Short Works · Chapter
Chapter XXVI explained
Epictetus advises using our natural, impartial reactions to the misfortunes of others as a guide for how to respond to our own.
What happens
Epictetus advises using our natural, impartial reactions to the misfortunes of others as a guide for how to respond to our own. By observing that we readily accept common misfortunes when they happen to a neighbor, we can learn to apply the same reasoned acceptance when they befall us, from broken cups to the death of loved ones.
Themes in this chapter
Acceptance of Nature and Fate
The core lesson is to accept events like broken property or death as natural and common to all humans, not personal catastrophes.
Reason as Guide and Consolation
Uses rational reflection on our own impartial judgments of others' situations to guide our personal conduct and find consolation.
Characters to notice
- Epictetus
The narrator and teacher, providing direct instruction on how to apply reason to personal misfortune by observing our own reactions to the troubles of others.
Key passages
“We may learn the wish (will) of nature from the things in which we do not differ from one another...”
Our shared human nature is revealed in our common, dispassionate reactions to the ordinary misfortunes of others.
Establishes the premise for the argument.
“when your neighbour’s slave has broken his cup... we are ready to say forthwith, that it is one of the things which happen.”
When someone else's property is damaged, we easily recognize it as a common accident.
Illustrates the initial, impartial judgment.
“when your cup also is broken, you ought to think as you did when your neighbour’s cup was broken.”
Apply the same calm, accepting mindset to your own losses as you do to others'.
The core instruction for personal practice.
“Is another man’s child or wife dead? There is no one who would not say, this is an event incident to man. But when a man’s own child or wife is dead, forthwith he calls out, Woe to me, how wretched I am.”
We acknowledge death as a human inevitability when it strikes another family, but we react with personal agony when it strikes our own.
Extends the principle to the most painful losses, highlighting the inconsistency in judgment.
“But we ought to remember how we feel when we hear that it has happened to others.”
We must consciously recall our objective perspective on others' suffering and apply it to our own.
The concluding call to mindful reflection and consistency.