Become as Passersby; Gospel of Thomas

Saying attributed to Jesus in Gospel of Thomas. "Become as passersby." James Geary includes it in his section on Jesus of Nazareth in his book, Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists (NY: Bloomsbury, 2007), p. 239ff. He lists 4 parallels to the saying. Here they are. "As long as he gives it, take care of it as something that is not your own, just as travellers treat an inn" (Epictetus [this is just the last sentence of a 10 sentence quote]). "Live your life without attracting attention" (Epicurus). He has not lived badly whose birth and death has (sic) been unnoticed by the world" (Horace). "Be in the world as if you were a stranger or a traveller" (Muhammad). Btw, Geary has the version, "be passersby." I prefer to include the word 'as' or 'like,' since this word is actually in the Coptic text recovered at Nag Hammadi and reminds one of similar usage elsewhere in Jesus' speech (e.g., Lk. 13:18f., kingdom of God like a mustard seed; Mt. 11:16, this generation is like children sitting in the marketplace). Jesus, may I say, was fond of making comparisons to draw out his meaning. We have in the saying, "become as passersby," a latent comparison between being at home and being 'on the road.' One may imagine Jesus observing his disciples and telling them, so, you are at home in the world; amen say I to you, become like passersby (for you know not the hour of your death). Jesus was a man with many miles on his sandals. We are all travellers, passersby, and too often forget it.