{"schema_version":1,"access":"public","rights":"Public-domain or compatibly licensed source editions; provenance is retained per record.","work":{"slug":"enchiridion","title":"Enchiridion","author":"Epictetus","tradition":"greek","language":"grc","genre":"philosophy","period":"early 2nd c. CE","source_url":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/a065c359aab33c33bd17ddc2cac7d27fdc9cd870/data/tlg0557/tlg002/tlg0557.tlg002.perseus-grc2.xml","original":{"text":"### Chapter 1\n\n[1.1] τῶν ὄντων τὰ μέν ἐστιν ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν. ἐφʼ ἡμῖν μὲν ὑπόληψις, ὁρμή, ὄρεξις, ἔκκλισις καὶ ἑνὶ λόγῳ ὅσα ἡμέτερα ἔργα· οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν δὲ τὸ σῶμα, ἡ κτῆσις, δόξαι, ἀρχαὶ καὶ ἑνὶ λόγῳ ὅσα οὐχ ἡμέτερα ἔργα.\n\n[1.2] καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ἐστι φύσει ἐλεύθερα, ἀκώλυτα, ἀπαραπόδιστα, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ἀσθενῆ, δοῦλα, κωλυτά, ἀλλότρια.\n\n[1.3] μέμνησο οὖν, ὅτι, ἐὰν τὰ φύσει δοῦλα ἐλεύθερα οἰηθῇς καὶ τὰ ἀλλότρια ἴδια, ἐμποδισθήσῃ, πενθήσεις, ταραχθήσῃ, μέμψῃ καὶ θεοὺς καὶ ἀνθρώπους, ἐὰν δὲ τὸ σὸν μόνον οἰηθῇς σὸν εἶναι, τὸ δὲ ἀλλότριον, ὥσπερ ἐστίν, ἀλλότριον, οὐδείς σε ἀναγκάσει οὐδέποτε, οὐδείς σε κωλύσει, οὐ μέμψῃ οὐδένα, οὐκ ἐγκαλέσεις τινί, ἄκων πράξεις οὐδὲ ἕν, οὐδείς σε βλάψει, ἐχθρὸν οὐχ ἕξεις, οὐδὲ γὰρ βλαβερόν τι πείσῃ.\n\n[1.4] τηλικούτων οὖν ἐφιέμενος μέμνησο, ὅτι οὐ δεῖ μετρίως κεκινημένον ἅπτεσθαι αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἀφιέναι παντελῶς, τὰ δʼ ὑπερτίθεσθαι πρὸς τὸ παρόν. ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐθέλῃς καὶ ἄρχειν καὶ πλουτεῖν, τυχὸν μὲν οὐδʼ αὐτῶν τούτων τεύξῃ διὰ τὸ καὶ τῶν προτέρων ἐφίεσθαι, πάντως γε μὴν ἐκείνων ἀποτεύξη, διʼ ὧν μόνων ἐλευθερία καὶ εὐδαιμονία περιγίνεται.\n\n[1.5] εὐθὺς οὖν πάσῃ φαντασίᾳ τραχείᾳ μελέτα ἐπιλέγειν ὅτι φαντασία εἶ καὶ οὐ πάντως τὸ φαινόμενον. ἔπειτα ἐξέταζε αὐτὴν καὶ δοκίμαζε τοῖς κανόσι τούτοις οἷς ἔχεις, πρώτῳ δὲ τούτῳ καὶ μάλιστα, πότερον περὶ τὰ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἢ περὶ τὰ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν· κἂν περί τι τῶν οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ᾖ, πρόχειρον ἔστω τὸ διότι οὐδὲν πρὸς ἐμέ\n\n### Chapter 2\n\n[2.1] μέμνησο, ὅτι ὀρέξεως ἐπαγγελία ἐπιτυχία, οὗ ὀρέγῃ, ἐκκλίσεως ἐπαγγελία τὸ μὴ περιπεσεῖν ἐκείνῳ, ὃ ἐκκλίνεται, καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐν ὀρέξει ἀποτυγχάνων ἀτυχής, ὁ δὲ ἐν ἐκκλίσει περιπίπτων δυστυχής. ἂν μὲν οὖν μόνα ἐκκλίνῃς τὰ παρὰ φύσιν τῶν ἐπὶ σοί, οὐδενί, ὧν ἐκκλίνεις, περιπεσῇ· νόσον δʼ ἂν ἐκκλίνῃς ἢ θάνατον ἢ πενίαν, δυστυχήσεις.\n\n[2.2] ἆρον οὖν τὴν ἔκκλισιν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν καὶ μετάθες ἐπὶ τὰ παρὰ φύσιν τῶν ἐφʼ ἡμῖν. τὴν ὄρεξιν δὲ παντελῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἄνελε· ἄν τε γὰρ ὀρέγῃ τῶν οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν τινος, ἀτυχεῖν ἀνάγκη τῶν τε ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, ὅσων ὀρέγεσθαι καλὸν ἄν, οὐδὲν οὐδέπω σοι πάρεστι. μόνῳ δὲ τῷ ὁρμᾶν καὶ ἀφορμᾶν χρῶ, κούφως μέντοι καὶ μεθʼ ὑπεξαιρέσεως καὶ ἀνειμένως.\n\n### Chapter 3\n\n[3.1] ἐφʼ ἑκάστου τῶν ψυχαγωγούντων ἢ χρείαν παρεχόντων ἢ στεργομένων μέμνησο ἐπιλέγειν, ὁποῖόν ἐστιν, ἀπὸ τῶν σμικροτάτων ἀρξάμενος· ἂν χύτραν στέργῃς, ὅτι χύτραν στέργω. κατεαγείσης γὰρ αὐτῆς οὐ ταραχθήσῃ· ἂν παιδίον σαυτοῦ καταφιλῇς ἢ γυναῖκα, ὅτι ἄνθρωπον καταφιλεῖς· ἀποθανόντος γὰρ οὐ ταραχθήσῃ.\n\n### Chapter 4\n\n[4.1] ὅταν ἅπτεσθαί τινος ἔργου μέλλῃς, ὑπομίμνῃσκε σεαυτόν, ὁποῖόν ἐστι τὸ ἔργον. ἐὰν λουσόμενος ἀπίῃς, πρόβαλλε σεαυτῷ τὰ γινόμενα ἐν βαλανείῳ, τοὺς ἀπορραίνοντας, τοὺς ἐγκρουομένους, τοὺς λοιδοροῦντας, τοὺς κλέπτοντας. καὶ οὕτως ἀσφαλέστερον ἅψῃ τοῦ ἔργου, ἐὰν ἐπιλέγῃς εὐθὺς ὅτι λούσασθαι θέλω καὶ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ προαίρεσιν κατὰ φύσιν ἔχουσαν τηρῆσαι. καὶ ὡσαύτως ἐφʼ ἑκάστου ἔργου. οὕτω γὰρ ἄν τι πρὸς τὸ λούσασθαι γένηται ἐμποδών, πρόχειρον ἔσται διότι ἀλλʼ οὐ τοῦτο ἤθελον μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ προαίρεσιν κατὰ φύσιν ἔχουσαν τηρῆσαι· οὐ τηρήσω δέ, ἐὰν ἀγανακτῶ πρὸς τὰ γινόμενα.\n\n### Chapter 5\n\n[5.1] ταράσσει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οὐ τὰ πράγματα, ἀλλὰ τὰ περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων δόγματα· οἷον ὁ θάνατος οὐδὲν δεινόν (ἐπεὶ καὶ Σωκράτει ἂν ἐφαίνετο), ἀλλὰ τὸ δόγμα τὸ περὶ τοῦ θανάτου, διότι δεινόν, ἐκεῖνο τὸ δεινόν ἐστιν. ὅταν οὖν ἐμποδιζώμεθα ἢ ταρασσώμεθα ἢ λυπώμεθα, μηδέποτε ἄλλον αἰτιώμεθα, ἀλλʼ ἑαυτούς, τοῦτʼ ἔστι τὰ ἑαυτῶν δόγματα. ἀπαιδεύτου ἔργον τὸ ἄλλοις ἐγκαλεῖν, ἐφʼ οἷς αὐτὸς πράσσει κακῶς· ἠργμένου παιδεύεσθαι τὸ ἑαυτῷ· πεπαιδευμένου τὸ μήτε ἄλλῳ μήτε ἑαυτῷ.\n\n### Chapter 6\n\n[6.1] ἐπὶ μηδενὶ ἐπαρθῇς ἀλλοτρίῳ προτερήματι. εἰ ὁ ἵππος ἐπαιρόμενος ἔλεγεν ὅτι καλός εἰμι, οἰστὸν ἂν ἦν· σὺ δέ, ὅταν λέγῃς ἐπαιρόμενος ὅτι ἵππον καλὸν ἔχω, ἴσθι, ὅτι ἐπὶ ἵππου ἀγαθῷ ἐπαίρῃ. τί οὖν ἐστι σόν; χρῆσις φαντασιῶν. ὥσθʼ, ὅταν ἐν χρήσει φαντασιῶν κατὰ φύσιν σχῇς, τηνικαῦτα ἐπάρθητι· τότε γὰρ ἐπὶ σῷ τινι ἀγαθῷ ἐπαρθήσῃ.\n\n### Chapter 7\n\n[7.1] καθάπερ ἐν πλῷ τοῦ πλοίου καθορμισθέντος εἰ ἐξέλθοις ὑδρεύσασθαι, ὁδοῦ μὲν πάρεργον καὶ κοχλίδιον ἀναλέξῃ καὶ βολβάριον, τετάσθαι δὲ δεῖ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐπὶ τὸ πλοῖον καὶ συνεχῶς ἐπιστρέφεσθαι, μή ποτε ὁ κυβερνήτης καλέσῃ, κἂν καλέσῃ, πάντα ἐκεῖνα ἀφιέναι, ἵνα μὴ δεδεμένος ἐμβληθῇς ὡς τὰ πρόβατα· οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῷ βίῳ, ἐὰν διδῶται ἀντὶ βολβαρίου καὶ κοχλιδίου γυναικάριον καὶ παιδίον, οὐδὲν κωλύσει· ἐὰν δὲ ὁ κυβερνήτης καλέσῃ, τρέχε ἐπὶ τὸ πλοῖον ἀφεὶς ἐκεῖνα ἅπαντα μηδὲ ἐπιστρεφόμενος. ἐὰν δὲ γέρων ᾖς, μηδὲ ἀπαλλαγῇς ποτε τοῦ πλοίου μακράν, μή ποτε καλοῦντος ἐλλίπῃς.\n\n### Chapter 8\n\n[8.1] μὴ ζήτει τὰ γινόμενα γίνεσθαι ὡς θέλεις, ἀλλὰ θέλε τὰ γινόμενα ὡς γίνεται καὶ εὐροήσεις.\n\n### Chapter 9\n\n[9.1] νόσος σώματός ἐστιν ἐμπόδιον, προαιρέσεως δὲ οὔ, ἐὰν μὴ αὐτὴ θέλῃ. χώλανσις σκέλους ἐστὶν ἐμπόδιον, προαιρέσεως δὲ οὔ. καὶ τοῦτο ἐφʼ ἑκάστου τῶν ἐμπιπτόντων ἐπίλεγε· εὑρήσεις γὰρ αὐτὸ ἄλλου τινὸς ἐμπόδιον, σὸν δὲ οὔ.\n\n### Chapter 10\n\n[10.1] ἐφʼ ἑκάστου τῶν προσπιπτόντων μέμνησο ἐπιστρέφων ἐπὶ σεαυτὸν ζητεῖν, τίνα δύναμιν ἔχεις πρὸς τὴν χρῆσιν αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν καλὸν ἴδῃς ἢ καλήν, εὑρήσεις δύναμιν πρὸς ταῦτα ἐγκράτειαν· ἐὰν πόνος προσφέρηται, εὑρήσεις καρτερίαν· ἂν λοιδορία, εὑρήσεις ἀνεξικακίαν. καὶ οὕτως ἐθιζόμενόν σε οὐ συναρπάσουσιν αἱ φαντασίαι.\n\n### Chapter 11\n\n[11.1] μηδέποτε ἐπὶ μηδενὸς εἴπῃς ὅτι ἀπώλεσα αὐτό, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἀπέδωκα. τὸ παιδίον ἀπέθανεν; ἀπεδόθη. ἡ γυνὴ ἀπέθανεν; ἀπεδόθη. τὸ χωρίον ἀφῃρέθην. οὐκοῦν καὶ τοῦτο ἀπεδόθη. ἀλλὰ κακὸς ὁ ἀφελόμενος. τί δὲ σοὶ μέλει, διὰ τίνος σε ὁ δοὺς ἀπῄτησε; μέχρι δʼ ἂν διδῷ, ὡς ἀλλοτρίου αὐτοῦ ἐπιμελοῦ, ὡς τοῦ πανδοχείου οἱ παριόντες.\n\n### Chapter 12\n\n[12.1] εἰ προκόψαι θέλεις, ἄφες τοὺς τοιούτους ἐπιλογισμούς. ἐὰν ἀμελήσω τᾶν ἐμῶν, οὐχ ἕξω διατροφάς· ἐὰν μὴ κολάσω τὸν παῖδα, πονηρὸς ἔσται. κρεῖσσον γὰρ λιμῷ ἀποθανεῖν ἄλυπον καὶ ἄφοβον γενόμενον ἢ ζῆν ἐν ἀφθόνοις ταρασσόμενον. κρεῖττον δὲ τὸν παῖδα κακὸν εἶναι ἢ σὲ κακοδαίμονα.\n\n[12.2] ἄρξαι τοιγαροῦν ἀπὸ τῶν σμικρῶν. ἐκχεῖται τὸ ἐλάδιον, κλέπτεται τὸ οἰνάριον· ἐπίλεγε ὅτι τοσούτου πωλεῖται ἀπάθεια, τοσούτου ἀταραξία· προῖκα δὲ οὐδὲν περιγίνεται. ὅταν δὲ καλῇς τὸν παῖδα, ἐνθυμοῦ, ὅτι δύναται μὴ ὑπακοῦσαι καὶ ὑπακούσας μηδὲν ποιῆσαι ὧν θέλεις· ἀλλʼ οὐχ οὕτως ἐστὶν αὐτῷ καλῶς, ἵνα ἐπʼ ἐκείνῳ ᾖ τὸ σὲ μὴ ταραχθῆναι.\n\n### Chapter 13\n\n[13.1] εἰ προκόψαι θέλεις, ὑπόμεινον ἕνεκα τῶν ἐκτὸς ἀνόητος δόξας καὶ ἠλίθιος, μηδὲν βούλου δοκεῖν ἐπίστασθαι· κἂν δόξῃς τις εἶναί τισιν, ἀπίστει σεαυτῷ. ἴσθι γὰρ ὅτι οὐ ῥᾴδιον τὴν προαίρεσιν τὴν σεαυτοῦ κατὰ φύσιν ἔχουσαν φυλάξαι καὶ τὰ ἐκτός, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἑτέρου ἐπιμελούμενον τοῦ ἑτέρου ἀμελῆσαι πᾶσα ἀνάγκη.\n\n### Chapter 14\n\n[14.1] ἐὰν θέλῃς τὰ τέκνα σου καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τοὺς φίλους σου πάντοτε ζῆν, ἠλίθιος εἶ· τὰ γὰρ μὴ ἐπὶ σοὶ θέλεις ἐπὶ σοὶ εἶναι καὶ τὰ ἀλλότρια σὰ εἶναι. οὕτω κἂν τὸν παῖδα θέλῃς μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν, μωρὸς εἶ· θέλεις γὰρ τὴν κακίαν μὴ εἶναι κακίαν, ἀλλʼ ἄλλο τι. ἐὰν δὲ θέλῃς ὀρεγόμενος μὴ ἀποτυγχάνειν, τοῦτο δύνασαι. τοῦτο οὖν ἄσκει, ὃ δύνασαι.\n\n[14.2] κύριος ἑκάστου ἐστὶν ὁ τῶν ὑπʼ ἐκείνου θελομένων ἢ μὴ θελομένων ἔχων τὴν ἐξουσίαν εἰς τὸ περιποιῆσαι ἢ ἀφελέσθαι. ὅστις οὖν ἐλεύθερος εἶναι βούλεται, μήτε θελέτω τι μήτε φευγέτω τι τῶν ἐπʼ ἄλλοις· εἰ δὲ μή, δουλεύειν ἀνάγκη.\n\n### Chapter 15\n\n[15.1] μέμνησο, ὅτι ὡς ἐν συμποσίῳ σε δεῖ ἀναστρέφεσθαι. περιφερόμενον γέγονέ τι κατὰ σέ· ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα κοσμίως μετάλαβε. παρέρχεται· μὴ κάτεχε. οὔπω ἥκει· μὴ ἐπίβαλλε πόρρω τὴν ὄρεξιν, ἀλλὰ περίμενε, μέχρις ἂν γένηται κατὰ σέ. οὕτω πρὸς τέκνα, οὕτω πρὸς γυναῖκα, οὕτω πρὸς ἀρχάς, οὕτω πρὸς πλοῦτον· καὶ ἔσῃ ποτὲ ἄξιος τῶν θεῶν συμπότης. ἂν δὲ καὶ παρατεθέντων σοι μὴ λάβῃς, ἀλλʼ ὑπερίδῃς, τότε οὐ μόνον συμπότης τῶν θεῶν ἔσῃ, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνάρχων. οὕτω γὰρ ποιῶν Διογένης καὶ Ἡράκλειτος καὶ οἱ ὅμοιοι ἀξίως θεῖοί τε ἦσαν καὶ ἐλέγοντο.\n\n### Chapter 16\n\n[16.1] ὅταν κλαίοντα ἴδῃς τινὰ ἐν πένθει ἢ ἀποδημοῦντος τέκνου ἢ ἀπολωλεκότα τὰ ἑαυτοῦ, πρόσεχε μή σε ἡ φαντασία συναρπάσῃ ὡς ἐν κακοῖς ὄντος αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἐκτός, ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς ἔστω πρόχειρον ὅτι τοῦτον θλίβει οὐ τὸ συμβεβηκός (ἄλλον γὰρ οὐ θλίβει), ἀλλὰ τὸ δόγμα τὸ περὶ τούτου. μέχρι μέντοι λόγου μὴ ὄκνει συμπεριφέρεσθαι αὐτῷ, κἂν οὕτω τύχῃ, καὶ συνεπιστενάξαι· πρόσεχε μέντοι μὴ καὶ ἔσωθεν στενάξῃς.\n\n### Chapter 17\n\n[17.1] μέμνησο, ὅτι ὑποκριτὴς εἶ δράματος, οἵου ἂν θέλῃ ὁ διδάσκαλος· ἂν βραχύ, βραχέος· ἂν μακρόν, μακροῦ· ἂν πτωχὸν ὑποκρίνασθαί σε θέλῃ, ἵνα καὶ τοῦτον εὐφυῶς ὑποκρίνῃ ἂν χωλόν, ἂν ἄρχοντα, ἂν ἰδιώτην. σὸν γὰρ τοῦτʼ ἔστι, τὸ δοθὲν ὑποκρίνασθαι πρόσωπον καλῶς· ἐκλέξασθαι δʼ αὐτὸ ἄλλου.\n\n### Chapter 18\n\n[18.1] κόραξ ὅταν μὴ αἴσιον κεκράγῃ, μὴ συναρπαζέτω σε ἡ φαντασία· ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς διαίρει παρὰ σεαυτῷ καὶ λέγε ὅτι τούτων ἐμοὶ οὐδὲν ἐπισημαίνεται, ἀλλʼ ἢ τῷ σωματίῳ μου ἢ τῷ κτησειδίῳ μου ἢ τῷ δοξαρίῳ μου ἢ τοῖς τέκνοις ἢ τῇ γυναικί. ἐμοὶ δὲ πάντα αἴσια σημαίνεται, ἐὰν ἐγὼ θέλω· ὅ τι γὰρ ἂν τούτων ἀποβαίνῃ, ἐπʼ ἐμοί ἐστιν ὠφεληθῆναι ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ.\n\n### Chapter 19\n\n[19.1] ἀνίκητος εἶναι δύνασαι, ἐὰν εἰς μηδένα ἀγῶνα καταβαίνῃς, ὃν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπὶ σοὶ νικῆσαι.\n\n[19.2] ὅρα μήποτε ἰδών τινα προτιμώμενον ἢ μέγα δυνάμενον ἢ ἄλλως εὐδοκιμοῦντα μακαρίσῃς, ὑπὸ τῆς φαντασίας συναρπασθείς. ἐὰν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ἡ οὐσία τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ᾖ, οὔτε φθόνος οὔτε ζηλοτυπία χώραν ἔχει· σύ τε αὐτὸς οὐ στρατηγός, οὐ πρύτανις ἢ ὕπατος εἶναι θελήσεις, ἀλλʼ ἐλεύθερος. μία δὲ ὁδὸς πρὸς τοῦτο, καταφρόνησις τῶν οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν.\n\n### Chapter 20\n\n[20.1] μέμνησο, ὅτι οὐχ ὁ λοιδορῶν ἢ ὁ τύπτων ὑβρίζει, ἀλλὰ τὸ δόγμα τὸ περὶ τούτων ὡς ὑβριζόντων. ὅταν οὖν ἐρεθίσῃ σέ τις, ἴσθι, ὅτι ἡ σή σε ὑπόληψις ἠρέθικε. τοιγαροῦν ἐν πρώτοις πειρῶ ὑπὸ τῆς φαντασίας μὴ συναρπασθῆναι· ἂν γὰρ ἅπαξ χρόνου καὶ διατριβῆς τύχῃς, ῥᾷον κρατήσεις σεαυτοῦ.\n\n### Chapter 21\n\n[21.1] θάνατος καὶ φυγὴ καὶ πάντα τὰ δεινὰ φαινόμενα πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἔστω σοι καθʼ ἡμέραν, μάλιστα δὲ πάντων ὁ θάνατος· καὶ οὐδὲν οὐδέποτε οὔτε ταπεινὸν ἐνθυμηθήσῃ οὔτε ἄγαν ἐπιθυμήσεις τινός.\n\n### Chapter 22\n\n[22.1] εἰ φιλοσοφίας ἐπιθυμεῖς, παρασκευάζου αὐτόθεν ὡς καταγελασθησόμενος, ὡς καταμωκησομένων σου πολλῶν, ὡς ἐρούντων ὅτι ἄφνω φιλόσοφος ἡμῖν ἐπανελήλυθε καὶ πόθεν ἡμῖν αὕτη ἡ ὀφρύς; σὺ δὲ ὀφρὺν μὲν μὴ σχῇς· τῶν δὲ βελτίστων σοι φαινομένων οὕτως ἔχου, ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τεταγμένος εἰς ταύτην τὴν χώραν· μέμνησό τε διότι, ἐὰν μὲν ἐμμείνῃς τοῖς αὐτοῖς, οἱ καταγελῶντές σου τὸ πρότερον οὗτοί σε ὕστερον θαυμάσονται, ἐὰν δὲ ἡττηθῇς αὐτῶν, διπλοῦν προσλήψῃ καταγέλωτα.\n\n### Chapter 23\n\n[23.1] ἐάν ποτέ σοι γένηται ἔξω στραφῆναι πρὸς τὸ βούλεσθαι ἀρέσαι τινί, ἴσθι ὅτι ἀπώλεσας τὴν ἔνστασιν. ἀρκοῦ οὖν ἐν παντὶ τῷ εἶναι φιλόσοφος εἰ δὲ καὶ δοκεῖν βούλει, σαυτῷ φαίνου καὶ ἱκανὸς ἔσῃ.\n\n### Chapter 24\n\n[24.1] οὗτοί σε οἱ διαλογισμοὶ μὴ θλιβέτωσαν ἄτιμος ἐγὼ βιώσομαι καὶ οὐδεὶς οὐδαμοῦ. εἰ γὰρ ἡ ἀτιμία ἐστὶ κακόν, οὐ δύνασαι ἐν κακῷ εἶναι διʼ ἄλλον, οὐ μᾶλλον ἢ ἐν αἰσχρῷ· μή τι οὖν σόν ἐστιν ἔργον τὸ ἀρχῆς τυχεῖν ἢ παραληφθῆναι ἐφʼ ἑστίασιν; οὐδαμῶς. πῶς οὖν ἔτι τοῦτʼ ἔστιν ἀτιμία; πῶς δὲ οὐδεὶς οὐδαμοῦ ἔσῃ, ὃν ἐν μόνοις εἶναί τινα δεῖ τοῖς ἐπὶ σοί, ἐν οἷς ἔξεστί σοι εἶναι πλείστου ἀξίῳ;\n\n[24.2] ἀλλά σοι οἱ φίλοι ἀβοήθητοι ἔσονται. τί λέγεις τὸ ἀβοήθητοι; οὐχ ἕξουσι παρὰ σοῦ κερμάτιον· οὐδὲ πολίτας Ῥωμαίων αὐτοὺς ποιήσεις. τίς οὖν σοι εἶπεν, ὅτι ταῦτα τῶν ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ἐστιν, οὐχὶ δὲ ἀλλότρια ἔργα; τίς δὲ δοῦναι δύναται ἑτέρῳ, ἃ μὴ ἔχει αὐτός; κτῆσαι οὖν, φησίν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς ἔχωμεν.\n\n[24.3] εἰ δύναμαι κτήσασθαι τηρῶν ἐμαυτὸν αἰδήμονα καὶ πιστὸν καὶ μεγαλόφρονα, δείκνυε τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ κτήσομαι. εἰ δʼ ἐμὲ ἀξιοῦτε τὰ ἀγαθὰ τὰ ἐμαυτοῦ ἀπολέσαι, ἵνα ὑμεῖς τὰ μὴ ἀγαθὰ περιποιήσησθε, ὁρᾶτε ὑμεῖς, πῶς ἄνισοί ἐστε καὶ ἀγνώμονες. τί δὲ καὶ βούλεσθε μᾶλλον; ἀργύριον ἢ φίλον πιστὸν καὶ αἰδήμονα; εἰς τοῦτο οὖν μοι μᾶλλον συλλαμβάνετε καὶ μή, διʼ ὧν ἀποβαλῶ αὐτὰ ταῦτα, ἐκεῖνά με πράσσειν ἀξιοῦτε.\n\n[24.4] ἀλλʼ ἡ πατρίς, ὅσον ἐπʼ ἐμοί, φησίν, ἀβοήθητος ἔσται. πάλιν, ποίαν καὶ ταύτην βοήθειαν; στοὰς οὐχ ἕξει διὰ σὲ οὔτε βαλανεῖα. καὶ τί τοῦτο; οὐδὲ γὰρ ὑποδήματα ἔχει διὰ τὸν χαλκέα οὐδʼ ὅπλα διὰ τὸν σκυτέα· ἱκανὸν δέ, ἐὰν ἕκαστος ἐκπληρώσῃ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἔργον. εἰ δὲ ἄλλον τινὰ αὐτῇ κατεσκεύαζες πολίτην πιστὸν καὶ αἰδήμονα, οὐδὲν ἂν αὐτὴν ὠφέλεις; ναί. οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ σὺ αὐτὸς ἀνωφελὴς ἂν εἴης αὐτῇ. τίνα οὖν ἕξω, φησί, χώραν ἐν τῇ πόλει; ἣν ἂν δύνῃ φυλάττων ἅμα τὸν πιστὸν καὶ αἰδήμονα.\n\n[24.5] εἰ δὲ ἐκείνην ὠφελεῖν βουλόμενος ἀποβαλεῖς ταῦτα, τί ὄφελος ἂν αὐτῇ γένοιο ἀναιδὴς καὶ ἄπιστος ἀποτελεσθείς;\n\n### Chapter 25\n\n[25.1] Προετιμήθη σού τις ἐν ἑστιάσει ἢ ἐν προσαγορεύσει ἢ ἐν τῷ παραληφθῆναι εἰς συμβουλίαν; εἰ μὲν ἀγαθὰ ταῦτά ἐστι, χαίρειν σε δεῖ, ὅτι ἔτυχεν αὐτῶν ἐκεῖνος· εἰ δὲ κακά, μὴ ἄχθου, ὅτι σὺ αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔτυχες· μέμνησο δέ, ὅτι οὐ δύνασαι μὴ ταὐτὰ ποιῶν πρὸς τὸ τυγχάνειν τῶν οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν τῶν ἴσων ἀξιοῦσθαι.\n\n[25.2] πῶς γὰρ ἴσον ἔχειν δύναται ὁ μὴ φοιτῶν ἐπὶ θύρας τινὸς τῷ φοιτῶντι; ὁ μὴ παραπέμπων τῷ παραπέμποντι; ὁ μὴ ἐπαινῶν τῷ ἐπαινοῦντι, ἄδικος οὖν ἔσῃ καὶ ἄπληστος, εἰ μὴ προϊέμενος ταῦτα, ἀνθʼ ὧν ἐκεῖνα πιπράσκεται, προῖκα αὐτὰ βουλήσῃ λαμβάνειν.\n\n[25.3] ἀλλὰ πόσου πιπράσκονται θρίδακες; ὀβολοῦ, ἂν οὕτω τύχῃ. ἂν οὖν τις προέμενος τὸν ὀβολὸν λάβῃ θρίδακας, σὺ δὲ μὴ προέμενος μὴ λάβῃς, μὴ οἴου ἔλαττον ἔχειν τοῦ λαβόντος. ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἔχει θρίδακας, οὕτω σὺ τὸν ὀβολόν, ὃν οὐκ ἔδωκας.