Epictetus
ἄνθρωπος ἑαυτὸν θεραπεύει, σὲ δ᾿ οὕτως ὡς τὸν ὄνον; 6ἐπεὶ τίς σε θεραπεύει ὡς ἄνθρωπον; δείκνυε. τίς σοι θέλει ὅμοιος γενέσθαι, τίς σου ζηλωτὴς γίνεται ὡς Σωκράτους; “ἀλλὰ δύναμαί σε τραχηλοκοπῆσαι.” καλῶς λέγεις. ἐξελαθόμην ὅτι σε δεῖ θεραπεύειν καὶ ὡς πυρετὸν καὶ ὡς χολέραν καὶ βωμὸν στῆσαι, ὡς ἐν Ῥώμῃ Πυρετοῦ βωμός ἐστιν.
7Τί οὖν ἐστι τὸ ταράσσον καὶ καταπλῆττον τοὺς πολλούς; ὁ τύραννος καὶ οἱ δορυφόροι; πόθεν; μὴ γένοιτο· οὐκ ἐνδέχεται τὸ φύσει ἐλεύθερον ὑπ᾿ ἄλλου 8τινὸς ταραχθῆναι ἢ κωλυθῆναι πλὴν ὑφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ. ἀλλὰ τὰ δόγματα αὐτὸν ταράσσει. ὅταν γὰρ ὁ τύραννος εἴπῃ τινὶ “δήσω σου τὸ σκέλος,” ὁ μὲν τὸ σκέλος τετιμηκὼς λέγει “μή· ἐλέησον,” ὁ δὲ τὴν προαίρεσιν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ λέγει “εἴ σοι λυσιτελέστερον φαίνεται, δῆσον.” “οὐκ ἐπιστρέφῃ;” “οὐκ ἐπιστρέφομαι.” “ἐγώ 9σοι δείξω ὅτι κύριός εἰμι.” “πόθεν σύ; ἐμὲ ὁ Ζεὺς ἐλεύθερον ἀφῆκεν. ἢ δοκεῖς ὅτι ἔμελλεν τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν ἐᾶν καταδουλοῦσθαι; τοῦ νεκροῦ δέ μου κύριος εἶ, 10λάβε αὐτόν.” “ὥσθ᾿ ὅταν μοι προσίῃς, ἐμὲ οὐ θεραπεύεις;” “οὐ· ἀλλ᾿ ἐμαυτόν. εἰ δὲ θέλεις με λέγειν ὅτι καὶ σέ, λέγω σοι οὕτως ὡς τὴν χύτραν.”
11Τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστιν φίλαυτον· γέγονε γὰρ οὕτως τὸ ζῷον· αὑτοῦ ἕνεκα πάντα ποιεῖ. καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἥλιος αὑτοῦ 12ἕνεκα πάντα ποιεῖ καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν αὐτὸς ὁ Ζεύς. ἀλλ᾿ ὅταν θέλῃ εἶναι Ὑέτιος καὶ Ἐπικάρπιος καὶ πατὴρ
Book I.19
to himself, and to you just as he does to his donkey? For who pays attention to you as to a man? Point him out to me. Who wishes to become like you? Who becomes a zealous follower of yours as men did of Socrates? “But I can cut off your head.” Well said! I had forgotten that I ought to pay attention to you, as to fever or cholera, and set up an altar to you, just as in Rome there is an altar to the God Fever.
What is it, then, that disturbs and bewilders the multitude? Is it the tyrant and his bodyguards? How is that possible? Nay, far from it! It is not possible that that which is by nature free should be disturbed or thwarted by anything but itself. But it is a man’s own judgements that disturb him. For when the tyrant says to a man, “I will chain your leg,” the man who has set a high value on his leg replies, “Nay, have mercy upon me,” while the man who has set a high value on his moral purpose replies, “If it seems more profitable to you to do so, chain it.” “Do you not care?” “No, I do not care.” “I will show you that I am master.” “How can you be my master? Zeus has set me free. Or do you really think that he was likely to let his own son be made a slave? You are, however, master of my dead body, take it.” “You mean, then, that when you approach me you will not pay attention to me?” “No, I pay attention only to myself. But if you wish me to say that I pay attention to you too, I tell you that I do so, but only as I pay attention to my pot.”
This is not mere self-love; such is the nature of the animal man; everything that he does is for himself. Why, even the sun does everything for its own sake, and, for that matter, so does Zeus himself. But when Zeus wishes to be “Rain-bringer,” and “Fruit-giver,” and “Father of men and