impassivity and a good flow of life are not attained except through unerring desire and unfailing avoidance - Epictetus
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impassivity and a good flow of life are not attained except through unerring desire and unfailing avoidance
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About
Epictetus
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
Everything, you see, that you throw at me I will transform into a blessing, a boon, something dignified - even enviable.
Now I am being called upon for some purpose. I answer the call determined to observe the right limits; to act with restraint, but also with confidence, devoid of desire or aversion towards externals.
I, personally, was never kept from something I wanted, nor had forced upon me something I was opposed to. How did I manage it? I submitted my will to God.
He wants me to be sick? Well then, so do I. He wants me to choose something? Then I choose it. He wants me to desire something? Then I desire it. He wants me to get something? I want the same, or he doesn’t want me to get it, and I concur. Thus, I even assent to death and torture. Now, no one can make me or keep me from acting in line with my inclination any more than they can similarly manipulate God.
