This is said to be a painting of eighteenth century classicist Elizabeth Carter as Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. I understand the passages below from Epictetus to be from her 1758 translation. She was born in 1717 and died in 1806. Both the photo of the painting and the text are in the public domain. I happened upon the photo in Wikipedia while searching for the source of this translation to see if it would be okay if I reproduced it here. It was a nice discovery!
* * * * * * * * *
From The Handbook:
30. [...] Are you naturally entitled to a good father? No, only to a father. Is a brother unjust? Well, keep your own situation towards him. Consider not what he does, but what you are to do to keep your own faculty of choice in a state conformable to nature. For another will not hurt you unless you please. You will then be hurt when you think you are hurt.
31. Be assured that the essential property of piety toward the gods is to form right opinions concerning them--as existing and as governing the universe with goodness and justice. And fix yourself in this resolution, to obey them and yield to them and willingly follow them in all events as produced by the most perfect understanding. For thus, you will never find fault with the gods, nor accuse them as neglecting you, and it is not possible for this to be effected any other way than by withdrawing yourself from things not in our control and placing good or evil in those only which are. For if you suppose any of the things not in our control to be either good or evil, when you are disappointed of what you wish, or incur what you would avoid, you must necessarily find fault with and blame the authors. For every animal is naturally formed to fly, and abhor things that appear hurtful and the causes of them, and to pursue and admire those which seem beneficial, and the causes of them. It is impractical then, that one who supposes himself to be hurt should be happy about the person who, he thinks, hurts him, just as it is impossible to be happy about the hurt itself. Hence, also, the father is reviled by the son when he does not impart to him the things which he takes to be good. And supposing empire to be a good made Polynices and Eteocles mutually enemies. On this account the husbandman, the sailor, the merchant, on this account those who lose wives and children, revile the gods. For where interest is, there too is piety placed. So that, whoever is careful to regulate his desires and aversions as he ought, is, by the very same means, careful of piety likewise. But it is also incumbent on everyone to offer libations, and sacrifices, and first fruits, conformably to the customs of his country, with purity, and not in a slovenly manner, nor negligently, nor sparingly, nor beyond his ability.
48. The condition and characteristic of a vulgar person is, that he never expects either benefit or hurt from himself, but from externals. The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is, that he expects all hurt and benefit from himself. The marks of a proficient are, that he censures no one, praises no one, blames no one, accuses no one, says nothing concerning himself as being anybody, or knowing anything: when he is, in any instance hindered or restrained, he accuses himself; and, if he is praised, he secretly laughs at the person who praises him; and if he is censured, he makes no defense. But he goes about with the caution of sick or injured people, dreading to move anything that is set right, before it is perfectly fixed. He suppresses all desire in himself; he transfers his aversion to those things only which thwart the proper use of our own faculty of choice; the exertion of his active powers toward anything is very gentle; if he appears stupid or ignorant, he does not care, and, in a word, he watches himself as an enemy and one in ambush.
No comments:
Post a Comment