Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Discourses 3.15 ¶3 — Epictetus
From “That We Ought to Proceed with Circumspection to Everything”
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Discourses 3.15 ¶3
A person said to Rufus when Galba was murdered, “Is the world now governed by Providence?” But Rufus replied, “Did I ever incidentally form an argument from Galba that the world is governed by Providence?”
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Discourses 3.15 ¶3, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/discourses/3.15.3
Epictetus, Discourses (as recorded by Arrian), tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWhen someone asked whether the world could still be governed by providence after the emperor Galba was murdered, Rufus replied that he had never based that belief on Galba's fate. Belief in a rational order of the world does not depend on how any single powerful person turns out.
Older wording
- “Providence”
- — the rational, purposeful order that governs the universe
Themes and situations
- Nature and the cosmos
- Acceptance and fate
Quote cards
The opening line of this passage as an image, with its citation — for sharing or keeping.