In the first century AD, few would have argued that Epictetus was the most powerful or richest person in Rome. Few would have argued that this lowly slave possessed any power at all—in fact, his name said it all: Epictetus literally translates to "acquired one."
Yet what philosophy helped Epictetus come to understand was that it was actually Nero and the other 'powerful' men and women of the time who were the slaves. They were the ones who had been acquired—by ambition, by desire, by insecurities, by money, by fame. They were the ones who despite all they had…actually had very little.
All of us were born free, Epictetus came to see, but many of us relinquish this freedom of choice in favor of superficial things. Or we so wallow in our unfortunate circumstances—our lack of literal freedom—that we fail to see where we do have choices, where we do have agency. If enslavement—the horrible torture that Epictetus experienced, the lifelong disability that followed it—didn't touch his power over himself, what excuse do the rest of us have?
The world can upend us at any moment—through illness, misfortune, even oppression. But there's one domain we always command: our own minds. Our thoughts, our judgments, our beliefs about what happens to us—this is the empire we must rule. As Epictetus put it, "even Zeus cannot deprive you of that fortune."
Will you seize this great fortune? Or will you trade it away for superficial, shiny things? Will you free yourself through your freedom of choice, or will you hand that freedom over to the mob, to your urges, to your fears?
That's the question of your life right there. And you could argue there's no better philosopher to help you answer it right than Epictetus—your "favorite philosopher's favorite philosopher," as we said recently.
After all, it was Epictetus who shaped the mind of a young Marcus Aurelius, who proved the exception to the rule that absolute power corrupts absolutely. And it was Epictetus' philosophy that James Stockdale used to survive his time as a Vietnam POW, that Frederick the Great carried with him into battle, that Teddy Roosevelt brought along on his famed "River of Doubt" expedition for guidance.
It's also the philosophy of Epictetus that we're exploring with thousands of Stoics from around the world this July at Daily Stoic. Epictetus Month, we're calling it. We're diving deeper than ever before into the legacy, life, and lessons of this great philosopher to learn how we lay claim to that great empire that resides within all of us.
Make sure to get How To Read Epictetus (A Daily Stoic Digital Guide) before July 26 in order to receive an exclusive invitation to a private LIVE Q&A session with Ryan Holiday, where you can ask all your questions about Epictetus and the benefits of his philosophy to your life.
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