It is circumstances (difficulties) which show what men are.
Genuine
Yes. In Discourses (108), Book 1, chapter 24, section 1 (opening sentence); George Long translation, Book I, XXIV, ‘How We Should Struggle with Circumstances’.
Found word for word by program in the Greek original and in George Long’s English translation (1877).
- Work
- Discourses (Διατριβαί), 108
- Where
- Book 1, chapter 24, section 1 (opening sentence); George Long translation, Book I, XXIV, ‘How We Should Struggle with Circumstances’
- Found at
- Paragraph 108 of the Greek text, 143 of the English
- Translation
- George Long, 1877
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
How We Should Struggle with Circumstances
[…] [6] διὰ τοῦτο φησὶν οὐδὲ πολιτεύσεσθαι τὸν νοῦν ἔχοντα· οἶδεν γὰρ τίνα δεῖ ποιεῖν τὸν πολιτευόμενον· ἐπείτοι εἰ ὡς ἐν μυίαις μέλλεις ἀναστρέφεσθαι, τί κωλύει; [7] ἀλλ’ ὅμως εἰδὼς ταῦτα τολμᾷ λέγειν ὅτι “μὴ ἀναιρώμεθα τέκνα”. ἀλλὰ πρόβατον μὲν οὐκ ἀπολείπει τὸ αὑτοῦ ἔγγονον οὐδὲ λύκος, ἄνθρωπος δ’ ἀπολείπει; [8] τί θέλεις; μωροὺς ἡμᾶς εἶναι ὡς τὰ πρόβατα; οὐδ’ ἐκεῖνα ἀπολείπει. θηριώδεις ὡς τοὺς λύκους; οὐδ’ ἐκεῖνοι ἀπολ [9] είπουσιν. ἄγε, τίς δέ σοι πείθεται ἰδὼν παιδίον αὐτοῦ κλαῖον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν πεπτωκός; [10] ἐγὼ μὲν οἶμαι ὅτι εἰ καὶ ἐμαντεύσατο ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ ὁ πατήρ, ὅτι μέλλεις ταῦτα λέγειν, οὐκ ἄν σε ἔῤῥιψαν.
It is circumstances (difficulties) which show what men are. Therefore when a difficulty falls upon you, remember that God, like a trainer of wrestlers, has matched you with a rough young man. “For what purpose?” you may say. Why, that you may become an Olympic conqueror; but it is not accomplished without sweat. […]
Αἱ περιστάσεις εἰσὶν αἱ τοὺς ἄνδρας δεικνύουσαι. λοιπὸν ὅταν ἐμπέσῃ περίστασις, μέμνησο ὅτι ὁ θεός σε ὡς ἀλείπτης τραχεῖ νεανίσκῳ [2] συμβέβληκεν. — Ἵνα τί; φησίν. […]
Diogenes, who was sent as a scout before you, made a different report to us. He says that death is no evil, for neither is it base. He says that fame (reputation) is the noise of madmen. […]
[6] Πρὸ σοῦ κατάσκοπος ἀποσταλεὶς Διογένης ἄλλα ἡμῖν ἀπήγγελκεν. λέγει ὅτι ὁ θάνατος οὐκ ἔστι κακόν, οὐδὲ γὰρ αἰσχρόν· λέγει ὅτι ἀδοξία ψόφος ἐστὶ μαινομένων ἀνθρώπων. […]
“What then shall I do?” What do you do when you leave a ship? Do you take away the helm or the oars? What then do you take away? […]
Τί οὖν ποιήσω; [11] — Τί ποιεῖς, ἐκ πλοίου ὅταν ἐξίῃς; μή τι τὸ πηδάλιον αἴρεις, μή τι τὰς κώπας; τί οὖν αἴρεις; τὰ σά, τὴν λήκυθον, τὴν πήραν. καὶ νῦν ἂν ᾖς μεμνημένος τῶν σῶν, οὐδέποτε τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἀντιποιήσῃ. […]
The scene
Epictetus compares a difficult situation to a wrestling partner with whom God, acting as a trainer, has matched the pupil. Becoming an Olympic victor requires sweat: the obstacle is an occasion to exercise what one has learned. He then imagines sending a scout to Rome, contrasting a frightened report about death, exile and poverty with Diogenes’s report that these are not moral evils.
What it means
Adversity tests a person’s character and provides the occasion to practise courage and freedom from fear.
Often misread
This is a claim about the test and exercise of character, not a guarantee that every external hardship produces success or deserves to be sought. The wrestling example makes training and the pupil’s use of the situation essential.
Topics
Related quotes
- The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skilful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. (misattributed)
- Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtues consistently. Maya Angelou
- No one can choose a beneficial direction in life without hope that change for the better is possible. William W. Purkey
- The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are. (not found) Carl Gustav Jung
- While everything in life adds to, or detracts from, human success or failure, nothing is more important in life than people. It is the people who create a respectful, optimistic, trusting and intentional society. William W. Purkey
Sources
- standardebooks.org/ebooks/epictetus/discourses/george-long/text/single-page (George Long translation; corpus source, Book I, chapter XXIV)
- el.wikisource.org/wiki/Διατριβαί/Βιβλίον_1 (Greek corpus source, chapter 24)
Cite it
Epictetus, Discourses (108), Book 1, chapter 24, section 1 (opening sentence); George Long translation, Book I, XXIV, ‘How We Should Struggle with Circumstances’, translated by George Long (1877). Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/circumstances-show-what-men-are/ (31 October 2026).
Have a different wording, or a source we missed? Check it or submit it.
Do you hold the rights to anything on this page? Tell us.
Checked by people
People who checked this entry against its source, under their own names. Their checks do not change the verdict: an editor reviews every entry.
Comments