Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Discourses 3.3 ¶5 — Epictetus
From “What Is the Matter on Which a Good Man Should Be Employed, and in What We Ought Chiefly to Practice Ourselves”
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Discourses 3.3 ¶5
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 transfer 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 the appearances. When the water is moved, the ray also seems to be moved, yet it is not moved. And when then a man is seized with giddiness, it is not the arts and the virtues which are confounded, but the spirit (the nervous power) on which they are impressed; but if the spirit be restored to its settled state, those things also are restored.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Discourses 3.3 ¶5, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/discourses/3.3.5
Epictetus, Discourses (as recorded by Arrian), tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWeeping, bad luck, blame and quarrels are all opinions about things outside your control as though they were good or bad; move those judgements onto your own choices and you stay steady whatever happens around you. The mind is like a dish of water: when the water shakes the reflected light seems to shake, yet the light is still, and once the mind settles its skills and virtues are restored.
Older wording
- “opinion”
- — a judgement about what is good or bad
- “appearances”
- — the impressions things make on your mind
- “sedition”
- — rebellion or civil unrest
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
- Emotions and the passions
- What is in our control
- Peace of mind
- Resilience and endurance
- Anxiety about the future
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