Page:All the works of Epictetus - which are now extant; consisting of his Discourses, preserved by Arrian, in four books, the Enchiridion, and fragments (IA allworksofepicte00epic).pdf/457

Rh you are struck by the Appearance of any promised Pleasure, guard yourself against being hurried away by it: but let the Affair wait your Leisure, and procure yourself some Delay. Then bring to your Mind both Points of Time; that in which you shall enjoy the Pleasure, and that in which you will repent and reproach yourself, after you have enjoyed it and set before you, in Opposition to these, how you will rejoice and applaud yourself, if you abstain. And even, though it should appear to you a seasonable Gratification, take heed, that its enticing, and agreeable, and attractive Force may may not subdue you: but set in Opposition to this, how much better it is, to be conscious of having gained so great a Victory.

you do any thing from a clear Judgment that it ought to be done, never shun the being seen to do it, even though the World should make a wrong Supposition about it: for, if you do not act right, shun the Action itself; but, if you do, why are you afraid of those who censure you wrongly?

the Proposition, Either it is Day, or it is Night, is extremely proper for a disjunctive Argument, but quite improper in a conjunctive one : so, at a Feast, to chuse the largest Share, is very suitable to the bodily Appetite, but utterly inconsistent with the social Spirit of an Entertainment. When you eat with another, then remember, not only the Value of those Things which are set before you, to the Body; but the Value of that Behaviour, which ought to be observed towards the Person who gives the Entertainment. Rh