Book 3
Ch. 1
Of personal adornment.
A certain young rhetorician coming to him
with his hair too elaborately ornamented, and
his dress very fine, Tell me, said Epictetus, whether
you do not think some horses and dogs beautiful
and so of all other animals.
" I do."
Are some men, then, likewise beautiful, and others
deformed?
" Certainly."
Do we pronounce all these beautiful the same way,
then, or each in some way peculiar to itself? You
will judge of it by this; since we see a dog naturally
formed for one thing, a horse for another, and a
nightingale, for instance, for another, therefore, in
general, it will be correct to pronounce each of them
beautiful so far as it is developed suitably to its own
nature; but since the nature of each is different, I
think each of them must be beautiful in a different
way. Is it not so?
"Agreed."
Then what makes a dog beautiful makes a horse
deformed, and what makes a horse beautiful makes
a dog deformed, if their natures are different.
" So it seems."
For, I suppose, what makes a good Pancratiast45
makes no good wrestler, and a very ridiculous racer;
and the very same person who appears well as a Pentathlete might make a very ill figure in wrestling.
"Very true."
What, then, makes a man beautiful? Is it on the
same principle that a dog or a horse is beautiful?
"The same."
What is it, then, that makes a dog beautiful?
" That excellence which belongs to a dog."
What a horse?
"The excellence of a horse."
What a man? Must it not be the excellence belonging to a man? If, then, you would appear beautiful, young man, strive for human excellence.
"What is that?"
Consider whom you praise, when unbiassed by partiality; is it the honest or dishonest?
"The honest."
The sober or the dissolute?
"The sober."
The temperate or the intemperate?
" The temperate."
Then, if you make yourself such a character, you
know that you will make yourself beautiful; but
while you neglect these things, though you use every
contrivance to appear beautiful, you -must necessarily be deformed.
I know not how to say anything further to you;
for if I speak what I think, you will be vexed, and
perhaps go away and return no more. And if I do
not speak, consider what I am doing. You come to
me to be improved, and I do not improve you; and
you come to me as to a philosopher, and I do not
speak like a philosopher. Besides, how could it be
consistent with my duty towards yourself, to pass
you by as incorrigible? If, hereafter, you should
come to have sense, you will accuse me with reason: "What did Epictetus observe in me, that, when
he saw me come to him in such a shameful condition,
he overlooked it, and never said so much as a word
about it? Did he so absolutely despair of me? Was
I not young? Was I not able to hear reason? How
many young men, at that age, are guilty of many
such errors ! I am told of one Polemo, who, from
a most dissolute youth, became totally changed.46
Suppose he did not think I should become a Polemo,
he might nevertheless have set my locks to rights,
he might have stripped off my bracelets and rings, he
might have prevented my depilating my person. But
when he saw me dressed like a--what shall I
say?-he was silent." I do not say like what;
when you come to your senses, you will say it
yourself, and will know what it is, and who they
are who adopt such a dress.
If you should hereafter lay this to my charge, what
excuse could I make? "Ay; but if I do speak, he
will not regard me." Why, did Laius regard Apollo
Did not he go and get intoxicated, and bid farewell to
the oracle? What then? Did this hinder Apollo
from telling him the truth? Now, I am uncertain
whether you will regard me or not; but Apollo positively knew that Laius would not regard him, and
yet he spoke.47 And why did he speak? You may
as well ask, why is he Apollo; why doth he deliver
oracles; why hath he placed himself in such a post
as a prophet, and the fountain of truth, to whom the
inhabitants of the world should resort? Why is know
thyself inscribed on the front of his temple, when no
one heeds it?
Did Socrates prevail upon all who came to him, to
take care of themselves? Not upon the thousandth
part; but being, as he himself declares, divinely appointed to such a post, he never deserted it. What
said he even to his judges? "If you would acquit
me, on condition that I should no longer act as I do
now, I would not accept it, nor desist; but I will accost all I meet, whether young or old, and interrogate
them in just the same manner; but particularly you,
my fellow-citizens, since you are more nearly related
to me." " Are you so curious and officious, Socrates? What is it to you, how we act?" "What say
you? While you are of the same community and
the same kindred with me, will you be careless of
yourself, and show yourself a bad citizen to the city,
a bad kinsman to your kindred, and a bad neighbor
to your neighborhood?" "Why, who are you?"
Here one ought nobly to say, "I am he who ought
to take care of mankind." For it is not every little
paltry heifer that dares resist the lion; but if the
bull should come up, and resist him, would you say
to him, "Who are you? What business is it of
yours?" In every species, man, there is some one
quality which by nature excels, - in oxen, in dogs, in
bees, in horses. Do not say to whatever excels,
"Who are you?" If you do, it will, somehow or
other, find a voice to tell you, " I am like the purple
thread in a garment. Do not expect me to be like
the rest; nor find fault with my nature, which has
distinguished me from others."
