Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Fragments 79 — Epictetus
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Fragments 79
As if you attempted to manage a ship, you would certainly learn completely the steersman’s art, [so if you would administer a state, learn the art of managing a state]. For it will be in your power, as in the first case to manage the whole ship, so in the second case also to manage the whole state.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Fragments 79, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/79
Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesIf you wanted to steer a ship, you would first learn the pilot's craft, and likewise anyone who wants to govern must learn the skill of governing. Leading takes training, not just ambition.
Older wording
- “steersman”
- — the person who steers a ship, a pilot
Themes and situations
- Leadership and power
- Duty and roles
- Learning and progress
- Community and our duty to others
- Leading others
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