Epictetus, Discourses 1.3.4

By reason of this lower kinship some of us fall away and become like wolves, faithless and treacherous and mischievous, others like lions, savage and brutal and untamable, but the greater part of us become foxes and the most godforsaken creatures in the animal world. 

 

For a foul-mouthed and wicked man is no better than a fox or the meanest and most miserable of creatures. Look to it then and beware lest you turn out to be one of these god-forsaken creatures.

 

Every time I come across a literary reference about people degrading themselves to the level of animals, I feel the need to remind myself that the analogy should not be taken too literally. It is certainly good for a wolf to behave like a wolf, or a lion like a lion, or a fox like a fox, but it is quite bad for a person to behave like a wolf, or a lion, or a fox. 

 

And this is because the nature of each is different. Whereas the beast is ruled by the power of instinct, the man also possesses the power of reason. There is no blame attached to the one, while there is to the other. 

 

My distinctions often annoy those who are trying to be my friends, and yet I don’t wish to insult a perfectly decent fox by comparing him to a mean-spirited man. 

 

I treat myself poorly, and show a deep disrespect for my own distinct nature, when I allow my judgments to be enslaved by my passions. Is it any wonder, then, that I also treat others poorly? Once a desire for things has replaced a commitment to improving my character, I am tossed and turned by any circumstance. 

 

In a certain sense, I still have the shape of a man, without the content of a man. I have abandoned my freedom as soon as I have neglected my ability to know true from false, right from wrong. When the conscience goes, the humanity goes. 

 

For the animal, feeling is the highest function. For me, understanding is the highest function. 

 

So the wolf may act with what seems to me like selfishness, and the lion may act with what seems to me like hatred, and the fox may act with what seems to me like shiftiness.

 

They do nothing of the sort, of course, because only people can decide to do such things. Vice is only possible for creatures with intellect and will. 

 

As my wife once put it: “There are no bad dogs, only confused dogs. Point your finger at the master, not at the servant.” 

 

I venture to suggest that God never forsakes any of His creatures, though I have known many thinking creatures who have gone about forsaking God. They do so by simply not being themselves. 

Written in 9/2000