If the things are true which are said by the philosophers about the kinship between God and man, what else remains for men to do than what Socrates d… - Epictetus
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If the things are true which are said by the philosophers about the kinship between God and man, what else remains for men to do than what Socrates did? Never in reply to the question, to what country you belong, say that you are an Athenian or a Corinthian, but that you are a citizen of the world.
From Epictetus's discourse on how kinship with God leads on to its consequences (Discourses I.9), recorded by his student Arrian; on Socrates's answer to the question where he came from.
Epictetus (c. 55 – c. 135 AD), born a slave, was a Greek Stoic philosopher. His words were recorded by his student Arrian in the Discourses and Enchiridion written in the early 2nd-century.
Biography information from
Wikiquote·
Portrait adapted from
Wikimedia Commons, Theodoor Galle (Public domain / CC0)
Also Known As
Native Name:
ΕΠΙΚΤΗΤΟΣ
Alternative Names:
Epictetus of Hierapolis
•
Epiktetos
Remind thyself that he whom thou lovest is mortal that what thou lovest is not thine own; it is given thee for the present, not irrevocably nor for ever, but even as a fig or a bunch of grapes at the appointed season of the year
When you are going to take in hand any act, remind yourself what kind of an act it is. If you are going to bathe, place before yourself what happens in the bath: some splashing the water, others pushing against one another, others abusing one another, and some stealing.
Enchiridion 4, the handbook of Epictetus's teaching compiled by his student Arrian.
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