Analysis Of Epictetus 'The Enchiridion'

In the reading of Epictetus, The Enchiridion, the attention is hovered over what is and is not in our control. There is only so much a person can control, and that is their own actions, and the uncontrollable happens to not be their own. It is preferred to “totally suppress desire: for, if you desire any of the things that are not in your control, you definitely will be disappointed… Use only the appropriate actions of pursuit and avoidance; and even these lightly, and with gentleness and reservation” (2). It is considered selfish to want and wish for things that are out of one's reach, that is why having reasonable goals is a more suitable choice. Additionally, if one yearns for a loved one to live forever and be immortal, it is foolish of them, first of all since it is out of their control, and they will …show more content…
However, death is not terrible, “but the terror consists in our notion of death that it is terrible” (5). It is only dreadful due to the fear that people see in it, constantly feed off of the depressing grief, yet death is unrestricted and is a natural call of the gods. As a result, a life is never “lost,” but “returned” and “with every accident, ask yourself what abilities you have for making a proper use of it” (10) because the time spent on Earth is simply a loan that will be returned eventually. That is why exercising and focusing on what is in one’s control will help one value their borrowed gifts. Like Epictetus, and many others believe our lives are scripted already, and we are “an actor in a drama, of such a kind as the author pleases to make it” (17). Meaning that as life takes its course, one must accept it and its circumstances that arise from it because the only thing that will satisfy one is in their