The little book by Epictetus called Enchiridion or manual has played a disproportionately large role in the rise of modern attitudes and modern philosophy.
It has been studied and widely quoted by Scottish philosophers like Francis Hutcheson, Adam Smith, and Adam Ferguson who valued Stoic moral philosophy for its reconciliation of social dependency and personal independence..
It was a source of inspiration and encouragement to Anthony, Earl of Shaftesbury, in the serious illness which ended only in his death; many pages of his diaries contain passages copied from the Enchiridion.
Frederick the Great carried the book with him on all campaigns.
Pascal violently rejected the megalomaniac pride of the Stoic philosopher.
Montaigne had a copy of the Enchiridion among his books.
As soon as it had been translated into the vernacular languages, it became a bestseller among independent intellectuals, among anti-Christian thinkers, and among philosophers of a subjective cast.
The little book by Epictetus called Enchiridion or manual has played a disproportionately large role in the rise of modern attitudes and modern philosophy