\n\n[25.4] τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ ἐνταῦθα. οὐ παρεκλήθης ἐφʼ ἑστίασίν τινος; οὐ γὰρ ἔδωκας τῷ καλοῦντι, ὅσου πωλεῖ τὸ δεῖπνον. ἐπαίνου δʼ αὐτὸ πωλεῖ, θεραπείας πωλεῖ. δὸς οὖν τὸ διάφορον, εἰ σοι λυσιτελεῖ, ὅσου πωλεῖται. εἰ δὲ κἀκεῖνα θέλεις μὴ προΐεσθαι καὶ ταῦτα λαμβάνειν, ἄπληστος εἶ καὶ ἀβέλτερος.\n\n[25.5] οὐδὲν οὖν ἔχεις ἀντὶ τοῦ δείπνου; ἔχεις μὲν οὖν τὸ μὴ ἐπαινέσαι τοῦτον, ὃν οὐκ ἤθελες, τὸ μὴ ἀνασχέσθαι αὐτοῦ τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς εἰσόδου.\n\n### Chapter 26\n\n[26.1] τὸ βούλημα τῆς φύσεως καταμαθεῖν ἔστιν ἐξ ὧν οὐ διαφερόμεθα πρὸς ἀλλήλους. οἷον, ὅταν ἄλλου παιδάριον κατεάξῃ τὸ ποτήριον, πρόχειρον εὐθὺς λέγειν ὅτι τῶν γινομένων ἐστίν. ἴσθι οὖν, ὅτι, ὅταν καὶ τὸ σὸν κατεαγῇ, τοιοῦτον εἶναί σε δεῖ, ὁποῖον ὅτε καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἄλλου κατεάγη. οὕτω μετατίθει καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ μείζονα. τέκνον ἄλλου τέθνηκεν ἢ γυνή; οὐδείς ἐστιν ὃς οὐκ ἂν εἴποι ὅτι ἀνθρώπινον· ἀλλʼ ὅταν τὸ αὐτοῦ τινος ἀποθάνῃ, εὐθὺς οἴμοι, τάλας ἐγώ. ἐχρῆν δὲ μεμνῆσθαι, τί πάσχομεν περὶ ἄλλων αὐτὸ ἀκούσαντες.\n\n### Chapter 27\n\n[27.1] ὥσπερ σκοπὸς πρὸς τὸ ἀποτυχεῖν οὐ τίθεται, οὕτως οὐδὲ κακοῦ φύσις ἐν κόσμῳ γίνεται.\n\n### Chapter 28\n\n[28.1] εἰ μὲν τὸ σῶμά σού τις ἐπέτρεπε τῷ ἀπαντήσαντι, ἠγανάκτεις ἄν· ὅτι δὲ σὺ τὴν γνώμην τὴν σεαυτοῦ ἐπιτρέπεις τῷ τυχόντι, ἵνα, ἐὰν λοιδορήσηταί σοι, ταραχθῇ ἐκείνη καὶ συγχυθῇ, οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ τούτου ἕνεκα;\n\n### Chapter 29\n\n[29.1] ἑκάστου ἔργου σκόπει τὰ καθηγούμενα καὶ τὰ ἀκόλουθα αὐτοῦ καὶ οὕτως ἔρχου ἐπʼ αὐτό. εἰ δὲ μή, τὴν μὲν πρώτην προθύμως ἥξεις ἅτε μηδὲν τῶν ἑξῆς ἐντεθυμημένος, ὕστερον δὲ ἀναφανέντων δυσχερῶν τινων αἰσχρῶς ἀποστήσῃ. θέλεις Ὀλύμπια νικῆσαι;\n\n[29.2] κἀγώ, νὴ τοὺς θεούς· κομψὸν γάρ ἐστιν. ἀλλὰ σκόπει τὰ καθηγούμενα καὶ τὰ ἀκόλουθα καὶ οὕτως ἅπτου τοῦ ἔργου. δεῖ σʼ εὐτακτεῖν, ἀναγκοτροφεῖν, ἀπέχεσθαι πεμμάτων, γυμνάζεσθαι πρὸς ἀνάγκην, ἐν ὥρᾳ τεταγμένῃ, ἐν καύματι, ἐν ψύχει, μὴ ψυχρὸν πίνειν, μὴ οἶνον, ὡς ἔτυχεν, ἁπλῶς ὡς ἰατρῷ παραδεδωκέναι σεαυτὸν τῷ ἐπιστάτῃ, εἶτα ἐν τῷ ἀγῶνι παρορύσσεσθαι, ἔστι δὲ ὅτε χεῖρα ἐκβαλεῖν, σφυρὸν στρέψαι, πολλὴν ἁφὴν καταπιεῖν, ἔσθʼ ὅτε μαστιγωθῆναι καὶ μετὰ τούτων πάντων νικηθῆναι.\n\n[29.3] ταῦτα ἐπισκεψάμενος, ἂν ἔτι θέλῃς, ἔρχου ἐπὶ τὸ ἀθλεῖν. εἰ δὲ μή, ὡς τὰ παιδία ἀναστραφήσῃ, ἃ νῦν μὲν παλαιστὰς παίζει, νῦν δὲ μονομάχους, νῦν δὲ σαλπίζει, εἶτα τραγῳδεῖ· οὕτω καὶ σὺ νῦν μὲν ἀθλητής, νῦν δὲ μονομάχος, εἶτα ῥήτωρ, εἶτα φιλόσοφος, ὅλῃ δὲ τῇ ψυχῇ οὐδέν· ἀλλʼ ὡς πίθηκος πᾶσαν θέαν, ἣν ἂν ἴδῃς, μιμῇ καὶ ἄλλο ἐξ ἄλλου σοι ἀρέσκει. οὐ γὰρ μετὰ σκέψεως ἦλθες ἐπί τι οὐδὲ περιοδεύσας, ἀλλʼ εἰκῇ καὶ κατὰ ψυχρὰν ἐπιθυμίαν.\n\n[29.4] οὕτω θεασάμενοί τινες φιλόσοφον καὶ ἀκούσαντες οὕτω τινὸς λέγοντος, ὡς Εὐφράτης λέγει (καίτοι τίς οὕτω δύναται εἰπεῖν, ὡς ἐκεῖνος;\n\n[29.5] ), θέλουσι καὶ αὐτοὶ φιλοσοφεῖν. ἄνθρωπε, πρῶτον ἐπίσκεψαι, ὁποῖόν ἐστι τὸ πρᾶγμα· εἶτα καὶ τὴν σεαυτοῦ φύσιν κατάμαθε, εἰ δύνασαι βαστάσαι. πένταθλος εἶναι βούλει ἢ παλαιστής; ἴδε σεαυτοῦ τοὺς βραχίονας, τοὺς μηρούς, τὴν ὀσφὺν κατάμαθε.\n\n[29.6] ἄλλος γὰρ πρὸς ἄλλο πέφυκε. δοκεῖς, ὅτι ταῦτα ποιῶν ὡσαύτως δύνασαι ἐσθίειν, ὡσαύτως πίνειν, ὁμοίως ὀρέγεσθαι, ὁμοίως δυσαρεστεῖν; ἀγρυπνῆσαι δεῖ, πονῆσαι, ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ἀπελθεῖν, ὑπὸ παιδαρίου καταφρονηθῆναι, ὑπὸ τῶν ἀπαντώντων καταγελασθῆναι, ἐν παντὶ ἧττον ἔχειν, ἐν τιμῇ, ἐν ἀρχῇ, ἐν δίκῃ, ἐν πραγματίῳ παντί.\n\n[29.7] ταῦτα ἐπίσκεψαι. εἰ θέλεις ἀντικαταλλάξασθαι τούτων ἀπάθειαν, ἐλευθερίαν, ἀταραξίαν· εἰ δὲ μή, μὴ προσάγαγε. μὴ ὡς τὰ παιδία νῦν φιλόσοφος, ὕστερον δὲ τελώνης, εἶτα ῥήτωρ, εἶτα ἐπίτροπος Καίσαρος. ταῦτα οὐ συμφωνεῖ. ἕνα σε δεῖ ἄνθρωπον ἢ ἀγαθὸν ἢ κακὸν εἶναι· ἢ τὸ ἡγεμονικόν σε δεῖ ἐξεργάζεσθαι τὸ σαυτοῦ ἢ τὸ ἐκτὸς ἢ περὶ τὰ ἔσω φιλοτεχνεῖν ἢ περὶ τὰ ἔξω· τοῦτʼ ἔστιν ἢ φιλοσόφου τάξιν ἐπέχειν ἢ ἰδιώτου.\n\n### Chapter 30\n\n[30.1] τὰ καθήκοντα ὡς ἐπίπαν ταῖς σχέσεσι παραμετρεῖται. πατήρ ἐστιν· ὑπαγορεύεται ἐπιμελεῖσθαι, παραχωρεῖν ἁπάντων, ἀνέχεσθαι λοιδοροῦντος, παίοντος. ἀλλὰ πατὴρ κακός ἐστι. μή τι οὖν πρὸς ἀγαθὸν πατέρα φύσει ᾠκειώθης; ἀλλὰ πρὸς πατέρα. ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἀδικεῖ. τήρει τοιγαροῦν τὴν τάξιν τὴν σεαυτοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν μηδὲ σκόπει, τί ἐκεῖνος ποιεῖ, ἀλλὰ τί σοὶ ποιήσαντι κατὰ φύσιν ἡ σὴ ἕξει προαίρεσις· σὲ γὰρ ἄλλος οὐ βλάψει, ἂν μὴ σὺ θέλῃς· τότε δὲ ἔσῃ βεβλαμμένος, ὅταν ὑπολάβῃς βλάπτεσθαι. οὕτως οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ γείτονος, ἀπὸ τοῦ πολίτου, ἀπὸ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ τὸ καθῆκον εὑρήσεις, ἐὰν τὰς σχέσεις ἐθίζῃ θεωρεῖν.\n\n### Chapter 31\n\n[31.1] τῆς περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσεβείας ἴσθι ὅτι τὸ κυριώτατον ἐκεῖνό ἐστιν, ὀρθὰς ὑπολήψεις περὶ αὐτῶν ἔχειν ὡς ὄντων καὶ διοικούντων τὰ ὅλα καλῶς καὶ δικαίως καὶ σαυτὸν εἰς τοῦτο κατατεταχέναι, τὸ πείθεσθαι αὐτοῖς καὶ εἴκειν πᾶσι τοῖς γινομένοις καὶ ἀκολουθεῖν ἑκόντα ὡς ὑπὸ τῆς ἀρίστης γνώμης ἐπιτελουμένοις. οὕτω γὰρ οὐ μέμψῃ ποτὲ τοὺς θεοὺς οὔτε ἐγκαλέσεις ὡς ἀμελούμενος.\n\n[31.2] ἄλλως δὲ οὐχ οἷόν τε τοῦτο γίνεσθαι, ἐὰν μὴ ἄρῃς ἀπὸ τῶν οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐφʼ ἡμῖν μόνοις θῇς τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸ κακόν. ὡς, ἄν γέ τι ἐκείνων ὑπολάβῃς ἀγαθὸν ἢ κακόν, πᾶσα ἀνάγκη, ὅταν ἀποτυγχάνῃς ὧν θέλεις καὶ περιπίπτῃς οἷς μὴ θέλεις, μέμψασθαί σε καὶ μισεῖν τοὺς αἰτίους.\n\n[31.3] πέφυκε γὰρ πρὸς τοῦτο πᾶν ζῷον τὰ μὲν βλαβερὰ φαινόμενα καὶ τὰ αἴτια αὐτῶν φεύγειν καὶ ἐκτρέπεσθαι, τὰ δὲ ὠφέλιμα καὶ τὰ αἴτια αὐτῶν μετιέναι τε καὶ τεθηπέναι. ἀμήχανον οὖν βλάπτεσθαί τινα οἰόμενον χαίρειν τῷ δοκοῦντι βλάπτειν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ αὐτῇ τῇ βλάβῃ χαίρειν ἀδύνατον.\n\n[31.4] ἔνθεν καὶ πατὴρ ὑπὸ υἱοῦ λοιδορεῖται, ὅταν τῶν δοκούντων ἀγαθῶν εἶναι τῷ παιδὶ μὴ μεταδιδῷ· καὶ Πολυνείκην καὶ Ἐτεοκλέα τοῦτʼ ἐποίησε πολεμίους ἀλλήλοις τὸ ἀγαθὸν οἴεσθαι τὴν τυραννίδα. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ γεωργὸς λοιδορεῖ τοὺς θεούς, διὰ τοῦτο ὁ ναύτης, διὰ τοῦτο ὁ ἔμπορος, διὰ τοῦτο οἱ τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ τὰ τέκνα ἀπολλύντες. ὅπου γὰρ τὸ συμφέρον, ἐπεῖ καὶ τὸ εὐσεβές. ὥστε, ὅστις ἐπιμελεῖται τοῦ ὀρέγεσθαι ὡς δεῖ καὶ ἐκκλίνειν, ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ καὶ εὐσεβείας ἐπιμελεῖται.\n\n[31.5] σπένδειν δὲ καὶ θύειν καὶ ἀπάρχεσθαι κατὰ τὰ πάτρια ἑκάστοτε προσήκει καθαρῶς καὶ μὴ ἐπισεσυρμένως μηδὲ ἀμελῶς μηδέ γε γλίσχρως μηδὲ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν.\n\n### Chapter 32\n\n[32.1] ὅταν μαντικῇ προσίῃς, μέμνησο, ὅτι, τί μὲν ἀποβήσεται, οὐκ οἶδας, ἀλλὰ ἥκεις ὡς παρὰ τοῦ μάντεως αὐτὸ πευσόμενος, ὁποῖον δέ τι ἐστίν, ἐλήλυθας εἰδώς, εἴπερ εἶ φιλόσοφος. εἰ γάρ ἐστί τι τῶν οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, πᾶσα ἀνάγκη μήτε ἀγαθὸν αὐτὸ εἶναι μήτε κακόν.\n\n[32.2] μὴ φέρε οὖν πρὸς τὸν μάντιν ὄρεξιν ἢ ἔκκλισιν μηδὲ τρέμων αὐτῷ πρόσει, ἀλλὰ διεγνωκώς, ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἀποβησόμενον ἀδιάφορον καὶ οὐδὲν πρὸς σέ, ὁποῖον δʼ ἂν ᾖ, ἔσται αὐτῷ χρήσασθαι καλῶς καὶ τοῦτο οὐθεὶς κωλύσει. θαῤῥῶν οὖν ὡς ἐπὶ συμβούλους ἔρχου τοὺς θεούς· καὶ λοιπόν, ὅταν τί σοι συμβουλευθῇ, μέμνησο τίνας συμβούλους παρέλαβες καὶ τίνων παρακούσεις ἀπειθήσας.\n\n[32.3] ἔρχου δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ μαντεύεσθαι, καθάπερ ἠξίου Σωκράτης, ἐφʼ ὧν ἡ πᾶσα σκέψις τὴν ἀναφορὰν εἰς τὴν ἔκβασιν ἔχει καὶ οὔτε ἐκ λόγου οὔτε ἐκ τέχνης τινὸς ἄλλης ἀφορμαὶ δίδονται πρὸς τὸ συνιδεῖν τὸ προκείμενον· ὥστε, ὅταν δεήσῃ συγκινδυνεῦσαι φίλῳ ἢ πατρίδι, μὴ μαντεύεσθαι, εἰ συγκινδυνευτέον. καὶ γὰρ ἂν προείπῃ σοι ὁ μάντις φαῦλα γεγονέναι τὰ ἱερά, δῆλον ὅτι θάνατος σημαίνεται ἢ πήρωσις μέρους τινὸς τοῦ σώματος ἢ φυγή· ἀλλʼ αἱρεῖ ὁ λόγος καὶ σὺν τούτοις παρίστασθαι τῷ φίλῳ καὶ τῇ πατρίδι συγκινδυνεύειν. τοιγαροῦν τῷ μείζονι μάντει πρόσεχε, τῷ Πυθίῳ, ὃς ἐξέβαλε τοῦ ναοῦ τὸν οὐ βοηθήσαντα ἀναιρουμένῳ τῷ φίλῳ.\n\n### Chapter 33\n\n[33.1] τάξον τινὰ ἤδη χαρακτῆρα σαυτῷ καὶ τύπον, ὃν φυλάξεις ἐπί τε σεαυτοῦ ὢν καὶ ἀνθρώποις ἐντυγχάνων.\n\n[33.2] καὶ σιωπὴ τὸ πολὺ ἔστω ἢ λαλείσθω τὰ ἀναγκαῖα καὶ διʼ ὀλίγων. σπανίως δέ ποτε καιροῦ παρακαλοῦντος ἐπὶ τὸ λέγειν λέξον μέν, ἀλλὰ περὶ οὐδενὸς τῶν τυχόντων· μὴ περὶ μονομαχιῶν, μὴ περὶ ἱπποδρομιῶν, μὴ περὶ ἀθλητῶν, μὴ περὶ βρωμάτων ἢ πομάτων, τῶν ἑκασταχοῦ, μάλιστα δὲ μὴ περὶ ἀνθρώπων ψέγων ἢ ἐπαινῶν ἢ συγκρίνων.\n\n[33.3] ἂν μὲν οὖν οἷός τε ᾖς, μετάγαγε τοῖς σοῖς λόγοις καὶ τοὺς τῶν συνόντων ἐπὶ τὸ προσῆκον. εἰ δὲ ἐν ἀλλοφύλοις ἀποληφθεὶς τύχοις, σιώπα.\n\n[33.4] γέλως μὴ πολὺς ἔστω μηδὲ ἐπὶ πολλοῖς μηδὲ ἀνειμένος.\n\n[33.5] ὅρκον παραίτησαι, εἰ μὲν οἷόν τε, εἰς ἅπαν, εἰ δὲ μή, ἐκ τῶν ἐνόντων. ἑστιάσεις τὰς ἔξω καὶ ἰδιωτικὰς διακρούου·\n\n[33.6] ἐὰν δέ ποτε γίνηται καιρός, ἐντετάσθω σοι ἡ προσοχή, μήποτε ἄρα ὑπορρυῇς εἰς ἰδιωτισμόν. ἴσθι γάρ, ὅτι, ἐὰν ὁ ἑταῖρος ᾖ μεμολυσμένος, καὶ τὸν συνανατριβόμενον αὐτῷ συμμολύνεσθαι ἀνάγκη, κἂν αὐτὸς ὢν τύχῃ καθαρός.\n\n[33.7] τὰ περὶ τὸ σῶμα μέχρι τῆς χρείας ψιλῆς παραλάμβανε, οἷον τροφάς, πόμα, ἀμπεχόνην, οἰκίαν, οἰκετίαν· τὸ δὲ πρὸς δόξαν ἢ τρυφὴν ἅπαν περίγραφε. περὶ ἀφροδίσια εἰς δύναμιν πρὸ γάμου καθαρευτέον·\n\n[33.8] ἁπτομένῳ δὲ ὧν νόμιμόν ἐστι μεταληπτέον. μὴ μέντοι ἐπαχθὴς γίνου τοῖς χρωμένοις μηδὲ ἐλεγκτικός· μηδὲ πολλαχοῦ τὸ ὅτι αὐτὸς οὐ χρῇ, παράφερε.\n\n[33.9] ἐὰν τίς σοι ἀπαγγείλῃ ὅτι ὁ δεῖνά σε κακῶς λέγει, μὴ ἀπολογοῦ πρὸς τὰ λεχθέντα, ἀλλʼ ἀποκρίνου διότι ἠγνόει γὰρ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ προσόντα μοι κακά, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἂν ταῦτα μόνα ἔλεγεν.\n\n[33.10] εἰς τὰ θέατρα τὸ πολὺ παριέναι οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον. εἰ δέ ποτε καιρὸς εἴη, μηδενὶ σπουδάζων φαίνου ἢ σεαυτῷ, τοῦτʼ ἔστι. θέλε γίνεσθαι μόνα τὰ γινόμενα καὶ νικᾶν μόνον τὸν νικῶντα· οὕτω γὰρ οὐκ ἐμποδισθήσῃ. βοῆς δὲ καὶ τοῦ ἐπιγελᾶν τινι ἢ ἐπὶ πολὺ συγκινεῖσθαι παντελῶς ἀπέχου. καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἀπαλλαγῆναι μὴ πολλὰ περὶ τῶν γεγενημένων διαλέγου, ὅσα μὴ φέρει πρὸς τὴν σὴν ἐπανόρθωσιν· ἐμφαίνεται γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου, ὅτι ἐθαύμασας τὴν θέαν.\n\n[33.11] εἰς ἀκροάσεις τινῶν μὴ εἰκῇ μηδὲ ῥᾳδίως πάριθι· παριὼν δὲ τὸ σεμνὸν καὶ τὸ εὐσταθὲς καὶ ἅμα ἀνεπαχθὲς φύλασσε.\n\n[33.12] ὅταν τινὶ μέλλῃς συμβαλεῖν, μάλιστα τῶν ἐν ὑπεροχῇ δοκούντων, πρόβαλε σαυτῷ, τί ἂν ἐποίησεν ἐν τούτῳ Σωκράτης ἢ Ζήνων, καὶ οὐκ ἀπορήσεις τοῦ χρήσασθαι προσηκόντως τῷ ἐμπεσόντι.\n\n[33.13] ὅταν φοιτᾷς πρός τινα τῶν μέγα δυναμένων, πρόβαλε, ὅτι οὐχ εὑρήσεις αὐτὸν ἔνδον, ὅτι ἀποκλεισθήσῃ, ὅτι ἐντιναχθήσονταί σοι αἱ θύραι, ὅτι οὐ φροντιεῖ σου. κἂν σὺν τούτοις ἐλθεῖν καθήκῃ, ἐλθὼν φέρε τὰ γινόμενα καὶ μηδέποτε εἴπῃς αὐτὸς πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ὅτι οὐκ ἦν τοσούτου· ἰδιωτικὸν γὰρ καὶ διαβεβλημένον πρὸς τὰ ἐκτός.\n\n[33.14] ἐν ταῖς ὁμιλίαις ἀπέστω τὸ ἑαυτοῦ τινων ἔργων ἢ κινδύνων ἐπὶ πολὺ καὶ ἀμέτρως μεμνῆσθαι. οὐ γάρ, ὡς σοὶ ἡδύ ἐστι τὸ τῶν σῶν κινδύνων μεμνῆσθαι, οὕτω καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἡδύ ἐστι τὸ τῶν σοὶ συμβεβηκότων ἀκούειν.\n\n[33.15] ἀπέστω δὲ καὶ τὸ γέλωτα κινεῖν· ὀλισθηρὸς γὰρ ὁ τρόπος εἰς ἰδιωτισμὸν καὶ ἅμα ἱκανὸς τὴν αἰδῶ τὴν πρὸς σὲ τῶν πλησίον ἀνιέναι.\n\n[33.16] ἐπισφαλὲς δὲ καὶ τὸ εἰς αἰσχρολογίαν προελθεῖν. ὅταν οὖν τι συμβῇ τοιοῦτον, ἂν μὲν εὔκαιρον ᾖ, καὶ ἐπίπληξον τῷ προελθόντι· εἰ δὲ μή, τῷ γε ἀποσιωπῆσαι καὶ ἐρυθριᾶσαι καὶ σκυθρωπάσαι δῆλος γίνου δυσχεραίνων τῷ λόγῳ.\n\n### Chapter 34\n\n[34.1] ὅταν ἡδονῆς τινος φαντασίαν λάβῃς, καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων, φύλασσε σαυτόν, μὴ συναρπασθῇς ὑπʼ αὐτῆς· ἀλλʼ ἐκδεξάσθω σε τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ ἀναβολήν τινα παρὰ σεαυτοῦ λάβε. ἔπειτα μνήσθητι ἀμφοτέρων τῶν χρόνων, καθʼ ὅν τε ἀπολαύσεις τῆς ἡδονῆς, καὶ καθʼ ὃν ἀπολαύσας ὕστερον μετανοήσεις καὶ αὐτὸς σεαυτῷ λοιδορήσῃ· καὶ τούτοις ἀντίθες ὅπως ἀποσχόμενος χαιρήσεις καὶ ἐπαινέσεις αὐτὸς σεαυτόν. ἐὰν δέ σοι καιρὸς φανῇ ἅψασθαι τοῦ ἔργου, πρόσεχε, μὴ ἡττήσῃ σε τὸ προσηνὲς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡδὺ καὶ ἐπαγωγόν· ἀλλʼ ἀντιτίθει, πόσῳ ἄμεινον τὸ συνειδέναι σεαυτῷ ταύτην τὴν νίκην νενικηκότι.\n\n### Chapter 35\n\n[35.1] ὅταν τι διαγνούς, ὅτι ποιητέον ἐστί, ποιῇς, μηδέποτε φύγῃς ὀφθῆναι πράσσων αὐτό, κἂν ἀλλοῖόν τι μέλλωσιν οἱ πολλοὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ ὑπολαμβάνειν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ὀρθῶς ποιεῖς, αὐτὸ τὸ ἔργον φεῦγε· εἰ δὲ ὀρθῶς, τί φοβῇ τοὺς ἐπιπλήξοντας οὐκ ὀρθῶς;\n\n### Chapter 36\n\n[36.1] ὡς τὸ ἡμέρα ἐστί καὶ νύξ ἐστι πρὸς μὲν τὸ διεζευγμένον μεγάλην ἔχει ἀξίαν, πρὸς δὲ τὸ συμπεπλεγμένον ἀπαξίαν, οὕτω καὶ τὸ τὴν μείζω μερίδα ἐκλέξασθαι πρὸς μὲν τὸ σῶμα ἐχέτω ἀξίαν, πρὸς δὲ τὸ τὸ κοινωνικὸν ἐν ἑστιάσει, οἷον δεῖ, φυλάξαι, ἀπαξίαν ἔχει. ὅταν οὖν συνεσθίῃς ἑτέρῳ, μέμνησο, μὴ μόνον τὴν πρὸς τὸ σῶμα ἀξίαν τῶν παρακειμένων ὁρᾶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἑστιάτορα αἰδῶ φυλάξαι.\n\n### Chapter 37\n\n[37.1] ἐὰν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἀναλάβῃς τι πρόσωπον, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἠσχημόνησας καί, ὃ ἠδύνασο ἐκπληρῶσαι, παρέλιπες.\n\n### Chapter 38\n\n[38.1] ἐν τῷ περιπατεῖν καθάπερ προσέχεις, μὴ ἐπιβῇς ἥλῳ ἢ στρέψῃς τὸν πόδα σου, οὕτω πρόσεχε, μὴ καὶ τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν βλάψῃς τὸ σεαυτοῦ. καὶ τοῦτο ἐὰν ἐφʼ ἑκάστου ἔργου παραφυλάσσωμεν, ἀσφαλέστερον ἁψόμεθα τοῦ ἔργου.\n\n### Chapter 39\n\n[39.1] μέτρον κτήσεως τὸ σῶμα ἑκάστῳ ὡς ὁ ποὺς ὑποδήματος. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τούτου στῇς, φυλάξεις τὸ μέτρον· ἐὰν δὲ ὑπερβῇς, ὡς κατὰ κρημνοῦ λοιπὸν ἀνάγκη φέρεσθαι· καθάπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὑποδήματος, ἐὰν ὑπὲρ τὸν πόδα ὑπερβῇς, γίνεται κατάχρυσον ὑπόδημα, εἶτα πορφυροῦν, κεντητόν. τοῦ γὰρ ἅπαξ ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτρον ὅρος οὐθείς ἐστιν.\n\n### Chapter 40\n\n[40.1] αἱ γυναῖκες εὐθὺς ἀπὸ τεσσαρεσκαίδεκα ἐτῶν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνδρῶν κυρίαι καλοῦνται. τοιγαροῦν ὁρῶσαι, ὅτι ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν αὐταῖς πρόσεστι, μόνον δὲ συγκοιμῶνται τοῖς ἀνδράσι, ἄρχονται καλλωπίζεσθαι καὶ ἐν τούτῳ πάσας ἔχειν τὰς ἐλπίδας. προσέχειν οὖν ἄξιον, ἵνα αἴσθωνται, διότι ἐπʼ οὐδενὶ ἄλλῳ τιμῶνται ἢ τῷ κόσμιαι φαίνεσθαι καὶ αἰδήμονες.\n\n### Chapter 41\n\n[41.1] Ἀφυΐας σημεῖον τὸ ἐνδιατρίβειν τοῖς περὶ τὸ σῶμα, οἷον ἐπὶ πολὺ γυμνάζεσθαι, ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐσθίειν, ἐπὶ πολὺ πίνειν, ἐπὶ πολὺ ἀποπατεῖν, ὀχεύειν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν παρέργῳ ποιητέον· περὶ δὲ τὴν γνώμην ἡ πᾶσα ἔστω ἐπιστροφή.\n\n### Chapter 42\n\n[42.1] ὅταν σέ τις κακῶς ποιῇ ἢ κακῶς λέγῃ, μέμνησο, ὅτι καθήκειν αὐτῷ οἰόμενος ποιεῖ ἢ λέγει. οὐχ οἷόν τε οὖν ἀκολουθεῖν αὐτὸν τῷ σοὶ φαινομένῳ, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἑαυτῷ, ὥστε, εἰ κακῶς αὐτῷ φαίνεται, ἐκεῖνος βλάπτεται, ὅστις καὶ ἐξηπάτηται. καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἀληθὲς συμπεπλεγμένον ἄν τις ὑπολάβῃ ψεῦδος, οὐ τὸ συμπεπλεγμένον βέβλαπται, ἀλλʼ ὁ ἐξαπατηθείς. ἀπὸ τούτων οὖν ὁρμώμενος πρᾴως ἕξεις πρὸς τὸν λοιδοροῦντα. ἐπιφθέγγου γὰρ ἐφʼ ἑκάστῳ ὅτι ἔδοξεν αὐτῷ.\n\n### Chapter 43\n\n[43.1] πᾶν πρᾶγμα δύο ἔχει λαβάς, τὴν μὲν φορητήν, τὴν δὲ ἀφόρητον. ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐὰν ἀδικῇ, ἐντεῦθεν αὐτὸ μὴ λάμβανε, ὅτι ἀδικεῖ (αὕτη γὰρ ἡ λαβή ἐστιν αὐτοῦ οὐ φορητή), ἀλλὰ ἐκεῖθεν μᾶλλον, ὅτι ἀδελφός, ὅτι σύντροφος, καὶ λήψῃ αὐτὸ καθʼ ὃ φορητόν.\n\n### Chapter 44\n\n[44.1] οὗτοι οἱ λόγοι ἀσύνακτοι ἐγώ σου πλουσιώτερός εἰμι, ἐγώ σου ἄρα κρείσσων· ἐγώ σου λογιώτερος, ἐγώ σου ἄρα κρείσσων. ἐκεῖνοι δὲ μᾶλλον συνακτικοί ἐγώ σου πλουσιώτερός εἰμι, ἡ ἐμὴ ἄρα κτῆσις τῆς σῆς κρείσσων· ἐγώ σου λογιώτερος, ἡ ἐμὴ ἄρα λέξις τῆς σῆς κρείσσων. σὺ δέ γε οὔτε κτῆσις εἶ οὔτε λέξις.\n\n### Chapter 45\n\n[45.1] λούεταί τις ταχέως· μὴ εἴπῃς ὅτι κακῶς, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ταχέως. πίνει τις πολὺν οἶνον· μὴ εἴπῃς ὅτι κακῶς, ἀλλʼ ὅτι πολύν. πρὶν γὰρ διαγνῶναι τὸ δόγμα, πόθεν οἶσθα, εἰ κακῶς; οὕτως οὐ συμβήσεταί σοι ἄλλων μὲν φαντασίας καταληπτικὰς λαμβάνειν, ἄλλοις δὲ συγκατατίθεσθαι.\n\n### Chapter 46\n\n[46.1] μηδαμοῦ σεαυτὸν εἴπῃς φιλόσοφον μηδὲ λάλει τὸ πολὺ ἐν ἰδιώταις περὶ τῶν θεωρημάτων, ἀλλὰ ποίει τὸ ἀπὸ τῶν θεωρημάτων· οἷον ἐν συμποσίῳ μὴ λέγε, πῶς δεῖ ἐσθίειν, ἀλλʼ ἔσθιε, ὡς δεῖ. μέμνησο γάρ, ὅτι οὕτως ἀφῃρήκει πανταχόθεν Σωκράτης τὸ ἐπιδεικτικόν, ὥστε ἤρχοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν βουλόμενοι φιλοσόφοις ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ συσταθῆναι, κἀκεῖνος ἀπῆγεν αὐτούς.\n\n[46.2] οὕτως ἠνείχετο παρορώμενος. κἂν περὶ θεωρήματός τινος ἐν ἰδιώταις ἐμπίπτῃ λόγος, σιώπα τὸ πολύ· μέγας γὰρ ὁ κίνδυνος εὐθὺς ἐξεμέσαι, ὃ οὐκ ἔπεψας. καὶ ὅταν εἴπῃ σοί τις, ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶσθα, καὶ σὺ μὴ δηχθῇς, τότε ἴσθι, ὅτι ἄρχῃ τοῦ ἔργου. ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ πρόβατα οὐ χόρτον φέροντα τοῖς ποιμέσιν ἐπιδεικνύει πόσον, ἔφαγεν, ἀλλὰ τὴν νομὴν ἔσω πέψαντα ἔρια ἔξω φέρει καὶ γάλα· καὶ σὺ τοίνυν μὴ τὰ θεωρήματα τοῖς ἰδιώταις ἐπιδείκνυε, ἀλλʼ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν πεφθέντων τὰ ἔργα.\n\n### Chapter 47\n\n[47.1] ὅταν εὐτελῶς ἡρμοσμένος ᾖς κατὰ τὸ σῶμα, μὴ καλλωπίζου ἐπὶ τούτῳ μήδʼ, ἂν ὕδωρ πίνῃς, ἐκ πάσης ἀφορμῆς λέγε, ὅτι ὕδωρ πίνεις. κἂν ἀσκῆσαί ποτε πρὸς πόνον θέλῃς. σεαυτῷ καὶ μὴ τοῖς ἔξω· μὴ τοὺς ἀνδριάντας περιλάμβανε· ἀλλὰ διψῶν ποτε σφοδρῶς ἐπίσπασαι ψυχροῦ ὕδατος καὶ ἔκπτυσον καὶ μηδενὶ εἴπῃς.\n\n### Chapter 48\n\n[48.1] ἰδιώτου στάσις καὶ χαρακτήρ· οὐδέποτε ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ προσδοκᾷ ὠφέλειαν ἢ βλάβην, ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξω. φιλοσόφου στάσις καὶ χαρακτήρ· πᾶσαν ὠφέλειαν καὶ βλάβην ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ προσδοκᾷ.\n\n[48.2] σημεῖα προκόπτοντος· οὐδένα ψέγει, οὐδένα ἐπαινεῖ, οὐδένα μέμφεται, οὐδενὶ ἐγκαλεῖ, οὐδὲν περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λέγει ὡς ὄντος τινὸς ἢ εἰδότος τι. ὅταν ἐμποδισθῇ τι ἢ κωλυθῇ, ἑαυτῷ ἐγκαλεῖ. κἄν τις αὐτὸν ἐπαινῇ, καταγελᾷ τοῦ ἐπαινοῦντος αὐτὸς παρʼ ἑαυτῷ· κἂν ψέγῃ, οὐκ ἀπολογεῖται. περίεισι δὲ καθάπερ οἱ ἄρρωστοι, εὐλαβούμενός τι κινῆσαι τῶν καθισταμένων, πρὶν πῆξιν λαβεῖν.\n\n[48.3] ὄρεξιν ἅπασαν ἦρκεν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ· τὴν δʼ ἔκκλισιν εἰς μόνα τὰ παρὰ φύσιν τῶν ἐφʼ ἡμῖν μετατέθεικεν. ὁρμῇ πρὸς ἅπαντα ἀνειμένῃ χρῆται. ἂν ἠλίθιος ἢ ἀμαθὴς δοκῇ, οὐ πεφρόντικεν. ἐνί τε λόγῳ, ὡς ἐχθρὸν ἑαυτὸν παραφυλάσσει καὶ ἐπίβουλον.\n\n### Chapter 49\n\n[49.1] ὅταν τις ἐπὶ τῷ νοεῖν καὶ ἐξηγεῖσθαι δύνασθαι τὰ Χρυσίππου βιβλία σεμνύνηται, λέγε αὐτὸς πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ὅτι εἰ μὴ Χρύσιππος ἀσαφῶς ἐγεγράφει, οὐδὲν ἂν εἶχεν οὗτος, ἐφʼ ᾧ ἐσεμνύνετο. ἐγὼ δὲ τί βούλομαι; καταμαθεῖν τὴν φύσιν καὶ ταύτῃ ἕπεσθαι. ζητῶ οὖν, τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἐξηγούμενος· καὶ ἀκούσας, ὅτι Χρύσιππος, ἔρχομαι πρὸς αὐτόν. ἀλλʼ οὐ νοῶ τὰ γεγραμμένα· ζητῶ οὖν τὸν ἐξηγούμενον. καὶ μέχρι τούτων οὔπω σεμνὸν οὐδέν. ὅταν δὲ εὕρω τὸν ἐξηγούμενον, ἀπολείπεται χρῆσθαι τοῖς παρηγγελμένοις· τοῦτο αὐτὸ μόνον σεμνόν ἐστιν. ἂν δὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ ἐξηγεῖσθαι θαυμάσω, τί ἄλλο ἢ γραμματικὸς ἀπετελέσθην ἀντὶ φιλοσόφου; πλήν γε δὴ ὅτι ἀντὶ Ὁμήρου Χρύσιππον ἐξηγούμενος. μᾶλλον οὖν, ὅταν τις εἴπῃ μοι ἐπανάγνωθί μοι Χρύσιππον, ἐρυθριῶ, ὅταν μὴ δύνωμαι ὅμοια τὰ ἔργα καὶ σύμφωνα ἐπιδεικνύειν τοῖς λόγοις.\n\n### Chapter 50\n\n[50.1] ὅσα προτίθεται, τούτοις ὡς νόμοις, ὡς ἀσεβήσων, ἂν παραβῇς, ἔμμενε. ὅ τι δʼ ἂν ἐρῇ τις περὶ σοῦ, μὴ ἐπιστρέφου· τοῦτο γὰρ οὐκ ἔτʼ ἔστι σόν.\n\n### Chapter 51\n\n[51.1] εἰς ποῖον ἔτι χρόνον ἀναβάλλῃ τὸ τῶν βελτίστων ἀξιοῦν σεαυτὸν καὶ ἐν μηδενὶ παραβαίνειν τὸν διαιροῦντα λόγον; παρείληφας τὰ θεωρήματα, οἷς ἔδει σε συμβάλλειν, καὶ συμβέβληκας. ποῖον οὖν ἔτι διδάσκαλον προσδοκᾷς, ἵνα εἰς ἐκεῖνον ὑπερθῇ τὴν ἐπανόρθωσιν ποιῆσαι τὴν σεαυτοῦ; οὐκ ἔτι εἶ μειράκιον, ἀλλὰ ἀνὴρ ἤδη τέλειος. ἂν νῦν ἀμελήσῃς καὶ ῥᾳθυμήσῃς καὶ ἀεὶ προθέσεις ἐκ προθέσεως ποιῇ καὶ ἡμέρας ἄλλας ἐπʼ ἄλλαις ὁρίζῃς, μεθʼ ἃς προσέξεις σεαυτῷ, λήσεις σεαυτὸν οὐ προκόψας, ἀλλʼ ἰδιώτης διατελέσεις καὶ ζῶν καὶ ἀποθνῄσκων.\n\n[51.2] ἤδη οὖν ἀξίωσον σεαυτὸν βιοῦν ὡς τέλειον καὶ προκόπτοντα· καὶ πᾶν τὸ βέλτιστον φαινόμενον ἔστω σοι νόμος ἀπαράβατος. κἂν ἐπίπονόν τι ἢ ἡδὺ ἢ ἔνδοξον ἢ ἄδοξον προσάγηται, μέμνησο, ὅτι νῦν ὁ ἀγὼν καὶ ἤδη πάρεστι τὰ Ὀλύμπια καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀναβάλλεσθαι οὐκέτι καὶ ὅτι παρὰ μίαν ἡμέραν καὶ ἓν πρᾶγμα καὶ ἀπόλλυται προκοπὴ καὶ σῴζεται.\n\n[51.3] Σωκράτης οὕτως ἀπετελέσθη, ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν προσαγομένων αὐτῷ μηδενὶ ἄλλῳ προσέχων ἢ τῷ λόγῳ. σὺ δὲ εἰ καὶ μήπω εἶ Σωκράτης, ὡς Σωκράτης γε εἶναι βουλόμενος ὀφείλεις βιοῦν.\n\n### Chapter 52\n\n[52.1] ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ἀναγκαιότατος τόπος ἐστὶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ ὁ τῆς χρήσεως τῶν θεωρημάτων, οἷον τὸ μὴ ψεύδεσθαι· ὁ δεύτερος ὁ τῶν ἀποδείξεων, οἷον πόθεν ὅτι οὐ δεῖ ψεύδεσθαι· τρίτος ὁ αὐτῶν τούτων βεβαιωτικὸς καὶ διαρθρωτικός, οἷον πόθεν ὅτι τοῦτο ἀπόδειξις; τί γάρ ἐστιν ἀπόδειξις, τί ἀκολουθία, τί μάχη, τί ἀληθές, τί ψεῦδος;\n\n[52.2] οὐκοῦν ὁ μὲν τρίτος τόπος ἀναγκαῖος διὰ τὸν δεύτερον, ὁ δὲ δεύτερος διὰ τὸν πρῶτον· ὁ δὲ ἀναγκαιότατος καὶ ὅπου ἀναπαύεσθαι δεῖ, ὁ πρῶτος. ἡμεῖς δὲ ἔμπαλιν ποιοῦμεν· ἐν γὰρ τῷ τρίτῳ τόπῳ διατρίβομεν καὶ περὶ ἐκεῖνόν ἐστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πᾶσα σπουδή· τοῦ δὲ πρώτου παντελῶς ἀμελοῦμεν. τοιγαροῦν ψευδόμεθα μέν, πῶς δὲ ἀποδείκνυται ὅτι οὐ δεῖ ψεύδεσθαι, πρόχειρον ἔχομεν.\n\n### Chapter 53\n\n[53.1] ἐπὶ παντὸς πρόχειρα ἑκτέον ταῦτα· ἄγου δέ μʼ, ὦ Ζεῦ, καὶ σύ γʼ ἡ Πεπρωμένη, ὅποι ποθʼ ὑμῖν εἰμι διατεταγμένος· ὡς ἕψομαί γʼ ἄοκνος· ἢν δέ γε μὴ θέλω, κακὸς γενόμενος, οὐδὲν ἧττον ἕψομαι.\n\n[53.2] ὅστις δʼ ἀνάγκῃ συγκεχώρηκεν καλῶς, σοφὸς παρʼ ἡμῖν, καὶ τὰ θεῖʼ ἐπίσταται.\n\n[53.3] ἀλλʼ, ὦ Κρίτων, εἰ ταύτῃ τοῖς θεοῖς φίλον, ταύτῃ γενέσθω.\n\n[53.4] ἐμὲ δὲ Ἄνυτος καὶ Μέλιτος ἀποκτεῖναι μὲν δύνανται, βλάψαι δὲ οὔ.","download_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/enchiridion/original.txt"},"translations":[{"id":"trn_enchiridion_mouseia","translator":"Mouseia","kind":"curated","note":"Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from all 53 Ancient Greek chapters and 105 sections for fidelity, Stoic precision, clarity, structure, and cadence.","text":"### Chapter 1\n\n[1.1] Some things are up to us, and some are not up to us. Up to us are judgment, impulse, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is our own doing; not up to us are the body, possessions, reputation, offices, and, in a word, whatever is not our own doing.\n\n[1.2] The things up to us are by nature free, unhindered, and unimpeded; the things not up to us are weak, enslaved, subject to hindrance, and not our own.\n\n[1.3] Remember, then, that if you suppose what is by nature enslaved to be free, and what is not your own to be your own, you will be hindered, you will mourn, you will be troubled, and you will blame both gods and human beings. But if you suppose only what is yours to be yours, and what is not your own to be, as it truly is, not your own, no one will ever compel you, no one will hinder you; you will blame no one, accuse no one, and do nothing against your will; no one will harm you, and you will have no enemy, for you will suffer no harm.\n\n[1.4] Since you aspire to such great things, remember that you must not undertake them with only moderate effort, but must give up some things altogether and postpone others for the present. But if you want these things and at the same time want office and wealth, you may well fail to obtain even office and wealth because you aspire to the former things as well; and you will certainly fail to attain those things through which alone freedom and happiness are secured.\n\n[1.5] Therefore, whenever a harsh impression strikes you, train yourself to say to it at once, “You are an impression, and not necessarily what you appear to be.” Then examine it and test it by the standards you possess, first and above all by this one: whether it concerns things that are up to us or things that are not up to us. And if it concerns anything not up to us, let this thought be ready at hand: “It is nothing to me.”\n\n### Chapter 2\n\n[2.1] Remember that desire promises the attainment of what you desire, while aversion promises that you will not fall into what you seek to avoid; and the person who fails in desire is unfortunate, while the person who falls into what he seeks to avoid is miserable. If, then, you avoid only what is contrary to nature among the things up to you, you will fall into none of the things you seek to avoid. But if you seek to avoid illness, death, or poverty, you will be miserable.\n\n[2.2] Remove your aversion, then, from everything not up to us, and transfer it to what is contrary to nature among the things up to us. For the present, suppress desire altogether; for if you desire anything not up to us, you are bound to be unfortunate, while none of the things up to us that it would be noble to desire is yet within your reach. Make use only of impulse to act and impulse not to act, and even these lightly, with reservation, and without strain.\n\n### Chapter 3\n\n[3.1] With everything that delights you, serves a use, or is dear to you, remember to tell yourself what kind of thing it is, beginning with the smallest things. If you are fond of a pot, say, “I am fond of a pot”; for when it is broken, you will not be troubled. If you kiss your child or your wife, say, “I am kissing a human being”; for when that person dies, you will not be troubled.\n\n### Chapter 4\n\n[4.1] Whenever you are about to undertake some action, remind yourself what kind of action it is. If you are going out to bathe, set before your mind the things that happen at a public bath: people splashing water, jostling one another, hurling abuse, and stealing. You will undertake the action more securely if you say to yourself at the outset, “I want to bathe, and I also want to preserve my moral purpose in accordance with nature.” And do the same with every action. For then, if anything hinders you from bathing, this thought will be ready at hand: “But bathing was not the only thing I wanted; I also wanted to preserve my moral purpose in accordance with nature. And I will not preserve it if I become indignant at what happens.”\n\n### Chapter 5\n\n[5.1] People are troubled not by things, but by their judgments about things. Death, for example, is nothing terrible, or else it would have appeared so even to Socrates. Rather, the judgment that death is terrible—that is what is terrible. Therefore, whenever we are hindered, troubled, or distressed, let us never blame anyone else, but ourselves—that is, our own judgments. It is the act of an uneducated person to blame others for his own bad condition; of one who has begun his education, to blame himself; and of one whose education is complete, to blame neither another nor himself.\n\n### Chapter 6\n\n[6.1] Do not take pride in any excellence that is not your own. If a horse were to say proudly, “I am beautiful,” that would be bearable. But when you say proudly, “I have a beautiful horse,” know that you are taking pride in a good quality belonging to the horse. What, then, is your own? The use you make of impressions. Thus, when you conduct yourself in accordance with nature in your use of impressions, then you may take pride; for then you will be taking pride in a good quality that is truly your own.\n\n### Chapter 7\n\n[7.1] When a ship lies at anchor on a voyage and you go ashore for water, you may pick up a little shellfish or a bulb along the way; but your mind must remain fixed on the ship, and you must keep looking back, lest the captain call. And if he calls, you must leave all those things behind, so that you are not thrown aboard bound like a sheep. So it is in life as well: if, instead of a bulb and a shellfish, you are given a wife and child, nothing prevents you from accepting them. But if the captain calls, run to the ship, leaving all those things behind without even looking back. And if you are old, never stray far from the ship, lest you fail to answer when he calls.\n\n### Chapter 8\n\n[8.1] Do not seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go smoothly.\n\n### Chapter 9\n\n[9.1] Illness is an impediment to the body, but not to moral purpose, unless moral purpose itself so wills. Lameness is an impediment to the leg, but not to moral purpose. Say this to yourself about everything that befalls you; for you will find that it is an impediment to something else, but not to you.\n\n### Chapter 10\n\n[10.1] With everything that befalls you, remember to turn inward and ask what capacity you possess for making proper use of it. If you see a beautiful man or woman, you will find self-control as the capacity to meet it. If hardship is laid upon you, you will find endurance; if abuse, you will find forbearance. And when you have trained yourself in this way, your impressions will not sweep you away.\n\n### Chapter 11\n\n[11.1] Never say of anything, “I have lost it,” but rather, “I have given it back.” Has your child died? It was given back. Has your wife died? She was given back. Has your farm been taken away? Then this too was given back. “But the man who took it is wicked.” What concern is it of yours through whom the giver demanded its return? So long as he gives it to you, care for it as something not your own, as travelers care for an inn.\n\n### Chapter 12\n\n[12.1] If you wish to make progress, abandon such reflections as these: “If I neglect my affairs, I shall have no means of support”; “If I do not punish my servant, he will turn out badly.” For it is better to die of hunger, free from grief and fear, than to live amid abundance in a state of turmoil. And it is better for your servant to be bad than for you to be miserable.\n\n[12.2] Begin, then, with little things. A little oil is spilled; a little wine is stolen. Say to yourself, “This is the price of freedom from passion; this is the price of tranquility.” Nothing is gained for nothing. And when you call your servant, bear in mind that he may not answer, and that even if he answers, he may do none of the things you want. But he is not so well placed that your freedom from disturbance should depend on him.