philosophy. Don't act like a child now, a philosopher later on, a tax gatherer, then a rhetorician, then a procurator of Caesar. These things do not go together. You must be one person, either good or bad. You must labor to improve either your own governing principle or externals. You may work hard either on the inner man or on things outside. That is, play either the role of a philosopher or else that of a layman. 30-hour duties are in general measured by our social relationships. He is a father, one is called upon to take care of him, to give way to him in all things, to submit when he reveals.

strikes you, but he is a bad father. And did nature then bring you into a relationship with a good father? No, but simply with a father. My brother does me wrong. Very well then, maintain the relationship that you have toward him and do not consider what he is doing, but what you will have to do if your moral purpose is to be in harmony with nature. For no one will harm you without your consent. You will have been harmed only when you think you are harmed. In this way, therefore, you will discover what duty to expect of your neighbor, your citizen, your commanding officer, if you acquire the habits of looking at your social relations with them. In piety towards the gods, I would have you know the chief element is this: to have right opinions about them as existing and as administering the universe well and justly, and to have set yourself to obey them and to submit to everything that happens, and to follow it voluntarily in the belief that it is being fulfilled by the highest intelligence. For if you act in this way.

you will never blame the gods, nor find fault with them for neglecting you, but this result cannot be secured in any other way than by withdrawing your idea of the good and the evil from things which are not under our control, and placing it in those which are under our control, and in those alone, because if you think of any of those former things to be good or evil, then when you fail to get what you want and fall into what you do not want, it is altogether inevitable that you will blame and hate those who are responsible for these results. For this is the nature of every living creature: to flee from and to turn aside from the things that appear harmful and all that produces them, and to pursue after and to admire the things that are helpful and all that produces them. Therefore, it is impossible for a man who thinks that he is being heard to take pleasure in that which he thinks is hurting him, just as it is also impossible for him to take pleasure in the hurt itself. Hence, it follows that even a father is reviled.

by a son when he does not give his child some share in the things that seemed to be good, and this it was which made Polyneices and Eteocles enemies of one another. The thought that the royal power was a good thing, that is why the farmer reviles the gods, and so also the sailor and the merchant, and those who have lost their wives and children. For where a man's interest lies, there is also his piety, where for whoever is careful to exercise desire and aversion as he should, is at the same time careful also about piety. But it is always appropriate to make libations and sacrifices, and to give of the first fruits after the manner of our fathers, and to do this with purity and not in a slovenly or careless fashion, nor indeed in a niggly way, nor yet beyond our means. When you have recourse to divination, remember that you do not know what the issue is going to be, but that you have come in order to find this out from the diviner.

yet if you are indeed a philosopher, you know when you arrive what the nature of it is. For if it is one of the things which are not under our control, it is altogether necessary that what is going to take place is neither good nor evil. Do not therefore bring to the diviner desire or aversion, and do not approach him with trembling, but having first made up your mind that every issue is indifferent and nothing to you about that, whatever it may be. It will be possible for you to turn it to good use, and that no one will prevent this. Go then with confidence to the gods as counselors, and after that when some counsel has been given you, remember whom you have taken as counselors and whom you will be disregarding if you disobey. But go to divination as Socrates thought that men should go, that is in cases where the whole inquiry has reference to the outcome, and where neither from reason nor from any other technical art are means vouchsafed for discovering the matter in question. Hence, when it is your

duty to share the danger of a friend or of your country. Do not ask of the diviner whether you ought to share that danger, for if the diviner forewarns you that the omens of sacrifice have been unfavorable, it is clear that death is portended, or the injury of some member of your body, or exile. Yet reason requires that even at this risk, you are to stand by your friend and share the danger with your country. Wherefore, give heed to the greater diviner, the Pythian Apollo, who cast out of his temple the man who had not helped his friend when he was being murdered. Lay down for yourself at the outset a certain stamp and type of character for yourself, which you are to maintain whether you are by yourself or are meeting with people, and be silent for the most part, or else make only the most necessary remarks and express these in few words, but rarely. And when occasion requires you to talk, talk indeed, but about no ordinary topics. Do not talk about gladiators or horse races

athletes, or things to eat or drink. Topics that arise on Ola Kae, but above all, do not talk about people, either blaming or praising or comparing them. If then you can buy your own conversation, bring over that of your companions - what is seemly. But if you happen to be left alone in the presence of aliens, keep silence. Do not laugh much, nor at many things, nor boisterously. Refuse if you can to take an oath at all, but if that is impossible, refuse as far as circumstances allow. Avoid entertainments given by outsiders and by persons ignorant of philosophy, but if an appropriate occasion arises for you to attend, be on the alert to avoid lapsing into the behavior of such laymen. For you may rest assured that if a man's companion be dirty, the person who keeps close company with him must of necessity get a share of his dirt, even though he himself happens to be clean. In things that pertain to the body, take only as much as your bare need requires. I mean things such as food, drink.

