From slave in Rome to great Stoic master in Epirus. This could be the introductory letter of Epictetus, a philosopher who lived in the times of Classical Greece. Slave of Nero’s freedman, he was able to approach philosophy at the hands of Musonius Rufus, a great Stoic.
Once he achieved freedom, Epictetus dedicated himself entirely to philosophy. He could do little more since, under the reign of Nero, times were not good for the city of Rome, having to go into exile.
Although much more is not known about his life, his teachings managed to survive the passage of time, being collected in the Enquiridión and in the Dissertations. Let’s take a closer look at who this philosopher was and his particular way of promulgating Stoicism, through a biography of Epictetus in summary format.
Epictetus (classical Greek Επίκτητος) born in 55 AD near Hierapolis of Phrygia, present-day Pamukkale, Türkiye We know little about his childhood, other than that at some point he was made a slave and taken to Rome.
His name is quite descriptive of his status as a slave, since it means “appendage”, “earned” or “acquired”. His master was Epaphroditus, a freedman who had been Nero’s slave. Under his domination, Epictetus suffered cruelly and Epaphroditus even broke his leg.
But despite his terrible cruelty, Epaphroditus gave Epictetus permission to attend the lessons of the Roman philosopher Musonius Rufus, an important and well-known Stoic in Rome As time went by, Epictetus would gain freedom and fully enjoy the art of philosophizing. The doctrine of Musonius Rufus made a strong impression on him, making this former slave a great missionary of Stoicism. He would learn that Stoicism, more than a philosophy, was a lifestyle, something that would make him an admired teacher.
The popularity of Musonius Rufus had its meaning in Rome, especially among the city’s aristocracy. Stoicism had become fashionable in the big city and was a trend of great interest to anyone who wanted to call themselves a man of philosophical knowledge. However, despite the emergence of thought and culture, these were not good times for Rome since Nero’s command was terribly cruel, something that Musonius Rufus and his disciple Epictetus would soon learn firsthand.
From time immemorial, good philosophy and tyranny have never been in harmony. Nero saw the development of knowledge as a real danger to his government, with which he had no qualms about expelling many wise men. Mathematicians, astrologers and, of course, philosophers had to leave Rome. Musonius Rufus and Epictetus were victims of expulsion, and the freedman ended up settling in Nicopolis, in Epirus. It would be there where he would become a very famous character, attracting visitors from Magna Graecia.
Epictetus would build his own Stoic school in the city and, in it, he would share his teachings with figures of the stature of the emperor Hadrian himself, Marcus Aurelius and Aulus Gellius. His most important disciple was Flavius Arrian, who was responsible for documenting his teachings and compiling them in the two works for which he is known: the Enchyridion and the Dissertations. Epictetus always opted for a poor and solitary lifestyle, although generous and humane. This great philosopher died between 125 and 130 AD
Thought and work
Much of Epictetus’ knowledge has come to us thanks to his disciple Flavius Arrian of Nicomedia. It is him and his faithful enthusiasm that has made the spontaneous, vigorous and sincere word of Epictetus preserved, reaching our times in the form of two works: Dissertations and the Enchyridion.
It should be said that it was also other of his disciples, such as Marcus Aurelius, Aulus Gellius, Arnobius and Stobeus, who dedicated him to writing some fragments mentioning the knowledge of his teacher.
Epictetus He does not stand out much in the speculative field but he does stand out in his way of seeing stoicism He does not ask for a quiet life with others, nor for an optimistic harmony with the great laws, with God and the world. What it does promulgate is freedom as an ethical conquest and religious liberation, and it speaks about the absolute independence of the soul. In his Dissertations he does not encourage the stoicism of Seneca or Posidonius, but Epictetus seeks virtue, more freedom than wisdom, inflexibly and with faith.
