Although he was born into slavery and endured a permanent physical disability, Epictetus maintained that all people are free to control their lives and to 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 entire career teaching philosophy and advising a daily regimen of self-examination. His pupil Arrianus later collected and published the master's lecture notes; the Enchiridion, or Manual, is a distillation of Epictetus' teachings and an instructional manual for a tranquil life. Full of practical advice, this work offers guidelines for those seeking contentment as well as for those who have already made some progress in that direction.

 Although he was born into slavery and endured a permanent physical disability, Epictetus (c. 50-c. 130 A.D.) maintained that all people are free to control their lives and to 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. His Enchiridion is an instructional manual for a tranquil and contented life; full of practical advice, it offers guidelines for those seeking such a life as well as for those who have already made some progress in that direction.

 Epictetus received much of his education from the Roman Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus, with whom he studied the traditional Stoic curriculum of logic, physics, and ethics. After attaining his freedom, he spent his entire career teaching philosophy and advising a daily regimen of self-examination. Epictetus" pupil Arrianus later collected and published the master"s lecture notes; the Enchiridion, or Manual, is a distillation of Epictetus" teachings. It centers on the belief that the only aspect of life entirely within an individual"s control is one"s own mind. The external world, including the body, is mostly beyond control, and external events are neither good nor evil---only attitudes toward those events can take on a moral quality. An enemy can do bodily harm but cannot damage the soul, just as no one can prevent anyone from being virtuous--which, Epictetus explains in this remarkable guide, depends completely upon following the prescriptions of nature and the dictates of reason.

Publisher"s Note

THE ENCHEIRIDION,OR MANUAL

FRAGMENTS OF EPICTETUS.