Epictetus · Complete work
Chapter 39
Chapter 39 of 53. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
[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.
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.
[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.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 53 Ancient Greek chapters and 105 sections.
[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.