Short Works · Chapter
Chapter XIII explained
Epictetus advises that to make philosophical progress, one must be willing to be seen as foolish or ignorant in matters of external things.
What happens
Epictetus advises that to make philosophical progress, one must be willing to be seen as foolish or ignorant in matters of external things. He warns that maintaining a will aligned with nature and pursuing external advantages are incompatible; focusing on one necessitates neglecting the other.
Themes in this chapter
Dichotomy of Control
Central to the chapter. It explicitly contrasts the internal goal of aligning one's will with nature (within our control) against the pursuit of external reputation and advantages (outside our control).
Practical Ethics and Self-Discipline
Focuses on the concrete, difficult choice required for improvement: actively submitting to a poor external judgment in order to secure internal ethical integrity.
Characters to notice
- Epictetus
The speaker, delivering direct advice on the necessary mindset for self-improvement and the inherent conflict between internal virtue and external reputation.
Key passages
“If you would improve, submit to be considered without sense and foolish with respect to externals.”
To make progress, you must accept being viewed as ignorant or foolish about things outside your control.
Establishes the core, counter-intuitive requirement for philosophical advancement.
“For you should know that it is not easy both to keep your will in a condition conformable to nature and (to secure) external things: but if a man is careful about the one, it is an absolute necessity that he will neglect the other.”
You cannot easily maintain a virtuous will and also chase external rewards. Prioritizing one forces you to disregard the other.
Presents the fundamental, mutually exclusive choice between internal virtue and external success.