The Universal Happiness Available to Man Acording to the Encheiridion by Epictetus and Christian Gospels Mariusz Bista College

hroughout the ancient world, there are distinctions drawn between different groups and hierarchies of people due to this. The Jews were the chosen group of God and because of that, the gentiles were separate from them and since unable to follow the Old Law, could not be saved. Aristotle writes of the possibility of slaves in the Politics and talks of the various slaves that the Greeks hold. Even if Aristotle does not actually believe in Natural Slavery, he still presents the views of the his contemporary culture and his contemporaries draw a distinction between themselves according to honor and status and between themselves and slaves, and barbarians. These various distinctions are due to either differences in physical nature, geographic location, or social rank. Both the Stoic and the Christian texts describe an dignity that is universal to mankind and makes every man equal, which consequently gives a foundation for happiness and due respect to each human being.

Through exploring the worldview of the Stoics and the Christians, the differences in what entails ultimate happiness becomes apparent. The Stoic worldview is composed central to man’s reason, attributing all happiness in man’s life to the proper relation to passions...