\n\n### Chapter 13\n\n[13.1] If you wish to make progress, endure being thought foolish and stupid with regard to external things. Do not wish to appear knowledgeable; and even if some people think you are somebody, distrust yourself. For know that it is not easy both to preserve your faculty of choice in accordance with nature and to attend to external things; if you care for one, you are bound to neglect the other.\n\n### Chapter 14\n\n[14.1] If you wish your children, your wife, and your friends to live forever, you are foolish; for you wish things not under your control to be under your control, and things belonging to others to be your own. In the same way, if you wish your servant never to do wrong, you are a fool; for you wish vice not to be vice, but something else. Yet if you wish never to fail in attaining what you desire, that is within your power. Practice, then, what is within your power.\n\n[14.2] The master of each person is whoever has the power to secure or take away the things that person desires or wishes to avoid. Whoever, then, wishes to be free must neither desire nor seek to avoid anything that is under the control of others; otherwise, he must necessarily be a slave.\n\n### Chapter 15\n\n[15.1] Remember that you must conduct yourself as at a banquet. Has something being passed around come to you? Reach out your hand and take your share with decorum. Is it passing you by? Do not hold it back. Has it not yet reached you? Do not cast your desire forward toward it, but wait until it comes to you. Act this way toward children, toward a wife, toward offices, toward wealth, and someday you will be worthy to share the banquet of the gods. But if, even when these things are set before you, you do not take them but disdain them, then you will be not only a guest at the banquet of the gods but also a partner in their rule. For by acting in this way Diogenes, Heraclitus, and men like them deservedly were divine and were called so.\n\n### Chapter 16\n\n[16.1] When you see someone weeping in grief because his child is away from home or because he has lost his possessions, take care that you are not swept away by the impression that he is beset by external misfortunes. Instead, let this thought be ready at hand: “What distresses this man is not what has happened—for it does not distress another—but his judgment about it.” Yet do not hesitate to sympathize with him in words and, if occasion calls for it, even to groan with him; but take care that you do not groan inwardly as well.\n\n### Chapter 17\n\n[17.1] Remember that you are an actor in a play of whatever kind the playwright wishes: if a short one, then in a short play; if a long one, then in a long play. If he wishes you to play a beggar, see that you play even this part skillfully; and likewise if your part is a cripple, a magistrate, or a private citizen. For this is your business: to play well the role that has been given to you. But to choose that role belongs to another.\n\n### Chapter 18\n\n[18.1] When a raven croaks an ill omen, do not let the impression sweep you away. At once distinguish within yourself and say, “None of these signs concerns me, but only my poor body, my little property, my paltry reputation, my children, or my wife. For me every sign is auspicious, if I wish it to be; for whatever may result from these things, it is within my power to profit from it.”\n\n### Chapter 19\n\n[19.1] You can be invincible if you enter no contest in which victory is not under your control.\n\n[19.2] Take care that, when you see someone preferred above others, wielding great power, or held in high esteem in some other way, you are not swept away by the impression and pronounce him blessed. For if the essence of the good lies in things under our control, there is no place for either envy or jealousy; and you yourself will not wish to be a general, a chief magistrate, or a consul, but to be free. And there is only one road to freedom: contempt for the things not under our control.\n\n### Chapter 20\n\n[20.1] Remember that it is not the person who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your judgment that such people are insulting you. Therefore, whenever someone provokes you, know that it is your own opinion that has provoked you. Above all, then, try not to be swept away by the impression; for if once you gain time and delay, you will more easily master yourself.\n\n### Chapter 21\n\n[21.1] Let death and exile and everything that appears terrible be daily before your eyes, above all death; and you will never entertain any abject thought or desire anything to excess.\n\n### Chapter 22\n\n[22.1] If you desire philosophy, prepare yourself from the outset to be ridiculed and mocked by many, and to hear them say, “He has suddenly come back to us a philosopher,” and, “Where did he get that lofty brow?” But do not put on a lofty brow. Hold fast, rather, to the things that seem best to you, as one appointed by God to this station. And remember that if you remain steadfast in the same principles, those who formerly ridiculed you will afterward admire you; but if you yield to them, you will incur ridicule twice over.\n\n### Chapter 23\n\n[23.1] If ever you happen to turn outward, desiring to please someone, know that you have lost your position. Be content, then, in everything, simply to be a philosopher; and if you also wish to appear one, appear so to yourself, and that will be enough.\n\n### Chapter 24\n\n[24.1] Do not let these reflections distress you: “I shall live without honor and be nobody anywhere.” For if lack of honor is an evil, you can no more be involved in evil through another person than in disgrace. Is it any business of yours, then, to obtain public office or to be invited to a banquet? Not at all. How, then, can this still be a lack of honor? And how will you be nobody anywhere, when you need be somebody only in those things that are up to you, in which it is possible for you to be a person of the greatest worth?\n\n[24.2] “But your friends will be left without help.” What do you mean by “without help”? They will receive no small change from you, nor will you make them Roman citizens. But who told you that these things are among those that are up to us, rather than being the business of others? And who can give another what he does not possess himself? “Acquire them, then,” someone says, “so that we may have them.”\n\n[24.3] If I can acquire them while preserving myself as self-respecting, trustworthy, and noble-minded, show me the way, and I will acquire them. But if you expect me to lose the good things that are my own so that you may secure things that are not good, see for yourselves how unfair and ungrateful you are. And which do you really want more: money, or a trustworthy and self-respecting friend? Help me, then, toward the latter instead, and do not expect me to act in ways that will make me cast away those very qualities.\n\n[24.4] “But my country,” someone says, “so far as it depends on me, will be left without help.” Again, what kind of help do you mean? It will have no colonnades or baths through you. And what of it? It does not have shoes through the blacksmith, either, or weapons through the shoemaker; it is enough if each person fulfills his own function. And if you furnished your country with another citizen who was trustworthy and self-respecting, would you not benefit it at all? “Yes.” Then neither would you yourself be useless to it. “What place, then,” he says, “shall I have in the city?” Whatever place you can hold while at the same time preserving the trustworthy and self-respecting man.\n\n[24.5] But if, in your desire to benefit your country, you cast these qualities away, what benefit could you be to it once you had become shameless and untrustworthy?\n\n### Chapter 25\n\n[25.1] Has someone been preferred to you at a banquet, in being greeted, or in being invited to give counsel? If these things are good, you ought to rejoice that he has obtained them; but if they are bad, do not be distressed that you have not obtained them. And remember that if you do not do the same things others do to obtain what is not up to us, you cannot claim an equal share of it.\n\n[25.2] For how can the person who does not frequent someone’s door have an equal share with the person who does? Or the person who does not escort him with the person who does? Or the person who does not praise him with the person who does? You will therefore be unjust and greedy if, without paying the price for which those things are sold, you wish to receive them free of charge.\n\n[25.3] But how much do lettuces sell for? An obol, perhaps. If someone pays the obol and receives the lettuces, while you do not pay it and do not receive them, do not imagine that you have less than the person who received them. For just as he has the lettuces, so you have the obol you did not give.\n\n[25.4] It is the same in this case. You were not invited to someone’s banquet? That is because you did not pay the host the price for which he sells his dinner. He sells it for praise; he sells it for obsequious attention. Pay the price, then, if it is to your advantage, for which it is sold. But if you wish both to withhold the payment and to receive the goods, you are greedy and foolish.\n\n[25.5] Have you nothing, then, in place of the dinner? Indeed you have: you did not praise the man you did not wish to praise, and you did not have to endure the treatment handed out at his door.\n\n### Chapter 26\n\n[26.1] The will of nature may be learned from those matters in which we do not differ from one another. For example, when another person’s little slave breaks a cup, the ready response is, “These things happen.” Know, then, that when your own cup is broken, you ought to be just as you were when another person’s was broken. Apply the same principle to greater matters. Someone else’s child or wife has died. There is no one who would not say, “Such is the human lot.” But when one’s own child or wife dies, the immediate cry is, “Alas! Wretched me!” Yet we ought to remember how we feel when we hear that the same thing has happened to others.\n\n### Chapter 27\n\n[27.1] Just as a target is not set up in order to be missed, so no nature of evil comes into being in the universe.\n\n### Chapter 28\n\n[28.1] If someone entrusted your body to any passerby, you would be indignant. Yet you entrust your own mind to anyone at all, so that if he abuses you, it is troubled and thrown into confusion. Are you not ashamed of this?\n\n### Chapter 29\n\n[29.1] In every undertaking, consider what comes before it and what follows it, and only then set your hand to it. Otherwise, you will approach it eagerly at first, because you have given no thought to what comes afterward; but later, when difficulties appear, you will shamefully abandon it. Do you wish to win at Olympia?\n\n[29.2] So do I, by the gods; for it is a splendid thing. But consider what comes before it and what follows it, and only then undertake the task. You must submit to discipline, eat according to strict rules, abstain from cakes, exercise under compulsion at an appointed hour, in heat and in cold, drink no cold water and no wine whenever you please; in short, you must surrender yourself to your trainer as to a physician. Then, in the contest, you may be gashed, sometimes have your hand dislocated, twist your ankle, swallow a great deal of dust, sometimes be whipped, and, after all this, be defeated.\n\n[29.3] After considering all this, if you still wish it, proceed to become an athlete. Otherwise, you will behave like children, who at one moment play wrestlers, then gladiators, then blow trumpets, and then act tragedies. So you too will be an athlete now, then a gladiator, then an orator, then a philosopher, but nothing with your whole soul. Like an ape, you imitate every spectacle you see, and one thing after another takes your fancy. For you have approached nothing after careful consideration and a complete examination, but at random and from a listless desire.\n\n[29.4] In the same way, some people, after seeing a philosopher and hearing someone speak as Euphrates speaks (though who can speak as he does?\n\n[29.5] ), wish to practice philosophy themselves. Man, first consider what kind of undertaking it is; then examine your own nature to see whether you can bear it. Do you wish to be a pentathlete or a wrestler? Look at your arms, look at your thighs, examine your lower back.\n\n[29.6] For different people are naturally suited to different things. Do you think that while doing these things you can eat as you do now, drink as you do now, and indulge the same desires and aversions? You must go without sleep, endure hardship, leave your own people, be despised by a little slave, be ridiculed by everyone you meet, and have the lesser share in everything—in honor, in office, in court, and in every petty affair.\n\n[29.7] Consider these things. Decide whether you are willing to receive in exchange for them freedom from passion, freedom, and tranquility. If not, do not approach philosophy. Do not be like children: now a philosopher, later a tax collector, then an orator, and then Caesar’s procurator. These things do not agree with one another. You must be one person, either good or bad. You must cultivate either your own ruling faculty or external things; you must devote yourself either to what is within or to what is outside. That is, you must hold the station either of a philosopher or of an ordinary person.\n\n### Chapter 30\n\n[30.1] Appropriate actions are generally measured by our relationships. He is your father: you are called upon to care for him, to yield to him in everything, and to endure it when he abuses or strikes you. “But he is a bad father.” Were you naturally bound, then, to a good father? No, simply to a father. Your brother wrongs you. Maintain, therefore, your own proper relation toward him, and do not consider what he does, but what you must do for your moral purpose to remain in accordance with nature. For another person will not harm you unless you wish it; you will have been harmed only when you suppose that you are harmed. In this way, then, you will discover the appropriate action required by a neighbor, a citizen, or a general, if you make a habit of examining your relationships.\n\n### Chapter 31\n\n[31.1] As for piety toward the gods, know that its chief requirement is this: to hold right opinions about them—that they exist and govern the universe well and justly—and to have appointed yourself to obey them, to yield to everything that happens, and to follow willingly, in the conviction that all is accomplished by the highest wisdom. For in this way you will never blame the gods or accuse them of neglecting you.\n\n[31.2] But this cannot be achieved unless you withdraw good and evil from the things not under our control and place them solely among the things that are under our control. For if you suppose any of those other things to be good or evil, then whenever you fail to obtain what you desire and fall into what you wish to avoid, you are bound to blame and hate those you hold responsible.