Day 31 · Q1: Self-Knowledge · January 31, 2026
Pause. Breathe. Begin.
I . L E C T I O
Epictetus
Discourses, Book II, Ch. 18
“No man is free who is not master of himself.”
C O N T E X T
Epictetus returns to his central theme: freedom is not an external condition but an internal achievement. Having been born a slave, he speaks with unique authority — true freedom, he argues, has nothing to do with chains or their absence.
I I . M E D I T A T I O
“In what way are you currently enslaved by your own impulses, fears, or habits?”
I I I . S C R I P T I O
Write one sentence about one area where you lack self-mastery.
I V . C O N N E X I O
Epictetus's concept of inner freedom connects to every retreat we've explored — Montaigne's back shop, Marcus's citadel. But Epictetus adds: freedom requires mastery. Is self-knowledge enough, or must it become self-discipline?
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Sustain it →Tomorrow's passage, delivered at dawn.