Attempting to avoid things in the power of others

If a man should transfer caution to those things in which the will may be exercised and the acts of the will, he will immediately, by willing to be cautious, have also the power of avoiding what he chooses. But if he transfer it to the things which are not in his power and will, and attempt to avoid the things which are in the power of others, he will of necessity fear, he will be unstable, he will be disturbed. Epictetus. The Discourses. Book 2. Chapter 1.

French shield depicting the siege of Troy ca. 1580-90 CE. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.