Ch. 14
To Naso.
WHEN a certain Roman entered with his son and listened
to one reading, Epictetus said, This is the method of instruction; and he stopped. When the Roman asked him
to go on, Epictetus said, Every art when it is taught
causes labour to him who is unacquainted with it and
is unskilled in it, and indeed the things which proceed
from the arts immediately show their use in the purpose
for which they were made; and most of them contain something attractive and pleasing. For indeed to be present
and to observe how a shoemaker learns is not a pleasant
thing; but the shoe is useful and also not disagreeable to
look at. And the discipline of a smith when he is learning
is very disagreeable to one who chances to be present and
is a stranger to the art: but the work shows the use of
the art. But you will see this much more in music; for
if you are present while a person is learning, the discipline will appear most disagreeable; and yet the results
of music are pleasing and delightful to those who know
nothing of music. And here we conceive the work of a
philosopher to be something of this kind: he must adapt
his wish (βούλησιν) to what is going on,312 so that neither
any of the things which are taking place shall take place
contrary to our wish, nor any of the things which do not
take place shall not take place when we wish that they
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should. From this the result is to those who have so
arranged the work of philosophy, not to fail in the desire,
nor to fall in with that which they would avoid; without
uneasiness, without fear, without perturbation to pass
through life themselves, together with their associates
maintaining the relations both natural and acquired,313 as
the relation of son, of father, of brother, of citizen, of man,
of wife, of neighbour, of fellow traveller, of ruler, of ruled.
The work of a philosopher we conceive to be something
like this. It remains next to inquire how this must be
accomplished.
We see then that the carpenter (τέκτων) when he has
learned certain things becomes a carpenter; the pilot by
learning certain things becomes a pilot. May it not then in
philosophy also not be sufficient to wish to be wise and good,
and that there is also a necessity to learn certain things?
We inquire then what these things are. The philosophers
say that we ought first to learn that there is a God and
that he provides for all things; also that it is not possible
to conceal from him our acts, or even our intentions and
thoughts.314 The next thing is to learn what is the nature
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of the Gods; for such as they are discovered to be, he, who
would please and obey them, must try with all his power
to be like them. If the divine is faithful, man also must
be faithful; if it is free, man also must be free; if beneficent, man also must be beneficent; if magnanimous, mall
also must be magnanimous; as being then an imitator of
God he must do and say every thing consistently with this
fact.
With what then must we begin? If you will enter on
the discussion, I will tell you that you must first under-
stand names315 (words).So then you say that I do not
now understand names.You do not understand them.
How then do I use them?Just as the illiterate use
written language, as cattle use appearances: for use is
one thing, understanding is another. But if you think
that you understand them, produce whatever word you
please, and let us try whether we understand it.But it
is a disagreeable thing for a man to be confuted who is
now old, and, it may be, has now served his three campaigns.I too know this: for now you are come to me as
if you were in want of nothing: and what could you even
imagine to be wanting to you? You are rich, you have
children and a wife perhaps, and many slaves: Caesar
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knows you, in Rome you have many friends, you render
their dues to all, you know how to requite him who does
you a favour, and to repay in the same kind him who
does you a wrong. What do you lack? If then I shall shew
you that you lack the things most necessary and the chief
things for happiness, and that hitherto you have looked
after every thing rather than what you ought, and, to crown
all,316 that you neither know what God is nor what man is,
nor what is good nor what is bad; and as to what I have said
about your ignorance of other matters, that may perhaps be
endured, but if I say that you know nothing about yourself,
how is it possible that you should endure me and bear the
proof and stay here? It is not possible; but you immediately go off in bad humour. And yet what harm have
I done you? unless the mirror also injures the ugly man
because it shows him to himself such as he is; unless the
physician also is supposed to insult the sick man, when he
says to him, Man, do you think that you ail nothing?
But you have a fever: go without food today; drink
water. And no one says, what an insult! But if you
say to a man, Your desires are inflamed, your aversions
are low, your intentions are inconsistent, your pursuits
(movements) are not conformable to nature, your opinions
are rash and false, the man immediately goes away and
says, He has insulted me.
Our way of dealing is like that of a crowded assembly.317
Beasts are brought to be sold and oxen; and the greater
part of the men come to buy and sell, and there are some
few who come to look at the market and to inquire how
it is carried on, and why, and who fixes the meeting
and for what purpose. So it is here also in this assembly (of life): some like cattle trouble themselves about
nothing except their fodder. For to all of you who are
busy about possessions and lands and slaves and magisterial offices, these are nothing except fodder. But there
are a few who attend the assembly, men who love to
look on and consider what is the world, who governs it.
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Has it no governor?318 And how is it possible that a city
or a family cannot continue to exist, not even the shortest
time without an administrator and guardian, and that so
great and beautiful a system should be administered with
such order and yet without a purpose and by chance?319
There is then an administrator. What kind of administrator and how does he govern? And who are we, who
were produced by him, and for what purpose? Have we
some connexion with him and some relation towards him,
or none? This is the way in which these few are affected,
and then they apply themselves only to this one thing, to
examine the meeting and then to go away. What then?
They are ridiculed by the many, as the spectators at the
fair are by the traders; and if the beasts had any understanding, they would ridicule those who admired anything
else than fodder.
