Discourses, Fragments, Handbook
by Epictetus
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'About things that are within our power and those that are not.' Epictetus's Discourses have been the most widely read and influential of all writings of Stoic philosophy, from antiquity onwards. They set out the core ethical principles of Stoicism in a form designed to help people put them into practice and to use them as a basis for leading a good human life. Epictetus was a teacher, and a freed slave, whosediscourses have a vivid informality, animated by anecdotes and dialogue. Forceful, show more direct, and challenging, their central message is that the basis of happiness is up to us, and that we all have the capacity, through sustainedreflection and hard work, of achieving this goal. They still speak eloquently to modern readers seeking meaning in their own lives. This is the only complete modern translation of the Discourses, together with the Handbook or manual of key themes, and surviving fragments. Robin Hard's accurate and accessible translation is accompanied by Christopher Gill's full introduction and comprehensive notes. show lessTags
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Today's entry in Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic reads: "There is hardly an idea in Stoic philosophy that wouldn't be immediately agreeable to a child". This is how I feel about Epictetus' The Discourses. It all seems like so much common sense once argued in the written word. The Discourses is a transcription of Epictetus' various lectures, recorded by his student, Arrian. Once, my lectures on political economy were transcribed for an entire semester for a hearing-impaired student, and I recall reading my spoken words with a sense of awe: how was it that I could speak such things but could not readily put these same ideas on paper? It is a powerful way to record ideas. The parallels between Epictetus' Stoicism and Christianity, show more especially the New Testament, are remarkable. Many of the key gospel sayings are apparent in Epictetus' work. This is not a new discovery - many have demonstrated the links between Stoicism and the Abrahamic religions, with Thomas Aquinas apparently quoting Epictetus in City of God - but some links remain confusing. For instance, Epictetus constantly refers to "god" (as opposed to "God"), but he is not always referring to Zeus (except were the name Zeus is used explicitly). The absence of the other Greek and Roman gods gives me the impression (managing one's "impressions" is a large part of Stoic philosophy) that Epictetus was a monotheist. I have discovered links between the Stoics and Ralph Waldo Emerson, but there is a difference that is worthy of further investigation, which requires a study of Kant. Epictetus' "god" is "immanent", meaning: "being within the limits of possible experience and knowledge". This contrasts with Emerson's "transcendent" God, where "transcendence" is defined in the Kantian sense as "being beyond the limits of of all possible experience and knowledge". I find the distinction between the Transcendentalists and the Stoics to be somewhat difficult to comprehend. For Emerson, God was in each of us individually, but what was in us was also part of a greater God that we all shared. If the Stoics' immanent god is wholly within our experience, as in, one's "acting in accordance with nature", or, to put it another way, one's "acting in accordance with god" - or otherwise suffering the consequences which include unhappiness, to the point where suicide, not through personal trauma, but for one's inability to act in accordance with nature, is a legitimate Stoic "opt out" action - but at the same time, being human necessarily means sharing fellowship in accordance with nature, then is this not Transcendentalist? Clearly, a thorough reading of Kant is required to comprehend this distinction. Yet Epictetus provides, for me, the most thorough understanding of Stoic philosophy. It is probably necessary to have a firm grasp on the ideas of Heraclitus, the works of Homer, and at least a working knowledge of Epicurus and the Cynics, but otherwise, The Discourses comes close to a practical religious handbook. I mean this in the sense that The Handbook (Enchiridion) is like an overview of Stoic thought, whereas The Discourses fills in the spiritual dimensions of the philosophy. I have often cringed when reading Atheistic and science-reifying comments about religion, but Epictetus does no such thing. It is apparent that faith and reason are not incompatible, and Nietzsche was right in that "God is dead and we killed Him". I have often met academic colleagues who will state that racism has no place in Academe, in that it has no basis in reason; yet applying the same argument to religion is a bridge too far. Epictetus makes it clear that faith and reason go hand in hand, in that first principles of Stoic philosophy require an understanding that acting in accordance with god (or God, does it matter?) requires faith in the existence of a god, which without would mean that philosophy is built on shifting sands, in that if God does not exist then there is no meaning to life. To be sure, to cling dogmatically to any one interpretation of the first-principle god would be to challenge the philosophy built upon it, but if one were seeking to apply faith and reason in one sitting, then The Discourses is the most comprehensible philosophy to do just that. And this, to me, makes The Discourses one of the most useful, insightful, and edifying books I have ever read. show less
These times in which we now live demand normal daily functioning, combined with active resistance to viciously regressive political forces, in a chaotic atmosphere of propaganda and violence. For some this state of being is nothing new, but for white left-wingers in the UK and US, I suspect it’s largely novel and shocking. Personally, I find the current state of things (which I dread to think of as a new normal) horrifying and depressing, as I discussed in this review. Amongst other coping mechanisms, I’m finding thoughtful non-fiction helpful. Stoic philosophy seemed appropriate in part because it is one of the roots of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This ancestry was often evident while I read; Epictetus demonstrates a show more sophisticated understanding of psychology many centuries before such a discipline existed.