clothing shelter and household slaves but cut down everything which is for outward show or luxury in your sex life. Preserve purity as far as you can before marriage, and if you indulge, take only those privileges which are lawful. However, do not make yourself offensive or censorious to those who do indulge, and do not make frequent mention of the fact that you do not yourself indulge. If someone brings word that so-and-so is speaking ill, do not defend yourself against what has been said, but answer, Yes, indeed, for he did not know the rest of the faults that attach to me; if he had, these would not have been the only ones he mentioned. It is not necessary for the most part to go to the public shows; if, however, a suitable occasion ever arises, show that your principal concern is for none other than yourself, which means we only for that to happen which does happen, and for him only to win who does win; for so you will suffer no hindrance. But refrain utterly from shouting or laughter at anyone or great excitement.

and after you have left, do not talk a great deal about what took place, except insofar as it contributes to your own improvement. For such behavior indicates that the spectacle has aroused your admiration. Do not go rashly or readily to people's public readings, but when you do, though maintain your own dignity and gravity, and at the same time be careful not to make yourself disagreeable. When you are about to meet somebody, in particular when it is one of those men who are held in very high esteem, propose to yourself the question, What would Socrates or Zeno have done under these circumstances? And then you will not be at a loss to make proper use of the occasion. When you go to see one of those men who have great power, propose to yourself the thoughts that you will not find him at home, that you will be shut out, that the door will be slammed in your face, but he will pay no attention to you. And if despite all this it is your duty to go, go and take what comes and never say to yourself, it

was not worth all the trouble. For this is characteristic of the layman: that is, a man who is vexed at externals. In your conversation, avoid making mention at great length and excessively of your own deeds or dangers, because it is not as pleasant for others to hear about your adventures as it is for you to call to mind your own dangers. Avoid also raising a laugh, for this is a kind of behavior that slips easily into vulgarity and, at the same time, is calculated to lessen the respect which your neighbors have of you. It is dangerous also to lapse into foul language. When, therefore, anything of the sort occurs, if the occasion be suitable, go even so far as to reprove the person who has made such a lapse. If, however, the occasion does not arise, at all events show by keeping silence and blushing and frowning that you are displeased by what has been said. When you get an external impression of some pleasure, guard yourself as with impressions in general against being carried away by it. Nay, let the matter

wait upon your letter, and give yourself a little delay. Next, think of the two periods of time: first, that in which you will enjoy your pleasure, and second, that in which, after the enjoyment is over, you will later repent and revile your own self. And set over against these two periods of time how much joy and self-satisfaction you will get if you refrain. However, if you feel that a suitable occasion has arisen to do the deed, be careful not to allow its enticement and sweetness and attractiveness to overcome you, but set over against all this the thought how much better is the consciousness of having won a victory over it. When you do a thing which you have made up your mind ought to be done, never try not to be seen doing it, even though most people are likely to think unfavorably about it. If, however, what you are doing is not right, avoid the deed itself altogether. But if it is right, why fear those who are going to rebuke you wrongly? Just as the propositions it is day and it is

nights are full of meaning when separated, but meaningless if United. So also granted that for you to take the larger share at a dinner is good for your body. Still, it is bad for the maintenance of the proper kind of social feeling. When, therefore, you are eating with another person, remember to regard not merely the value for your body of what before you, but also to maintain your respect for your host. If you undertake a role which is beyond your powers, you both disgrace yourself in that one, and at the same time neglect the role which you might have filled with success. Just as you are careful in walking about not to step on a nail or to sprain your ankle, so be careful also not to hurt your governing principle. And if we observe this rule in every action, we shall be more secure in setting about it. Each man's body is a measure for his property, just as the foot is a measure for his shoe. If then you abide by this principle, you will maintain the proper measure. But if you go beyond it, you

cannot help but fall headlong over a precipice, as it were, in the end. So also in the case of your shoe, if once you go beyond the foot, you get first a gilded shoe, then a purple one, then an embroidered one. For once you go beyond the measure, there is no limit for T immediately after. They are fourteen women are called ladies by men, and so when they see that they have nothing else but only to be the bedfellows of men, they begin to beautify themselves and put all their hopes in that. It is worthwhile for us to take pains, therefore, to make them understand that they are honored for nothing else but only for appearing modest and self-respecting. 41. It is a mark of a non-gifted man to spend a great deal of time in what concerns his body, as in much exercise, much eating, much drinking, much evacuating of the bowels, much copulating, but these things are done in passing, and let your whole attention be devoted to the mind. 42. When someone treats you

ill or speaks ill of you, remember that he acts or speaks thus because he thinks it is incumbent upon him. That being the case, it is impossible for him to follow what appears good to you, but what appears good to himself. Whence it follows that if he gets a wrong view of things, the man that suffers is the man that has been deceived. For if a person thinks a true composite judgment to be false, the composite judgment does not suffer, but the person who has been deceived. If, therefore, you start from this point of view, you will be gentle with the man who reveals you, or you should say on each occasion, He thought that way about it. Everything has two handles, by one of which it ought to be carried, and by the other not. If your brother wrongs you, do not lay hold of the matter by the handle of the wrong that he is doing, because this is the handle by which the matter ought not to be carried, but rather by the other handle, that he is your brother.

