Epictetus - DeveloPassion

# Epictetus ![[50 Resources/51 Attachments/51.03 Public/2025-08-23_epictetus.jpg|200]] **Epictetus** (c. 50 – c. 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece, where he spent the rest of his life. ## Key Information - **Born**: c. AD 50 in Hierapolis, Phrygia (presumed) - **Died**: c. 135 (aged c. 85) in Nicopolis, Epirus - **Philosophy**: Stoicism - **Notable Works**: - *Discourses* (compiled by Arrian) - *Enchiridion* (Handbook) - **Main Interests**: Ethics - **Notable Ideas**: *Memento mori* ## Life and Career Epictetus was born into slavery and spent his youth in Rome as a slave to Epaphroditus, a wealthy freedman who was secretary to Nero. Early in life, Epictetus acquired a passion for philosophy and, with the permission of his wealthy master, he studied Stoic philosophy under Musonius Rufus. He obtained his freedom sometime after the death of Nero in AD 68, and began to teach philosophy in Rome. Around AD 93, when the Roman emperor Domitian banished all philosophers from the city, Epictetus moved to Nicopolis in Epirus, Greece, where he founded a school of philosophy. At some point in his life, he became disabled, requiring the use of a crutch. There are conflicting accounts about the cause of his disability - some sources suggest his leg was deliberately broken by his master, while others indicate he was disabled from childhood. ## Philosophy and Teachings Epictetus studied Stoic philosophy under Musonius Rufus and taught that philosophy is a way of life and not simply a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are beyond our control; he argues that we should accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. However, he held that individuals are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline. No writings by Epictetus are known. His discourses were transcribed and compiled by his pupil Arrian. The main work is The Discourses, four books of which have been preserved (out of the original eight). Arrian also compiled a popular digest, entitled the Enchiridion, or Handbook, of Epictetus. ## Influence His teachings influenced many later thinkers, including Marcus Aurelius, Pascal, Diderot, Montesquieu, Rabelais, and Samuel Johnson. The philosophy of Epictetus influenced the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who cites Epictetus in his Meditations. Epictetus lived a life of great simplicity, with few possessions. He lived alone for a long time, but in his old age, he adopted the child of a friend who otherwise would have been left to die, and raised him with the aid of a woman. He died sometime around AD 135. ## Quotes   - [[Any person capable of angering you becomes your master]] - [[Be patient, good things come to those who wait]] - [[Circumstances don't make the man. They only reveal him to himself]] - [[Don't just say that you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better]] - [[Don't seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and all will be well with you]] - [[If you are defeated once and tell yourself you will overcome, but carry on as before, know in the end you’ll be so ill and weakened that eventually you won’t even notice your mistake and will begin to rationalise your behaviour]] - [[It is inevitable, if you enter into relations with people on a regular basis, that you will grow to be like them]] - [[It's impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows]] - [[It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters]] - [[Keep constant guard over your perceptions]] - [[People are troubled not by things but by their judgments about things]] - [[Remember to conduct yourself in life as if at a banquet]] - [[Sickness is an impediment to the body but not to the will unless the will wants to be impeded]] - [[The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you]] - [[There is only one way to happiness. Stop worrying about things you cannot control]] - [[When giving your wife or kids a kiss, repeat to yourself, I am kissing a mortal]] - [[You become what you give your attention to]]  ## Books   - [[Don't just say that you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better]]