The Dissertations
The Dissertationsalso called Rants either Speeches of Epictetuswere originally composed of eight books, of which four have survived. They were written by Flavius Arrian of Nicomedia and he himself affirms that he limited himself to faithfully transcribing what his teacher said in his Nicopolis school. Arrian goes so far as to say that he hopes to be able to share not only the teachings of his teacher, but his own scruffy and gruff but also morally sublime tone of his.
Epictetus’s Stoicism could be considered rather alternative. However, what is presented in Dissertations allows us to make this work a fundamental text to understand the third period of classical Stoicism, called Roman. Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, who was influenced by the first, are considered to be the greatest representatives of this current. The philosopher is interested in moral problems, abandoning the eclectic tendency that had been the norm in previous Stoicism.
Epictetus collects in all its rigor the concept of rational will as an aspect that governs the world given by God This certainly makes the work emanate an air of religiosity. The work reflects the influences of Cynic doctrines on the thought of Epictetus, so it is not surprising that Flavius Arrian decided to call it Dissertations, given that it evokes popular cynical “diatribes.”
Epictetus spoke of divine Providence as the ultimate ruler of the world, which directs it according to the laws of nature, coinciding with those of human reason. God is the father of men and has predisposed everything for their material and moral good. When evil intervenes in human life, Providence should not be blamed, but rather the human being himself who has forgotten its sublime origin and has left aside reason, which is what God has given him to guide the actions of he.
Reason is a divine particle that guides human beings towards correct behavior If human beings allow themselves to be seduced by false appearances of good, they end up submitting to vices and passions, which causes them to do evil. By acting in this way the only thing he achieves is to renounce his privilege as an animal with reason, sinking into misery and denying the freedom that God has given him.
Thus, the human being is free when he has in his power and knows how to use well the things that matter: his thoughts, his inclinations and his will. The first chain of slavery is the passions, which disturb the spirit, while the second chain is found in external things, which have their origin in an erroneous idea: honors, wealth, health or our own body. They are aspects that do not belong to us, that run out or expire after a while. That they are lost should not cause us regret.
Human beings must learn to code their pleasures and sorrows, finding out those that, due to their inner nature, remain unalterable, firm and make them free. Man must be prudent, self-confident and make use of the freedom that God has given you as an intelligent being Reason is the only immortal particle that God has given us in his omnipotence. Thus, the human being must take care of reason, since it is a divine portion that exists in him, and protect it from the contagion of the senses.
Another aspect that is described in Dissertations is the idea that men make up a human fraternity. All men, as children of God, are brothers among themselves. They must show mutual affection and help, forgiving their neighbors’ faults, which inspire understanding and pity. Furthermore, they must be cautious when judging others and apply calmly considered punishments. It must be understood that avenging the offense only aggravates it, and diminishes the moral integrity of the person who commits revenge.
The Enchyridion
The Enquiridion, also called Epictetus’s Manual, is also a work written by Flavius Arriano. Is about a collection of maxims and moral teachings said by Epictetus, described clearly and briefly. This work is known thanks to the version published by Giacomo Leopardi in 1825.
This work presents Epictetus’ maxim that freedom is the supreme good. Judgment, intellect, inclination, desire and aversion are factors that we can, in a certain way, control, and the use we give them will give us more or less freedom. On the other hand, the body, health, fortune, wealth and honors are factors that the gods give us in a way that we can hardly modify. Only the aspects that are under our power to change have a moral significance, useful for the dignity and perfection of the soul.
For Epictetus, A wise person is wise because he knows how to distinguish between what is under his control and what is not The intellect, for example, is something purely ours, the use of which depends on us. Nothing and no one can deprive us of what is ours, not even the gods themselves. That is why the following maxim is attributed to him:
“Not even Jupiter himself can force me to desire what I do not want or to believe in what I do not believe.”
Freedom begins when one masters one’s own irrational impulses, be they instincts, vices and passions, and extends to ambitions, disappointments, social and political events, the fear of falling ill and death.
