The Enchiridion: An Actor in a Play

Epictetus told his students to practise philosophy on small things first: in the public bath, at dinner and at home.

“Do not demand that things happen as you wish; wish them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go well.If you have a favourite cup, remind yourself that it is only a cup you are fond of; then, if it breaks, you can bear it.

Never say of anything, ‘I have lost it,’ but rather, ‘I have given it back.’Has your land been taken from you? Then it has been given back. ‘But the man who took it was a bad man.’ What does it matter to you whose hands the giver used to ask for it back?While you have it, look after it as something that is not your own, the way travellers treat an inn.

Behave in life as you would at a dinner party. Is a dish passed round to you? Reach out and take a polite share.Does it pass you by? Do not stop it. Has it not reached you yet? Do not reach for it greedily, but wait until it comes to you.Act in the same way towards children, a husband or wife, a high position and money.

Remember that you are an actor in a play, and the author chooses what kind of play it is: short if he wants it short, long if he wants it long.If he wants you to play a poor man, a disabled man, a ruler or an ordinary citizen, play it well.Your job is to act the part you are given well; choosing the part belongs to someone else.

When someone insults you, remember that it is not the person or the words that hurt you, but your own opinion that you have been insulted.So do not react at once; if you gain a little time, you will find it easier to control yourself.”