Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

Epictetus and the Imperial Court 117

Ifthathintofidentificationisnotmisleading,Epictetuswasnottheonly
pundittogivethismanthebenefitofhisadvice.ForitwastoCorneliusPul-
cherthatPlutarchaddressedhistreatiseOn Gaining Profit from One’s Enemies,
whichbeginswithareferencetoPulcher’smildandbeneficialpoliticalac-
tivities—andtothefactthathewasanassiduousreaderofPlutarch’sPolitical
Precepts.^86
Finally,thereisabriefdialogue,whichEpictetusreports,betweenhim-
selfandamanwhoheldthepriesthoodofAugustusatNicopolis.Epictetus
had said, ‘‘Drop the business; you will spend a lot of money for nothing.’’
‘‘Buttheywillwritemynameoncontracts.’’‘‘Andwillyoubepresenttosay
tothosewhoreadthemout—‘thatismynametheyhavewritten?’Andeven
ifyoucanbepresenteverytimenow,whataboutwhenyouaredead?’’‘‘My
namewillliveafterme.’’‘‘Writeitonastoneanditwillliveafteryou.Who
willrememberyououtsideNicopolis?’’‘‘ButIshallwearacrownofgold.’’
‘‘Ifyouwantacrownatall,takeoneofrosesandwearit;youwilllookmore
elegantinthat.’’^87 Likethepostofsevir augustalissomuchvaluedbyTrimal-
chio,^88 theman’spriesthoodinthepassageillustratesperfectlythepolitical
functionsofemperorworship,inprovidingforthewealthyclasseshonor-
ificpositionswhichbothgavethemprestigeandidentifiedthemwiththe
regime.
Suchissome,bynomeansall,ofthetestimonyEpictetuscanprovidefor
the social and political life of his time. A numberof problems have to be
facedifthetestimonyistobeusedashistoricalevidence.Firstly,canwetrust
Arrian’sstatementthatthetextoftheDissertationsconsistsofthewordsof
Epictetusasrecordedverbatimbyhim?Giventhepossiblelimitsofaccuracy
insuchaprocedure,IcanseenothingintheDissertationstoprovetheclaim
incredible.Secondly,canwetrustEpictetus’statementsaboutincidentsand
historicaleventsoccurringuptosomeforty-fiveyearsbeforethemomentof
speaking?Noneofhisstatementsisdirectlyrefutablefromanyothersource,
and some are confirmed,^89 and where he adds facts not otherwise known,
thesefitwithwhatweknowfromotherevidence.
Itisaquitedifferentproblemtodecidehowfaritwouldbevalidtotake
over Epictetus’ attitudes to, and valuation of, the institutions and customs
hementions.Theslaveof EpaphroditusexiledunderDomitianwouldnot
be likely to view the values and aspirations of Roman society with much

86.Mor.86B–D.

87. 1,19,26–29.


88. Petronius,Sat.30,71.


89. Onemightnoteespeciallyhisstatementin3,3,3thatitisforbiddentorejectim-
    perialcoins,whichisconfirmedbyPaulus,Sent.5,25,1.