The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman · Chapter
Epigraph explained
The epigraph presents a Greek maxim from Epictetus, stating that it is not events themselves that disturb people, but their judgments about those events.
What happens
The epigraph presents a Greek maxim from Epictetus, stating that it is not events themselves that disturb people, but their judgments about those events.
Themes in this chapter
Knowledge and Philosophy
The epigraph introduces a Stoic philosophical principle about perception and judgment, setting a thematic foundation for the novel's exploration of how characters interpret events.
Key passages
“Ταράσσει τοὺς Ἀνθρώπους οὐ τὰ Πράγματα, Ἀλλὰ τὰ περὶ τῶν Πραγμάτων Δόγματα.”
It is not events that disturb people, but their opinions about those events.
This is a direct quotation from Epictetus's Enchiridion, Chapter 5, emphasizing the Stoic distinction between objective events and subjective judgments.