Epictetus, ever the wise man, was aware of this danger, and made it clear to me that a light attitude toward taking one’s own life was not the Stoic way: “Let me describe another state of mind to be found in those who hear these precepts amiss. A friend of mine, for instance, determined for no reason to starve himself. I learnt of it when he was in the third day of his fasting, and went and asked him what had happened.
