Diatribe IV 1 peri eleutherias is one of the most compact (and at the same time one of the longest) of Epictetus' discourses (around 100 AD) which was handed down to us by the historian Arrian. This quintessential text not only combines many pivotal subjects taught by the Stoic but also demonstrates his remarkable art of persuasiveness. In addition to a detailed introduction, the text, the translation and a running commentary, the volume contains a series of essays which are based on passages in the text, and these reveal further Epictetian contexts as well as an analysis of the philosophical background and the contemporary environment. The authors deal with slavery and manumission, Epictetus' theory of freedom in relationship to the classical Stoic doctrine as well as Epictetus' theology and its relationship to the New Testament.