The Golden Sayings of Epictetus by Epictetus
page 73 of 116 (62%)
page 73 of 116 (62%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
a Friend of the Gods--of a servant, yet one that hath a part in the
government of the Supreme God: that the words are ever on his lips:-- Lead me, O God, and thou, O Destiny! as well as these:-- If this be God's will, so let it be! Why should he not speak boldly unto his own brethren, unto his children--in a word, unto all that are akin to him! CXX Does a Philosopher apply to people to come and hear him? does he not rather, of his own nature, attract those that will be benefited by him--like the sun that warms, the food that sustains them? What Physician applies to men to come and be healed? (Though indeed I hear that the Physicians at Rome do nowadays apply for patients--in my time they were applied to.) I apply to you to come and hear that you are in evil case; that what deserves your attention most in the last thing to gain it; that you know not good from evil, and are in short a hapless wretch; a fine way to apply! though unless the words of the Philosopher affect you thus, speaker and speech are alike dead. |
|