Epicurus and Epictetus 69with. The world, outside forces, and other people must never be
mistaken for things as valuable as the individual’s unconquer
able will. To most people, the term “stoic” conjures up the idea
of a person bearing pain and suffering without complaint. To
Epictetus, a Stoic is one who is acutely aware of those things
which he can change and those things which he can not change.
The wise man expends his energies on the former and not the
latter. Often, shops sell decorative signs which bear the apho
rism, “God grant me the courage to change the things I can, the
serenity to accept the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to
know the difference.” If Epictetus didn’t say it first, he certainly
would have liked to.
An example of his view of the world is evidenced by a story
about his youthful experience with his angry master. His master,
while administering a beating, began to twist Epictetus’ leg. “If
you continue to twist my leg, you will break it.” The angry slave
owner twisted even harder. “ You are going to break the leg,” said
Epictetus. At that point the leg broke, and Epictetus said, “You
see, I told you, you were going to break it.”
Epictetus wrote nothing, but his lectures were preserved by a
student, Arrian, and are entitled Discourses and Enchiridion.
Stoicism became the dominant philosophy in Rome, in keep
ing with the character of an earthy people in response to the
excesses they saw about them in society. Soldiers in particular
could relate to it as a philosophy which seemed to mirror a
soldier’s view of the world. A soldier does not decide whether or
not a particular battle should be fought. He simply does the best
he can when the battle begins. He is not in control of the decision,
so he learns to act stoically when the decision is made. All
segments of Roman society were influenced by Stoicism. It is
interesting to note that the two great Roman Stoics were Marcus
Aurelius, an Emperor, and Epictetus, a slave.
The key word to know in trying to understand the Stoics is
apathy. They mean apathy in quite the literal sense: “Want of
feeling; lack of passion, emotion, or excitement.” The Stoic
believes that one should be apathetic to the world and the world
forces around him. Early Stoics were ascetics who remained
detached from most social and political activities. Apathy and
resignation are both terms which Epictetus subscribes to, but in
a moderate sense, as we shall see.