Discourses · Chapter
That We Can Derive Advantage from All External Things explained
Epictetus argues that good and evil reside not in external things but in our own judgments and use of them.
What happens
Epictetus argues that good and evil reside not in external things but in our own judgments and use of them. By applying right reason, we can turn even sickness, death, poverty, and abuse to our advantage, just as an athlete profits from a tough sparring partner. He urges us to stop admiring material things and making ourselves slaves to them, and instead to use every external event as an opportunity to practice virtue.
Themes in this chapter
Dichotomy of Control
Epictetus emphasizes that good and evil are in our own judgments, not in externals, reinforcing the core Stoic distinction between what is up to us and what is not.
Desire and Aversion
The chapter teaches that we should not desire health or fear sickness, but rather use each circumstance rightly, aligning desire and aversion with virtue.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Is health a good thing, and is sickness a bad thing? No, man. But what is it? To be healthy, and healthy in a right way, is good: to be healthy in a bad way is bad; so that it is possible to gain advantage even from sickness, I declare.”
Health is not inherently good nor sickness inherently evil; what matters is how we use them. Even illness can be turned to our benefit if we approach it rightly.
Epictetus reframes conventional values, showing that external conditions are indifferent and only our use of them determines their moral worth.
“Cease, I adjure you by the gods, to admire material things. Cease to make yourselves slaves, first of things, then, on account of things, slaves of those who are able to give them or take them away.”
Stop valuing possessions and externals, or you will become enslaved both to them and to the people who control them.
A direct call to reject attachment to material goods and the social dependencies they create.
“Bring disease, bring death, bring poverty, bring abuse, bring trial on capital charges: all these things through the rod of Hermes shall be made profitable.”
No matter what misfortune comes—sickness, death, poverty, insults, or even a death sentence—you can transform it into something beneficial by your own judgment and action.
The 'rod of Hermes' metaphor underscores the Stoic power to turn any external event into an opportunity for virtue.