To simplify, he seems to say that you should live a good life insofar as you can: consider all your behaviour carefully, be content with what you have, accept that all things are fleeting, and quietly set a good example rather than evangelising. Epictetus, a Greek Stoic and freed slave, ran a thriving philosophy school in Nicopolis in the early second century AD.

The categories of “good” and “bad” do not apply to the external things which impose themselves upon us; our faulty perception to the contrary is what makes us ensnared, immiserated, and prone to vice.If I had to recommend one of the classic Stoic authors to someone new to the subject, it would be Epictetus. Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power. Man’s good is a type of moral purpose, or “a disposition of the will with respect to appearances” (1.

The Discourses are purported to be the literal transcription of Epictetus’s lectures while the Handbook is a summary of the ethical precepts found within the Discourses. We work closely with publishers and authors to ensure that we offer the best books on the market for your child.

Thus, instead of saying “Only worry about things within the sphere of choice,” it would be more accurate to say “Only worry about things insofar as your choices can affect them. More than Marcus Aurelius, he is more qualified to teach about misfortune and bad starts, since he himself was a slave. The most important one among all is making "the best use of what's in our power" , while remaining completely indifferent to things beyond our control.