Epictetus · Complete work
Chapter 31
Chapter 31 of 53. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 53 Ancient Greek chapters and 105 sections.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.