The Enrichidion (the handbook) · Epictetus

The Handbook of Epictetus, often referred to by its Greek name Enchiridion, "that which is held in the hand" - just as soldiers always hold their daggers in their hands - and sometimes simply called The Handbook, is a compilation of Epictetus' sayings written by his disciple Arrian in the early 2nd century (probably circa 125 CE), as Epictetus himself had not written anything.

Unlike Epictetus' other work, the Discourses of Epictetus, which runs to nearly three hundred pages and deals with logic and ethics, where the reader will find clear examples of reasoning and concreteness, the Handbook is a short, allusive treatise of about thirty pages that conveys a very direct philosophy and practical morality.

As the principles of Stoicism could easily adopted by Christianity, the Handbook was preserved and passed on in the Middle Ages. Some monastic orders used it as the basis for their discipline and rules of life: The rejection of attachment to material goods in favour of a virtuous life was in line with the aims of the church.

Alongside the thoughts of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, this opuscule is the best-known and most widely read text of early Stoicism.