Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Enchiridion 3 — Epictetus
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Enchiridion 3
In everything which pleases the soul, or supplies a want, or is loved, remember to add this to the (description, notion); what is the nature of each thing, beginning from the smallest? If you love an earthen vessel, say it is an earthen vessel which you love; for when it has been broken, you will not be disturbed. If you are kissing your child or wife, say that it is a human being whom you are kissing, for when the wife or child dies, you will not be disturbed.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Enchiridion 3, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/enchiridion/3
Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesRemind yourself what each thing you love really is, starting with small objects, so you are not shattered when it is lost. Say that a cup is a cup, and when you kiss your child or partner, remember they are a mortal human being, so that if death comes it does not completely throw you.
Older wording
- “earthen vessel”
- — a clay pot or cup
- “notion”
- — idea or description
Themes and situations
- Grief and mourning
- Change and impermanence
- Preparing for difficulty
- Desire and craving
- Bereavement
- Anxiety about the future
- Parenting
Quote cards
The opening line of this passage as an image, with its citation — for sharing or keeping.