Remember You Will Die
Principle 21 from the Enchiridion
Epictetus teaches that remembering death helps us see life with clearer priorities and less fear.
Original Passage
Let death and exile, and all other things which appear terrible be daily before your eyes, but chiefly death, and you will never entertain any abject thought, nor too eagerly covet anything.
Modern Interpretation
Epictetus recommends a daily practice that may sound severe but is deeply practical: remember mortality. Keeping death in view is not morbid obsession. It is perspective training. When we avoid thinking about endings, we overvalue small fears and chase trivial desires.
Awareness of death clarifies priorities. Petty status games lose importance. Unnecessary resentment becomes harder to justify. We become less likely to delay meaningful actions, honest conversations, and grateful attention to the present.
Stoicism uses mortality to reduce both cowardice and greed. If life is limited, we do not need to bow to every social pressure, and we do not need to collect endlessly as if accumulation can protect us.
Remembering death can make life calmer, simpler, and more courageous.
In Practice Today
You are stuck in a long conflict with a sibling over a minor issue. Each day you rehearse arguments and feel exhausted. A Stoic mortality check asks: "If one of us were gone soon, would this still matter this much?"
The answer often changes tone immediately. You may still address the issue, but with more humility and less ego. Time feels precious again.
Reflection Question
If you truly remembered that your life is finite today, what concern would immediately become less important?