Epictetus: If any one tells you such a one has spoken ill of you, do not refute them in…
If any one tells you such a one has spoken ill of you, do not refute them in that particular; but answer, had he known all my vices, he had not spoken only of that one.
In today’s wordsIf someone tells you that so-and-so has spoken ill of you, don't argue the point; just answer, 'He must not know my other faults, or he'd have mentioned them too.'
Related
- Never use your self-mastery that comes from your self-discipline, to judge or criticize someone else.
- The words we speak ultimately lead to crisis or opportunity, poverty or prosperity, chaos or order.
- If you are too big to follow, you are too small to lead.
- Big Thought: Your VOW’s bring your Wow’s in life.
- When will talkers refrain from evil-speaking? When listeners refrain from evil-hearing.
- The essence of true nobility is neglect of self. Let the thought of self pass in, and the beauty of great action is gone, like the bloom from a soiled flower.