The Daily Stoic - Epictetus - The Enchiridion Pt. 1

Episode Date: July 31, 2022

The Enchiridion is one of the essential texts of Stoic philosophy, and one of the most important ancient documents that we have access to. It is a concentrated collection of Epictetus’s wisest teachings and contains all the fundamentals of his philosophy. It is a guiding text and required reading for students of Stoic philosophy.📕Get a copy of Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus at the Painted Porch BookshopEpictetus was born nearly 2,000 years ago in Hierapolis (present-day Pamukkale in Turkey) as a slave in a wealthy household. Epaphroditus, his owner, gave him the permission to pursue liberal studies and it is how Epictetus discovered philosophy through the Stoic Musonius Rufus who became his teacher and mentor. Later, Epictetus obtained his freedom shortly after emperor Nero’s death and started teaching philosophy in Rome for nearly 25 years. This lasted until emperor Domitian famously banished all philosophers in Rome. Epictetus fled to Nicopolis in Greece where he founded a philosophy school and taught there until his death.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Stoic Podcast. On Sundays, we take a deeper dive into these ancient topics with excerpts from the Stoic texts, from the Stoic texts, audio books that you like here recommend here at Daily Stoic, and other long form wisdom that you can chew on on this relaxing weekend. We hope this helps shape your understanding of this philosophy and most importantly that you're able to apply it to actual life. Thank you for listening. of life. Thank you. For listening. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wenderees Podcast Business Wars. And in our new season, Walmart must fight off target, the new discounter that's both savvy and fashion-forward. Listen to business wars on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Here we are another weekend edition of the Daily Stoic Podcast, and today I'm bringing

you another chunk from Epic Titus, actually directly from the Incaridian, one of the essential texts of Stoic philosophy. As we've talked about before, Epicictetus doesn't write anything down. Epictetus's lectures are recorded by his student Aryan, and then those are kind of reduced and summarized or distilled, the best pieces into what's known as the In-Karitian. The In-Karitian meaning at hand, there's some idea that it's a defensive weapon,

the connotation of that word. So the idea is you were supposed to carry this with you. Famously, this is what Stockdale does. He's introduced to the Incaridian while a graduate student at Stanford when he parachutes into Vietnam. He says, I'm leaving the world of technology and entering the world of epictetus. And he draws on the thinking of epictetus there in that prison, because Epic Titus himself experienced captivity and torture and so much adversity.

So today I'm gonna bring you part one of four parts of Epic Titus' wisest teachings and the fundamentals of his philosophy. I hope you enjoy this. It was translated by Elizabeth Carter and I'm happy to bring it to you. Some things are in our control and others are not. Things in our control or opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever

are not our own actions. The things in our control are by nature free, unrestrained, unhindered, but those not in our control are weak, slavish, restrained, belonging to others. Remember then that if you suppose that things which are slavish by nature are also free, and that what belongs to others is your own, then you will be hindered. You will lament, you will be disturbed, and you will find fault both with God's and men. But if you suppose that only to be your own, which is your own, and what belongs to others such as it really is, then no one will ever compel you or restrain you. Further, you will find fault with no one or accuse no one. You will do nothing against your will. No one will hurt you. You will have no enemies, and you not be harmed. Aiming therefore at such great things, remember

that you must not allow yourself to be carried, even with a slight tendency towards the attainment of lesser things. Instead, you must entirely quit some things, and for the present postpone the rest. But if you would both have these great things, along with power and riches, then you will not gain even the latter, because you aim at the former too. But you will absolutely fail of the former, by which alone happiness and freedom are achieved. Work, therefore, to be able to say to every harsh appearance, you are but an appearance, and not absolutely the thing you appear to be, and then examine it by those rules which you have and first and chiefly by this, whether it concerns the things which are in our own control, or those which are not.

And, if it concerns anything not in our control, be prepared to say that it is nothing to you. Remember that the following desire promises the attainment of that which you are desirous, and a version promises the avoiding that to which you are a verse. However, he who fails to obtain the object of his desire is disappointed, and he who incurs the object of his aversion wretched. If then, you can find your aversion to those objects, only which are contrary to the natural use of your faculties, which you have in your own control. You will never incur anything to which you are averse. But if you are averse to sickness, or death,

or poverty, you will be wretched. Remove a version then from all things that are not in our control and transfer it to things contrary to the nature of what is in our control. But for the present, totally suppressed desire, for if you desire any of the things which are not in your own control, you must necessarily be disappointed and of those which are and which it would be laudable to desire. Nothing is yet in your possession. Use only the appropriate actions of pursuit and avoidance and even these lightly and with gentleness and reservation. With regard to whatever objects give you delight, are useful, or are deeply loved, remember to tell yourself of what general nature they are, beginning from the most insignificant

things. If, for example, you are fond of a specific ceramic cup, remind yourself that it is only ceramic cups in general of which you are fond. Then, if it breaks, you will not be disturbed. If you kiss your child or your wife, say that you only kiss things which are human, and thus you will not be disturbed if either of them dies. When you are going about any action, remind yourself what nature the action is. If you are going to bathe, picture yourself the things which usually happen in the bath. Some people splash water. Some push. Some use abusive language and other steal.

