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Life
Born a slave. Became free. Taught that freedom is not a circumstance but a discipline of the mind.
Emperor of Rome. Philosopher on the battlefield. His private journal became the most famous Stoic text in history.
Connection
Epictetus teacher (through texts) Marcus Aurelius — Marcus Aurelius never met Epictetus, but studied the Discourses closely. He quotes and paraphrases him throughout the Meditations.
Ideas
Words
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”
Key Moments
c. 50 CE
Born Enslaved in Hierapolis
c. 65 CE
Studies with Musonius Rufus
c. 93 CE
School at Nicopolis
c. 108 CE
The Discourses Recorded
121 CE
Born in Rome
161 CE
Becomes Emperor
c. 170 CE
Writing the Meditations
180 CE
Death at the Frontier
Works
Discourses
The Handbook
Meditations