EPICTETUS TEXTS SUPPORTING THE FIVE STEPS

Here are the key Epictetus passages that support the Five-Step method, organized systematically by each step.

THE CASE FOR NAMING IT "EPICTETUS'S FIVE-STEP METHOD"

STEP 1: RECEPTION (Impression Arrives)

Fragment 9:

"Things seen by the mind (which the philosophers call φαντασίας),^[7] whereby the intellect of man is struck at the very first sight of anything which penetrates to the mind, are not subject to his will, nor to his control, but by virtue of a certain force of their own thrust themselves upon the attention of men; but the assents (which they call συγκαταθέσεις), whereby these same things seen by the mind are recognized, are subject to man's will, and fall under his control. Therefore, when some terrifying sound comes from the sky, or from the collapse of a building, or sudden word comes of some peril or other, or something else of the same sort happens, the mind of even the wise man cannot help but be disturbed, and shrink, and grow pale for a moment, not from any anticipation of some evil, but because of certain swift and unconsidered motions which forestall the action of the intellect and the reason. Soon, however, our wise man does not give his assent (this is, οὑ συγκατατίθεται οὐδὲ προσεπιδοξάζει)^[8] to τὰς τοιαύτας φαντασίας^[9] (that is, these terrifying things seen by his mind), but rejects and repudiates them, and sees in them nothing to cause him fear. And this, they say, is the difference between the mind of the fool and the mind of the wise man, that the fool thinks the cruel and harsh things seen by his mind, when it is first struck by them, actually to be what they appear, and likewise afterwards, just as though they really were formidable, he confirms them by his own approval also, καὶ προσεπιδοξάζει^[10] (the word the Stoics use when they discuss this matter);^[11] whereas the wise man, when his colour and expression have changed for a brief instant, οὑ συγκατατίθεται,^[12] but keeps the even tenor and strength of the opinion which he has always had about mental impressions of this kind, as things that do not deserve to be feared at all, but terrify only with a false face and a vain fear" (W. A. Oldfather).

Discourses 3.24.103-104:

"Therefore you must have these judgments at hand (procheira) both night and day; you must write them, you must read them, you must talk about them, both with yourself and with others... If you have these thoughts always at hand, you will never be flat on your back, or groan."

Discourses 2.18.24 (continuing):

"allow me to see who you are, and what you are an impression of;." = PAUSE before examination

Enchiridion 20:

"Remember that foul words or blows in themselves are no outrage, but your judgment that they are so. So when anyone makes you angry, know that it is your own thought that has angered you. Wherefore make it your first endeavor not to let your impressions carry you away."

"First endeavor not to let impressions carry you away" = PAUSE

STEP 2: RECOGNITION (Distinguish Impression from Reality)

Enchiridion 1 (entire chapter):

"Some things are up to us and some things are not up to us. Up to us are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not up to us are our body, our property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing."

THE foundational distinction enabling recognition

Enchiridion 1.5:

"You are just an impression and not at all what you appear to be."

Direct instruction to recognize impression AS impression (not reality)

Enchiridion 5

"It is the act of an uneducated person to blame others where he himself fares ill; of one who has made a start in education to lay the blame on himself; and of one fully educated, neither on another nor on himself."

Shows progression in recognizing source of disturbance (in judgments, not externals)

STEP 3: PAUSE (Suspend Assent)

Discourses 1.28.28-29:

"So, then, you must have these judgments at hand both night and day; you must write them, you must read them, you must talk about them, both with yourself and with others."

Preparation for the pause

Discourses 3.24.88:

"Furthermore, at the very moment when you are taking delight in something, call to mind the opposite impressions. What harm is there if you whisper to yourself, at the very moment you are kissing your child, and say, "To-morrow you will die"? So likewise to your friend, "To-morrow you will go abroad, or I shall, and we shall never see each other again"?"

Premeditation = form of pause (suspending automatic value judgment)

Discourses 2.18.24 (continuing):

"Then examine it and test it by these rules that you have."

"Then examine" = PAUSE before examination

Enchiridion 20:

"Bear in mind that it is not the man who reviles or strikes you that insults you, but it is your judgement that these men are insulting you. Therefore, when someone irritates you, be assured that it is your own opinion which has irritated you. And so make it your first endeavour not to be carried away by the external impression; for if once you gain time and delay, you will more easily become master of yourself" (W. A. Oldfather).

