Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Discourses 1.2 ¶9 — Epictetus
From “How a Man on Every Occasion Can Maintain His Proper Character”
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Discourses 1.2 ¶9
Only consider at what price you sell your own will: if for no other reason, at least for this, that you sell it not for a small sum. But that which is great and superior perhaps belongs to Socrates and such as are like him. Why then, if we are naturally such, are not a very great number of us like him? Is it true then that all horses become swift, that all dogs are skilled in tracking footprints? What then, since I am naturally dull, shall I, for this reason, take no pains? I hope not. Epictetus is not superior to Socrates; but if he is not inferior, this is enough for me; for I shall never be a Milo, and yet I do not neglect my body; nor shall I be a Croesus, and yet I do not neglect my property; nor, in a word, do we neglect looking after anything because we despair of reaching the highest degree.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Discourses 1.2 ¶9, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/discourses/1.2.9
Epictetus, Discourses (as recorded by Arrian), tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesThink about what price you put on your own will, which should at least not be a small one. Not everyone will become a Socrates, but that is no reason to stop trying, just as we do not neglect our health because we will never be a champion wrestler or our money because we will never be a millionaire. Failing to reach the highest level is no excuse for giving up effort.
Older wording
- “Milo”
- — a famous Greek wrestler of legendary strength
- “Croesus”
- — a king proverbial for his wealth
Themes and situations
- Learning and progress
- Self-discipline and habit
- Virtue and character
- Fear of failure
- Envy and comparison
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