Of things some are in our power, and others are not.
Genuine
Yes. In Enchiridion (Handbook) (107), Section 1.1 (opening sentence); George Long translation, chapter I.
Found word for word by program in the Greek original and in George Long’s English translation.
- Work
- Enchiridion (Handbook) (Ἐγχειρίδιον), 107
- Where
- Section 1.1 (opening sentence); George Long translation, chapter I
- Found at
- Paragraph 2 of the Greek text, 3 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
Of things some are in our power, and others are not. In our power are opinion ([Greek: hupolaepsis]), movement towards a thing ([Greek: hormae]), desire, aversion ([Greek: echchlisis]), turning from a thing; and in a word, whatever are our acts. […]
1.Τῶν ὄντων τὰ μέν ἐστιν ἐφ’ ἡμῖν, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἐφ’ ἡμῖν. ἐφ’ ἡμῖν μὲν ὑπόληψις, ὁρμή, ὄρεξις, ἔκκλισις καὶ ἑνὶ λόγῳ ὅσα ἡμέτερα ἔργα: οὐκ ἐφ’ ἡμῖν δὲ τὸ σῶμα, ἡ κτῆσις, δόξαι, ἀρχαὶ καὶ ἑνὶ λόγῳ ὅσα οὐχ ἡμέτερα ἔργα.
If then you desire (aim at) such great things remember that you must not (attempt to) lay hold of them with a small effort; but you must leave alone some things entirely, and postpone others for the present. […]
2.Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐφ’ ἡμῖν ἐστι φύσει ἐλεύθερα, ἀκώλυτα, ἀπαραπόδιστα, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἐφ’ ἡμῖν ἀσθενῆ, δοῦλα, κωλυτά, ἀλλότρια.
3.Μέμνησο οὖν, ότι, ἐὰν τὰ φύσει δοῦλα ἐλεύθερα οἰηθῇς καὶ τὰ ἀλλότρια ἴδια, ἐμποδισθήσῃ, πενθήσεις, ταραχθήσῃ, μέμψῃ καὶ θεοὺς καὶ ἀνθρώπους, ἐὰν δὲ τὸ σὸν μόνον οἰηθῇς σὸν εἶναι, τὸ δὲ ἀλλότριον, ὥσπερ ἐστίν, ἀλλότριον, οὐδείς σε ἀναγκάσει οὐδέποτε, οὐδείς σε κωλύσει, οὐ μέμψῃ οὐδένα, οὐκ ἐγκαλέσεις τινί, ἄκων πράξεις οὐδὲ ἕν, οὐδείς σε βλάψει, ἐχθρὸν οὐχ ἕξεις, οὐδὲ γὰρ βλαβερόν τι πείσῃ.
The scene
The Handbook opens with a distinction, not a story: opinions, impulses, desires and aversions are our own acts, whereas the body, possessions, reputation and public office are not. Arrian’s abridgment then explains how mistaking what belongs to others for our own produces frustration and blame. The reader is instructed to test troubling impressions against this distinction.
What it means
Distinguish your own judgments and choices from things whose outcome is not yours to determine. Freedom begins by not making your good depend on the latter.
Often misread
The distinction is about what is up to us, not a promise that enough effort will give us control over outcomes. The very next sentences expressly put the body, wealth and reputation outside that category; the claim is not that we cannot influence them at all.
Topics
Related quotes
- Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinions about the things.
- Only the educated are free.
- No pleasure is in itself evil, but the things which produce certain pleasures entail annoyances many times greater than the pleasures themselves. Epicurus
- The just man enjoys the greatest peace of mind, while the unjust is full of the utmost disquietude. Epicurus
- 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.
Sources
- gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10661/pg10661.txt (George Long translation; corpus source, chapter I)
- el.wikisource.org/wiki/Εγχειρίδιον (Greek corpus source, section αʹ)
Cite it
Epictetus, Enchiridion (Handbook) (107), Section 1.1 (opening sentence); George Long translation, chapter I, translated by George Long. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/some-things-are-in-our-power/ (31 October 2026).
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Checked by people
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