Series II · Card 11 of 21 · THE PAINTED PORCH
Never say of anything, ‘I have lost it,’ but rather, ‘I have given it back.’
EPICTETUS · ENCHEIRIDION 11
Original (grc)
μηδέποτε ἐπὶ μηδενὸς εἴπῃς ὅτι ἀπώλεσα αὐτό, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἀπέδωκα.Translation: Benedikt Stafflinger
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About the author
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50–135 AD). Born enslaved, later freed. Taught that philosophy is a way of life — not theory — and that freedom begins with what lies within one’s own power.
About the source
Enchiridion: a little handbook in which his student Arrian condensed Epictetus’s teaching into short passages.
The question on the back
How hard are you fighting something that has already happened?