Page:Encheiridion of Epictetus - Rolleston 1881.pdf/46

10 ness is a hindrance of the leg, not of the will. And this you may say upon every occasion, for nothing can happen to you but you will find it a hindrance, not of yourself, but of some other thing.

EMEMBER, at anything that shall befall you, to turn to yourself, and seek what faculty you possess for making use of it. If you see a beautiful person, you will find a faculty for that, namely, Self-mastery. If toil is laid upon you, you will find the faculty of Perseverance. If you are reviled, you will find Patience. And making this your wont, you will not be rapt-away by the phantasms.

EVER in any case say I have lost such a thing, but I have returned it. Is your child dead? it is a return. Is your wife dead? it is a return. Are you deprived of your estate? is not this also a return? But he who deprives me of it is wicked! But what is that to you, through whom the giver demands his own! As long therefore as he