Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Fragments 177 — Epictetus
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Fragments 177
He (Epictetus) said that he had discovered an art in giving assent; and in the topic (matter) of the movements he had discovered that we must observe attention, that the movements be subject to exception, (μεφ’ ὑπεξαιρέσεως), that they be social, that they be according to the worth of each thing; and that we ought to abstain entirely from desire, and to employ aversion (ἐκκλίσει) to none of the things which are not in our power.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Fragments 177, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/177
Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesA compact summary of three training areas. Examine your impressions carefully before agreeing with them. Act on your impulses with a reserve clause (if nothing prevents it), in a way that serves other people and fits the real worth of the thing. And drop desire altogether while avoiding only what lies in your own choice, never things outside your power.
Older wording
- “assent”
- — agreeing to or accepting an impression as true
- “subject to exception”
- — held with a reserve clause, as in if nothing prevents it
- “aversion”
- — the urge to avoid something
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
- What is in our control
- Desire and craving
- Community and our duty to others
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