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What Would Stoics Do

Epictetus · c. 50 – c. 135 CE

Fragments 41 — Epictetus

Translation by George Long (1877)

Epictetus, Fragments 41

It is better to live with one free man and to be without fear and free, than to be a slave with many.
— Epictetus, Fragments 41 · tr. George Long (1877)Read in context →

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Epictetus, Fragments 41, tr. George Long (1877)

https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/epictetus-fragments/41

Epictetus, Enchiridion and Fragments, tr. George Long (1877). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences

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Living alongside a single person of real independence, and being free from fear, beats being enslaved, in body or in spirit, among many. A few honest companions are worth more than a crowd you have to serve or please.

Themes and situations

  • Freedom
  • Friendship
  • Fear and anxiety
  • Community and our duty to others

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Epictetus, Fragments 41, tr. George Long (1877)