Epictetus: Discourses and Selected Writings

The second book I finished reading in 2025. At first, I was a bit worried because, on /lit/, it has a reputation for being a self-help book for pretentious people. Which, I guess, it kind of is—but I really liked it.

If I were to sum up the book’s message in one sentence, it would be something like this:

‘The only thing you can control is virtue; as such, it is the only true good. Everything else—externals such as death, pain, wife, children, and illness—is indifferent. Therefore, your primary motivation in life should be to cultivate virtues such as courage, knowledge, and honesty. If you lose something external, such as your health, or even in the face of death, you shouldn’t grieve or mourn but rather embrace it as a challenge to improve your virtues.’