How to Be Free

For the Roman Stoic Epictetus, who was born a slave, freedom was an ethical and psychological accomplishment rather than a political right, one that could survive even in prison. A. A. Long, an authority on Stoic philosophy, translates his handbook for Stoic living, the Encheiridion, along with selected reflections from the Discourses. Epictetus urged his students to value most what lies in their control, their motives and reactions, to meet everything else with equanimity, and to treat any circumstance as a chance to act well. Long's translations face the original Greek, and the volume adds an introduction setting Epictetus in context and a glossary of key terms. It appeared in 2018.

Ryan Holiday included Princeton University Press's new translations of Epictetus, Seneca and Cicero in his post The (Very) Best Books I Read in 2018.