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The voices / 189 fragments

Epictetus

Life dates uncertain · Stoicism

Stoic teacher concerned with judgment, choice and how to live with others. His teachings survive through Arrian; the short Enchiridion is a guide into a larger discussion.

Author and source reference ↗
▷ Play this voiceSearch within this voice ↗Place in time ↗truthfaithdeathtimemindlifewisdomknowledge
Historical source references

Life and writing

Epictetus taught Stoic philosophy after gaining freedom from slavery. He later established a school at Nicopolis. His account of ethical life asks people to examine the judgments through which they respond to events, while taking their responsibilities toward others seriously. The surviving teaching has a practical setting: a student must learn to use an idea in conduct, rather than merely repeat it.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Epictetus ↗ Life and Works; Main contentions 4.3, 4.6 and 4.7; Educational method

Arrian preserved the Discourses associated with Epictetus’s teaching. The Enchiridion condenses that material into a shorter handbook, so a brief instruction can lose some of the reasoning supplied by the longer discussions. The linked reading edition uses Thomas Wentworth Higginson’s English translation. It is related reading; it does not establish the translation or exact wording of every anthology passage on this page.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Epictetus ↗Project Gutenberg — The Enchiridion, PG 45109 ↗ Life and Works: Discourses and Enchiridion; PG45109 translator; original edition comparison

Reading this voice

Begin with the selected passages about judgment and gradual growth, then read an entire numbered section of the handbook. Ask what response the passage invites and what responsibilities remain. Life years stay uncertain here: the reference places his birth in the 50s CE and death around 135, rather than giving two exact years. The archive’s circa-60 coordinate comes from its anthology, not a date of composition. The linked translation and anthology wording can differ.

Subjects to explore

Editorial reading connections, distinct from the archive’s word matching.

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A work to read

Begin with these archive passages

Editorial starting points from this author’s existing entries.

Profile sources and editorial status

Original agent-assisted editorial profile, checked 2026-10-05. No human review is recorded. Life dates remain uncertain; no lifespan or quotation composition date is inferred.

Archive entries

05Undated
What would have become of Hercules do you think if there had been no lion, hydra, stag or boar - and no savage criminals to rid the world of? What would he have done in the absence of such challenges? Obviously he would have just rolled over in bed and gone back to sleep. So by snoring his life away in luxury and comfort he never would have developed into the mighty Hercules. And even if he had, what good would it have done him? What would have been the use of those arms, that physique, and that noble soul, without crises or conditions to stir into him action?
Epictetus / quote
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14Undated
Concerning the Gods, there are those who deny the very existence of the Godhead; others say that it exists, but neither bestirs nor concerns itself not has forethought far anything. A third party attribute to it existence and forethought, but only for great and heavenly matters, not for anything that is on earth. A fourth party admit things on earth as well as in heaven, but only in general, and not with respect to each individual. A fifth, of whom were Ulysses and Socrates, are those that cry: --I move not without Thy knowledge!
Epictetus / quote
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19Undated
Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals. How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be? Your nobler self cannot wait any longer. Put your principles into practice – now. Stop the excuses and the procrastination. This is your life! You aren’t a child anymore. The sooner you set yourself to your spiritual program, the happier you will be. The longer you wait, the more you’ll be vulnerable to mediocrity and feel filled with shame and regret, because you know you are capable of better. From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself. Separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do – now.
Epictetus / quote
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