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Read/Book V/5.29
MED. 5.29Discipline of action
George Long · 1862EN · Long

As thou intendest to live when thou art gone out, so it is in thy power to live here. EXERCISEBut if men do not permit thee, then get away out of life, yet so as if thou wert suffering no harm. The house is smoky, and I quit it. Why dost thou think that this is any trouble? But so long as nothing of the kind drives me out, DOGMAI remain, am free, and no man shall hinder me from doing what I choose; and I choose to do what is TERMaccording to the nature of the rational and TERMsocial animal.

Original · ancient Greek

Ὡς ἐξελθὼν ζῆν διανοῇ, οὕτως ἐνταῦθα ζῆν ἔξεστιν· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἐπιτρέπωσι, τότε καὶ τοῦ ζῆν ἔξιθι, οὕτως μέντοι ὡς μηδὲν κακὸν πάσχων. καπνὸς καὶ ἀπέρχομαι· τί αὐτὸ πρᾶγμα δοκεῖς; μέχρι δέ με τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν ἐξάγει, μένω ἐλεύθερος καὶ οὐδείς με κωλύσει ποιεῖν ἃ θέλω· θέλω δὲ κατὰ φύσιν τοῦ λογικοῦ καὶ κοινωνικοῦ ζῴου.

Leopold · Teubner 1908
Commentary

Place in the book. "The open door": the freedom to live by one's own nature, with death always at hand as an effortless exit. The discipline of action, with a secondary of desire.

The open door. Live here as you would if you had "gone out"; and if they will not let you — "EXERCISEdepart from life too, yet as one suffering no evil": death is no evil but an exit κατὰ φύσιν. The famous image of Epictetus (Disc. 1.25.18): "The room is smoky, and I leave" (καπνὸς καὶ ἀπέρχομαι) — the room fills with smoke, the door is open, so go out; but while the "smoke" is bearable, stay at your post.

Freedom. So long as nothing of the kind drives me out — "DOGMAI remain free, and no one will hinder me from doing what I will." Freedom lies not in circumstances but in the inalienability of the will: the external can kill me but cannot compel me.

What I will. "And I will what accords with TERMthe nature of a rational and TERMsocial being" (DOGMAto live according to nature). Freedom is not caprice: my θέλω is already determined by my rational-social nature. The door stands open without terror precisely because, even out of life, I lose nothing essential — my agreement with nature.

Discipline and parallels. The principal discipline is action (living by one's nature, the freedom of the will); the secondary is desire (death without evil, the open door). Parallels: Epictetus Disc. 1.25.18; 4.10; Med. 2.11 (one may depart now); 03-05 (the soldier at his post, awaiting the "recall-signal").

DisciplineDiscipline of action
Record added2026-06-26
Statuspublished
Read·Book V
Discipline of action

George Long · 1862· EN · Long

As thou intendest to live when thou art gone out, so it is in thy power to live here. EXERCISEBut if men do not permit thee, then get away out of life, yet so as if thou wert suffering no harm. The house is smoky, and I quit it. Why dost thou think that this is any trouble? But so long as nothing of the kind drives me out, DOGMAI remain, am free, and no man shall hinder me from doing what I choose; and I choose to do what is TERMaccording to the nature of the rational and TERMsocial animal.

Original · ancient Greek

Ὡς ἐξελθὼν ζῆν διανοῇ, οὕτως ἐνταῦθα ζῆν ἔξεστιν· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἐπιτρέπωσι, τότε καὶ τοῦ ζῆν ἔξιθι, οὕτως μέντοι ὡς μηδὲν κακὸν πάσχων. καπνὸς καὶ ἀπέρχομαι· τί αὐτὸ πρᾶγμα δοκεῖς; μέχρι δέ με τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν ἐξάγει, μένω ἐλεύθερος καὶ οὐδείς με κωλύσει ποιεῖν ἃ θέλω· θέλω δὲ κατὰ φύσιν τοῦ λογικοῦ καὶ κοινωνικοῦ ζῴου.

Leopold · Teubner 1908
Related5
TERMφύσιςnatureTERMκοινωνικόν / κοινωνίαthe social, the communal (disposition)DOGMAThe dichotomy of control — what is up to us and what is notDOGMATo live according to nature — the Stoic *telos*-formulaEXERCISEMeditatio mortis — living under the sign of "as one already dying"
Commentary

Place in the book. "The open door": the freedom to live by one's own nature, with death always at hand as an effortless exit. The discipline of action, with a secondary of desire.

The open door. Live here as you would if you had "gone out"; and if they will not let you — "EXERCISEdepart from life too, yet as one suffering no evil": death is no evil but an exit κατὰ φύσιν. The famous image of Epictetus (Disc. 1.25.18): "The room is smoky, and I leave" (καπνὸς καὶ ἀπέρχομαι) — the room fills with smoke, the door is open, so go out; but while the "smoke" is bearable, stay at your post.

Freedom. So long as nothing of the kind drives me out — "DOGMAI remain free, and no one will hinder me from doing what I will." Freedom lies not in circumstances but in the inalienability of the will: the external can kill me but cannot compel me.

What I will. "And I will what accords with TERMthe nature of a rational and TERMsocial being" (DOGMAto live according to nature). Freedom is not caprice: my θέλω is already determined by my rational-social nature. The door stands open without terror precisely because, even out of life, I lose nothing essential — my agreement with nature.

Discipline and parallels. The principal discipline is action (living by one's nature, the freedom of the will); the secondary is desire (death without evil, the open door). Parallels: Epictetus Disc. 1.25.18; 4.10; Med. 2.11 (one may depart now); 03-05 (the soldier at his post, awaiting the "recall-signal").

DisciplineDiscipline of action
Record added2026-06-26
Statuspublished