Ten Passages from the Enchiridion Explained for Everyday Life
Introduction
Epictetus's Enchiridion is one of the shortest and most influential books in the history of philosophy. His student Arrian compiled it in the 2nd century from the teachings he had heard at the school in Nicopolis, designing it as a manual to keep close at hand: its Greek name literally means something held in the hand, ready for use.
It contains around fifty short sections, some only a few lines long. You can read it in an afternoon, yet each passage can fuel weeks of practice. This article selects ten of them, summarizes them in plain words, explains their central idea, and proposes a concrete application for today.
The Enchiridion is not read to know more. It is read to have something ready at hand when needed.
The paraphrases in this article are not literal translations. To read the full text, choose a complete edition with a named translator and notes.
1. What Is Up to Us (Section 1)
The passage: Some things are up to us and others are not. Up to us are judgment, impulse, desire, and aversion—in a word, our own actions. Not up to us are the body, possessions, reputation, or public office. What is up to us is by nature free; what is not is weak and belongs to others.
The idea: This is the foundation of all Stoicism. Suffering grows when we place our peace of mind in things we do not control.
Application: Faced with any problem, divide a sheet of paper into two columns: what is up to you and what is not. Act only on the first.
2. Knowing What It Is You Love (Section 3)
The passage: With everything that pleases you or that you love, remember what kind of thing it is. If you are fond of a ceramic cup, say "I am fond of a ceramic cup," and if it breaks you will not be disturbed. Epictetus extends the idea, with a bluntness that surprises us today, to loved ones: remembering that they are mortal.
The idea: Loving something without forgetting its fragile nature. The point is not to love less, but to stop living as though what we love were eternal.
Application: This week, choose something you take for granted and remind yourself that it is not permanent. Use that reminder as a reason to care for it and appreciate it, not to make yourself anxious.
3. Not Things, But Judgments (Section 5)
The passage: People are disturbed not by things, but by their opinions about things. Death is nothing terrible; if it were, it would have seemed so to Socrates as well. What is terrible is the judgment that death is terrible.
The idea: Between the event and the emotion lies a judgment, and that judgment can be examined. Centuries later, this passage inspired cognitive therapy.
Application: When something upsets you, write down the objective fact and what you told yourself about it separately.
4. Willing What Happens (Section 8)
The passage: Do not demand that things happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and your life will flow smoothly.
The idea: Frustration is born from demanding that the world conform to our desires. Acceptance is not resignation; it is stopping the fight against what has already happened.
Application: Catch one "should" today ("the bus should arrive on time") and rewrite it as a preference.
5. Given Back, Not Lost (Section 11)
The passage: Never say of anything, "I have lost it," but "I have given it back." While it is given to you to use, care for it as something belonging to another, just as travelers treat an inn.
The idea: Nothing external belongs to us forever. The image invites us to shift from entitlement to gratitude.
Application: The next time you lose something, even something small, try saying "I gave it back" and observe whether the emotion shifts. Use this gently with major, recent losses: the goal is never to deny grief.
6. The Actor and the Role (Section 17)
The passage: You are an actor in a play whose role is chosen by another. Whether you are assigned to play a beggar, a person with a disability, a ruler, or an ordinary citizen, play it well. Choosing the role is not yours to do; playing it well is.
The idea: We do not choose our family, our country, our health, or many of our circumstances. We choose how we live them.
Application: Write down the three main roles you occupy today (for example, parent, worker, neighbor) and one concrete way to play each of them better this week.
7. The Price of Lettuce (Section 25)
The passage: If someone else is preferred over you at a dinner party or greeted before you, remember that those things have a price. Lettuce costs a coin; whoever pays the coin gets the lettuce. If you did not pay, you do not have the lettuce, but you still have your coin.
The idea: Everything someone else has was paid for with something. If you are unwilling to pay that price, it makes no sense to envy them.
Application: When you feel envy, write down what price the other person paid and decide whether you are willing to pay it.
8. The Neighbor's Cup (Section 26)
The passage: When a neighbor's cup breaks, we immediately say that such things happen. When our own cup breaks, we ought to react the same way. And the same applies to much weightier matters.
The idea: We judge other people's problems calmly and our own dramatically. Looking at our own troubles as if they happened to someone else restores proportion.
Application: Faced with a problem, ask yourself what you would say to a friend who told you the same story, and say that to yourself.
9. Before Giving In to Pleasure (Section 34)
The passage: If the impression of some pleasure tempts you, do not let yourself be swept away. Make it wait. Compare the moment of enjoyment with the moment afterward when you will regret it, and set beside both the joy of having refrained.
The idea: Temptation shows only the first moment; this method forces you to look at the aftermath as well.
Application: Faced with a craving or an impulse purchase, wait ten minutes and picture all three scenes before deciding.
10. Do Not Call Yourself a Philosopher (Section 46)
The passage: Do not call yourself a philosopher or talk at length about principles among ordinary people; instead, do what your principles require. Sheep do not show the shepherd how much they have eaten by vomiting up the grass; they digest it inwardly and produce wool and milk.
The idea: Philosophy is proven in actions, not speeches.
Application: This week, instead of sharing a Stoic quote, quietly practice one of the nine passages above.
Common Mistakes
- Reading the Enchiridion straight through and putting it away. It is meant to be reread and practiced.
- Taking the harshest passages literally. Some (such as Section 3) reflect a different era and sensibility.
- Using it to judge others. Epictetus intended it for self-examination.
- Relying only on paraphrases. It is well worth reading the complete text in a solid translation.
Conclusion
The Enchiridion fits in a pocket, yet it contains an entire training program. Choose one of these ten passages per week for ten weeks. Copy it onto an index card, carry it with you, and practice its application every day. At the end of the ten weeks, read the complete Enchiridion in a good edition: many passages that seem unfamiliar today will feel like old friends.
References
- Epictetus. Enchiridion, 1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 17, 25, 26, 34, and 46.
- Epictetus. Discourses.
- Hadot, P. (2000). Manuel d'Épictète. Le Livre de Poche.
- Long, A. A. (2002). Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life. Oxford University Press.
- Pigliucci, M. (2017). How to Be a Stoic. Basic Books.