Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE

Fragments 93 — Epictetus

Translation by George Long (1877)

Note: A saying of the sceptic Pyrrho preserved among Epictetus’s fragments — not Epictetus’s own words.

Pyrrho used to say that there is no difference between dying and living: and a man said to him, Why then do you not die? Pyrrho replied, Because there is no difference.

— Epictetus, Fragments 93 · tr. George Long (1877)Read in context →

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Epictetus, Fragments 93, tr. George Long (1877)

https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/93

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

An anecdote about the sceptic Pyrrho, who treated life and death as no different, and who answered the challenge of why he did not die by replying that there is no difference. It illustrates his extreme indifference rather than offering practical guidance.

Themes and situations

Death and mortality
Judgements and impressions
Acceptance and fate