Let death and exile and every other thing which appears dreadful be daily before your eyes; but most of all death: and you will never think of anything mean nor will you desire anything extravagantly.
Genuine
Yes. In Enchiridion (Handbook) (107), Section 21; George Long translation, chapter XXI.
Found word for word by program in the Greek original and in George Long’s English translation.
- Work
- Enchiridion (Handbook) (Ἐγχειρίδιον), 107
- Where
- Section 21; George Long translation, chapter XXI
- Found at
- Paragraph 50 of the Greek text, 44 of the English
- Translation
- George Long
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
[…] Therefore especially try not to be carried away by the appearance. For if you once gain time and delay, you will more easily master yourself.
Μέμνησο, ὅτι οὐχ ὁ λοιδορῶν ἢ ὁ τύπτων ὑβρίζει, ἀλλὰ τὸ δόγμα τὸ περὶ τούτων ὡς ὑβριζόντων. ὅταν οὖν ἐρεθίσῃ σέ τις, ἴσθι, ὅτι ἡ σή σε ὑπόληψις ἠρέθικε. τοιγαροῦν ἐν πρώτοις πειρῶ ὑπὸ τῆς φαντασίας μὴ συναρπασθῆναι: ἂν γὰρ ἅπαξ χρόνου καὶ διατριβῆς τύχῃς, ῥᾷον κρατήσεις σεαυτοῦ.
Let death and exile and every other thing which appears dreadful be daily before your eyes; but most of all death: and you will never think of anything mean nor will you desire anything extravagantly.
Θάνατος καὶ φυγὴ καὶ πάντα τὰ δεινὰ φαινόμενα πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἔστω σοι καθ’ ἡμέραν, μάλιστα δὲ πάντων ὁ θάνατος: καὶ οὐδὲν οὐδέποτε οὔτε ταπεινὸν ἐνθυμηθήσῃ οὔτε ἄγαν ἐπιθυμήσεις τινός.
The scene
This short section follows the advice to pause when provoked and precedes preparation for the ridicule directed at a beginner in philosophy. It tells the student to keep death, exile and other apparently dreadful possibilities in view each day, with death foremost. Its stated result is restraint of petty thoughts and excessive desires.
What it means
Remembering mortality can put status worries and excessive appetites into proportion. The exercise is meant to improve the life being lived, not merely to contemplate its end.
Often misread
This is not an invitation to despair or a prediction of imminent death. The text itself names its practical aim: less pettiness and less extravagant desire.
Topics
Related quotes
- Never say about anything, I have lost it, but say I have restored it.
- Remember that it is not he who reviles you or strikes you, who insults you, but it is your opinion about these things as being insulting. When then a man irritates you, you must know that it is your own opinion which has irritated you.
- For this is your duty, to act well the part that is given to you; but to select the part, belongs to another.
- You become what you give your attention to. (misattributed)
- one’s whole life must be spent in learning how to live, and, which may perhaps surprise you more, one’s whole life must be spent in learning how to die. Seneca the Younger
Sources
Cite it
Epictetus, Enchiridion (Handbook) (107), Section 21; George Long translation, chapter XXI, translated by George Long. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/keep-death-daily-before-your-eyes/ (31 October 2026).
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Checked by people
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