EPICTETUS

Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.

Two Kinds of People: an examination of conscience.

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James Tissot Jesus c 1896 The Pardon of the Good Thief

There are two kinds of people in this world:

  • Those who believe in God, and those who imagine themselves to be God.
  • Those who repent, and those who pretend.
  • Those who encourage virtue, and those who endorse vice.
  • Those who stop to help, and those who walk on by.
  • Those who accept that there are absolutes, and those who think they know better.
  • Those who acknowledge reality, and those who attempt to ignore it or bend it to fantasy.
  • Those who pray, and those who probably wish they do.
  • Those who care, and those who gossip.
  • Those who suffer through no fault of their own and offer up their suffering to God, and those who inflict suffering on others.
  • Those who are disciplined and of service to others, and those who are undisciplined and who try to force others to accept their aberrant (and abhorrent) behaviour.
  • Those who see the need to change bad habits, and those whose bad habits blind them to change.
  • Those who are resilient in the face of adversity, and those who whine and demand to be coddled. As children the latter are annoying; as adults they are bullies.
  • Those who frown at their own sins, and those who laugh at the sins of others.

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