40. A Person Is Valued for Character

Epictetus writes in a world very different from ours. Read the heart of what he says: a person is valued for character, not for the look they can give.

Women from the age of fourteen are flattered by men with a title that treats them as objects of pleasure.

Seeing that they are looked at this way, they turn to dressing up and place all their hopes there.

It is worth our while, then, to help them see that they are respected for something deeper: an honest, careful, and steady character.

What this means. The trap is to place all your worth in the look you can give others. A steady character is a deeper thing to be known by.