There's a phrase in Greek that goes something like this: Μονοι οι μορφωμενοι εναι ελευθεροι. The truism—"Only the educated are free"—was written by the stoic philosopher Epictetus nearly 2,000 years ago, about 100 A.D.

Epictetus would also leave the world such thoughts as: "It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters;" "It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows;" and "Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control."

At nearly the same time Epictetus was writing and teaching at his own philosophy school, the Roman Emperor—and Stoic philosopher—Marcus Aurelius was writing his own tome, Meditations , and is said to have been greatly influenced by Epictetus. History remembers him as the

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