Epictetus suggests we know what is right because it is revealed to us by god - things are as they "seem" - while Epicurus says we direct ourselves towards the good by doing what brings us pleasure and by avoiding pain.
Epictetus draws the sharp line between what is external and internal; what is beyond my control and what is within it; and good and bad reside only in what is internal, what is within my control, and done through my choice. What's more:
It is a general rule that externals of any kind, if we attach importance to them, make us subject to somebody. (Discourses, Book IV, 4)Epicurus draws lines among what he sees as, respectively, good and bad externals - those in accordance with nature versus those that are not.
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