Series II · Card 13 of 21 · THE PAINTED PORCH
If you want to make progress, be content to be thought foolish and simple in external things.
EPICTETUS · ENCHEIRIDION 13
Original (grc)
εἰ προκόψαι θέλεις, ὑπόμεινον ἕνεκα τῶν ἐκτὸς ἀνόητος δόξας καὶ ἠλίθιος.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
When did you last do something others thought was foolish?