were brought up together, and then you will be laying hold of the matter by the handle, by way it ought to be carried. 44 the following statements constitute a non sequitur: I am richer than you are, therefore I am superior to you, or I am more eloquent than you are, therefore I am superior to you. But the following conclusions are better: I am richer than you are, therefore my property is superior to yours, or I am more eloquent than you are, therefore my elocution is superior to yours. But you are neither property nor elocution. For if somebody is hasty about bathing, do not say that he bathes badly, but that he is hasty about bathing. If somebody drinks a good deal of wine, do not say that he drinks badly, but that he drinks a good deal. For until you have decided what judgment prompts him, how do you know that what he is doing is bad? And thus the final result will not be that you receive convincing sense impressions of some things, but that you give your assent to others. 46 on no occasion call

yourself a philosopher and do not for the most part talk among laymen about your philosophic principles, but do what follows from your principles. For example, at our banquets, do not say how people ought to eat, but eat as a man. For remember how Socrates had so completely eliminated the thought of ostentation that people came to him when they wanted him to introduce them to philosophers, and he used to bring them along so well, did he submit to being overlooked. And if talk about some philosophic principle arises among laymen, keep silence for the most part, before there is great danger that you will spew up immediately what you have not digested. So when a man tells you that you know nothing, and you, like Socrates, are not hurt, then rest assured that you are making a beginning with the business you have undertaken. For sheep do not bring their fodder to the Shepherd's and show how much they have eaten, but they digest their food within them and on the outsides produce wool and milk. And so do you, therefore.

make no display to the lay men of your philosophic principles, but let them see the results which come from these principles when digested. When you have become adjusted to simple living in regard to your bodily wants, do not preen yourself about the accomplishment. And so likewise, if you are a water drinker, do not on every occasion say that you are a water drinker. And if you ever want to train to develop physical endurance, do it by yourself and not for outsiders to behold. Do not throw your arms around statues, but on occasion when you are very thirsty, take cold water into your mouth and then spit it out without telling anybody. This is the position and character of a lay man. He never looks for either help or harm from himself, but from externals. This is the position of the philosopher. He looks for all his help or harm from himself. Signs of one who is making progress are: he censures no one, praises no one, blames no one, finds fault with no one, says nothing.

about himself as though he were somebody, or knew something. When he is hampered or prevented, he blames himself, and if anyone compliments him, he smiles to himself at the person complimenting, while if anyone censures him, he makes no defense. He goes about like an invalid, being careful not to disturb before it is growing firm any part which is getting well. He has put away from himself every desire; man has transferred his aversion to those things only of what is under our control, which are contrary to nature. He exercises no pronounced choice in regard to anything. If he gives the appearance of being foolish or ignorant, he does not care. In a word, he keeps guard against himself as though he were his own enemy lying in wait. For when a person gives himself airs because he can understand and interpret the books of cruciferous, say to yourself, if cruciferous have not written obscurely, this man would have nothing about which to give himself airs. But what is it I want to learn? Nature and to follow her. I seek, therefore, someone to interpret.

her and having heard that cruciferous does so I go to him, but I do not understand what he has written. I seek, therefore, the person who interprets Christopher's, and down to this point, there is nothing to justify pride. But when I find the interpreter, what remains is to put his precepts into practice. This is the only thing to be proud about. If, however, I admire the mere act of interpretation, what have I done but turned into a grammarian instead of a philosopher? The only difference indeed is that I interpret Christopher's instead of Homer. Far from being proud, therefore, when somebody says to me, Read Mitra civis, I blush the rather when I am unable to show him such deeds as match and harmonize with his words. Whatever principles are set before you, stand fast by these like laws, feeling that it would be impiety for you to transgress them, but pay no attention to what somebody says about you, for this is at length not under your control. How long will you still wait to think?

