Prayers and hymns Epictetus

Prayer concerning remaining alive or departing

Discourses 3.24.96–102

Historical translation

Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1890

Dost thou wish me still to live? Let me live free and noble, as thou desirest; for thou hast made me incapable of restraint in what is my own. But hast thou no further use for me? Farewell! I have stayed thus long through thee alone, and no other; and now I depart in obedience to thee. How do you depart? Still as thou wilt; as one free, as thy servant, as one sensible of thy commands and thy prohibitions. But, while I am employed in thy service, what wouldst thou have me to be,—a prince, or a private man; a senator, or a plebeian; a soldier, or a general; a preceptor, or a master of a family? Whatever post or rank thou shalt assign me, like Socrates, I will die a thousand times rather than desert it. Where wouldst thou have me to be,—at Rome, or at Athens; at Thebes, or at Gyaros? Only remember me there. If thou shalt send me where men cannot live conformably to nature, I will not depart unbidden, but upon a recall as it were sounded by thee. Even then I do not desert thee; Heaven forbid! but I perceive that thou hast no use for me. If a life conformable to nature be granted, I will seek no other place but that in which I am, nor any other company but those with whom I dwell.

Text matched to linked transcription; typography normalized.

Greek

The ancient words

ἔτι μʼ εἶναι θέλεις; ὡς ἐλεύθερος, ὡς γενναῖος, ὡς σὺ ἠθέλησας· σὺ γάρ με ἀκώλυτον ἐποίησας ἐν τοῖς ἐμοῖς. ἀλλʼ οὐκέτι μου χρείαν ἔχεις; καλῶς σοι γένοιτο· καὶ μέχρι νῦν διὰ σὲ ἔμενον, διʼ ἄλλον οὐδένα, καὶ νῦν σοι πειθόμενος ἀπέρχομαι. πῶς ἀπέρχῃ; πάλιν ὡς σὺ ἠθέλησας, ὡς ἐλεύθερος, ὡς ὑπηρέτης σός, ὡς ᾐσθημένος σου τῶν προσταγμάτων καὶ ἀπαγορευμάτων. μέχρι δʼ ἂν οὗ διατρίβω ἐν τοῖς σοῖς, τίνα με θέλεις εἶναι; ἄρχοντα ἢ ἰδιώτην, βουλευτὴν ἢ δημότην, στρατιώτην ἢ στρατηγόν, παιδευτὴν ἢ οἰκοδεσπότην; ἣν ἂν χώραν καὶ τάξιν ἐγχειρίσῃς, ὡς λέγει ὁ Σωκράτης, μυριάκις ἀποθανοῦμαι πρότερον ἢ ταύτην ἐγκαταλείψω. ποῦ δέ μʼ εἶναι θέλεις; ἐν Ῥώμῃ ἢ ἐν Ἀθήναις ἢ ἐν Θήβαις ἢ ἐν Γυάροις; μόνον ἐκεῖ μου μέμνησο. ἄν μʼ ἐκεῖ πέμπῃς, ὅπου κατὰ φύσιν διεξαγωγὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνθρώπων, οὐ σοὶ ἀπειθῶν ἔξειμι, ἀλλʼ ὡς σοῦ μοι σημαίνοντος τὸ ἀνακλητικόν· οὐκ ἀπολείπω σε· μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλʼ αἰσθάνομαι, ὅτι μου χρείαν οὐκ ἔχεις. ἂν δὲ διδῶται κατὰ φύσιν διεξαγωγή, οὐ ζητήσω ἄλλον τόπον ἢ ἐν ᾧ εἰμὶ ἢ ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους ἢ μεθʼ ὧν εἰμί.

Literal English

Editorial draft · developed with AI assistance

Do you wish me still to exist? Then as free and noble, as you wished—for you made me unhindered in what is my own. But do you no longer need me? May it go well for you. Until now I remained for your sake alone, no one else’s; and now, obeying you, I depart. How do you depart? Again, as you wished: as a free person, as your servant, as one aware of your commands and prohibitions. But while I remain among what is yours, what do you wish me to be: ruler or private citizen, councillor or common citizen, soldier or general, teacher or head of a household? Whatever place and station you entrust to me, as Socrates says, I shall die ten thousand times before abandoning it. Where do you wish me to be: Rome, Athens, Thebes, or Gyara? Only remember me there. If you send me where human beings cannot live according to nature, I shall leave not in disobedience to you but as though you had sounded my recall. I do not desert you—far from it—but I perceive that you no longer need me. If life according to nature is granted, I shall seek no place but where I am and no people but those with whom I am.

An aid to reading that has not received independent specialist review. About this rendering

Sources & notes

Μυριάκις means “ten thousand times”; Higginson renders it “a thousand times.”

Historical editions may include surrounding context or use different phrasing. Parallel columns compare passages; their lines are not word-for-word alignments.

Editorial method