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What Would Stoics Do

Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE

Fragments 122 — Epictetus

Translation by George Long (1877)

Epictetus, Fragments 122

Law intends indeed to do service to human life, but it is not able when men do not choose to accept her services; for it is only in those who are obedient to her that she displays her special virtue.
— Epictetus, Fragments 122 · tr. George Long (1877)Read in context →

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Epictetus, Fragments 122, tr. George Long (1877)

https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/122

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

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Law is meant to serve human life, but it can only help those who are willing to accept it, since its worth shows only in the people who follow it.

Themes and situations

  • Justice and fairness
  • Community and our duty to others
  • Duty and roles

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Epictetus, Fragments 122, tr. George Long (1877)