Let’s begin with something Epictetus said we should think about every day.
The lesson comes to us from his Discourses and he makes his point with some vivid and entertaining examples.
Here’s what he says:
“So what resources do we need to have at hand for circumstances like these? Just the knowledge of what is and isn’t mine, and of what is and isn’t possible for me.
I am condemned to death. Do I have to die moaning and groaning as well?
To incarceration. Do I have to complain about it?
To exile. Is there anyone stopping me from going with a smile, joyful and content?
‘Divulge your secrets.’ I refuse, because that’s something that’s up to me.
‘I’ll clap you in irons.’ What are you talking about, man? Me? You’ll shackle my leg, but not even Zeus can conquer my will.
‘I’ll throw you in prison.’ My body.
‘I’ll cut off your head.’ Well, have you ever heard me suggest that I’m unique in having a non-detachable head?
These are the ideas to which people who take up philosophy should apply themselves, which they should write about every day, and in which they should train themselves.
What Epictetus is saying we should contemplate daily is the freedom of our will; the fact that no matter what happens or what anyone else does, our thoughts and actions are our own and no one else’s.
This knowledge of what is and isn’t ours, and of what is and isn’t possible for us, allows us to focus on the things we can actually affect.
Discourses 1.1.21
On the other hand, we are able to calmly assess the events, opinions, and circumstances that don’t land within our sphere of control and effectively say they’re fine as they are.
As Epictetus demonstrated, and as is worth keeping in mind as your day progresses, how you respond is always your own choice: no one is stopping you from doing so with a smile, joyful and content.
Still, it can be difficult to get a sense of how exactly this might be done and what Stoic character really is from descriptions of virtues and principles.
It’s often easier to understand through the stories of those who exemplified such principles.
Here are three of my favorites that display the wisdom, wit, and perspective that were characteristic of the ancient Stoics. Not only that, they show people exercising their freedom of will despite facing daunting circumstances.
You may not face the same situations as these philosophers today, but your responses to what you do face can still be inspired by these examples.
1) Agrippinus’s exile
Paconius Agrippinus was a first-century Stoic whose father had been put to death by the emperor Tiberius, allegedly for treason.
In the year 67 CE, Agrippinus faced the same accusation (probably also unjustified) from another emperor, Nero.
Epictetus recounts what unfolded:
News was brought him, ‘Your trial is on in the Senate!’ ‘Good luck to it, but the fifth hour is come’—this was the hour when he used to take his exercise and have a cold bath—‘ let us go and take exercise.’ When he had taken his exercise they came and told him, ‘You are condemned.’ ‘Exile or death?’ he asked. ‘Exile.’ ‘And my property?’ ‘It is not confiscated.’ ‘Well then, let us go to Aricia and dine.’
Massimo Pigliucci, How to be a Stoic
2) Agrippinus’s invitation
The Roman historian Florus asked Agrippinus whether he should appear at Nero’s shows (ridiculous plays which Nero wrote and ordered participation in under pain of death or banishment).
Agrippinus replied: “Appear by all means.”
Florus: “But why do not you appear?”
Agrippinus: “Because I do not even consider the question. For the man who has once stooped to consider such questions, and to reckon up the value of external things, is not far from forgetting what manner of man he is.
Florus: “Well, but if I do not act, I shall lose my head.”
Agrippinus: “Then go and act! But for my part, I will not act.”
The Golden Sayings of Epictetus VIII
3) Julius Canus’s game
Julius Canus was a Stoic philosopher who was sentenced to death by Caligula. He was playing draughts when the centurion came to summon him for execution. Counting his pieces, he said to his opponent:
“Mind you do not tell a lie after my death, and say that you won;”
Then, turning to the centurion, he said:
“You will bear me witness that I am one piece ahead of him.”
Seneca, On Peace of Mind
So, in Epictetus’s discourse and the three entertaining stories of Stoic philosophers, we have good examples, I hope you’ll agree, of ways in which today, no matter what happens, we can always exercise our freedom of will and display Stoic character in the process.
