quote · Source-linked selection
Begin, therefore, with little things. Is it a little oil spilt or a little wine stolen? Say to yourself, this is the price paid for peace and tranquillity; and nothing is to be had for nothing. And when you call your servant, consider that it is possible he may not come at your call, or, if he does, that he may not do what you wish. But it is not at all desirable for him, and very undesirable for you, that it should be in his power to cause you any disturbance.
Begin, therefore, with little things. Is it a little oil spilt or a little wine stolen? Say to yourself, this is the price paid for peace and tranquillity; and nothing is to be had for nothing. And when you call your servant, consider that it is possible he may not come at your call, or, if he does, that he may not do what you wish. But it is not at all desirable for him, and very undesirable for you, that it should be in his power to cause you any disturbance.
Approximate author period: c. 50 AD · classical
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Epictetus
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 50 AD · classical
Approximate author-period anchor from documented birth year 50; activity date not established; Wikidata Q183144, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183144 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Thoughts: Selected from the writings of favorite authors (1901) (1901 AD)
Complete signed selection 211; printed byline: Epictetus; New York: Dodge Publishing Company, 1901
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
The voice behind the words.
Listed in the author section of Bartlett’s ninth-edition anthology, in the linked 1905 printing. Dates reflect that historical edition and may differ from modern scholarship.
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