WORDS FROM A GREAT MIND

Epictetus

Stoic philosopher

Born: c. 55 CE
Died: c. 135 CE
Lived in: Hierapolis, Rome & Nicopolis

Born in Hierapolis, in what is now Turkey, Epictetus spent part of his early life enslaved in Rome. After gaining his freedom, he taught philosophy and later opened a school in Nicopolis, Greece, with a practical focus on how we respond to life.

A LESSER-KNOWN DETAIL

His best-known teachings survive through his pupil Arrian, who recorded and collected them rather than leaving us a book in Epictetus’s own hand.

Words by Epictetus

“Some things are in our control and others not.”

Epictetus ↗

“Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things.”

Epictetus ↗