Epictetus · Complete work
Chapter 49
Chapter 49 of 53. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
[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.
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.
[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.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 53 Ancient Greek chapters and 105 sections.
[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.