The Enchiridion: The Stoic Handbook of Epictetus
About this audiobook
Born a slave, Epictetus became one of the most influential philosophers Rome ever produced — and his handbook has outlasted the empire that enslaved him.
The Enchiridion — the word simply means "handbook" — is Stoic philosophy stripped to its working parts. In fifty-two short passages, Epictetus lays out the single distinction he believed everything depends on: some things are within our power, and some are not. Master that, he argues, and no misfortune can truly touch you; ignore it, and you will spend your life at the mercy of things you were never able to control.
His counsel is unsentimental and startlingly direct. He writes on insult, grief, ambition, illness, and death — not as abstractions, but as things that will happen to you, and for which you can prepare. Twenty centuries later, his handbook remains one of the most practical guides to composure ever written, and a foundational text for anyone drawn to Stoicism.
This edition presents the complete text in the classic translation by George Long, in the public domain, arranged in eight thematic parts for listening.
This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.
Presented by Codex Audio Books — timeless works of philosophy and wisdom, clearly narrated for the modern listener.
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About the author
Epictetus (c. 50–135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher born into slavery in Phrygia and later freed in Rome. Barred from the city by the emperor Domitian, he founded a school in Greece where his lectures drew students from across the empire. He wrote nothing himself — his teachings survive through his pupil Arrian, who recorded the Discourses and compiled the Enchiridion. His philosophy of focusing only on what lies within one's control has influenced thinkers from Marcus Aurelius to the founders of modern cognitive therapy.
George Long (1800–1879) was an English classical scholar who taught Greek at the University of London and Latin at University College. His translations of the Stoics — including the Enchiridion and Discourses of Epictetus and the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius — introduced these works to generations of English readers and remain among the most widely read renderings in the language.
