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What Would Stoics Do

Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE

Fragments 113 — Epictetus

Translation by George Long (1877)

Epictetus, Fragments 113

Choose rather to punish your appetites than to be punished through them.
— Epictetus, Fragments 113 · tr. George Long (1877)Read in context →

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Epictetus, Fragments 113, tr. George Long (1877)

https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/113

Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences

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In plain English

AI-written notes

It is better to discipline your cravings than to suffer the consequences of indulging them. Govern your appetites or they will end up punishing you.

Older wording

“appetites”
— bodily cravings and desires

Themes and situations

  • Self-discipline and habit
  • Desire and craving
  • Pleasure and pain
  • Breaking a bad habit

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Epictetus, Fragments 113, tr. George Long (1877)