Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.

However individuals are responsible for their own actions which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline. To Epictetus all external events are determined by fate and are thus beyond our control; we should accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. Philosophy Epictetus taught is a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline.