Posted by Kalamatianos on December 30, 2003, at 1:16:04
In reply to Thank you, all and goodbye....., posted by KellyD on December 30, 2003, at 0:35:11
Epictetus (c. 50–138 AD) was born a slave in the Greek-speaking Roman province of Phrygia, in what is now central Turkey.
One day when Epictetus was working in the fields chained to an iron stake, his master approached him with the idea of tightening his leg shackle. Epictetus suggested that making the shackle tighter was not needed to keep him from running away, but would merely break his leg. The master was not persuaded, and sure enough Epictetus's leg was broken. But he did not protest or give any sign of distress. His master asked him why, and was told that since the leg was already irreversibly broken, there was really no point in getting upset about it.
His master was so impressed by this demonstration of unflappability that he eventually set Epictetus free, and sent him away with money so he could become an itinerant philosopher. Epictetus considered this preferable to being a philosopher chained to a stake, and eventually came to Rome, the capital of the Western world in those days. Among the prominent Romans he influenced was the emperor Marcus Aurelius.
>>> One foot in the past and the other foot in the future leaves me poised perfectly to take a dump on today!
poster:Kalamatianos
thread:294550
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20031229/msgs/294556.html