You Are Not Your Stuff — The Enchiridion

Epictetus opens on two bad syllogisms people actually use: I am richer than you, therefore I am your superior; I am more eloquent than you, therefore I am your superior. These reasonings have no logical connection. Riches and rhetoric get treated as proof of human rank when they only describe what someone has or how they speak.

The true logical connection runs the other way. I am richer than you, therefore my possessions must exceed yours. I am more eloquent than you, therefore my style must surpass yours. Each statement stays inside its category. More money means more stuff; better speech means better style. Neither step says anything about who you are.

The closing line lands it: you consist neither in property nor in style. What you own and how you talk are not your substance. When someone uses wealth or polish to claim general superiority, name the leap. When you feel smaller beside their advantages, remember the same error in reverse.