yourself worthy of the best things, and in nothing to transgress against the distinction set up by the reason you have received. The philosophical principles which you ought to accept, and you have accepted them. What sort of a teacher then do you still wait for, that you should put off reforming yourself until he arrives? You are no longer a child but already a full-grown man. If you are now neglectful and easygoing, and always making one delay after another, and fixing first one day and then another after which you will pay attention to yourself, then without realizing it you will make no progress. But living and dying will continue to be a lay man throughout. Make up your minds, therefore, before it is too late. Let the fitting thing for you to do is to live as a mature man who is making progress, and let everything which seems to you to be best be for you a law that must not be transgressed. And if you meet anything that is laborious or sweet or held in high repute or in no repute

remember that now is the contest, and here before you are the Olympic Games, and that it is impossible to delay any longer, and that it depends on a single day and a single action where the progress is lost or saved. This is the way that Socrates became what he was by paying attention to nothing but his reason in everything that he encountered. And even if you are not yet a Socrates, still you ought to live as one who wishes to be a Socrates. The first and most necessary division in philosophy is that which has to do with the application of the principles, as for example, do not lie. The second deals with the demonstrations, as for example, how comes it's that we ought not to lie. The third confirms and discriminates between these processes, as for example, how does it come that this is a proof for what is a proof, what is a logical consequence, what contradiction, what truth, what falsehood. Therefore, the third division is necessary because of the second, and the second because of the first, while the most necessary of all and the one in

which we ought to rest. It's the first, but we do the opposite for we spend our time in the third division, and all our zeal is devoted to it, while we uh turley neglect the first. Wherefore we lie indeed 53 upon every occasion. We ought to have the following thoughts at our command: lead thou me on, no Zeus and destiny to that goal long ago to me assigned. I'll follow and not falter if my will prove we can craven. Still I'll follow on. Who so has rightly with necessity complied, we count him wise and skilled in things divine. Well o Crito, if so it is pleasing to the gods, so let it be. Anytus and Meletus can kill me, but they cannot hurt me.

The Enchiridion of Epictetus - (My Narration & Summary)

I record audiobooks, mostly on Stoicism. All my work is my own and I maintain the copyright to it. If you wish to use any clips of them for some creative purpose just drop me a message.
You can buy my recordings on Audible: https://geni.us/VoxStoicaOnAudible
I live in London, UK

Vox Stoica

The Teachings of Epictetus on What's Under Our Control

Epictetus teaches that our own choices and desires are under our control, while external things like our body and reputation are not.

He emphasizes that focusing on what is truly under our control leads to freedom and happiness.

Epictetus advises to align our judgments with nature, take responsibility for our own reactions, and not to be elated by excellence that is not our own.

Accept things as they come and focus on your own reactions and choices.

Do not let external events disturb your inner peace and tranquility.

Focus on what is within your control and let go of the rest, including the actions and judgments of others.

Remember that your perception and attitude towards events are what truly impact you, not the events themselves.

Maintaining Control and Inner Peace in Life

It is within your power to derive benefit from any outcome, making you invincible.

Despise the things that are not under your control to avoid envy and jealousy, and focus on being a free person.

Your own judgment and opinion are what can irritate you, so strive not to be swayed by external impressions.

The text emphasizes the importance of prioritizing qualities like fidelity and self-respect over external desires.

It encourages being content with being a philosopher and staying true to yourself, rather than seeking validation from others.

The key message is to focus on what is within your control and not to be swayed by external desires or the actions of others.

It is important to prioritize and give value to things based on their true importance and impact on our well-being.

We should learn to accept and deal with misfortunes and inconveniences in the same way we empathize with others facing similar situations.

Prioritizing our goals and considering the sacrifices and challenges involved before pursuing them is crucial for success and fulfillment in life.

It is essential to maintain a consistent and focused approach to our endeavors, whether it is in philosophy or other aspects of life, and not to be swayed by momentary desires or impulses.

Stoic Philosophy: Focus on What's Under Your Control

Stoic philosophy emphasizes placing value on things within our control, rather than blaming external factors for outcomes.

The approach to divination is to recognize that every issue is indifferent and to face it with confidence, using the advice of the gods as counselors.

The philosophy also advocates for maintaining a specific character, being selective in conversation topics, and avoiding excessive laughter and entertainment.

- Maintain purity and discretion in your personal life, without criticizing others for their choices.

- Show self-restraint and dignity in public settings, avoiding excessive laughter and vulgar language.

- Carefully consider the consequences of seeking pleasure and prioritize self-improvement and moral victory.

The Importance of Self-Respect and Moderation

Exceeding limits leads to endless desires, while focusing on the mind is crucial for a gifted individual.

Treating others with gentleness and focusing on internal judgment is key when facing mistreatment.

The significance of self-discipline and humility is highlighted in the philosopher's approach to life.

Stoicism teaches self-discipline and resilience in the face of praise or criticism.

The philosophy emphasizes the importance of following nature and not being swayed by the opinions of others.

Stoics focus on applying principles in life rather than seeking external validation.