Epictetus · Discourses 10.4
The thief thinks man's good consists in fine clothes — the very thing you also think. Must he not come and take them? Show a cake to the greedy and swallow it yourself — will they not snatch it?
What this means
The point is uncomfortable: the thief and you prize the same thing, fine possessions, so his theft is just your own valuation turned against you. If externals did not rule your sense of good, losing them could not wound you. Epictetus moves the problem inward, where you actually have power over it.
On desire, judgment, people.