«Τῶν ὄντων τὰ μέν ἐστιν ἐφ’ ἡμῖν, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἐφ’ ἡμῖν. ἐφ’ ἡμῖν μὲν ὑπόληψις, ὁρμή, ὄρεξις, ἔκκλισις καὶ ἑνὶ λόγῳ ὅσα ἡμέτερα ἔργα· οὐκ ἐφ’ ἡμῖν δὲ τὸ σῶμα, ἡ κτῆσις, δόξαι, ἀρχαὶ καὶ ἑνὶ λόγῳ ὅσα οὐχ ἡμέτερα ἔργα».
Έτσι ξεκινά το Εγχειρίδιον του Επίκτητου, ένα απάνθισμα συμβουλών που μας παρέχουν μια ισχυρή φιλοσοφία για την καθημερινή μας ζωή.

Epictetus (c. 55-135 AD), of Hierapolis (Phrygia), was a Stoic philosopher. His Manual on the Art of Living gives explicit advice on how to live - it is a collection of principles that together provide a philosophy for everyday life.

The basis of stoic philosophy is self-knowledge. Integrity, self-management, and personal freedom are the main points that Epictetus focuses on.

Epictetus was born into slavery, but he remained free. He lived in poverty, but he remained happy. By putting into practice all his wise instructions, man can conquer virtue and become happy.

‘Of all existing things, some are in our power, and others are not in our power.’ So begins the Enchiridion or Manual on the Art of Living of Epictetus, a collection of precepts that together provide a powerful philosophy for daily life. With practical grace and wisdom, the Manual addresses living with integrity, self-management, and personal freedom.
The Manual is considered to be the pinnacle of Stoic philosophy, a school of Greek thought originating in the early third century BC, that holds that destructive emotions are the result of errors in judgement and taught an active relationship between individual will and cosmic determinism.