It was interesting to read Epictetus as an atheist. Central to his Stoic teaching is the need to resign yourself, ideally in a joyful spirit, to all that outside your control. Epictetus assigns this realm to God/the gods/Zeus, effectively interchangeable terms. When applying this to myself, I experimented with reading God as fate, destiny, chaos, and simply the universe. Since I don’t specifically believe in a preordained fate or destiny, I was most comfortable interpreting what’s outside my control broadly as ‘shit that happens’. I don’t think that anyone or anything is in control, but things happen nonetheless. If anything, I think this atheist reading strengthens Epictetus’ arguments. If there is no God deciding your way in life, all the more reason to carefully contemplate your impressions and actions. Railing against the chaos of the universe is no more helpful than condemning the capriciousness of God or gods.
I went through Epictetus at approximately half my usual reading speed, as I am unaccustomed to philosophy and wanted to understand it as best I could. The experience was rewarding. Epictetus has much to say about freedom and a good life that resonates today. It’s tempting to see Stoicism as passive and fatalistic, but I came to consider that a function of modern individualism and impatience. Epictetus makes it clear that Stoic philosophy is not something you read in a book, or a fashion choice (he specifically complains about hipsters dressing ‘philosophically’!), but an integral part of daily life. To simplify, he seems to say that you should live a good life insofar as you can: consider all your behaviour carefully, be content with what you have, accept that all things are fleeting, and quietly set a good example rather than evangelising. This, it seems, will bring you true freedom and happiness. The term Stoic has become synonymous with uncomplaining suffering, which isn’t really what Epictetus advocates. He suggests that you aim not to suffer at all, to accept what is outside your control and be happy about the little that is within it. He does accept this is very difficult, perhaps impossible for many, and he struggles himself. Which doesn’t mean, he argues, that everyone shouldn’t aspire to it:
Diogenes the Cynic and Socrates are the two most often cited by Epictetus as good examples to follow, both men he describes as humble, ascetic, and unafraid to speak unwanted truths to power. I found this comment arresting:
In addition to personal ethical endeavour, Epictetus talks of humans (just men, inevitably) as citizens, going to so far as to lecture on how antisocial it is not to keep yourself clean. I liked this part:
Stoicism thus refutes passivity, as it makes clear that the good citizen should be prepared to stand up for what is good and right, if necessary dying for it. Discourse 2.10 asks you to ‘consider who you are’ and then lists the three most important answers: a human being, a citizen of the world, a son, and a brother. Each of these roles requires certain standards of behaviour; Epictetus is arguing for civic virtue as well as personal disregard of material possessions and other worldly benefits.
