Epictetus · Complete work
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 of 53. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
[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.
[1.2] καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ἐστι φύσει ἐλεύθερα, ἀκώλυτα, ἀπαραπόδιστα, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ἀσθενῆ, δοῦλα, κωλυτά, ἀλλότρια.
[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.
[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.
[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
Mouseia
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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.”
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 53 Ancient Greek chapters and 105 sections.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.”