Over the centuries and millennia, much of philosophy has become a collection of "intractable treatises": convoluted reflections, obscure speculations, abstract formulas far removed from life... However, ancient philosophy was nothing more than an art of living: a guide for each individual to make their own life choices and shape a full and happy existence. This is what Epictetus's Manual consists of. This volume is, therefore, an exhortation to the good life. Or, if you prefer, a warning that the master issues to his potential disciples: "Stop for a moment, for the gods' sake. Think. What is your life really like? How would you like it to be? What truly matters to you? What would make you truly happy? Do you act to achieve it? Or do you move further away from it every day?" From the first chapter of this book, Epictetus addresses the reader with such a close and direct "you" that we can't help but feel challenged. The reflections and maxims that are expounded remain always grounded in the reality of existence, forming a philosophical model of daily conduct in pursuit of a happy and serene life: how to act in everyday life, how to judge what happens to us, how and what to desire, how to speak, how to laugh, how to attend parties, banquets, and shows, how to take care of our body and our diet, how to deal with love and pleasure, how to deal with friends, society, and the powerful, how to face misfortunes and accidents; in short: how to maintain a philosophical and joyful outlook on whatever life throws at us. The Manual is also accompanied by a revealing essay by Pierre Hadot—one of the foremost international authorities on ancient philosophy—which allows us to delve deeper, with a simplicity and lucidity common to Epictetus himself, into this fundamental work in the universal history of thought.