Chapter 33

Proper Behavior in Company

Epictetus advises the student about how to behave in social situations.

τάξον: > τάσσω (or τάττω), 2 sg. aor. act. imper.: “lay down,” “establish”

ἐπί … σεαυτοῦ: “on your own,” “alone”

ὢν ... ἐντυγχάνων: the participles are temporal: “when you are ... when you meet.”

33.2

τὸ πολὺ: “for the most part,” adverbial acc. (G. 540; S. 1609)

ἔστω: > εἰμί, 3 sg. pres. act. imper.

λαλείσθω: > λαλέω, 3 sg. pres. mid. imper.

δι' ὀλίγων: “in a few words”

καιροῦ παρακαλοῦντος: gen. absolute

ἐπὶ τὸ λέγειν τι ἥξομεν: “we will come to (the necessity of) saying something.” ἥξομεν is fut. > ἥκω. It is also possible to take ἐπὶ τὸ λέγειν τι with καιροῦ παρακαλοῦντος.

οὐδενὸς τῶν τυχόντων: “none of the usual subjects.” These are listed in what follows.

ψέγoντα ἢ ἐπαινοῦντα ἢ συγκρίνοντα: one expects nominative participles agreeing with the “we” of ἥξομεν, but most manuscripts have these acc. masc. participles, agreeing with an impersonal “one.” Boter (1999) explains that the construction has shifted, such that these are “free accusatives with infinitive, without expressed subject.” Supply δεῖ λέγειν: i.e., μάλιστα δὲ δεῖ σε ψέγoντα ἢ ἐπαινοῦντα ἢ συγκρίνοντα μὴ λέγειν περὶ ἀνθρώπων.

33.3

τοὺς τῶν συνόντων: supply λόγους. τῶν συνόντων: “of your companions”

ἐπὶ τὸ προσῆκον: “to something appropriate”

ἀποληφθεὶς: “separated,” “caught alone,” aor. pass. participle, masc. nom. sing. (LSJ, ἀπολαμβάνω IV)

τύχοις: > τυγχάνω, 2 sg. aor. act. opt.  

σιώπα: 2 sg. pres. act. imper. On imperatives of α-contract verbs, see μελέτα in ch. 1.5.

33.4

ἔστω: 3 sg. pres. act. imper.

ἐπὶ πολλοῖς: “at many things”

ἀνειμένος: > ἀνίημι, perf. mid. part. nom. masc. sg., “unrestrained,” agreeing with γέλως

33.5

παραίτησαι: 2 sg. aor. mid. imper.

ἐκ τῶν ἐνόντων: “as the situation permits.” ἐνόντων > ἔνειμι, “to be possible,” pres. part. used substantively. τὰ ἐνόντα = “what is possible.” ἐκ τῶν ἐνόντων, “on the basis of what is possible.” For the idiom, see Demosthenes, On the Crown 256.

33.6

τὰς ἔξω καὶ ἰδιωτικὰς: “those (dinner parties) offered by outsiders who are ignorant of philosophy”

διακρούου: 2 sg. pres. mid. imper.

καιρός: “occasion,” a situation in which one must attend such a dinner party

ἐντετάσθω: > ἐντείνω, 3 sg. perf. pass. imper. with προσοχή: “pay attention that ...”

ὑπορρυῇς: > ὑπορρέω, “slip, descend,” intransitive aor. pass. subj. 2 sg., after verb of caution + μή (G. 610 and 611b; S. 2220.b)

ἴσθι: > οἶδα, 2 sg. perf. act. imper.  

μεμολυσμένος ᾖ: > μολύνω, “to stain, taint,” 3 sg. perf. pass. periphrastic subj. (S. 599d)

τύχῃ: > τυγχάνω, 2 sg. aor. act. subj. τυγχάνω + ὤν = “happen to be.”

33.7

μέχρι τῆς χρείας ψιλῆς: “up to mere necessity,” “only the bare minimum”

οἷον: “for example”

τὸ δὲ πρὸς δόξαν: “that which is for reputation,” i.e., for outward show

33.8

ἀφροδίσια: “sexual pleasures”

εἰς δύναμιν: “as far as possible”

ἁπτομένῳ: consitional participle: “if one is to engage in it,” dative agent with the verbal adjective μεταληπτέον (S. 1488)

ὧν νόμιμόν ἐστι μεταληπτέον: “one must partake of (sex) which it is legitimate (to partake in).” Probably a reference to avoiding adultery and other dangerous liaisons. See Discourses 2.18.15: “Today, when I saw a handsome boy or a beautiful woman, I did not say to myself, ‘O that I could sleep with her!’ And, ‘How happy is her husband!’ (For he who says this, says too, ‘How happy is the adulterer!’)” (trans. R. Hard). ὧν is genitive after a verb of sharing (S. 1343). The relative pronoun has been attracted into the case of the omitted antecedent (G. 613 and 614; S. 2531 and 2536).

γίνου: 2 sg. pres. dep. imper.