Thus, you will more safely go about this action if you say to yourself, I will now go bath and keep my own mind in a state conformable to nature, and in the same manner with regard to every other action. For thus, if any hindrance arises in bathing, you will have it ready to say, it was not only to bathe that I desired, but to keep my mind in a state conformable to nature, and I will not keep it if I am bothered at things that happen. Man are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things.

Death, for instance, is not terrible. Elcid would have appeared so to Socrates, but the terror consists in our notion of death that it is terrible. When therefore we are hindered or disturbed or grieved, let us never attribute it to others, but to ourselves. That is to our own principles. An uninstructed person will lay the fault of his own bad condition upon others. Someone just starting instruction will lay the fault on himself. Some who is perfectly instructed will place blame neither on others nor on himself. Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not Your own.

If a horse should be prideful and say, I am handsome, it would be supportable. But when you are prideful and say, I have a handsome horse. Know that you are proud of what is, in fact, only the good of the horse. What then is your own? Only your reaction to the appearances of things. Thus, when you behave conformably to nature and reaction to how things appear, you will be proud with reason, for you will take pride in some good of your own. Celebrity feuds are high stakes. You never know if you're just going to end up on Page Six or Du Moir or in court.

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as Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears. When Britney's fans form the free Britney movement, dedicated to fraying her from the infamous conservatorship. Jamie Lynn's lack of public support. It angered some fans. A lot of them. It's a story of two young women who had their choices taken away from them by their controlling parents, but took their anger out on each other.

And it's about a movement to save a superstar, which set its sights upon anyone who failed to fight for Britney. Follow Dissentel wherever you get your podcast. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or the Wondery app. Consider when, on a voyage, your ship is anchored. If you go on shore to get water, you may along the way amuse yourself with picking up a shellfish or an onion. However, your thoughts and continual attention ought to be

bent towards the ship, waiting for the captain to call on board. You must then immediately leave all these things, otherwise you will be thrown into the ship, bound a neck and feet like a sheep. So it is with life. If instead of an onion or a shellfish, you are given a wife or child that is fine. But if the captain calls, you must run to the ship, leaving them, and regarding none of them. But if you are old, never go far from the ship. Last, when you are called, you should be unable to come in time.

Don't demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but not to your ability to choose, unless that is your choice. Lainness is a hindrance to the leg, but not to your ability to choose. Say this to yourself with regard to everything that happens. Then you will see such obstacles as hinderances to something else, but not to yourself. With every accident, ask yourself what abilities you have for making proper use of it. If

you see an attractive person, you will find that self-restraint is the ability you have against your desire. If you are in pain, you will find fortitude. If you hear unpleasant language, you will find patience. In thus habituated, the appearances of things will not hurry you away along with them. Never say of anything I have lost it, but I have returned it. Is your child dead? It is returned. Is your wife dead?

She is returned. Is your estate taken away? Well, and is not that likewise returned. But he who took it away is a bad man. What difference is it to you who the giver assigns to take it back? While he gives it to you to possess, take care of it, but don't view it as your own, just as travelers view a hotel. If you want to improve, reject such reasonings as these. If I neglect my affairs, I'll have no income.

If I don't correct my servant, he will be bad. For it is better to die with hunger, exempt from grief and fear, than to live in affluence with perturbation, and it is better your servant should be bad than you unhappy. Begin therefore from little things, is a little oil spilt, is a little wine stolen. Say to yourself, this is the price paid for equanimity,

for tranquility, and nothing is to be had for nothing. When you call your servant, it is possible that he may not come, or, if he does, he may not do what you want. But he is by no means of such importance that it should be in his power to give you any disturbance. If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid with regard to external things. Don't wish to be thought to know anything, and even if you appear to be somebody important to others, distrust yourself. For it is difficult to both keep your faculty of

choice in a state conformable to nature, and at the same time acquire external things. But while you are careful about the one, you must of necessity neglect the other. If you wish your children and your wife and your friends to live forever, you are stupid. For you wish to be in control of things which you cannot. You wish for things that belong to others to be your own. So likewise, if you wish you're servant to be without fault, you are a fool, for you wish vice not to be vice, but something else. But if you wish to have your desires undisappointed, this is in your

own control. Exercise, therefore, what is in your control? He is the master of every other person who is able to confer or remove whatever that person wishes, either to have or to avoid. Whoever then would be free, let him wish nothing. Let him decline nothing, which depends on others else, he must necessarily be a slave. Remember that you must behave in life as at a dinner party. Is nothing brought around to you? Put out your hand and take your share with moderation. Does it pass by you? Don't stop it.

Is it not yet come? Don't stretch your desire towards it. But wait till it reaches you. Do this with regard to children, to a wife, to public posts, to riches, and you will eventually be a worthy partner of the feasts of the gods. And if you don't even take the things which are set before you, but are able even to reject them, then you will not only be a partner at the feasts of the gods, but also of their empire. For by doing this, Diogenies, Heraclitus, and others like them

deservedly became and were called divine. Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoic podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30 million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years we've been doing it. It's an honor. Please spread the word, tell people about it, and this isn't to sell anything. I just wanted to say thank you. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily stoic early and ad free on Amazon music.

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