Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Discourses 2.2 ¶2 — Epictetus
From “Of Tranquillity (Freedom from Perturbation)”
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Discourses 2.2 ¶2
Therefore Socrates said to one who was reminding him to prepare for his trial, “Do you not think then that I have been preparing for it all my life?” By what kind of preparation? “I have maintained that which was in my own power.” How then? “I have never done anything unjust either in my private or in my public life.”
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Discourses 2.2 ¶2, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/discourses/2.2.2
Epictetus, Discourses (as recorded by Arrian), tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesThe best preparation for a trial or test is a lifetime of acting well. Asked whether he was ready for his trial, Socrates replied that he had been preparing all his life by never doing anything unjust in private or in public.
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Justice and fairness
- Preparing for difficulty
- Courage
- Fear of failure
- Nerves before a big moment
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