Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Discourses 2.24 ¶4 — Epictetus
From “To (Or Against) a Person Who Was One of Those Who Were Not Valued (Esteemed) by Him”
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Discourses 2.24 ¶4
“But I also am rich.” Are you then richer than Agamemnon? “But I am also handsome.” Are you then more handsome than Achilles? “But I have also beautiful hair.” But had not Achilles more beautiful hair and gold colored? and he did not comb it elegantly nor dress it. “But I am also strong.” Can you then lift so great a stone as Hector or Ajax? “But I am also of noble birth.” Are you the son of a goddess mother? Are you the son of a father sprung from Zeus? What good then do these things do to him, when he sits and weeps for a girl? “But I am an orator.” And was he not? Do you not see how he handled the most skillful of the Hellenes in oratory, Odysseus and Phoenix? how he stopped their mouths?
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Discourses 2.24 ¶4, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/discourses/2.24.4
Epictetus, Discourses (as recorded by Arrian), tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWealth, looks, strength, birth and eloquence do not protect anyone from folly and misery, as Achilles, who had them all in abundance, still sat weeping over a girl. Do not take pride in advantages that others have had in greater measure and which did not save them.
Older wording
- “orator”
- — a skilled public speaker
Themes and situations
- Pride and humility
- Envy and comparison
- Wealth and poverty
- Virtue and character
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Handling success
- Envy and comparison
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