Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Fragments 68 — Epictetus
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Fragments 68
Note: An anecdote about Pittacus, one of the Seven Sages, preserved among Epictetus’s fragments — not Epictetus’s own words.
Pittacus after being wronged by a certain person and having the power of punishing him let him go, saying, Forgiveness is better than revenge: for forgiveness is the sign of a gentle nature, but revenge the sign of a savage nature.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Fragments 68, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/68
Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesPittacus had the power to punish a man who had wronged him and let him go, judging forgiveness better than revenge: forgiving marks a gentle character, revenge a savage one.
Themes and situations
- Kindness and forgiveness
- Anger
- Justice and fairness
- Virtue and character
- Being angry with someone
- Betrayal
- Being treated unfairly
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