thering of men, neither
neighbor nor comrade can do me hurt. Another supplies my food, whose
care it is; another my raiment; another hath given me perceptions of
sense and primary conceptions. And when He supplies my necessities no
more, it is that He is sounding the retreat, that He hath opened the
door, and is saying to thee, Come!--Wither? To nought that thou needest
fear, but to the friendly kindred elements whence thou didst spring.
Whatsoever of fire is in thee, unto fire shall return; whatsoever of
earth, unto earth; of spirit, unto spirit; of water, unto water. There
is no Hades, no fabled rivers of Sighs, of Lamentation, or of Fire: but
all things are full of Beings spiritual and divine. With thoughts like
these, beholding the Sun, Moon, and Stars, enjoying earth and sea, a man
is neither helpless nor alone!

CLXXXIX

What wouldst thou be found doing when overtaken by Death? If I might
choose, I would be found doing some deed of true humanity, of wide
import, beneficent and noble. But if I may not be found engaged in aught
so lofty, let me hope at least for this--what none may hinder, what is
surely in my power--that I may be found raising up in myself that which
had fallen; learning to deal more wisely with the things of sense;
working out my own tranquillity, and thus rendering that which is its
due to every relation of life. . . .

If death surprise me thus employed, it is enough if I can stretch forth
my hands to God and say, "The faculties which I received at Thy hands
for apprehending this thine Administration, I have not neglected. As far
as in me lay, I have done Thee no dishonour. Behold how I have used the
senses, the primary conceptions which Thous gavest me. Have I ever laid
anything to Thy charge? Have I ever murmured at aught that came to pass,
or wished it otherwise? Have I in anything transgressed the relations
of life? For that Thou didst beget me, I thank Thee for that Thou hast
given: for the time during which I have used the things that were Thine,
it suffices me. Take them back and place them wherever Thou wilt! They
were all Thine, and Thou gavest them me."--If a man depart thus minded,
is it not enough? What life is fairer and more noble, what end happier
than his?

(APPENDIX A)

Fragments Attributed to Epictetus

I

A life entangled with Fortune is like a torrent. It is turbulent
and muddy; hard to pass and masterful of mood: noisy and of brief
continuan