Epictetus Entry (Sections 31-53)

As I continued reading the restrictions imparted by the Stoic philosophy I came against an additional few which woke my interest. Among these I found very practical the idea to “Set up right now a certain character and pattern for yourself which you will preserve when you are by yourself and when you are with people.” (pg. 22) I deduce by this that we are supposed to be ourselves in all possible conditions and situations. Meaning that regardless of whom we are surrounded with, the places that we are found in, or the circumstances that are occurring, we are presumed to behave as we usually do, and act accordingly to our personal morals. Consequently on no account must we speak excessively, nor shall we rattle about shallow matters (sleeping, eating, drinking), but if doing so, we ought to avoid criticizing, comparing or blaming anything or else anyone. We must be discrete about any matter, and speak of it simply when essential. For the most importance, we must never converse profoundly when found among strangers nor must we act unrestrainedly since, “…if the appropriate occasion arises, take great care not to slide into their ways, since certainly if a person’s companion is dirty the person who spends time with him, even if he happens to be clean, is bound to become dirty too.” (pg. 23) Thus we should always be aware of the people we hang out with, since even if we realize their dire influence on us, we can be fooled and fall into their deceitful ways. Nevertheless we should never boast about our abstinence of these vices, if we desist from them, nor shall we judge those not capable of resisting them.

An additional suggestion mentioned in the Handbook of Epictetus consists that “Whenever you encounter some kind of apparent pleasure, be on guard, as in the case of other appearances, not to be carried away by it…” (pg. 24) Thus this means that appearances frequently trick humans into falling for superficial and insignificant matters. Even though we live in a world surrounded by appearances, we must gain knowledge of how to control them and not be carried away by them. We must learn to realize the differences between what those appearances represent to what they really stand for, therefore, “…bring before your mind two times, both the time when you enjoy the pleasure and the time after enjoying it you later regret it and berate yourself…” (pg. 24) Representing the idea of thinking before acting, no matter how big the temptation is, you should always stand firmly to your believes and fight the lure of appearances.

Along this section of Epictetus I found a pair of sentences which came to my notice: “When you do something that you determine is to be done, never try not to be seen doing it, even if most people are likely to think something bad about it.” (pg. 24) I entirely agree with this statement due to the fact that more than a few times we are influenced by the opinions of others, and we stop pursuing our own dreams just by the thought of being unconstructively judged. However we mustn’t let this fact bring us down, given that if we are proud of what we’re doing, people’s opinions become trivial. Nonetheless, “If you are not doing it rightly, avoid the act itself; if you are doing it rightly, why do you fear those who will criticize you wrongly?” (pg. 24)

Since the moment we are born we are told what is right and wrong and are brought up in a way in which we grow, mature and acquire what most consider the worries of everyday life. If we are destined to live our lives to their very potential, we owe it to ourselves and our creator to question all that which we have come to know and do. It is through this that the Handbook of Epictetus offers some knowledge in areas of personal apprehensions, how they affect our lives and the manner to confront and handle them.