Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Fragments 1 — Epictetus
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Fragments 1
The life which is implicated with fortune (depends on fortune) is like a winter torrent: for it is turbulent, and full of mud, and difficult to cross, and tyrannical, and noisy, and of short duration.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Fragments 1, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/1
Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesA life that depends on luck is like a winter torrent: noisy, muddy, hard to cross, domineering and short-lived.
Older wording
- “winter torrent”
- — a fast, muddy flood after rain that quickly dries up
Themes and situations
- What is in our control
- Peace of mind
- Adversity and hardship
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