Person

Epictetus

Also known as: Ἐπίκτητος, Epictetus of Hierapolis

Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50 – c. 135 CE) — among the most influential figures in the late Stoic tradition. Born a slave in Hierapolis (in present-day southwestern Turkey); brought to Rome as a slave; permitted to study Stoic philosophy with the major Stoic teacher Musonius Rufus; eventually freed (the conditions are unclear); taught philosophy in Rome until expelled by Domitian's banishment of philosophers in 93 CE; thereafter taught in Nicopolis on the western coast of Greece. Wrote nothing himself; his teachings survive through the notes taken by his student **Arrian** of Nicomedia, preserved as the **Discourses** (originally eight books in Greek, four surviving) and the **Enchiridion** (*Handbook*) — a brief practical summary widely used as a Stoic introduction. Epictetus's teaching has been substantially influential — on Marcus Aurelius (who quotes him repeatedly in the *Meditations*), on early Christianity, on the modern Stoic-practice tradition, and on Aaron Beck's development of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Epictetus was born around 50 CE in Hierapolis, a Greek-speaking city in Phrygia (in present-day Pamukkale, Turkey). He was born a slave; his name itself — Epiktētos — means acquired or purchased, and may have been a slave name rather than a given name. He was brought to Rome as a slave and acquired by Epaphroditus, a freedman who served as secretary to the emperor Nero. Epaphroditus permitted Epictetus to study with the major Stoic teacher Musonius Rufus, the most consequential Stoic philosopher of the immediate post-Senecan period.

A famous and probably true story: Epictetus’s master once tortured him by twisting his leg in a screw. Epictetus said calmly, if you keep this up, you will break it. The master continued, and broke the leg. Epictetus said simply, I told you you would break it. The story is told as illustration of his Stoic discipline; it is also a piece of evidence that he was severely physically abused as a young man, and he had a permanent limp for the rest of his life.

He was eventually freed (the conditions and date are unclear) and taught philosophy in Rome until 93 CE, when the emperor Domitian banished philosophers from Rome. Epictetus relocated to Nicopolis on the western coast of Greece, where he established a school and taught for the rest of his life. He died around 135 CE.

He apparently never married, lived simply in a [[tiny-house|small house]], and adopted a friend’s child whom Epictetus would otherwise have been unable to care for.

The texts

Epictetus wrote nothing himself. His teachings survive through the notes of his student Arrian of Nicomedia (later a Roman governor and historian, c. 86 – c. 160 CE), who attended Epictetus’s lectures in Nicopolis and recorded them. Arrian preserved them in two related works:

Discourses (Diatribai) — originally eight books in Greek; four survive. The Discourses are dialogue-narratives recording how Epictetus actually taught: through questions, through working out problems with specific students, through stories and examples. The texture is that of a real classroom; the philosophical substance is sustained.
Enchiridion (Manual or Handbook) — a short summary, perhaps 50 chapters in modern editions, that distills the essential practical teachings into a brief portable form. The Enchiridion has been the most-read introduction to Stoicism for two thousand years.

What he taught

Epictetus’s distinctive teaching is sometimes summarized as the dichotomy of control:

Some things are up to us, and some are not. Up to us are opinion, intention, desire, aversion — in a word, all our own actions. Not up to us are our body, our property, our reputation, our office — in a word, anything that is not our own action.

The opening of the Enchiridion. The work of the Stoic philosopher is to maintain attention on what is up to us — our own judgments, intentions, choices — and to receive what is not up to us with equanimity. The implications cascade through every aspect of life. We are disturbed not by events but by our judgments about events. Catch the judgment as it arises; examine it; align it with reason; receive the event without disturbance.

A few other characteristic teachings:

The role we are given. Epictetus uses the metaphor of the actor: we do not choose the play, only how to play our part. The role may be short or long, easy or difficult, public or obscure. Our work is to play it well.
The reservation. When undertaking any action, do so with reservation — that is, with the understanding that the outcome is not up to us. I will sail today, if it is allowed; I will eat tomorrow, if it is granted.
The trial of opinions. Most of our suffering is produced by our own untested opinions. The discipline is to take each opinion as it arises and ask whether it is in fact true.
The relentless exhortation to practice. Epictetus is unusual in the directness with which he addresses his students: don’t tell me, show me; not theory, practice; the time is now, not someday.

Influence

Epictetus’s influence has been substantial:

[[marcus-aurelius|Marcus Aurelius]] quotes him by name in the [[meditations-marcus-aurelius|Meditations]] and clearly read the Discourses attentively.
Early Christianity absorbed substantial Epictetan elements; the Enchiridion was used in Byzantine and medieval Christian education.
Aaron Beck (the founder of cognitive-behavioral therapy) explicitly drew on Epictetus’s teaching that we are disturbed by our judgments about events rather than by events themselves.
James Stockdale, the U.S. naval officer held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for nearly eight years, has named Epictetus’s Enchiridion as the principal text that sustained him through captivity. Courage Under Fire (1993) is his account.
The contemporary Stoic-practice movement treats Epictetus (with [[marcus-aurelius|Marcus Aurelius]] and Seneca) as primary practical text.

Sources

Epictetus. Discourses, Fragments, Handbook. Trans. Robin Hard. Oxford World’s Classics, 2014. Source class: primary text / standard contemporary translation.
Epictetus. The Discourses, Manual, and Fragments. Trans. W.A. Oldfather. Loeb Classical Library, 1925–1928. Source class: primary text / classical scholarly translation.
Epictetus. The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness. Sharon Lebell’s interpretive rendering of the Enchiridion. HarperOne, 1995. Source class: book / popular interpretive version.
A.A. Long. Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life. Oxford, 2002. Source class: book / definitive scholarly study.
[[pierre-hadot|Pierre Hadot]]. Philosophy as a Way of Life. Blackwell, 1995. (Substantial chapters engaging Epictetus.) Source class: book / philosophical study.
James B. Stockdale. Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus’s Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior. Hoover, 1993. Source class: pamphlet / lived testimony of Epictetan practice under duress.

Lenses still to grow

Musonius Rufus as Epictetus’s teacher and a major Stoic in his own right.
Arrian as the disciple-recorder; the question of how reliable the Discourses are as transcript.
Stockdale and Vietnam captivity — the most sustained modern testimony of practical Stoicism under duress.
Aaron Beck and CBT — the lineage from Epictetus to contemporary cognitive therapy.
Epictetus’s teaching on slavery — given his own enslaved beginnings, an honest treatment of how he addressed (and did not address) the institution.

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