Epictetus - Short Works - ¶1 harm
From Short Works ¶1:
│ Remember then that if you think the things which are by nature slavish to be
│ free, and the things which are in the power of others to be your own, you
│ will be hindered, you will lament, you will be disturbed, you will blame both
│ gods and men: but if you think that only which is your own to be your own,
│ and if you think that what is another's, as it really is, belongs to another,
│ no man will ever compel you, no man will hinder you, you will never blame any
│ man, you will accuse no man, you will do nothing involuntarily (against your
│ will), no man will harm you, you will have no enemy, for you will not suffer
│ any harm.
To think the things outside of your control are actually within your control is a recipe for disaster and a path to harm; but to think that only those things actually under control are under control is liberating and keeps one free from harm.
Here, harm is something we can only inflict on ourselves. To suffer physical harm, for example, is harm against ones body, and this is not within control. What is within control i sthe action taken as a result of the suffering.
It seems like a bit of a circular definition, but really it's defining the terms in context.
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