Discourses and Selected Writings, by Epictetus
As I was in the midst of teaching the ancient Roman Stoic Epictetus at Oakdale Prison, an inmate stood up and launched into an argument that Stoicism is a loser’s philosophy. I challenged him: “What does it mean to be a loser? Was Jesus on the cross a loser? Were the 300 Spartans who died at Thermopylae losers?” I was trying to find examples of people whose virtue could be seen through their defeats. Retorting that the movie 300 wasn’t real, he refused to believe that the core of its over-the-top theatrics is historical fact.