Epictetus — "Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that a…"
Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that are not within our control.
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More from Epictetus
"How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?"
"Those proficient praise no one, blame no one, and accuse no one. They say nothing concerning their self as being anybody or knowing anything."
"If you want to be a man of honour, you must be a man of honour. If you want to be a good man, you must be a good man. If you want to be a wise man, you must be a wise man. If you want to be a fool, yo…"
"What is the result of all this? To be free, serene, and happy."
"When you have done good and received good, why do you look for any other reward?"
About Epictetus (c. 50-135 CE)
Greek Stoic philosopher and former slave whose Discourses (recorded by his student Arrian) shaped Marcus Aurelius and the modern Stoic revival. Closely associated with Seneca (earlier Roman Stoic) and Marcus Aurelius (his student-by-text on the imperial throne). For an intellectual contrast, see Epicurus, Greek philosopher of pleasure-as-tranquility — the Stoic-Epicurean rivalry was the central philosophical debate of the Hellenistic and Roman world for 400 years — Epicurean materialist hedonism is the precise alternative the Stoic discipline-of-acceptance was built against.
The standard scholarly entry points to Epictetus's work: A.A. Long (UC Berkeley, Classics) — Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life (2002); Pierre Hadot (Collège de France) — Philosophy as a Way of Life (1995); Anthony R. Birley (Manchester, Roman historian) — Marcus Aurelius (1987) — the standard biography of Epictetus's most famous student. These are the works graduate seminars cite when teaching Epictetus.