Discourses and Selected Writings

Epictetus scoffs at philosophical arguments for the nature and origin of the universe. He argues, “Questions beyond our ken we should ignore, since the human mind may be unable to grasp them” (209). At any rate, Epictetus considers even the true answers to such questions to be impractical.

Instead, Epictetus praises the “commandment at Delphi, to ‘know yourself’” (211). He interprets it as meaning that every person should consider that they are “an animal created to live […] in a community” (210).

Epictetus declares that anyone who fails to deal with adversity with “nobility” (210) and does not manage to acquire something good from it “is unskilled in the art of life” (210).

Everything, even the human body, the seas, and the stars, follows a natural order. Since this order is omnipresent and inescapable, it is pointless for a person to defy it with their will.