\n\n[31.3] For every living creature is naturally disposed to flee and turn away from things that appear harmful and from their causes, and to pursue and admire things that are beneficial and their causes. It is therefore impossible for someone who believes himself harmed to take pleasure in what he thinks is harming him, just as it is impossible to take pleasure in the harm itself.\n\n[31.4] Hence a father is reviled by his son when he does not give the child a share of what the child supposes to be good; and what made Polynices and Eteocles enemies to each other was their belief that tyranny was a good. For this reason the farmer reviles the gods, and so does the sailor, and the merchant, and those who lose their wives and children. For where a person’s interest lies, there also lies his piety. Therefore, whoever takes care to desire and avoid as he ought is at the same time taking care of piety.\n\n[31.5] But it is fitting on every occasion to make libations, sacrifices, and offerings of first fruits according to ancestral custom, with purity, and neither carelessly nor negligently, neither stingily nor beyond your means.\n\n### Chapter 32\n\n[32.1] Whenever you resort to divination, remember that you do not know what the outcome will be, but have come to learn it from the diviner; yet you came already knowing what kind of thing it is, if indeed you are a philosopher. For if it is among the things not under our control, it must necessarily be neither good nor evil.\n\n[32.2] Therefore do not bring desire or aversion with you to the diviner, nor approach him trembling, but with the settled judgment that every possible outcome is indifferent and nothing to you, and that whatever its nature may be, you will be able to make good use of it, and no one will prevent you. Go confidently, then, to the gods as to counselors; and afterward, when some counsel has been given you, remember whose counsel you have sought and whose command you will disregard if you disobey.\n\n[32.3] Resort to divination, as Socrates thought proper, only in matters where the whole inquiry turns upon the outcome and where neither reason nor any other art supplies the means of discerning what lies before you. Thus, when you must share the danger of a friend or your country, do not seek an oracle to learn whether you should share that danger. For even if the diviner warns you that the sacrificial signs are unfavorable, it is plain that death is foretold, or the maiming of some part of the body, or exile; yet reason chooses, even at that price, to stand by your friend and share your country’s danger. Attend, therefore, to the greater diviner, the Pythian god, who cast out of his temple the man who had failed to help his friend when he was being murdered.\n\n### Chapter 33\n\n[33.1] From this moment establish for yourself a certain character and pattern of conduct, which you will preserve both when you are alone and when you meet with others.\n\n[33.2] For the most part, keep silent, or say only what is necessary, and say it briefly. Rarely, when the occasion calls upon you to speak, do speak—but not about whatever happens to come up: not about gladiatorial combats, horse races, athletes, food or drink, the common topics everywhere, and above all not about people, whether blaming them, praising them, or comparing them.\n\n[33.3] If you are able, use your own conversation to turn that of your companions toward what is fitting. But if you happen to find yourself isolated among strangers to philosophy, keep silent.\n\n[33.4] Do not laugh much, or at many things, or without restraint.\n\n[33.5] Refuse to swear an oath, if possible, altogether; if not, as far as circumstances permit. Avoid banquets given by outsiders and those unacquainted with philosophy;\n\n[33.6] but if an occasion for attending one ever arises, keep your attention taut, lest you slip into vulgarity. For know that if a companion is polluted, the person who rubs shoulders with him must also become polluted, even if he himself happens to be pure.\n\n[33.7] Take what concerns the body only to the point of bare necessity—food, drink, clothing, a house, household servants—and exclude entirely whatever serves display or luxury. As for sexual relations, preserve purity before marriage as far as you are able;\n\n[33.8] but if you do engage in them, partake only of what is lawful. Yet do not become disagreeable or censorious toward those who do indulge, and do not continually parade the fact that you yourself abstain.\n\n[33.9] If someone reports to you that a certain person is speaking ill of you, do not defend yourself against what has been said, but reply, “He was evidently ignorant of the other faults that belong to me, or he would not have mentioned only these.”\n\n[33.10] It is generally unnecessary to attend public spectacles. But if an occasion for doing so ever arises, show yourself eager for no one’s success but your own; that is, wish only for what actually happens to happen, and only for the victor to be victorious. In this way you will not be hindered. Abstain altogether from shouting, laughing at anyone, or becoming excessively excited. And after you leave, do not talk at length about what happened, except insofar as it contributes to your own improvement; for such talk reveals that you were deeply impressed by the spectacle.\n\n[33.11] Do not attend public lectures casually or readily; but when you do attend, preserve your dignity and composure without at the same time becoming disagreeable.\n\n[33.12] Whenever you are about to meet someone, especially a person reputed to be eminent, set before yourself the question, “What would Socrates or Zeno have done in this situation?” Then you will not be at a loss to deal fittingly with whatever occurs.\n\n[33.13] Whenever you go to visit someone of great power, set before yourself the likelihood that you will not find him at home, that you will be shut out, that the doors will be slammed in your face, and that he will pay no attention to you. And if, despite all this, it is your duty to go, then go and bear whatever happens, and never say to yourself, “It was not worth so much.” For that is vulgar and shows resentment toward external things.\n\n[33.14] In conversation, refrain from dwelling immoderately and at length on your own deeds or dangers. For though it is pleasant to you to recall your dangers, it is not equally pleasant for others to hear about what happened to you.\n\n[33.15] Refrain also from trying to provoke laughter; for this habit readily slides into vulgarity and is also liable to weaken your neighbors’ respect for you.\n\n[33.16] It is dangerous also to descend into obscene language. Therefore, whenever anything of that kind occurs, if the occasion is suitable, rebuke the person who has descended to it; if it is not, make it plain that the talk displeases you by your silence, your blush, and your frown.\n\n### Chapter 34\n\n[34.1] Whenever you receive an impression of some pleasure, guard yourself, as with other impressions, against being swept away by it. Let the matter wait for you, and obtain from yourself some delay. Then recall both moments: the moment when you will enjoy the pleasure, and the later moment when, after enjoying it, you will repent and reproach yourself. Set against these the joy and self-approval you will feel if you abstain. But if a fitting occasion for undertaking the action appears to you, take care not to be overcome by its charm, its sweetness, and its allure; set against them how much better it is to be conscious of having won this victory over yourself.\n\n### Chapter 35\n\n[35.1] Whenever you have determined that something ought to be done and proceed to do it, never shrink from being seen doing it, even if most people are likely to form a different opinion of it. For if you are not acting rightly, avoid the action itself; but if you are acting rightly, why fear those who will wrongly rebuke you?\n\n### Chapter 36\n\n[36.1] Just as the propositions “It is day” and “It is night” have great value when separated but none when joined together, so choosing the larger portion may have value for the body, but has none for preserving, as one ought, the social harmony of a banquet. Therefore, whenever you dine with another, remember not merely to consider the value for the body of the dishes set before you, but also to preserve proper respect for your host.\n\n### Chapter 37\n\n[37.1] If you assume a role beyond your powers, you have both disgraced yourself in that role and neglected one you could have fulfilled.\n\n### Chapter 38\n\n[38.1] Just as when walking you take care not to step on a nail or twist your foot, so take care not to injure your own governing faculty. And if we guard against this in every action, we shall undertake the action more securely.\n\n### Chapter 39\n\n[39.1] For each person, the body is the measure of possessions, as the foot is the measure of a shoe. If, then, you stop at this point, you will preserve the measure; but if you go beyond it, you must thereafter be carried along as if over a precipice. It is the same with a shoe: once you go beyond what the foot requires, the shoe becomes gilded, then purple, then embroidered. For once the measure has been exceeded, there is no limit.\n\n### Chapter 40\n\n[40.1] From the age of fourteen, women are called “mistresses” by men. Seeing, therefore, that nothing else is expected of them except to share men’s beds, they begin to adorn themselves and to place all their hopes in this. It is worth taking care, then, that they may perceive that they are honored for nothing other than appearing modest and self-respecting.\n\n### Chapter 41\n\n[41.1] It is a sign of want of natural ability to spend much time on matters of the body—for example, to exercise excessively, to eat excessively, to drink excessively, to spend excessive time relieving oneself or having sex. These things should be done incidentally; let your whole attention be directed toward your moral purpose.\n\n### Chapter 42\n\n[42.1] Whenever someone treats you badly or speaks ill of you, remember that he acts or speaks as he does because he thinks it is fitting. He cannot, then, follow what appears right to you, but only what appears right to him; so if his view is mistaken, the one who is harmed is the one who has been deceived. For if someone supposes a true compound proposition to be false, it is not the proposition that is harmed, but the person who has been deceived. If you proceed from these principles, therefore, you will be gentle toward anyone who reviles you. For on each occasion say, “It seemed so to him.”\n\n### Chapter 43\n\n[43.1] Everything has two handles, one by which it may be carried and one by which it may not. If your brother wrongs you, do not take hold of the matter by the fact that he wrongs you—for that is the handle by which it cannot be carried—but rather by the fact that he is your brother, that he was brought up with you; and then you will take hold of it by the handle by which it can be carried.\n\n### Chapter 44\n\n[44.1] These arguments are invalid: “I am richer than you; therefore I am better than you.” “I am more eloquent than you; therefore I am better than you.” But these are more valid: “I am richer than you; therefore my property is better than yours.” “I am more eloquent than you; therefore my expression is better than yours.” But you are neither property nor expression.\n\n### Chapter 45\n\n[45.1] Someone bathes quickly; do not say that he bathes badly, but that he bathes quickly. Someone drinks a great deal of wine; do not say that he drinks badly, but that he drinks a great deal. For until you have discerned the judgment behind his action, how do you know whether he acts badly? In this way, you will not find yourself receiving adequate impressions of some things while assenting to others.\n\n### Chapter 46\n\n[46.1] Never call yourself a philosopher, and do not talk at length among laymen about philosophical principles; instead, act in accordance with those principles. At a banquet, for example, do not say how one ought to eat, but eat as one ought. Remember how completely Socrates had stripped himself of all ostentation: people would come to him wishing to be introduced by him to philosophers, and he would take them to those philosophers.\n\n[46.2] So patiently did he endure being overlooked. And if a discussion of some philosophical principle should arise among laymen, keep silent for the most part; for there is great danger that you will immediately vomit up what you have not digested. And whenever someone tells you that you know nothing, and you are not stung by it, then know that you are beginning the work. Sheep do not bring their fodder to the shepherds and display how much they have eaten; they digest their pasture within and outwardly produce wool and milk. You likewise should not display philosophical principles to laymen, but rather the actions that come from those principles once they have been digested.\n\n### Chapter 47\n\n[47.1] When you have trained your body to live simply, do not pride yourself on it; and if you drink water, do not take every opportunity to announce that you drink water. If you ever wish to train yourself to endure hardship, do it for your own sake and not for those outside you. Do not embrace statues; instead, when you are fiercely thirsty, draw a mouthful of cold water, spit it out, and tell no one.\n\n### Chapter 48\n\n[48.1] The position and character of a layman: he never expects benefit or harm to come from himself, but from external things. The position and character of a philosopher: he expects every benefit and harm to come from himself.\n\n[48.2] Signs of one who is making progress: he censures no one, praises no one, blames no one, accuses no one, and says nothing about himself as though he were someone of importance or knew something. Whenever he is hindered or prevented in anything, he accuses himself. If someone praises him, he privately laughs at the person who praises him; and if someone censures him, he makes no defense. He goes about like a convalescent, careful not to disturb any part that is healing before it has grown firm.\n\n[48.3] He has removed every desire from himself, and has transferred his aversion solely to those things contrary to nature that are within our control. He employs his impulses toward everything with restraint. If he appears foolish or ignorant, he does not care. In a word, he keeps watch over himself as though he were an enemy lying in ambush.\n\n### Chapter 49\n\n[49.1] Whenever someone prides himself on being able to understand and interpret the books of Chrysippus, say to yourself: “If Chrysippus had not written obscurely, this man would have nothing on which to pride himself.” But what do I desire? To comprehend nature and to follow her. I therefore ask who interprets her; and hearing that Chrysippus does, I go to him. But I do not understand his writings, so I seek someone to interpret them. Up to this point there is nothing to take pride in. But when I have found an interpreter, what remains is to put his precepts into practice; this alone is something to take pride in. If, however, I admire the mere act of interpretation, what else have I become but a grammarian instead of a philosopher—except, indeed, that I interpret Chrysippus instead of Homer? Therefore, whenever someone says to me, “Read Chrysippus aloud to me,” I should rather blush when I cannot display deeds that resemble and accord with his words.