Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Discourses 2.18 ¶2 — Epictetus
From “How We Should Struggle Against Appearances”
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Discourses 2.18 ¶2
So it is with respect to the affections of the soul: when you have been angry, you must know that not only has this evil befallen you, but that you have also increased the habit, and in a manner thrown fuel upon fire. When you have been overcome in sexual intercourse with a person, do not reckon this single defeat only, but reckon that you have also nurtured, increased your incontinence. For it is impossible for habits and faculties, some of them not to be produced, when they did not exist before, and others not be increased and strengthened by corresponding acts.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Discourses 2.18 ¶2, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/discourses/2.18.2
Epictetus, Discourses (as recorded by Arrian), tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesEvery time you give in to anger or to temptation you do more than make a single mistake, because you also strengthen the habit and make the next lapse more likely, like throwing fuel on a fire. Count each lapse as training the wrong tendency, not as a one-off.
Older wording
- “incontinence”
- — lack of self-control
- “affections of the soul”
- — emotions and desires
Themes and situations
- Self-discipline and habit
- Anger
- Desire and craving
- Emotions and the passions
- Learning and progress
- Breaking a bad habit
- Being angry with someone
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