Epictetus · Complete work
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 of 53. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
[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.
[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.
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.
[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.
[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.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 53 Ancient Greek chapters and 105 sections.
[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.
[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.