τοῖς χρωμένοις: “those having sex” (LSJ χράομαι C.4.2).

τὸ ὅτι: “the fact that”

χρῇ: > χράομαι, 2 sg. pres. mid. ind.

33.9

ἀπαγγείλῃ: 3 sg. aor. mid. subj.

ὁ δεῖνα: “so and so,” a certain person

ἀπολογοῦ ... ἀποκρίνου: 2 sg. pres. dep./mid. imper.

τὰ λεχθέντα: > λέγω, aor. pass. part. acc. neut. pl.:“the things said (about you)”

τὰ ἄλλα τὰ προσόντα μοι κακά: “my other faults”

οὐκ ἂν ... ἔλεγεν: “would not have mentioned,” the apodosis of a contrary-to-fact condition (G. 649; S. 2292.1)

33.10

τὸ πολὺ: “often,” “for the most part,” adv. acc. (G. 540; S. 1609)

παριέναι: > πάρειμι (εἶμι ibo) “enter,” pres. act. infin.

εἴη: > εἰμί, 3rd sg. pres. act. opt.

σπουδάζων φαίνου: “show yourself to be a supporter.” φαίνου: 2nd sg. pres. mid. imper. + part. The construction of φαίνομαι with the participle denotes something that clearly is the case. With the infinitive it signifies that something seems to be the case (LSJ φαίνω B.II, G. 585a [see last example], and S. 2143).

τουτέστι: “that is”

ἐμποδισθήσῃ: 2 sg. fut. pass. ind.

ἀπέχου: 2 sg. pres. mid. imper.

μετὰ τὸ ἀπαλλαγῆναι: > ἀπαλλάσσω, aor. pass. infin., “after leaving,” (LSJ B.II)

τῶν γεγενημένων: > γίνομαι, perf. mid. part. gen. neut. pl.

διαλέγου: 2 sg. pres. mid. imper.

ὅσα μή: “except insofar as” (S. 2765)

33.11

ἀκροάσεις: recitations, whether of poetry or of practice speeches, were a popular type of entertainment in this period.

πάριθι: > πάρειμι, “enter,” 2 sg. pres. act. imper.

33.12

τῶν ἐν ὑπεροχῇ δοκούντων: “of those regarded as important” (LSJ δοκέω II.5), partitive genitive after τινὶ.

ἂν ἐποίησεν: “would have done” (S. 2305)

χρήσασθαι ... τῷ ἐμπεσόντι: “handle the situation” (LSJ ἐμπίπτω A.9)

33.13

φοιτᾷς πρός: “go to visit.” The situation imagined is the Roman custom of the salutatio, where humble clients visited more important patrons first thing in the morning, either to ask or offer a favor. They proverbially suffered humiliation if the great man was not home, declined to see them, or ignored their needs.

ἀποκλεισθήσῃ: 2 sg. fut. pass. ind.

ἐντιναχθήσονταί: 3 pl. fut. pass. ind.

σὺν τούτοις: “with these things (in mind),” “knowing all these possible outcomes”

εἴπῃς: > εἶπον, 2 sg. aor. act. subj.; prohibitory subj. (G. 473; S. 1840)

οὐκ ἦν τοσούτου: “it wasn’t worth it,” gen. of price (G. 513; S. 1372).

ἰδιωτικὸν γὰρ καὶ διαβεβλημένον πρὸς τὰ ἐκτός: supply ἐστι: “for it (i.e., complaining) is characteristic of an ordinary person and one showing dissatisfaction with external matters.” διαβεβλημένον > διαβάλλω, “complain,” perf. mid. part. (LSJ διαβάλλω V.1)

33.14

ἀπέστω τὸ σαυτοῦ τινων ἔργων ἢ κινδύνων ἐπὶ πολὺ καὶ ἀμέτρως μεμνῆσθαι: “refrain from constantly bringing up your own accomplishments and ventures” (Smith 2014). ἀπέστω: 3 sg. pres. act. imper.

οὐ: the negative goes with the second clause beginning with οὕτω.

τῶν σοὶ συμβεβηκότων: “your exploits,” > συμβαίνω, perf. act. part. gen. neut. pl.

33.15

γέλωτα: object of τὸ κινεῖν

ὀλισθηρὸς ... εἰς: “liable to slip into”

ἱκανὸς... ἀνεῖναι: “sufficient to diminish” 

αἰδῶ: "respect" 

τῶν πλησίον: “of those around you”

33.16

συμβῇ: > συμβαίνω, 3 sg. aor. act. subj.

τῷ προελθόντι: “the person who crossed the line,” by using foul language.

τῷ γε ἀποσιωπῆσαι καὶ ἐρυθριᾶσαι καὶ σκυθρωπάσαι: art. infin. functioning as datives of means (G. 526; S. 1507ff.). English requires the gerund: "by falling silent," etc.

δῆλος γίνου δυσχεραίνων: “clearly show your disgust” (LSJ δῆλος ΙΙ.2.). γίνου: 2 sg. pres. dep. imper.