Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Discourses 1.25 ¶3 — Epictetus
From “On the Same”
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Discourses 1.25 ¶3
For as we behave in the matter of hypothetical arguments, so ought we to do in life. “Suppose it to be night.” I suppose that it is night. “Well then; is it day?” No, for I admitted the hypothesis that it was night. “Suppose that you think that it is night?” Suppose that I do. “But also think that it is night.” That is not consistent with the hypothesis. So in this case also: “Suppose that you are unfortunate.” Well, suppose so. “Are you then unhappy?” Yes. “Well then are you troubled with an unfavorable daemon (fortune)?” Yes. “But think also that you are in misery.” This is not consistent with the hypothesis; and another (Zeus) forbids me to think so.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Discourses 1.25 ¶3, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/discourses/1.25.3
Epictetus, Discourses (as recorded by Arrian), tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesIn a logic exercise you accept a supposition and follow it consistently without adding anything extra. In life, grant that your fortune is bad if it is, but do not go on to add the further judgement that you are therefore miserable, since that extra step is a choice.
Older wording
- “hypothesis”
- — a supposition accepted for the sake of an argument
- “daemon”
- — a guiding spirit, here a stand-in for fortune
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
- Acceptance and fate
- Emotions and the passions
- Resilience and endurance
- Failure and mistakes
- Anxiety about the future
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