Epictetus and Freedom

Epictetus was born a slave. His master broke his leg — some accounts say deliberately. Yet he became one of history's most influential teachers of inner freedom, opening with the line: "Some things are in our power and some are not."

His slavery was the crucible that forged this idea. A master could control his body, his labor, and his comfort — but never his judgments, his values, or his inner life. That lived experience of powerlessness gave his philosophy an authority comfortable thinkers cannot match.