Inner Freedom

True freedom has nothing to do with chains. It is a state of mind: wanting only what is already in your power.

Epictetus, who spent his early years as a slave, taught that freedom is not a political condition but an internal one. You are free when you stop desiring what is not up to you. The tyrant can imprison your body, but if you have mastered your judgments, he cannot touch your will. This teaching influenced the Stoic tradition from Marcus Aurelius through to modern cognitive behavioral therapy.