Enchiridion

Synopsis

Although he was born into slavery and endured a permanent physical disability, epictetus (ca. 50–ca. 130 ce) maintained that all people are free to control their lives and live in harmony with nature. We will always be happy, he argued, if we learn to desire that things should be exactly as they are. After attaining his freedom, epictetus spent his career teaching philosophy and advising a daily regimen of self-examination.