Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“The man did not know the rest of my faults, for he would not have mentioned these only.”
- Source
- Enchiridion
- Date
- c. 125
- English wording
- George Long — Translator · from Ancient Greek
Meaning of “The man did not know the rest of…”
Epictetus answers insult without retaliation by turning attention toward his own fallibility; the joke reduces the critic’s power because reputation is treated as an external judgment rather than something that must be avenged.
Where does it come from?
Enchiridion, section 33 in George Long’s public-domain translation, Project Gutenberg #10661. The line is the suggested reply after hearing that someone has spoken ill of you; it is Stoic self-command, not an instruction to accept abuse without boundaries.