The elements of CBT can be found most specifically in two dialogues: 3.8 on training yourself to deal with impressions (the cognitive) and 2.18 on the cultivation of habits (the behavioural). Both of these approaches are very helpful in dealing with distress: the first involves stepping back from your feelings to analyse and try to alter them, the second cultivating behaviours that calm your mind. Epictetus is aspiring beyond the alleviation of distress, of course, towards true freedom and happiness. He describes the former vividly:
That certainly seems like something worth aspiring to. Perhaps more immediately applicable was the commentary on reading in discourse 4.4, in which Epictetus points out that reading should be for a purpose: to help you live better. Thus time spent outside books is an opportunity to put into practise all that you’ve read. I think he has a good point there, although I greatly enjoy a bit of escapist reading. I also sympathise with his dislike of having a body, which is after all a real drag:
Interjections like this prevent the reader becoming tired of Epictetus’ lecturing style, which often sounds a lot like browbeating to the unaccustomed ear. I found the whole book both thought-provoking and accessible, undoubtedly aided by the relative informality of the translation style. (The notes at the end were terribly stolid, however.) There is definitely something to be said for Stoicism, for focusing on what you can do rather than what you can’t, for cultivating a healthy mind (and leaving the body to itself), for disregarding material things and accepting that nothing lasts. I was reminded of the recently-read novel [b:Stoner|166997|Stoner|John Williams|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320600716s/166997.jpg|1559207], which concerns a man with definite Stoic tendencies but much more concern for his family roles than any wider civic responsibility.
I will end this rambling review with my two favourite quotes from the book, the first found in the Handbook:
The second, a delightfully gothic epigram, I found amongst the Fragments:
Am I alone in finding that curiously comforting? I recommend Epictetus as a boost to mental fortitude when the daily news seems determined crush your peace of mind. show less
It was interesting to read Epictetus as an atheist. Central to his Stoic teaching is the need to resign yourself, ideally in a joyful spirit, to all that outside your control. Epictetus assigns this realm to God/the gods/Zeus, effectively interchangeable terms. When applying this to myself, I experimented with reading God as fate, destiny, chaos, and simply the universe. Since I don’t specifically believe in a preordained fate or destiny, I was most comfortable interpreting what’s outside my control broadly as ‘shit that happens’. I don’t think that anyone or anything is in control, but things happen nonetheless. If anything, I think this atheist reading strengthens Epictetus’ arguments. If there is no God deciding your way in life, all the more reason to carefully contemplate your impressions and actions. Railing against the chaos of the universe is no more helpful than condemning the capriciousness of God or gods.
I went through Epictetus at approximately half my usual reading speed, as I am unaccustomed to philosophy and wanted to understand it as best I could. The experience was rewarding. Epictetus has much to say about freedom and a good life that resonates today. It’s tempting to see Stoicism as passive and fatalistic, but I came to consider that a function of modern individualism and impatience. Epictetus makes it clear that Stoic philosophy is not something you read in a book, or a fashion choice (he specifically complains about hipsters dressing ‘philosophically’!), but an integral part of daily life. To simplify, he seems to say that you should live a good life insofar as you can: consider all your behaviour carefully, be content with what you have, accept that all things are fleeting, and quietly set a good example rather than evangelising. This, it seems, will bring you true freedom and happiness. The term Stoic has become synonymous with uncomplaining suffering, which isn’t really what Epictetus advocates. He suggests that you aim not to suffer at all, to accept what is outside your control and be happy about the little that is within it. He does accept this is very difficult, perhaps impossible for many, and he struggles himself. Which doesn’t mean, he argues, that everyone shouldn’t aspire to it:
”And you, are you free?” the man asks.
By the gods, I want to be and pray to be, but I’m not yet able to look my masters in the face, I still attach value to my poor body, and take care to keep it whole and sound, despite the fact that it isn’t so. But I can show you a free man, to save from having to search any longer for an example. Diogenes was free.
Diogenes the Cynic and Socrates are the two most often cited by Epictetus as good examples to follow, both men he describes as humble, ascetic, and unafraid to speak unwanted truths to power. I found this comment arresting:
Only, consider at what price you’re willing to sell your power of choice. If nothing else, make sure, man, that you don’t sell it cheap. But what is great and exceptional is perhaps the province of others, of Socrates and people of that kind.
