Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Fragments 29 — Epictetus
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Fragments 29
Make your manner of eating neither luxurious nor gloomy, but lively and frugal, that the soul may not be perturbed through being deceived by the pleasures of the body, and that it may despise them; and that the soul may not be injured by the enjoyment of present luxury, and the body may not afterwards suffer from disease.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Fragments 29, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/29
Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesEat in a way that is neither lavish nor grim, but cheerful and plain. That keeps your mind from being pulled around by bodily pleasures, lets you see through them, and spares your body the illness that follows from indulgence.
Older wording
- “perturbed”
- — unsettled or disturbed
Themes and situations
- Self-discipline and habit
- Simplicity and frugality
- Pleasure and pain
- Peace of mind
- Breaking a bad habit
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