250 EPICTETUS
he is your brother, that you were raised up together, and you will take hold of it using
the handle by which it may be carried.
Chapter 44: These inferences are invalid: “I am richer than you, therefore I am
better than you”; “I am more eloquent than you, therefore I am better than you.” But
these are better argued: “I am richer than you, therefore my property is greater than
yours;” “I am more eloquent than you, therefore my speech is superior to yours.” For
you,of course, are neither property nor speech.
Chapter 45: Does someone bathe hastily? Do not say that they do so badly, but
hastily. Does someone drink a great deal of wine? Do not say that they do this badly,
but that they drink a great deal. For until you understand their motives, how do you
know that what they do is bad? Understand this and you will never receive convincing
impressions but assent to quite different ones.
Chapter 46: [1] On no occasion call yourself a philosopher, and do not talk a great
deal amongst uneducated people about philosophical principles, but do what follows
from those principles. For example, at a banquet do not talk about how people ought to
eat, but eat as someone should. Remember how Socrates had so completely eliminated
ostentation that people would come to him wanting him to introduce them to philoso-
phers, and he would take them off to other philosophers: so little did he care about being
overlooked. [2] And if a discussion about philosophical principles should arise in uned-
ucated people, keep silent for the most part, for there is great danger that you will
immediately vomit up what you have not yet digested. And when someone says to you
that you know nothing, and you are not offended, then know that you have begun your
work. For sheep do not show the shepherd how much they have eaten by vomiting up
their fodder, but they digest their food within to produce wool and milk on the outside.
So do not display your philosophical principles to uneducated people, but show them
the actions that result from the principles when you digest them.
Chapter 47: Once you have adapted your body to plain simple living, do not make
a show of it. When you drink water, do not declare on every occasion that you are drink-
ing water. If you want to train yourself to endure hardships, do it by yourself, away from
other people. Do not embrace statues, but if you are ever thirsty, take a mouthful of cold
water and spit it out without telling anyone.
Chapter 48: [1] The condition and character of the uneducated person is this: they
never look for benefit or harm to come from themselves, but from external things. The con-
dition and character of the philosopher is this: they look for every benefit and harm to come
from themselves. [2] The signs that someone is making progress are these: they blame no
one, they praise no one, they find fault with no one, they accuse no one, they never say any-
thing of themselves as though they amount to something or know anything. When they are
impeded or hindered, they blame themselves. If someone praises them, they laugh inwardly
at the person who praises them, and if anyone censures them, they make no defence. They
go about as if they were sick, cautious not to disturb what is healing before they are fully
recovered. [3] They have rid themselves of all desires, and have transferred their aversion to
only those things contrary to nature that are in our power. They have no strong preferences
in regard to anything. If they appear foolish or ignorant, they do not care. In a word, they
keep guard over themselves as though they are their own enemy lying in wait.
Chapter 49: When someone prides themselves on being able to understand and
explain Chrysippus, say to yourself, “If Chrysippus had not written obscurely, this person
would have nothing on which to pride themselves.” But what do I want? To understand
nature, and to follow her. Therefore I seek someone who can explain this to me, and when
I hear that Chrysippus can do so, I go to him. But I do not understand his writings; so I seek
someone who can explain them to me. Now, up to this point there is nothing to be proud of.