Judgments

Epictetus has started to be a little repetitive. It is clear that he is giving us his concepts about life and how it works. He is trying to help us understand some very interesting things. The point he repeats the most is that things don’t hurt us or get us angry but our judgment about the things are what get to us. Epictetus tells us that,

20. Remember that what is insulting is not the person who abuses you or hits you, but the judgment about them that they are insulting. So when someone irritates you be aware that what irritates you is you own belief. Most importantly, therefore, try not to be carried away by appearance, since if you once gain time and delay you will control yourself more easily.

This has been to me the most interesting and meaningful passage of Epictetus. It sort of summarizes all of the interesting points I have seen throughout the reading. First, it repeats one of the most important things, the actual action, person or thing is not what hurts us, or affects us, but the way in which we look at it. Our judgment about things is what causes the evil, what makes things becomes or enemies. And in the other hand it also makes us look at good things, it also becomes our friend and makes us see the good things. Next he tells us that it’s our own belief what irritates us, not the people. In the end what he tells us is that we have no choice, our judgment is already established and besides, it is very hard to change the way we judge things.