Epictetus
“He is free who lives as he wishes.”
Discourses, IV.1 — “On Freedom”
Documented source
Source
Epictetus, Discourses, IV.1 — “On Freedom”
Translator
George Long, 1877 (public domain)
Wording
Exact per Long
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About this line
Epictetus was sold into slavery as a child and taught in a single room for the rest of his life. He opens Book IV with this line and then spends the whole chapter dismantling it: he doesn’t mean doing whatever you please — he means the freedom of a judgment no one can seize, no matter what they do to you.
Why we carry this line
No judgement. How many times have we heard that and thought someone meant the exact opposite? Again, knowing the backstory gives this line a lot of bite.