\n\n### Chapter 50\n\n[50.1] Whatever principles you set before yourself, abide by them as though they were laws and you would be guilty of impiety if you transgressed them. But pay no heed to whatever anyone may say about you, for that is no longer yours.\n\n### Chapter 51\n\n[51.1] How much longer will you postpone deeming yourself worthy of the highest things and transgressing in nothing the judgment of reason? You have received the principles with which you needed to come to grips, and you have come to grips with them. What teacher, then, are you still waiting for, that you may defer to him the task of reforming yourself? You are no longer a youth, but already a grown man. If you are negligent and indolent now, forever making one postponement after another and appointing one day after another on which you will attend to yourself, then, before you know it, you will have made no progress and will continue to live and die an ordinary man.\n\n[51.2] Therefore, from this moment deem yourself worthy of living as a mature man who is making progress, and let whatever appears best to you be an inviolable law. And if anything painful or pleasant, glorious or inglorious, is brought before you, remember that the contest is now, that the Olympic Games are already at hand, and that there can be no further postponement; and that by a single day and a single action, progress is either lost or preserved.\n\n[51.3] It was in this way that Socrates attained perfection: in everything that came before him, he attended to nothing but reason. And though you are not yet Socrates, you ought to live as one who desires to be Socrates.\n\n### Chapter 52\n\n[52.1] The first and most necessary field in philosophy is the application of principles, such as not to lie. The second is that of demonstrations, such as how it is demonstrated that one ought not to lie. The third establishes and articulates these very demonstrations, such as: How is this a demonstration? What is a demonstration? What is a consequence? What is a contradiction? What is truth? What is falsehood?\n\n[52.2] Thus the third field is necessary because of the second, and the second because of the first; but the most necessary, and the one in which we ought to rest, is the first. Yet we do the opposite: we spend our time in the third field, and all our zeal is devoted to it, while we utterly neglect the first. And so we lie, yet have ready at hand the demonstration that one ought not to lie.\n\n### Chapter 53\n\n[53.1] On every occasion we must keep these words ready at hand: “Lead me, O Zeus, and you, O Destiny, wherever you have appointed me to go; for I shall follow without hesitation. But if I am unwilling and become base, I shall follow nonetheless.”\n\n[53.2] “Whoever has nobly yielded to necessity is wise among us and understands the things of the gods.”\n\n[53.3] “But, Crito, if this is pleasing to the gods, so let it be.”\n\n[53.4] “Anytus and Meletus can kill me, but they cannot harm me.”","download_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/enchiridion/translations/trn_enchiridion_mouseia.txt"},{"id":"trn_enchiridion_plain","translator":"Mouseia","kind":"plain","note":"Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 53 Ancient Greek chapters and 105 sections.","text":"### Chapter 1\n\n[1.1] Some things are up to us, and others are not up to us. Up to us are judgment, impulse, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is our own doing. Not up to us are the body, property, reputation, public office, and, in a word, whatever is not our own doing.\n\n[1.2] The things up to us are by nature free, unhindered, and unobstructed, while the things not up to us are weak, enslaved, subject to hindrance, and not our own.\n\n[1.3] Remember, then, that if you think things naturally enslaved are free and things belonging to others are your own, you will be obstructed, you will grieve, you will be disturbed, and you will blame both gods and human beings. But if you think only what is yours is yours, and what belongs to others is, as it really is, not your own, no one will ever compel you, no one will hinder you, you will blame no one, you will accuse no one, you will do nothing against your will, no one will harm you, and you will have no enemy, because you will not suffer anything harmful.\n\n[1.4] Since you are aiming at such great things, remember that you must not undertake them with only moderate effort; instead, you must give up some things completely and postpone others for the present. But if you want these things and also want to hold public office and be rich, you may not obtain even office and wealth because you are also aiming at the former things; and you will certainly fail to obtain those things through which alone freedom and happiness are secured.\n\n[1.5] So, whenever a harsh impression arises, immediately practice saying to it, “You are an impression and not necessarily what you appear to be.” Then examine it and test it by the standards you have, first and most of all by this one: whether it concerns things that are up to us or things that are not up to us. And if it concerns anything not up to us, be ready to say, “It is nothing to me.”\n\n### Chapter 2\n\n[2.1] Remember that desire promises the attainment of what you desire, while aversion promises that you will not fall into what you seek to avoid; and the person who fails in desire is unfortunate, while the person who falls into what he seeks to avoid is miserable. So if you avoid only what is contrary to nature among the things up to you, you will never fall into anything you seek to avoid. But if you seek to avoid illness, death, or poverty, you will be miserable.\n\n[2.2] So remove your aversion from everything not up to us and transfer it to what is contrary to nature among the things up to us. For the present, suppress desire completely. For if you desire anything not up to us, you are bound to be unfortunate; and as for the things up to us that it would be good to desire, none of them is yet within your reach. Use only impulse toward action and impulse away from action, and even these lightly, with reservation, and without strain.\n\n### Chapter 3\n\n[3.1] With everything that delights you, is useful to you, or is dear to you, remember to tell yourself what kind of thing it is, beginning with the smallest things. If you are fond of a pot, say, “I am fond of a pot.” Then, if it breaks, you will not be disturbed. If you kiss your child or your wife affectionately, say, “I am kissing a human being.” Then, if that person dies, you will not be disturbed.\n\n### Chapter 4\n\n[4.1] Whenever you are about to undertake some action, remind yourself what kind of action it is. If you are going out to bathe, picture to yourself what happens at a public bath: people splashing you, people jostling you, people insulting you, and people stealing from you. You will undertake the action more securely if you say at once, “I want to bathe and also to preserve my faculty of choice in accordance with nature.” Do the same with every action. In this way, if anything interferes with your bathing, you will be ready to say, “But bathing was not the only thing I wanted; I also wanted to preserve my faculty of choice in accordance with nature. And I will not preserve it if I become angry at what happens.”\n\n### Chapter 5\n\n[5.1] People are disturbed not by things, but by their judgments about things. For example, death is nothing terrible, since otherwise it would have appeared terrible to Socrates as well. Rather, the judgment about death—that it is terrible—is what is terrible. So whenever we are obstructed, disturbed, or distressed, we should never blame anyone else, but ourselves—that is, our own judgments. It is the mark of an uneducated person to blame others for what he himself does badly; the mark of someone whose education has begun to blame himself; and the mark of an educated person to blame neither another nor himself.\n\n### Chapter 6\n\n[6.1] Do not take pride in any excellence that is not your own. If a horse proudly said, “I am beautiful,” that would be bearable. But when you proudly say, “I have a beautiful horse,” understand that you are taking pride in something good that belongs to the horse. What, then, is your own? Your use of impressions. Therefore, whenever your use of impressions is in accordance with nature, then you may take pride, because then you will be taking pride in something good that is your own.\n\n### Chapter 7\n\n[7.1] When a ship has anchored during a voyage and you go ashore to fetch water, you may pick up a little shellfish or a bulb along the way, but your attention must remain fixed on the ship, and you must keep looking back in case the helmsman calls. If he calls, you must leave all those things behind so that you are not tied up and thrown aboard like the sheep. In the same way, in life, if instead of a bulb or a little shellfish you are given a wife and a child, nothing prevents you from having them. But if the helmsman calls, run to the ship, leaving all those things behind without even looking back. And if you are old, never go far from the ship, so that when he calls you will not fail to appear.\n\n### Chapter 8\n\n[8.1] Do not seek to have events happen as you want them to. Instead, want them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go well.\n\n### Chapter 9\n\n[9.1] Illness is an impediment to the body, but not to the faculty of choice, unless that faculty itself wills it. Lameness is an impediment to the leg, but not to the faculty of choice. Say this to yourself about everything that happens to you, for you will find that it is an impediment to something else, but not to you.\n\n### Chapter 10\n\n[10.1] With everything that happens to you, remember to turn inward and ask what capacity you have for dealing with it. If you see a handsome man or a beautiful woman, you will find self-control as your capacity for dealing with that. If hardship is imposed on you, you will find endurance. If you are insulted, you will find patience. And if you train yourself in this way, your impressions will not sweep you away.\n\n### Chapter 11\n\n[11.1] Never say about anything, “I have lost it,” but rather, “I have given it back.” Has your child died? The child has been given back. Has your wife died? She has been given back. Has your property been taken away? Then that too has been given back. “But the person who took it is wicked.” What does it matter to you through whom the giver asked for it back? As long as he gives it to you, take care of it as something that belongs to another, as travelers take care of an inn.\n\n### Chapter 12\n\n[12.1] If you want to make progress, let go of calculations like these: “If I neglect my affairs, I will have nothing to live on”; “If I do not punish my servant, he will turn out badly.” For it is better to die of hunger free from distress and fear than to live amid abundance in a state of turmoil. And it is better for your servant to be bad than for you to be miserable.\n\n[12.2] Begin, then, with the little things. A little oil is spilled; a little wine is stolen. Tell yourself, “This is the price of freedom from passion; this is the price of tranquility.” Nothing is gained for nothing. When you call your servant, bear in mind that he may not answer, and even if he does answer, he may do none of the things you want. But he is not so well placed that your freedom from disturbance should depend on him.\n\n### Chapter 13\n\n[13.1] If you want to make progress, accept being thought foolish and stupid with regard to external things. Do not want to appear knowledgeable about anything; and even if some people think you are somebody, distrust yourself. For you should know that it is not easy both to keep your own faculty of choice in accordance with nature and to look after external things. If you attend to one, you are absolutely bound to neglect the other.\n\n### Chapter 14\n\n[14.1] If you want your children, your wife, and your friends to live forever, you are foolish, for you want things that are not up to you to be up to you, and things that belong to others to be your own. In the same way, if you want your servant never to do wrong, you are a fool, for you want vice not to be vice but something else. But if you want never to fail in getting what you desire, that is within your power. Practice, then, what is within your power.\n\n[14.2] Anyone who has the power to secure or take away the things another person wants or does not want is that person’s master. So whoever wants to be free must neither want nor avoid anything that is under the control of others. Otherwise, he is bound to be a slave.\n\n### Chapter 15\n\n[15.1] Remember that you must behave as you would at a banquet. Something being passed around has come to you: reach out your hand and take a modest share. It passes by: do not hold it back. It has not reached you yet: do not stretch your desire out toward it, but wait until it comes to you. Act this way toward children, toward a wife, toward public offices, and toward wealth, and someday you will be a worthy fellow guest of the gods. But if, even when things are set before you, you do not take them but look down on them, then you will be not only a fellow guest of the gods but also a fellow ruler with them. By acting this way, Diogenes, Heraclitus, and others like them were deservedly divine and were called so.\n\n### Chapter 16\n\n[16.1] When you see someone weeping in grief because his child is away or because he has lost his possessions, take care not to let the impression carry you away into thinking that he is suffering because of these external events. Instead, keep this thought immediately at hand: “What distresses this person is not what has happened—for it does not distress someone else—but his judgment about it.” Still, as far as words go, do not hesitate to sympathize with him and, if the occasion calls for it, even to groan with him. Take care, however, not to groan inwardly as well.\n\n### Chapter 17\n\n[17.1] Remember that you are an actor in a play of whatever kind the director chooses: if a short one, then in a short one; if a long one, then in a long one. If he wants you to play a poor man, play even that role with natural skill; likewise if he wants you to play a cripple, a ruler, or a private citizen. For your task is to play well the role you have been given; choosing it belongs to someone else.\n\n### Chapter 18\n\n[18.1] When a raven croaks an unfavorable omen, do not let the impression carry you away. Instead, immediately distinguish within yourself and say, “None of these things is being foretold for me, but only for my poor body, my little property, my petty reputation, my children, or my wife. For me, every omen foretells good, if I choose to make it so. Whatever comes of these things, it is up to me to benefit from it.”\n\n### Chapter 19\n\n[19.1] You can be invincible if you enter no contest in which victory is not up to you.