"First endeavor not to let impressions carry you away" = PAUSE

STEP 4: EXAMINATION (Test Against Standards)

Discourses 1.28.1-11 (entire section):

"What is the reason that we assent to anything? The fact that it appears to us to be so. It is impossible, therefore, to assent to the thing that appears not to be so. Why? Because this is the nature of the intellect—to agree to what is true, to be dissatisfied with what is false, and to withhold judgement regarding what is uncertain. What is the proof of this? "Feel, if you can, that it is now night." That is impossible. "Put away the feeling that it is day." That is impossible. "Either feel or put away the feeling that the stars are even in number." That is impossible. When, therefore, a man assents to a falsehood, rest assured that it was not his wish to assent to it as false; "for every soul is unwillingly deprived of the truth," as Plato says^[1]; ⁵it only seemed to him that the false was true. Well now, in the sphere of actions what have we corresponding to the true and the false here in the sphere of perceptions? Duty and what is contrary to duty, the profitable and the unprofitable, that which is appropriate to me and that which is not appropriate to me, and whatever is similar to these. "Cannot a man, then, think that something is profitable to him, and yet not choose it?" He cannot. How of her who says,
Now, now, I learn what horrors I intend:
But passion overmastereth sober thought?^[2]
It is because the very gratification of her passion and the taking of vengeance on her husband she regards as more profitable than the saving of her children. "Yes, but she is deceived." Show her clearly that she is deceived, and she will not do it; but so long as you do not show it, what else has she to follow but that which appears to her to be true? Nothing. Why, then, are you angry with her, because the poor woman has gone astray in the greatest matters, and has been transformed from a human being into a viper? Why do you not, if anything, rather pity her? As we pity the blind and the halt, why do we not pity those who have been made blind and halt in their governing faculties?
¹⁰Whoever, then, bears this clearly in mind, that the measure of man's every action is the impression of his senses (now this impression may be formed rightly or wrongly; if rightly, the man is blameless; if wrongly, the man himself pays the penalty; for it is impossible that the man who has gone astray, is one person, while the man who suffers is another^[3]),—whoever remembers this, I say, will not be enraged at anyone, will not be angry with anyone, will not revile anyone, will not blame, nor hate, nor take offence at anyone. So you conclude that such great and terrible things have their origin in this—the impression of one's senses? In this and nothing else" (Oldfather).

Shows examination is the core task

Discourses 3.3.1-3:

"You will, indeed, find many things in man only, things of which the rational animal had a peculiar need, but you will also find many possessed by us in common with the irrational animals. Do they also, then, understand what happens? No! for use is one thing, and understanding another. God had need of the animals in that they make use of external impressions, and of us in that we understand the use of external impressions. And so for them it is sufficient to eat and drink and rest and procreate, and whatever else of the things within their own province the animals severally do; while for us, to whom He has made the additional gift of the faculty of understanding, ."

Examination requires humility to test one's own judgments

Enchiridion 5:

"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things. Thus death is nothing terrible, else it would have appeared so to Socrates. But the terror consists in our notion of death, that it is terrible. When, therefore, we are hindered or disturbed, or grieved, let us never impute it to others, but to ourselves—that is, to our own views."

THE CRANKSHAFT: Shows disturbance comes from judgment (examination reveals this)

Discourses 3.12.15 (MOST DIRECT):

"As soon as you leave the house at dawn, examine everyone you see, everyone you hear; answer as if under questioning. What did you see? A handsome man or beautiful woman? Apply the rule. Does this lie within the sphere of choice, or outside it? Outside. Throw it away."

EXPLICIT EXAMINATION: "Apply the rule. Does this lie within sphere of choice?"

Enchiridion 1.5:

"Seek, therefore, to be able to say to every harsh appearance, 'You are but an appearance and not absolutely the thing you appear to be.' And then examine it by those rules which you have, and first and chiefly by this: whether it concerns the things which are in our own control or those which are not; and if it concerns anything not in our control, be prepared to say that it is nothing to you."

Explicit examination protocol: Test against internal/external distinction

Discourses 1.6.13-14:

"If what philosophers say about the kinship of God and men is true, what else remains for us to do but as Socrates did—never, when asked one's country, to say 'I am an Athenian' or 'I am a Corinthian,' but 'I am a citizen of the universe'?"

Examination against ultimate standards (cosmic citizenship, kinship with God)

STEP 5: DECISION (Refuse False, Accept True)

Discourses 3.12.15 (continuing):

"Outside. Throw it away."

