Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Fragments 97 — Epictetus
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Fragments 97
When we are children our parents deliver us to a paedagogue to take care on all occasions that we suffer no harm. But when we are become men, God delivers us to our innate conscience (συνειδήσει) to take care of us. This guardianship then we must in no way despise, for we shall both displease God and be enemies to our own conscience.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Fragments 97, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/97
Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesAs children we are handed to a tutor to keep us from harm, and as adults we are handed to our own conscience. Do not ignore that inner guardian, because doing so means betraying yourself as well as God.
Older wording
- “paedagogue”
- — a household attendant who supervised and escorted a child
- “innate conscience”
- — your built-in sense of right and wrong
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Duty and roles
- Nature and the cosmos
- Self-discipline and habit
- Judgements and impressions
- An ethical dilemma
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