The same words of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus in every English translation on the site, side by side.
Everything has two handles, by one of which it ought to be carried and by the other not. If your brother wrongs you, do not lay hold of the matter by the handle of the wrong that he is doing, because this is the handle by which the matter ought not to be carried; but rather by the other handle—that he is your brother, that you were brought up together, and then you will be laying hold of the matter by the handle by which it ought to be carried.
Every thing has two handles, the one by which it may be borne, the other by which it may not. If your brother acts unjustly, do not lay hold of the act by that handle wherein he acts unjustly, for this is the handle which cannot be borne: but lay hold of the other, that he is your brother, that he was nurtured with you, and you will lay hold of the thing by that handle by which it can be borne.
Everything has two handles, one by which you can carry it, the other by which you cannot. If your brother wrongs you, do not take it by that handle, the handle of his wrong, for you cannot carry it by that, but rather by the other handle—that he is a brother, brought up with you, and then you will take it by the handle that you can carry by.
Every translation here is complete and free to read in full on this site. They differ in age and in voice. The measurements below are taken from the whole of each translation.
| Translation | Words | Words per sentence | “Thou” and “thy” per 1,000 words | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W. A. Oldfather1928 | 8,272 | 26.2 | 0.1 | The Loeb Classical Library edition, printed facing the Greek. Smooth, modern prose, and the translation this site uses by default. |
| George Long1877 | 8,144 | 26.4 | 0.2 | The most literal of the three. Long often prints the Greek term or an alternative rendering in brackets, which makes it slow going but useful for checking the others. |
| P. E. Matheson1916 | 7,361 | 25.1 (shortest) | 0 | Published by the Clarendon Press, Oxford. The plainest and most concise of the three, and the easiest to read aloud. |
Shorter sentences and fewer old forms usually make for an easier read; the older, more literal versions are better for checking what the original says. A good way to use them is to read in one and, when a sentence stops you, look at it here in the others.