Explicit decision: Refuse the false judgment

Enchiridion 1.5 (continuing):

"...and if it concerns anything not in our control, be prepared to say that it is nothing to you."

Decision to refuse false value judgment

Discourses 1.1.7-12:

"The business of the wise and good man is to use appearances conformably to nature... To the rational animal only is the irrational unendurable; but things rational he can always endure."

Decision = conforming to nature (accepting what's true, refusing what's false)

Enchiridion 4:

"When you are going to take in hand any act, remind yourself what kind of act it is. If you are going to bathe, picture to yourself what happens in a bathhouse... Thus you will undertake the act with more assurance if you say at the outset, 'I want to bathe, and I want to keep my will in harmony with nature.'"

Decision in advance: Accepting what is, maintaining virtue

Discourses 4.1.68-70:

"If then you always remember this, that whenever you will anything or desire anything, you desire and will one of the things that are in your power, then you will never be hindered, never be thwarted... you will blame no one, accuse no one... be forced to do nothing against your will."

Decision = aligning will with what's in control (refusing false desires for externals)

THE COMPLETE FIVE STEPS IN ONE PASSAGE

Discourses 3.12.15 is the MOST COMPLETE single passage:

RECEPTION: "As soon as you leave the house at dawn, examine everyone you see"

           → Impression arrives



RECOGNITION: "What did you see? A handsome man or beautiful woman?"

             → Identify the impression (separate from self)



PAUSE: "Apply the rule."

       → Suspend automatic reaction, prepare to examine



EXAMINATION: "Does this lie within the sphere of choice, or outside it? Outside."

             → Test against standard (internal/external distinction)



DECISION: "Throw it away."

          → Refuse false judgment (external not good/evil)

ADDITIONAL KEY PASSAGES

On the Need for Training in the Five Steps:

Discourses 3.2.1-5:

"The philosophers say... first we must learn that God exists and watches over all things; next, that it is impossible to hide from him our actions or even our intentions and thoughts... Having learned this, we must next inquire what the gods are like... Then we must learn what follows from this: that the universe is a single system."

Discourses 2.1.29-30:

"Where is progress, then? If any of you, withdrawing himself from externals, turns to his own will to exercise it and to improve it by labor... he is making progress."

THE PASSAGES ORGANIZED BY ENCHIRIDION CHAPTERS 1-5

Enchiridion 1 = RECOGNITION (Step 2)

Internal/external distinction
Foundation for all Five Steps

Enchiridion 2 = DECISION (Step 5) + EXAMINATION (Step 4)

"Remember that desire demands the attainment of that of which you are desirous; and aversion demands the avoidance of that to which you are averse... if you confine aversion to those objects only which are contrary to the natural use of your faculties which are within your own control, you will never incur anything to which you are averse."

Decision: Only desire/avoid what's in control

Enchiridion 3 = EXAMINATION (Step 4)

"With regard to whatever objects give you delight, are useful, or are deeply loved, remember to tell yourself of what general nature they are... If you kiss your child or your wife, say that you are kissing a human being, for thus, if either of them dies, you will not be disturbed."

Examination: Test judgments about externals (fragility)

Enchiridion 4 = DECISION (Step 5) + PAUSE (Step 3)

"When you are going to take in hand any act, remind yourself what kind of act it is."

Premeditation = Pause before action + Decision in advance

Enchiridion 5 = RECEPTION (Step 1) + EXAMINATION (Step 4)

"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things."

Reception: Impressions contain judgments
Examination: Disturbance reveals false judgment

SUMMARY TABLE: EPICTETUS TEXTS & THE FIVE STEPS

Step	Primary Text	Key Quote
1. RECEPTION	Enchiridion 5	"Men are disturbed not by things, but by views"
2. RECOGNITION	Discourses 2.18.24	"You are just an impression and not what you appear to be"
2. RECOGNITION	Enchiridion 1	"Some things are up to us, some are not"
3. PAUSE	Enchiridion 20	"Make it your first endeavor not to let impressions carry you away"
4. EXAMINATION	Discourses 3.12.15	"Apply the rule. Does this lie within sphere of choice?"
4. EXAMINATION	Enchiridion 1.5	"Examine it by those rules which you have"
5. DECISION	Discourses 3.12.15	"Outside. Throw it away."
5. DECISION	Enchiridion 1.5	"Be prepared to say that it is nothing to you"

This provides direct Epictetus textual support for all Five Steps of making correct use of impressions.

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