The Discourses of Epictetus; With the Encheiridion and Fragments: Translated, With Notes, a Life of Epictetus, and a View of His Philosophy (Classic Reprint)

Very little is known of the life of Epictetus. It is said that he was a native of Hierapolis in Phrygia, a town between theM aeander and a branch of theM aeander named theL ycus. Hierapolis is mentioned in the epistle of Paul to the people of Colossae (C ojoss. iv. 13); from which it has been concluded that there was aC hristian church inH ierapolis in the time of the apostle. The date of the birth of Epictetus is unknown. The only recorded fact of his early life is that he was a slave in Eome, and his master wasE paphroditus, a profligate freedman of the emperor Nero. There is a story that the master broke his slaves leg by torturing him; but it is better to trust to the evidence of Simplicius, the commentator on theE ncheiridion or Manual, who says that Epictetus was weak in body and lame from an early age. It is not said how he became a slave; but it has been assei ted in modern times that the parents sold the child. I have not, however, found any authority for this statement. It may be supposed that the young slave showed intelligence, for his master sent or permitted him to attend the lectures of CM unsonius Rufus, an eminent Stoic philosopher. It may seem strange that such a master should have wished to have his slave made into a philosopher; but Garnier, the author of aM einorie Bur les ouvrages dE pictete, explains this matter very well in a communication to Schweighaeuser. Garnier says: EpicteV.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

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