8.1 μὴ ζήτει τὰ γινόμενα γίνεσθαι ὡς θέλεις, ἀλλὰ θέλε τὰ γινόμενα ὡς γίνεται, καὶ εὐροήσεις.

    Let Things Happen as They Happen 

    ζήτει: > ζητέω, 2 sg. pres. act. imper. Note that the accent for the imperative falls on the penult: ζήτε + ε = ζήτει. If this were a 3 sg., the circumflex would appear on the ultima, ζητέ + ει = ζητεῖ.

    τὰ γινόμενα γίνεσθαι: in Koine Greek and in Epictetus, γίνομαι is the regular form for the classical γίγνομαι.

    θέλεις ... θέλε: θέλω (rather than ἐθέλω) is the regular form in Epictetus, except when the verb is augmented.

    θέλε τὰ γινόμενα ὡς γίνεται: supply γίνεσθαι from the previous clause. γίνεται is singular following the implied neuter plural τὰ γινόμενα (G. 496; S. 958).

    εὐροήσεις: the early Stoics regarded εὐδαιμονία (happiness, human flourishing) as a virtuous life, a life consistent with itself, and thus it would have a smooth flow (εὔροια). Cf. Stobaeus, 2.77 (L-S 1.63A): εὐδαιμονία δ’ ἐστὶν εὔροια βίου (Sextus Empiricus 11.30), Diss. 1.4.27, Marcus Aurelius 2.5, 5.9, 10.6 and Diogenes Laertius 7.87–88.

    εὐροέω, -ήσω, to flow smoothly, be well

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    Suggested Citation

    Albert Watanabe, Epictetus: Encheiridion. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2020. ISBN: 978-1-947822-13-9.
    https://dcc.dickinson.edu/el/epictetus-encheiridion/chapter-8