Furman Classics. Dramaturg Editions. C. Blackwell, 2026. CC-BY-NC. Code and instructions on Github.

Epictetus, Encheiridion

Encheiridion of Epictetus (Ἐγχειρίδιον Ἐπικτήτου, “Handbook of Epictetus”). Based on Epicteti Dissertationes ab Arriano digestae. Heinrich Schenkl, ed. Leipzig. Teubner (1916). Original SGML digital edition by The Perseus Project, G. Crane, ed. This derived edition, C. Blackwell, Furman University. 2026. Source texts and code for this page (and others) on GitHub. Licensed CC-BY-NC. urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0557.tlg002:

Table of Contents

1 – 8
Chapter “1”
Chapter “2”
Chapter “3”
Chapter “4”
Chapter “5”
Chapter “6”
Chapter “7”
Chapter “8”
9 – 16
Chapter “9”
Chapter “10”
Chapter “11”
Chapter “12”
Chapter “13”
Chapter “14”
Chapter “15”
Chapter “16”
17 – 24
Chapter “17”
Chapter “18”
Chapter “19”
Chapter “20”
Chapter “21”
Chapter “22”
Chapter “23”
Chapter “24”
25 – 32
Chapter “25”
Chapter “26”
Chapter “27”
Chapter “28”
Chapter “29”
Chapter “30”
Chapter “31”
Chapter “32”
33 – 40
Chapter “33”
Chapter “34”
Chapter “35”
Chapter “36”
Chapter “37”
Chapter “38”
Chapter “39”
Chapter “40”
41 – 48
Chapter “41”
Chapter “42”
Chapter “43”
Chapter “44”
Chapter “45”
Chapter “46”
Chapter “47”
Chapter “48”
49 – 53
Chapter “49”
Chapter “50”
Chapter “51”
Chapter “52”
Chapter “53”

Epictetus

Epictetus (Ἐπίκτητος). c. AD 50–135) was a Greek Stoic philosopher born into slavery in Hierapolis, Phrygia (modern-day southwestern Turkey), who became one of the most influential teachers of practical Stoicism in the Roman Empire. His teachings, which emphasize distinguishing between what is within human control—such as judgments, desires, and choices—and what is not, like external events or the body, were recorded by his pupil Lucius Flavius Arrianus in the Discourses and the Enchiridion.

The Encheiridion

Encheiridion of Epictetus (Ἐγχειρίδιον Ἐπικτήτου), also known as the Handbook, is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice compiled by Arrian, a student of Epictetus, from the philosopher's oral teachings delivered in Nicopolis. Authored in the early second century AD, likely around 108 CE during Arrian's time studying under Epictetus, it functions as a distilled summary of the more expansive Discourses. The text was not written by Epictetus himself but recorded and edited by Arrian to capture the essence of his mentor's practical philosophy.