Book
Epictetus. Discourses. Translated by Oldfather WA. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1925-1928. 2 vols.
Why we cite it
The primary source for Stoic practical philosophy on desire management, self-control, and the distinction between what is and is not within our power. The dichotomy of control — focus only on your judgments, desires, and choices; accept externals with equanimity — is the philosophical foundation for the stoic eating framework used in companions 125 and 210. Epictetus’s teaching that elaborate food and drink are externals that enslave connects directly to finding satisfaction without indulgence.
About the author
Epictetus (c. 50-135 CE) was a Greek Stoic philosopher born a slave in Hierapolis, Phrygia (modern Turkey). He studied under the Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus while enslaved. After gaining his freedom, he taught in Rome until Domitian expelled philosophers in 89 CE, then established a school in Nicopolis, Greece. He never wrote anything himself — his student Arrian recorded his lectures as the Discourses (four extant books of eight original) and compiled the Encheiridion as a practical summary.
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