Discourses · Chapter
On the Same explained
Epictetus argues that if we truly believe good and evil lie only in our own will, we would not be disturbed or afraid.
What happens
Epictetus argues that if we truly believe good and evil lie only in our own will, we would not be disturbed or afraid. He reminds us that Zeus has given us what is our own (integrity, virtuous shame) free from hindrance, while what is not our own is subject to impediment. We must follow these divine precepts, play our role in life's game without breaking it, and remember that the door is always open—we can choose to leave any situation. Our opinions, not external things, squeeze and trouble us; like Socrates, we should remain unmoved by insults and reviling.
Themes in this chapter
Dichotomy of Control
The chapter centers on the distinction between what is in our power (our own will, integrity, virtuous shame) and what is not (external possessions, body, reputation), and how recognizing this frees us from disturbance.
Freedom and Slavery
Epictetus warns that setting our admiration on the body or possessions makes us slaves, because we become vulnerable to being caught by our attachments; true freedom lies in guarding only what is our own.
Philosophy as Practical Discipline
Philosophy is presented as a practical art with paradoxes, akin to surgery, that must be studied and practiced to become unimpeded and free, rather than merely talked about.
Characters to notice
- Zeus
Zeus is cited as the source of the precepts that guide human conduct, having given each person what is their own and forbidden them from desiring what belongs to others.
- Socrates
Socrates is held up as a model of one who always had one face, unmoved by insults, and who practiced the means to be unimpeded and free.
- Nero
Nero is mentioned in the context of Demetrius's remark that Nero threatens death but nature threatens Nero.
- Demetrius
Demetrius is quoted as saying to Nero, 'You threaten me with death, but nature threatens you.'
- Agamemnon
Agamemnon is used as a character in the analogy of playing a role in life's game, where he commands the speaker to go to Achilles and take Briseis.
- Achilles
Achilles is referenced in the same analogy as the one from whom Briseis is taken.
Key passages
“If these things are true, and if we are not silly, and are not acting hypocritically when we say that the good of man is in the will, and the evil too, and that everything else does not concern us, why are we still disturbed, why are we still afraid?”
If we genuinely believe that only our own choices determine good and bad, and that externals are irrelevant, then there is no reason for us to be troubled or fearful.
Epictetus challenges his listeners to live consistently with their professed Stoic principles.
“For remember this general truth, that it is we who squeeze ourselves, who put ourselves in straits; that is, our opinions squeeze us and put us in straits.”
Remember that we are the ones who create our own discomfort and confinement—it is our judgments, not external circumstances, that constrain us.
This emphasizes the Stoic idea that our reactions are determined by our beliefs, not by events themselves.
“If I set my admiration on the poor body, I have given myself up to be a slave: if on my little possessions, I also make myself a slave: for I immediately make it plain with what I may be caught; as if the snake draws in his head, I tell you to strike that part of him which he guards; and do you be assured that whatever part you choose to guard, that part your master will attack.”
If I value my body or possessions, I become a slave because I reveal my vulnerability; like a snake that guards its head, whatever I protect becomes the target of those who would control me.
Epictetus uses the snake analogy to illustrate how attachment to externals makes one susceptible to manipulation and domination.
