Title: The Discourses of Epictetus
Author: Epictetus (recorded by Arrian)
Publisher: Various translations (Penguin Classics, Dover, Oxford)
Published: ~108 AD (compiled by student Arrian)
Pages: ~300
Genre: Stoic Philosophy, Ethics, Ancient Wisdom
★★★★★ 5/5
Some books entertain. Some inform. Discourses transforms.
Epictetus didn’t write a single word of this himself — his student, Arrian, recorded his teachings much like Socrates’ student Plato did for him. And thank goodness he did. Because Discourses is one of the most enduring, soul-strengthening guides to personal resilience ever written.
More Than Philosophy — A Manual for Life
Epictetus teaches that freedom is internal. You can be wealthy and a slave to opinion. You can be poor and profoundly free. What matters is how you see the world — and how you respond to it.
Reading Discourses feels like sitting across from a brutally honest coach who wants nothing from you except your growth. He doesn’t flatter. He focuses. And he keeps bringing you back to one question:
🔑 What’s in your control?
Lessons That Stick
Among the most powerful ideas:
- You can’t control events, only how you think about them.
- External success is not true success — self-mastery is.
- People aren’t upset by things, but by their judgment of things.
Every chapter delivers not fluff, but focus. You’ll pause, reflect, and probably underline a lot.
Final Thoughts
This book won’t make you feel good in the moment. It will make you better over time.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by what you can’t fix, Discourses offers the deepest relief: you don’t need to fix the world — you just need to govern yourself.
In short: Discourses is a timeless reminder that control isn’t out there — it’s within.