Epictetus Enchiridion
Epictetus: Don't be prideful with any excellence that is…
Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own. If a horse should be prideful and say, " I am handsome," it would be supportable. But when you are prideful, and say, " I have a handsome horse," know that you are proud of what is, in fact, only the good of the horse.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of the Enchiridion. The reading beside it is ours.
It is easy to confuse borrowed advantages with personal achievement. You may have a prestigious employer, an attractive partner, talented children, a wealthy family, or a well-designed home. These may be good fortunes, but they are not evidence of your character. Epictetus's horse is a reminder not to take credit for qualities that belong to something else. The more we build our identity on status symbols and associations, the more fragile that identity becomes. Ask what is actually yours to claim: Did you keep your word? Did you do difficult work well? Did you remain fair when you had power? Those are accomplishments that belong to you. Enjoy good circumstances without making them your résumé. Humility is not pretending you have nothing; it is knowing precisely which good things came from your own choices and which merely passed through your hands.
Related passages
- Marcus Aurelius He hath a stronger body, and is a better wrestler than I. What then? Is he more bountiful? is he more modest? Doth he…
- Marcus Aurelius Skill at defeating an opponent does not make someone more civic-minded, modest, prepared for hardship, or patient with…
- Marcus Aurelius This purple robe, but sheep's hairs, dyed with the blood of a shellfish. So for coitus, it is but the attrition of an…