In addition to personal ethical endeavour, Epictetus talks of humans (just men, inevitably) as citizens, going to so far as to lecture on how antisocial it is not to keep yourself clean. I liked this part:
...If you consider yourself as a human being and as a part of some whole, it may be in the interest of the whole that you should now fall ill, now embark on a voyage and be exposed to danger, now suffer poverty, and perhaps even die before your time. Why do you resent this, then? Don’t you know that in isolation a foot is no longer a foot, and that you likewise will no longer be a human being? What, then, is a human being? A part of a city, first of all that which is made up of gods and human beings, then that which is closest to us and which we call a city, which is a microcosm of the universal city.
Stoicism thus refutes passivity, as it makes clear that the good citizen should be prepared to stand up for what is good and right, if necessary dying for it. Discourse 2.10 asks you to ‘consider who you are’ and then lists the three most important answers: a human being, a citizen of the world, a son, and a brother. Each of these roles requires certain standards of behaviour; Epictetus is arguing for civic virtue as well as personal disregard of material possessions and other worldly benefits.
The elements of CBT can be found most specifically in two dialogues: 3.8 on training yourself to deal with impressions (the cognitive) and 2.18 on the cultivation of habits (the behavioural). Both of these approaches are very helpful in dealing with distress: the first involves stepping back from your feelings to analyse and try to alter them, the second cultivating behaviours that calm your mind. Epictetus is aspiring beyond the alleviation of distress, of course, towards true freedom and happiness. He describes the former vividly:
So accordingly, that person who doesn’t allow himself to be overpowered by pleasure, or by suffering, or by glory, or by wealth, and who is capable, whenever he thinks fit, of spitting his entire miserable body into some tyrant’s face and taking his leave - to what can such a man still be a slave, to whom can he still be subject?
That certainly seems like something worth aspiring to. Perhaps more immediately applicable was the commentary on reading in discourse 4.4, in which Epictetus points out that reading should be for a purpose: to help you live better. Thus time spent outside books is an opportunity to put into practise all that you’ve read. I think he has a good point there, although I greatly enjoy a bit of escapist reading. I also sympathise with his dislike of having a body, which is after all a real drag:
At any rate, we love our body and take care of it, the most unpleasant and foulest of all things. [...] In truth, it is amazing that we should love something for which we have to perform so many services day after day. I stuff this sack here, and then I empty it; what could be more tedious? But I have to serve God; and for that reason, I stay here and put up with having to wash this poor wretched body of mine, and feed it, and shelter it.
Interjections like this prevent the reader becoming tired of Epictetus’ lecturing style, which often sounds a lot like browbeating to the unaccustomed ear. I found the whole book both thought-provoking and accessible, undoubtedly aided by the relative informality of the translation style. (The notes at the end were terribly stolid, however.) There is definitely something to be said for Stoicism, for focusing on what you can do rather than what you can’t, for cultivating a healthy mind (and leaving the body to itself), for disregarding material things and accepting that nothing lasts. I was reminded of the recently-read novel [b:Stoner|166997|Stoner|John Williams|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320600716s/166997.jpg|1559207], which concerns a man with definite Stoic tendencies but much more concern for his family roles than any wider civic responsibility.
I will end this rambling review with my two favourite quotes from the book, the first found in the Handbook:
Never say about anything, ‘I’ve lost it,’ but rather, ‘I’ve given it back’. Your child has died? It has been given back. Your wife has died? She has been given back. ‘My farm has been taken from me’. Well, that too has been given back. ‘Yes, but the man who took it is a rogue’. What does it matter to you through what person the one who gave it to you demanded it back? So long as he entrusts it to you, take care of it as something that isn’t your own, as travellers treat an inn.
The second, a delightfully gothic epigram, I found amongst the Fragments:
You’re a little soul carrying a corpse around.
Am I alone in finding that curiously comforting? I recommend Epictetus as a boost to mental fortitude when the daily news seems determined crush your peace of mind. show less
If I had to recommend one of the classic Stoic authors to someone new to the subject, it would be Epictetus. Many contemporary works on Stoicism are largely restatements of what Epictetus said with greater force and clarity thousands of years ago. Marcus Aurelius himself was greatly influenced by Epictetus, as confirmed in the Meditations.
