Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-19
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRAcEWELL.

T. w. Rolleston justly says: "of this
| teaching EpictetuS knew nothing. One
| can image his hearing it with wonder
and ultimately with delight in It's pro:
! fundity and truth, but he never heard
| it and he never OWNED it. 1t is not
essentially inconsistent with his doc
| trine That doctrine needed but a lit
| tie enlargement, final touch OF spirit.
ual wisdom. to have taken 1t in and
| thereby to have made Thought glow
| into Religion. But that touch was be-
| You'd him, as 1t was beyond all an
tiquity; it had to be given, not from any
| philoSophic chair, but from cross
| n 4 =
Epictetus continued Tin this particu-
| lar discourse as taken down by his
pupil Arrian) by declaring that We call
ourselves solitary especially while
travelling when we fall among thieves,
"for it Is not the sight of a man that
removes our solitude, but OF an honest
man, q man of honor, and helpful
companion"
Thus he brought out very we'll the
| essential idea-not new then or now,
but ever needing restatement-thatt the
| presence or non-preSence OF other hui
man beings IS not what makes one
alone.
Those who, by reason Of the gregari-
| Gus streak in humanity, believe that
1
| self do not altogether realize that there
are many persons for whom period Of
solitude Is necessity.
Epictetus puts it, I'VE ought to be
prepared In some manner to be self
suf1cient, and able to bear our own
| company"
ployed "in thoughts worthy of Him
self" so should We, too, be able to talk
| xtrikk
conversation of others, nor to be at q
loss for employment"
What should one do while in his
1 Silence room? EptctetuS put forth
| the following mental chores: ITO at
tend to the divine administration, to
| consider our relation to other beings,
how we have formerly been affected by
events, how We are affected now, what
| are the things that still press upon us,
how these may be cured, how removed,
| II anything wants completing to COM
| plete it according to reason"
All this, It will be realized In Q Sec
ond, is only what every one does when
he Is by himself, with the reservation
that perhaps not enough Of us spend
enough time considering the divine
administrations"
Epictetus goes on to say that Caesar
has procured a profound peace, but
| can Caesar secure us peace from a
fever, too, from q shipwreck, from a
fire, from an earthquake, from thun-
derStorm, even from love?" No, this
sort Of peace, he says, comes but from
| God. The amazing thing is that this
man, without knowledge of Christianity,
so nearly Appropriated so many of its
divine sayings THE peace which
passeth all understanding" was known
| to EpictetuS through such understand
| ing as he had; he asserted that it can
be known to any one who will give
himself up to meditation on the
eternal plans Of the Maker of all
| things.
what solitude Is there then left?" he
asks, today as 1000 years ago. What
| restitution? Why do we make our
selves worse than children? What do
they do when they are left alone?
They take up Shehs and dust; they
build houses: then pull them Gown;
then build something else; and thus
never want amusement.
Suppose you were all to sail away;
am 1 to sit, and cry, because am left
alone, and solitary?
| Am so unprovided with shells and
dust? But children do this from folly;
| and we are wretched from wisdom"