Chapter XLIII
by Epictetus • Book 42
This chapter helps you reframe frustrating interpersonal conflicts so you can find peace instead of bitterness. By choosing to focus on connection rather than offense, you transform how you carry relational pain.
“If your brother acts unjustly, do not lay hold on the affair by the handle of his injustice, for by that it cannot be borne, but rather by the opposite—that he is your brother...”
Related Remedies for Anger
See allHIS FIRST BOOK
This chapter helps you neutralize bitterness and frustration toward difficult people by directing your attention toward gratitude and the virtues of mentors and companions. By recognizing that we are born to work together rather than clash in opposition, you can protect your inner peace and respond to daily offenses with equanimity.
THE SIXTH BOOK
This chapter helps you regain inner composure when the slights, hostility, and frustrating behaviors of others threaten to disrupt your peace. It encourages you to step back from reactionary bitterness, reminding you that your greatest strength lies in refusing to mirror the harm done to you.