On no occasion call yourself a philosopher, and do not talk a great deal amongst uneducated people about philosophical principles, but do what follows from those principles. For example, at a banquet do not talk about how people ought to eat, but eat as someone should... And if a discussion about philosophical principles should arise in uneducated people, keep silent for the most part, for there is great danger that you will immediately vomit up what you have not yet digested. And when someone says to you that you know nothing, and you are not offended, then know that you have begun your work. For sheep do not present their fodder to the shepherd to show how much they have eaten, but they digest their food within to produce wool and milk on the outside. So do not display your philosophical principles to uneducated people, but show them the actions that result from the principles when you digest them.
Dr. Kenneson led off his ancient philosophy syllabus with this gem, and I think about it often when I hear about how snotty college kids are, coming home on breaks with all their new ideas. I'm not sure from where in Epictetus these lines come, but I'll find them soon enough.
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