Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE
Fragments 82 — Epictetus
Translation by George Long (1877)
Epictetus, Fragments 82
Do not decorate the walls of your house with the valuable stones from Euboea and Sparta; but adorn the minds (breasts) of the citizens and of those who administer the state with the instruction which comes from Hellas (Greece). For states are well governed by the wisdom (judgment) of men, but not by stone and wood.
Cite this passage
Epictetus, Fragments 82, tr. George Long (1877)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/82
Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesSpend on educating the minds of citizens and leaders rather than on costly marble for your walls. A society is governed well by wise people, not by stone and timber.
Older wording
- “Hellas”
- — Greece
- “administer”
- — govern, manage
Themes and situations
- Leadership and power
- Simplicity and frugality
- Wealth and poverty
- Learning and progress
- Community and our duty to others
- Leading others
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