Epictetus on what is or is not reasonable

“For a rational being, the only unbearable thing is unreasonableness, but anything reasonable is bearable. Being beaten isn’t in itself unbearable.

‘What do you mean?’

Look at it this way: the Spartans submit to being flogged once they’ve realized that it’s a reasonable thing to do.

‘But being hanged is unbearable, isn’t it?’

Except that when a person feels that it’s a reasonable thing to do, he’ll go and hang himself.

In short, if we look carefully, we’ll find that nothing distresses a rational bein...