"What, then; am I such a one? How should I
be?" Indeed, are you such a one as to be able
to hear the truth? I wish you were. But, however,
since I am condemned to wear a gray beard and a
cloak, and you come to me as a philosopher, I will
not treat you cruelly, nor as if I despaired of you;
but will ask you, Who is it, young man, whom you
would render beautiful? Know, first, who you are;
and then adorn yourself accordingly.
You are a human being; that is, a mortal animal,
capable of a rational use of things as they appear.
And what is this rational use? A perfect conformity
to Nature. What have you, then, particularly excellent? Is it the animal part? No. The mortal?
No. That which is capable of the mere use of these
things? No. The excellence lies in the rational
part. Adorn and beautify this; but leave your hair
to him who formed it as he thought good.
Well, what other appellations have you? Are you
a man or a woman? A man. Then adorn yourself
as a man, not as a woman. A woman is naturally
smooth and delicate, and if hairy, is a monster, and
shown among the monsters at Rome. It is the same
thing in a man not to be hairy; and if he is by
nature not so, he is a monster. But if he depilates
himself, what shall we do with him? Where shall
we show him, and how shall we advertise him?
"A man to be seen, who would rather be a woman."
What a scandalous show! Who would not wonder at
such an advertisement? I believe, indeed, that these
very persons themselves would; not apprehending
that it is the very thing of which they are guilty.
Of what have you to accuse your nature, sir, that
it has made you a man? Why, were all to be born
women, then? In that case what would have been
the use of your finery? For whom would you have
made yourself fine, if all were women? But the whole
affair displeases you. Go to work upon the whole,
then. Remove your manhood itself and make yourself a woman entirely, that we may be no longer deceived, nor you be half man, half woman. To whom
would you be agreeable, -to the women? Be agreeable to them as a man.
"Ay; but they are pleased with fops."
Go hang yourself. Suppose they were pleased with
every debauchery, would you consent? Is this your
business in life? Were you born to please dissolute
women? Shall we make such a one as you, in the
Corinthian republic for instance, governor of the city,
master of the youth, commander of the army, or
director of the public games? Will you pursue the
same practices when you are married? For whom,
and for what? Will you be the father of children,
and introduce them into the state, such as yourself?
Oh, what a fine citizen, and senator, and orator!
Surely, young man, we ought to pray for a succession
of young men disposed and bred like you!
Now, when you have once heard this discourse, go
home and say to yourself, It is not Epictetus who has
told me all these things, - for how should he? - but
some propitious god through him; for it would never
have entered the head of Epictetus, who is not used
to dispute with any one. Well, let us obey God
then, that we may not incur the Divine displeasure.
If a crow has signified anything to you by his croaking, it is not the crow that signifies it, but God
through him. And if you have anything signified
to you through the human voice, doth he not cause
that man to tell it to you, that you may know the
Divine power which acts thus variously, and signifies
the greatest and principal things through the noblest
messenger? What else does the poet mean, when he
says, -
Since we forewarned him,
Sending forth Hermes. watchful Argicide,
Neither to slay, nor woo another's wife. Homer, Odyssey, 1.37.
Hermes, descending from heaven, was to warn him.
and the gods now, likewise, send a Hermes the
Argicide as messenger to warn you not to invert the
well-appointed order of things, nor be absorbed in
fopperies; but suffer a man to be a man, and a
woman to be a woman; a beautiful man to be beau-
tiful as a man; a deformed man to be deformed as
a man; for your personality lies not in flesh and hair,
but in the Will. If you take care to have this beautiful, you will be beautiful. But all this while, I dare
not tell you that you are deformed; for I fancy you
would rather hear anything than this. But consider
what Socrates says to the most beautiful and blooming of all men, Alcibiades. " Endeavor to make yourself beautiful." What does he mean to say to him, -
"Curl your locks, and depilate your legs "? Heaven
forbid ! But rather, "Regulate your Will; throw away
your wrong principles."
" What is to be done with the poor body, then? "
Leave it to nature. Another hath taken care of
such things. Give them up to him.
"What, then; must one be a sloven? "
By no means; but act in conformity to your nature. A man should care for his body, as a man; a
woman, as a woman; a child, as a child. If not, let
us pick out the mane of a lion, that he may not be
slovenly; and the comb of a cock, for he too should
be tidy. Yes, but let it be as a cock: and a lion, as
a lion; and a hound. as a hound.