{"product_id":"declaration-epictetus-stoic-journal","title":"Declaration — Epictetus Stoic Journal","description":"\u003cp\u003eEverything we have of Epictetus exists because a student named Arrian wrote it down — the man himself never recorded a word. The \u003cem\u003eDiscourses\u003c\/em\u003e are notebooks. This is a place to keep your own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEpictetus\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“First say to yourself what you would be.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDiscourses III.23 — tr. Elizabeth Carter (1758), rev. T. W. Higginson (1865); public domain\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe instruction is two steps, and the first is the one people skip. Decide who you’re going to be — actually name it — and only then act. Most of us reverse the order, or skip the naming entirely and wonder why the doing feels aimless. Writing is where the naming happens: you don’t always know what you’ve decided until you’ve put it down and read it back. That’s what this is for — not a record of what you did, but the place you say who you intend to be, before the day asks you to prove it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Design\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe text is set entirely in capitals — the only case Roman inscriptions used. The interpuncts flanking ·FIRST· and ·EPICTETUS· aren’t decoration: they’re the same marks Roman stonecutters used to separate words in carved text. The middle line — SAY·TO·YOURSELF — uses them to break the phrase into its measured beat. The margins are yours: the only space Arrian didn’t fill.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRead the full story behind this quote: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/blogs\/journal\/epictetus-stoic-nothing-knew-everything\"\u003eEpictetus: The Stoic Who Had Nothing and Knew Everything\u003c\/a\u003e. Also available: the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/the-declaration-epictetus-stoic-t-shirt\"\u003eDeclaration Tee\u003c\/a\u003e — the same line, worn instead of written. Browse the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/collections\/epictetus\"\u003efull Epictetus collection\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout This Journal\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHardcover bound journal\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e80 lined, cream-colored pages\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSize: 5.5″ × 8.5″\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuilt-in elastic closure\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRibbon page marker\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExpandable inner pocket\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWho It’s For\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe one who writes before they act — because writing is how they figure out what they’re actually committed to. The person who understands that intention without clarity is just wishing. Anyone who needs to say it to themselves before they can do it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eName it on the page.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEpictetus, in Plain English\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLived: c. 50–135 AD, Hierapolis (modern Turkey) and Nicopolis, Greece\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBorn into slavery; his owner once broke his leg to test his Stoic indifference — Epictetus had warned him it would break, then when it did, noted calmly that he’d said so\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEventually freed, founded a philosophy school, and taught that the only thing a person truly owns is their own judgment\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis “handbook,” the \u003cem\u003eEnchiridion\u003c\/em\u003e — fifty-three short chapters — has never gone out of print\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Quoteiac","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42642348638302,"sku":"5562902_16952","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0554\/8664\/4318\/files\/Declaration_Epictetus_Stoic_Journal_front.png?v=1782506350","url":"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/declaration-epictetus-stoic-journal","provider":"Quoteiac","version":"1.0","type":"link"}