This edition includes the Discourses (the four books that survived of the original eight), some fragments, and the Handbook. These were all written by Epictetus’s student Arrian, as Epictetus never wrote anything down himself. The Discourses are purported to be the literal transcription of Epictetus’s lectures while the Handbook is a summary of the ethical precepts found within the Discourses. The show more Handbook is the quickest route to practicing Stoicism right away, and should probably be read first before diving into the Discourses.
The underlying theme of the Handbook is progressive ethical self-improvement through daily practice. Through the concept of dichotomy of control, the Stoic learns to use reason to manage desire, handle adversity, and build character. While Stoicism cannot be “mastered,” with continual practice and reflection the Stoic can achieve tranquility and intellectual freedom while coming to see that virtue is the only true good within our complete control.
If I was setting about to learn Stoicism over again, I would read Epictetus first before moving on to Marcus Aurelius and Seneca and then to the more modern works. And this particular edition is probably the best modern translation available. show less
This edition includes the Discourses (the four books that survived of the original eight), some fragments, and the Handbook. These were all written by Epictetus’s student Arrian, as Epictetus never wrote anything down himself. The Discourses are purported to be the literal transcription of Epictetus’s lectures while the Handbook is a summary of the ethical precepts found within the Discourses. The show more Handbook is the quickest route to practicing Stoicism right away, and should probably be read first before diving into the Discourses.
The underlying theme of the Handbook is progressive ethical self-improvement through daily practice. Through the concept of dichotomy of control, the Stoic learns to use reason to manage desire, handle adversity, and build character. While Stoicism cannot be “mastered,” with continual practice and reflection the Stoic can achieve tranquility and intellectual freedom while coming to see that virtue is the only true good within our complete control.
If I was setting about to learn Stoicism over again, I would read Epictetus first before moving on to Marcus Aurelius and Seneca and then to the more modern works. And this particular edition is probably the best modern translation available. show less
This is a collection of the most influential writings on stoicism. Epictetus was a teacher and freed slave who challenged the Roman world with his writings on the nature of humanity.
Fascinating and personally sustaining Stoic philosophy. I am no subtle philosopher, so I do not pretend to be able to rank Epictetus or make fine distinctions. But I find him useful and enlightening when I get too wrapped up in my petty cares.
Meh. Seneca discusses the same principles but in a much more straightforward style (and with fewer religious and conceptual detours).
A classic set of rants by one of the world's most over-rated philosophers.
(Now, how's that for a partisan characterization?)
(Now, how's that for a partisan characterization?)
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ThingScore 38
De hedendaagse lezer wordt op den duur dan ook een beetje kregel van het mensbeeld dat hem wordt voorgeschoteld; het is het zijne niet en zal dat, in het licht van hedendaagse inzichten, ook wel nooit worden. Desondanks geloven de vertalers dat Epictetus’ werk onze tijd nog iets te bieden heeft. Ik betwijfel dat. Ondanks hun inspanningen blijft het moeizame lectuur, niet alleen door de vele show more herhalingen, maar ook door het prekerige karakter van sommige colleges. Epictetus is, als ik me niet vergis, voornamelijk nog van historische betekenis. show less
added by Jozefus
Andere ideeën van Epictetus zijn moeilijker te verkopen. Waarom zouden we geen enkele invloed kunnen hebben op ons eigen succes, op onze eigen gezondheid? Waarom zou het slecht zijn om ook daarnaar te streven, naast het streven naar een mooie ziel door rationeel nadenken, zoals Epictetus predikt?
added by Jozefus
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Epictetus (A.D. 55-A.D. 135) taught in Rome until the year 94, when Emperor Domitian banished philosophers from the city. In exile, he established his school of philosophy where his distinguished students included Marcus Aurelius, author of the Meditations.
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- Canonical title
- Discourses / Handbook / Fragments; Discourses, Fragments, Handbook
- Original publication date
- c.125
- Original language
- Greek
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- 955
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- 27,500
- Reviews
- 12
- Rating
- (4.23)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, Greek (Ancient), Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 18
- ASINs
- 16