\n\n[19.2] Take care that, when you see someone receiving greater honors, possessing great power, or otherwise enjoying a high reputation, you are not carried away by the impression and call him blessed. For if the essence of the good lies in things that are up to us, neither envy nor jealousy has any place. You yourself will not want to be a general, a chief magistrate, or a consul, but to be free. And there is one path to freedom: contempt for what is not up to us.\n\n### Chapter 20\n\n[20.1] Remember that it is not the person who insults or strikes you who outrages you, but your judgment that these things are outrageous. So when someone provokes you, know that it is your own opinion that has provoked you. Therefore, above all, try not to be carried away by the impression. Once you gain some time and delay, you will more easily master yourself.\n\n### Chapter 21\n\n[21.1] Let death, exile, and everything that appears terrible be before your eyes every day, especially death; and you will never entertain any degrading thought or desire anything excessively.\n\n### Chapter 22\n\n[22.1] If you desire philosophy, prepare yourself from the outset to be laughed at and mocked by many people, who will say, “Suddenly he has come back to us as a philosopher,” and, “Where did he get that haughty look?” But do not put on a haughty look. Hold fast to the things that seem best to you, as someone assigned by God to this post. And remember that if you remain faithful to the same principles, those who laughed at you before will later admire you; but if you let them defeat you, you will be laughed at twice as much.\n\n### Chapter 23\n\n[23.1] If it ever happens that you turn outward because you want to please someone, know that you have lost your position. So in every situation, be content to be a philosopher; and if you also want to appear to be one, appear so to yourself, and that will be enough.\n\n### Chapter 24\n\n[24.1] Do not let these thoughts distress you: “I will live without honor and be nobody anywhere.” For if lack of honor is an evil, you cannot be in an evil condition because of someone else, any more than you can be in a shameful one. Is it your responsibility, then, to obtain public office or be invited to a dinner? Not at all. How, then, can this still be a lack of honor? And how will you be nobody anywhere, when you need to be somebody only in matters that are up to you, in which it is possible for you to be a person of the greatest worth?\n\n[24.2] “But your friends will be left without help.” What do you mean by “without help”? They will not receive a little money from you, and you will not make them Roman citizens. But who told you that these things are among what is up to us, rather than tasks belonging to others? And who can give another person what he does not possess himself? “Then acquire them,” someone says, “so that we may have them.”\n\n[24.3] If I can acquire them while preserving my self-respect, faithfulness, and nobility of mind, show me the way, and I will acquire them. But if you expect me to lose the good things that are truly mine so that you may obtain things that are not good, see for yourselves how unfair and ungrateful you are. Besides, which would you rather have: money, or a faithful and self-respecting friend? Then help me more toward becoming such a friend, and do not expect me to do things that will cause me to lose precisely these qualities.\n\n[24.4] “But as far as I am concerned,” someone says, “my country will be left without help.” Again, what kind of help do you mean? It will not have colonnades or bathhouses because of you. And what of it? It does not have shoes because of the blacksmith, or weapons because of the shoemaker. It is enough if each person fulfills his own function. If you provided your country with one more faithful and self-respecting citizen, would you not benefit it at all? “Yes.” Then you yourself would not be useless to it. “What place, then,” he says, “will I have in the city?” Whatever place you can hold while at the same time preserving your faithfulness and self-respect.\n\n[24.5] But if, in wishing to benefit your country, you lose these qualities, what benefit could you be to it after becoming shameless and unfaithful?\n\n### Chapter 25\n\n[25.1] Has someone been preferred over you at a dinner, in being greeted, or in being invited to give advice? If these things are good, you should be glad that the other person received them. But if they are bad, do not be upset that you did not receive them. And remember that if you do not do the same things others do to obtain things that are not up to us, you cannot expect to be considered equally deserving of them.\n\n[25.2] For how can someone who does not regularly visit a person’s door receive as much as someone who does? How can someone who does not escort him receive as much as someone who does? Or someone who does not praise him as much as someone who does? You will therefore be unjust and greedy if, without paying the price for which these things are sold, you want to receive them for nothing.\n\n[25.3] How much does lettuce sell for? An obol, perhaps. So if someone pays the obol and receives the lettuce, while you do not pay it and do not receive any, do not think that you have less than the person who received it. For just as he has the lettuce, you have the obol that you did not give.\n\n[25.4] The same applies here. You were not invited to someone’s dinner? That is because you did not pay the host the price for which he sells the meal. He sells it for praise; he sells it for personal attention. So pay the price for which it is sold, if doing so is to your advantage. But if you want both to keep the payment and to receive what it buys, you are greedy and foolish.\n\n[25.5] Then do you have nothing in place of the dinner? Certainly you do: you did not have to praise the man you did not want to praise, or put up with what goes on at his door.\n\n### Chapter 26\n\n[26.1] The will of nature can be learned from the things about which we do not differ from one another. For example, when someone else’s little slave breaks a cup, the immediate response is, “These things happen.” Know, then, that when your own cup is broken, you should react just as you did when someone else’s was broken. Apply this in the same way to more serious matters. Someone else’s child or wife has died. There is no one who would not say, “That is part of being human.” But when someone’s own child or wife dies, he immediately cries, “Oh, how miserable I am!” Yet we should remember how we feel when we hear that the same thing has happened to others.\n\n### Chapter 27\n\n[27.1] Just as a target is not set up for the purpose of being missed, so the nature of evil does not arise in the universe.\n\n### Chapter 28\n\n[28.1] If someone handed your body over to every person he happened to meet, you would be indignant. But are you not ashamed that you hand your own mind over to anyone at all, so that if he insults you, your mind is disturbed and thrown into confusion?\n\n### Chapter 29\n\n[29.1] In every undertaking, consider what comes before it and what follows it, and only then proceed to it. Otherwise, you will approach it enthusiastically at first, because you have given no thought to what comes afterward; but later, when difficulties appear, you will abandon it disgracefully. Do you want to win at Olympia?\n\n[29.2] By the gods, so do I, because it is a splendid thing. But consider what comes before it and what follows it, and only then take up the undertaking. You must submit to discipline, follow a strict diet, abstain from pastries, exercise under compulsion at an appointed time, in heat and in cold, drink no cold water and no wine whenever you please—in short, hand yourself over to your trainer as you would to a doctor. Then, in the contest, you must be gouged, sometimes have your hand dislocated, twist your ankle, swallow a great deal of sand, sometimes be whipped, and, after all that, be defeated.\n\n[29.3] After considering all this, if you still want to, take up athletic training. Otherwise, you will behave like children, who now play at being wrestlers, then gladiators, then trumpet players, and then tragic actors. In the same way, you will now be an athlete, then a gladiator, then an orator, then a philosopher, but nothing with your whole soul. Like a monkey, you imitate every spectacle you see, and one thing after another appeals to you. For you did not approach anything after careful consideration and examining it from every side, but at random and on the basis of a lukewarm desire.\n\n[29.4] In this way, some people, after seeing a philosopher and hearing someone speak as Euphrates speaks—and yet who can speak as he does?—\n\n[29.5] want to practice philosophy themselves. Man, first examine what the undertaking is like. Then also study your own nature to see whether you can bear it. Do you want to be a pentathlete or a wrestler? Look at your arms, examine your thighs, and study your lower back.\n\n[29.6] For different people are naturally suited to different things. Do you think that if you do these things, you can continue to eat in the same way, drink in the same way, have the same desires, and feel the same dissatisfaction? You must go without sleep, work hard, leave your family, be treated with contempt by a little slave, be laughed at by everyone you meet, and receive less in everything—in honor, in public office, in court, and in every minor affair.\n\n[29.7] Consider these things, and decide whether you are willing to receive in exchange for them freedom from passion, freedom, and tranquility. If not, do not approach philosophy. Do not be like children—now a philosopher, later a tax collector, then an orator, and then an imperial procurator. These things do not go together. You must be one person, either good or bad. You must devote yourself either to your own governing faculty or to external things, and direct your efforts either toward what is within or toward what is outside. That is, you must occupy either the position of a philosopher or that of an ordinary person.\n\n### Chapter 30\n\n[30.1] Appropriate actions are generally determined by relationships. He is your father: this requires you to take care of him, yield to him in everything, and endure it when he insults or strikes you. “But he is a bad father.” Were you naturally assigned specifically to a good father, then? No, simply to a father. Your brother wrongs you. Then preserve your own proper role toward him, and do not consider what he is doing, but what you must do for your faculty of choice to remain in accordance with nature. For another person will not harm you unless you choose to be harmed; you will have been harmed only when you judge that you have been harmed. In this way, you will discover the appropriate action toward a neighbor, a fellow citizen, or a general, if you make a habit of considering your relationships.\n\n### Chapter 31\n\n[31.1] As for piety toward the gods, know that the most important thing is this: to have correct beliefs about them—that they exist and govern the whole universe well and justly—and to have committed yourself to obeying them, yielding to everything that happens, and following willingly, in the conviction that it is being brought about by the best judgment. For in this way you will never blame the gods or accuse them of neglecting you.\n\n[31.2] But this cannot happen unless you remove good and evil from the things that are not up to us and place them only among the things that are up to us. For if you suppose that any of those other things is good or evil, then whenever you fail to get what you want and fall into what you do not want, you will inevitably blame and hate those you hold responsible.\n\n[31.3] For every living creature is naturally inclined to flee and avoid things that appear harmful, along with their causes, and to pursue and admire things that are beneficial, along with their causes. It is therefore impossible for someone who thinks he is being harmed to take pleasure in what he believes is harming him, just as it is impossible to take pleasure in the harm itself.\n\n[31.4] This is why even a father is abused by his son when he does not give the child a share of the things that seem to be good; and what made Polynices and Eteocles enemies of each other was their belief that tyranny was a good. This is why the farmer abuses the gods, why the sailor does, why the merchant does, and why those who lose their wives and children do. For where a person’s interest lies, there too lies his piety. Consequently, whoever takes care to desire and avoid things as he should is at the same time taking care of his piety.\n\n[31.5] It is proper on every occasion to pour libations, offer sacrifices, and give first fruits according to ancestral custom, doing so with purity, not carelessly or negligently, not stingily, and not beyond your means.\n\n### Chapter 32\n\n[32.1] When you consult divination, remember that you do not know what will happen, but have come to learn it from the diviner; yet you came already knowing what kind of thing it is, if you are indeed a philosopher. For if it is one of the things that are not up to us, it must necessarily be neither good nor evil.\n\n[32.2] So do not bring desire or aversion with you to the diviner, and do not approach him trembling. Instead, understand that everything that may happen is indifferent and nothing to you, and that, whatever it may be, you will be able to make good use of it, and no one will prevent you from doing so. Therefore go confidently to the gods as your advisers; and afterward, when some counsel has been given to you, remember whom you have taken as your advisers and whose counsel you will disregard if you disobey.\n\n[32.3] Go to consult divination, as Socrates thought proper, only about matters in which the whole question depends on the outcome, and in which neither reason nor any other skill provides a basis for discerning what is at issue. Therefore, when you must share a friend’s or your country’s danger, do not consult divination about whether you should share the danger. For even if the diviner tells you that the sacrificial signs are unfavorable, it is clear that this indicates death, the loss of some part of the body, or exile. But reason chooses, even at that cost, to stand by your friend and share your country’s danger. Therefore heed the greater diviner, the Pythian god, who drove from his temple the man who had not helped his friend when that friend was being murdered.\n\n### Chapter 33\n\n[33.1] Establish right now a certain character and pattern for yourself, which you will preserve both when you are by yourself and when you meet with other people.\n\n[33.2] Be silent for the most part, or say only what is necessary, and say it briefly. On rare occasions, when the situation calls on you to speak, speak, but not about ordinary subjects—not about gladiatorial contests, horse races, athletes, food or drink, the usual topics everywhere, and especially not about people, whether blaming, praising, or comparing them.\n\n[33.3] If you can, use your own conversation to lead the conversation of your companions toward what is appropriate. But if you happen to find yourself isolated among strangers, keep silent.\n\n[33.4] Do not laugh a great deal, or at many things, or without restraint.