The Enchiridion, Section 51 — In Plain English

Epictetus — The Slave

Philosophy has three parts. First and most important: actually doing what's right — like not lying. Second: understanding why something is right — like why you shouldn't lie. Third: understanding how proof works — like why a certain argument counts as proof. What is proof? What follows from what? What's a contradiction? What's true? What's false? You need the third part to understand the second. You need the second part to understand the first. But the first part — actually doing right — is what matters most. That's where you should focus. But we do the opposite. We spend all our time on proof and logic. We work hard on that stuff and completely ignore doing what's right. So we lie while explaining brilliantly why lying is wrong.

Epictetus — The Slave Original

The first and most necessary topic in philosophy is the practical application of principles, as, _We ought not to lie_; the second is that of demonstrations as, _Why it is that we ought not to lie_; the third, that which gives strength and logical connection to the other two, as, _Why this is a demonstration_. For what is demonstration? What is a consequence? What a contradiction? What truth? What falsehood? The third point is then necessary on account of the second; and the second on account of the first. But the most necessary, and that whereon we ought to rest, is the first. But we do just the contrary. For we spend all our time on the third point and employ all our diligence about that, and entirely neglect the first. Therefore, at the same time that we lie, we are very ready to show how it is demonstrated that lying is wrong.