Epictetus recalls a conversation between two noblemen, Florus and Agrippinus. Florus asks Agrippinus if he should attend Nero's spectacles and even perform in them himself, telling Agrippinus that Florus fears his head will be struck off if he does not do so. Agrippinus replies: "Go then and take a part, but I will not. Why? Because you consider yourself to be only one thread of those which are in the tunic. Well then it was fitting for you to take care how you should be like the rest of men, just as the thread has no design to be anything superior to the other threads. But I wish to be purple, that small part which is bright, and makes all the rest appear graceful and beautiful. Why then do you tell me to make myself like the many? and if I do, how shall I still be purple?" - Epictetus. The Discourses. Book 1. Section 2. How a man on every occasion can maintain his proper character.
 |
| Dance among swords by Polish artist Henryk Siemiradzki, 1887. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
Comments
Post a Comment