\n\n[33.5] Refuse to swear an oath, if possible, under all circumstances; if that is not possible, refuse as far as circumstances allow. Avoid banquets given by outsiders and by people unfamiliar with philosophy;\n\n[33.6] but if an occasion to attend one ever arises, keep your attention sharply focused so that you do not slip into the behavior of an ordinary person. For know that if your companion is polluted, anyone who rubs shoulders with him will inevitably become polluted as well, even if he himself happens to be clean.\n\n[33.7] Take what concerns the body only to the point of bare necessity, such as food, drink, clothing, a house, and a household; completely exclude everything intended for prestige or luxury. As for sex, keep yourself pure before marriage as far as you are able;\n\n[33.8] but if you do engage in it, take part only in what is lawful. Still, do not become burdensome or censorious toward those who engage in sex, and do not constantly advertise the fact that you yourself do not.\n\n[33.9] If someone reports to you that a certain person is speaking badly of you, do not defend yourself against what has been said. Instead, reply, “He clearly did not know about my other faults, or he would not have mentioned only these.”\n\n[33.10] It is not necessary to attend public spectacles often. But if an occasion to attend one ever arises, show that you are taking sides with no one but yourself; that is, want only what actually happens to happen, and only the actual winner to win. In this way you will not be frustrated. Completely refrain from shouting, laughing at anyone, or becoming excessively excited. After you leave, do not talk much about what happened except insofar as it contributes to your own improvement. For such talk reveals that you were impressed by the spectacle.\n\n[33.11] Do not attend people’s lectures casually or without careful thought. But when you do attend, preserve your dignity and composure while at the same time avoiding being disagreeable.\n\n[33.12] Whenever you are about to meet someone, especially someone regarded as eminent, set before yourself the question of what Socrates or Zeno would have done in this situation, and you will have no difficulty dealing appropriately with whatever occurs.\n\n[33.13] Whenever you visit someone with great power, set before yourself the possibilities that you will not find him at home, that you will be shut out, that the doors will be slammed in your face, and that he will pay no attention to you. If it is still your duty to go despite these things, then go and bear whatever happens, and never say to yourself, “It was not worth that much.” For that is the response of an ordinary person who is at odds with external things.\n\n[33.14] In conversation, refrain from talking at length and without restraint about your own deeds or dangers. For although it is pleasant for you to recall your dangers, it is not equally pleasant for others to hear about the things that have happened to you.\n\n[33.15] Refrain also from trying to provoke laughter. For this behavior easily slips into vulgarity and is also likely to weaken your neighbors’ respect for you.\n\n[33.16] It is also dangerous to drift into obscene talk. Whenever something of this kind occurs, if the occasion is suitable, rebuke the person who has resorted to it. If it is not, make your displeasure with the talk clear by remaining silent, blushing, and looking stern.\n\n### Chapter 34\n\n[34.1] Whenever you receive an impression of some pleasure, guard yourself, as with other impressions, against being swept away by it. Let the matter wait for you, and take some time before acting. Then remember both periods of time: the time when you will enjoy the pleasure and the time afterward when, having enjoyed it, you will regret it and reproach yourself. Set against these the joy and self-approval you will feel if you abstain. But if it seems to you that the right time has come to undertake the action, take care that its pleasantness, sweetness, and allure do not overcome you. Set against them how much better it is to be conscious of having won this victory over them.\n\n### Chapter 35\n\n[35.1] Whenever you have determined that something must be done and you do it, never avoid being seen doing it, even if most people are likely to form a different opinion about it. For if you are not acting rightly, avoid the act itself; but if you are acting rightly, why fear those who will wrongly criticize you?\n\n### Chapter 36\n\n[36.1] Just as the statements “It is day” and “It is night” have great value when separated by an “or,” but no value when joined by an “and,” so too choosing the larger portion may have value for the body, but it has no value for preserving the social consideration that is proper at a dinner. Therefore, when you eat with someone else, remember not only to consider the value for your body of the food set before you, but also to preserve your respect for your host.\n\n### Chapter 37\n\n[37.1] If you take on a role beyond your ability, you have both disgraced yourself in that role and neglected one you could have fulfilled.\n\n### Chapter 38\n\n[38.1] Just as, when walking, you take care not to step on a nail or twist your foot, so take care not to harm your own ruling faculty. If we guard against this in every action, we will undertake the action more safely.\n\n### Chapter 39\n\n[39.1] For each person, the body is the measure of possessions, just as the foot is the measure of a shoe. If you stop at this point, you will preserve the proper measure; but if you go beyond it, you will then inevitably be carried downward as if over a cliff. It is the same with a shoe: once you go beyond what the foot requires, first you get a gold-plated shoe, then a purple one, then an embroidered one. For once you go beyond the proper measure, there is no limit.\n\n### Chapter 40\n\n[40.1] Women, as soon as they reach the age of fourteen, are called “ladies” by men. And so, seeing that nothing else is expected of them except to sleep with men, they begin to beautify themselves and to place all their hopes in that. It is therefore worth taking care that they understand that they are honored for nothing other than appearing modest and self-respecting.\n\n### Chapter 41\n\n[41.1] It is a sign of a lack of natural aptitude to spend too much time on matters concerning the body—for example, exercising too much, eating too much, drinking too much, defecating too much, or having sex too much. These things should be done incidentally; your full attention should be directed toward your judgment.\n\n### Chapter 42\n\n[42.1] When someone treats you badly or speaks badly of you, remember that he does or says it because he thinks it is appropriate for him to do so. He therefore cannot follow what appears right to you, but only what appears right to him. Consequently, if his judgment is wrong, the one who is harmed is the one who has been deceived. For if someone supposes a true complex proposition to be false, it is not the proposition that has been harmed, but the person who was deceived. Starting from these considerations, then, you will be gentle toward anyone who insults you. For each time, say, “That is how it appeared to him.”\n\n### Chapter 43\n\n[43.1] Everything has two handles: one by which it can be carried, and one by which it cannot. If your brother wrongs you, do not take hold of the matter by the fact that he wrongs you, since that is the handle by which it cannot be carried. Instead, take hold of it by the fact that he is your brother and was raised with you, and you will be taking hold of it by the handle by which it can be carried.\n\n### Chapter 44\n\n[44.1] These arguments are invalid: “I am richer than you; therefore, I am better than you.” “I am more eloquent than you; therefore, I am better than you.” But these arguments are valid: “I am richer than you; therefore, my property is better than yours.” “I am more eloquent than you; therefore, my way of speaking is better than yours.” But you are neither property nor a way of speaking.\n\n### Chapter 45\n\n[45.1] Someone bathes quickly. Do not say that he bathes badly, but that he bathes quickly. Someone drinks a great deal of wine. Do not say that he drinks badly, but that he drinks a great deal. For before you have determined his judgment, how do you know whether he is acting badly? In this way, you will not form clear and graspable impressions of some things while assenting to others.\n\n### Chapter 46\n\n[46.1] Never call yourself a philosopher, and do not talk at length among ordinary people about philosophical principles. Instead, act in accordance with those principles. For example, at a banquet do not say how one ought to eat, but eat as one ought. Remember that Socrates had so completely eliminated ostentation from his conduct that people would come to him wanting him to introduce them to philosophers, and he would take them to those philosophers.\n\n[46.2] That is how he endured being overlooked. And if a discussion of some philosophical principle arises among ordinary people, remain silent for the most part, since there is a great danger that you will immediately vomit up what you have not digested. When someone tells you that you know nothing and you are not stung by it, then know that you are beginning the work. Sheep do not bring their fodder to the shepherds and show them how much they have eaten; they digest their feed inside themselves and produce wool and milk outwardly. In the same way, do not display philosophical principles to ordinary people, but, once you have digested them, display the actions that come from them.\n\n### Chapter 47\n\n[47.1] When you have adopted a simple way of caring for your body, do not take pride in it. If you drink water, do not take every opportunity to say that you drink water. And if you ever want to train yourself to endure hardship, do it for yourself and not for outsiders. Do not embrace statues. Instead, when you are extremely thirsty, take a mouthful of cold water, spit it out, and tell no one.\n\n### Chapter 48\n\n[48.1] The position and character of an ordinary person: he never expects benefit or harm to come from himself, but from external things. The position and character of a philosopher: he expects every benefit and harm to come from himself.\n\n[48.2] Signs of someone who is making progress: he criticizes no one, praises no one, blames no one, accuses no one, and says nothing about himself as though he were somebody or knew something. Whenever he is hindered or prevented from doing something, he blames himself. If someone praises him, he privately laughs at the person praising him; and if someone criticizes him, he does not defend himself. He goes about like someone recovering from an illness, taking care not to disturb anything that is being restored before it has become firmly settled.\n\n[48.3] He has removed every desire from himself, and has transferred his aversion solely to those things within his control that are contrary to nature. He employs a relaxed impulse toward everything. If he appears foolish or ignorant, he does not care. In a word, he keeps watch over himself as though he were an enemy lying in ambush.\n\n### Chapter 49\n\n[49.1] When someone prides himself on being able to understand and interpret the books of Chrysippus, say to yourself, “If Chrysippus had not written obscurely, this man would have nothing to pride himself on.” But what do I want? To understand nature and follow it. So I ask who interprets nature, and when I hear that Chrysippus does, I go to him. But I do not understand his writings, so I look for someone to interpret them. Up to this point, there is still nothing to be proud of. But when I find an interpreter, what remains is to put the teachings into practice. This alone is something to be proud of. But if I admire the act of interpretation itself, what else have I become but a grammarian instead of a philosopher—except that I interpret Chrysippus rather than Homer? So when someone says to me, “Read Chrysippus to me,” I should instead blush if I cannot show that my actions match and agree with his words.\n\n### Chapter 50\n\n[50.1] Whatever principles you set before yourself, remain faithful to them as though they were laws and you would be committing an impiety if you violated them. Pay no attention to what anyone says about you, for that is no longer up to you.\n\n### Chapter 51\n\n[51.1] How much longer will you put off considering yourself worthy of the best and never violating the judgment of reason? You have received the principles you needed to examine, and you have examined them. What teacher are you still waiting for, so that you can postpone your own reform until he comes? You are no longer a boy but already a grown man. If you are careless and negligent now, continually making one postponement after another and setting one day after another on which you will attend to yourself, you will fail to notice that you are making no progress and will continue to live and die as an ordinary, untrained person.\n\n[51.2] From this moment, then, consider yourself worthy of living as a mature person who is making progress, and let whatever appears best to you be an inviolable law. If anything painful or pleasant, honored or dishonored, confronts you, remember that the contest is now, that the Olympic Games are already here, and that there can be no further postponement. A single day and a single action can either destroy your progress or preserve it.\n\n[51.3] This is how Socrates became perfect: in everything that confronted him, he paid attention to nothing but reason. And though you are not yet Socrates, you ought to live as someone who wants to be Socrates.\n\n### Chapter 52\n\n[52.1] The first and most necessary area of philosophy is the application of its principles, such as not lying. The second concerns proofs, such as why one must not lie. The third establishes and clarifies these very proofs, asking, for example: How do we know that this is a proof? What is a proof? What is a logical consequence? What is a contradiction? What is true? What is false?\n\n[52.2] Therefore, the third area is necessary because of the second, and the second because of the first; but the first is the most necessary and is where we should come to rest. We do the opposite: we spend our time on the third area and devote all our effort to it, while completely neglecting the first. As a result, we lie, but we have ready at hand the proof that one must not lie.\n\n### Chapter 53\n\n[53.1] In every situation, keep these words ready at hand: “Lead me, O Zeus, and you, O Destiny, wherever I have been assigned by you. I will follow without hesitation; but even if I am unwilling and become base, I will follow nonetheless.”\n\n[53.2] “Whoever has yielded properly to necessity is wise in our eyes and understands divine things.”\n\n[53.3] “But, Crito, if this is pleasing to the gods, so be it.”\n\n[53.4] “Anytus and Meletus can kill me, but they cannot harm me.”","download_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/enchiridion/translations/trn_enchiridion_plain.txt"}],"retex_markdown_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/enchiridion/retex.md"}}