Discourses and Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)
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Product Description
Epictetus, a Greek stoic and freed slave, ran a thriving philosophy school in Nicropolis in the early second century AD. His animated discussions were celebrated for their rhetorical wizardry and were written down by Arrian, his most famous pupil. Together with the Enchiridion, a manual of his main ideas, and the fragments collected here, The Discourses argue that happiness lies in learning to perceive exactly what is in our power to change and what is not, and in embracing our fate to live in harmony with god and nature. In this personal, practical guide to the ethics of stoicism and moral self-improvement, Epictetus tackles questions of freedom and imprisonment, illness and fear, family, friendship and love, and leaves an intriguing document of daily life in the classical world.
About the Author
Epictetus (c. 55–135 AD) was a teacher and Greco-Roman philosopher. Originally a slave from Hierapolis in Anatolia (modern Turkey), he was owned for a time by a prominent freedman at the court of the emperor Nero. After gaining his freedom he moved to Nicopolis on the Adriatic coast of Greece and opened a school of philosophy there. His informal lectures (the Discourses) were transcribed and published by his student Arrian, who also composed a digest of Epictetus' teaching known as the Manual (or Enchiridion).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The morality of Greek philosophers was the antithesis of our modern one: they believed we should eschew all material desires, not because of some dictate of the heavens, but because they can never be satisfied and come to tyrannise us rather than make us happy. Like Epicurus, Epictetus believed that you had to implement your own philosophy so for his followers it became a quasi-religion. The quasi is justified by the fact that they never drifted away from rational thought. Read Epictetus on why we should not be angry when our neighbour steals from our house, and you will find his logic quite convincing.
His thoughts survive (mainly in the form written down by one of his students) because the Church found this Theistic philosopher acceptable, but he is now somewhat ignored.
This excellent new translation reads very well, and should encourage us to revisit this thinker.
His thoughts survive (mainly in the form written down by one of his students) because the Church found this Theistic philosopher acceptable, but he is now somewhat ignored.
This excellent new translation reads very well, and should encourage us to revisit this thinker.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a bit of a miserable solitary individual, living a live on the edge, earning a ridiculously small amount of money, (not by conscious choice, at least I hope) so I gravitate towards thinkers like Schopenhauer and Epictetus. They offer consolation for almost any adversity. "It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgements concerning them."
I find Epictetus has an extremely practical view of the world, and I love this work."Don't put your purpose in one place and expect to see progress made somewhere else."
We have to learn to manage our impressions, and evaluate them correctly. We overestimate what we can control. But we can act in a way that is appropriate to the direction we want to take, we can choose our friends, we can teach ourselves to see the futility of prolonged mourning or overlamented loss. It looks to me like Shakespeare used this as a sourcebook for Hamlet.
I'd like to dramatise some of these ideas myself.
I find Epictetus has an extremely practical view of the world, and I love this work."Don't put your purpose in one place and expect to see progress made somewhere else."
We have to learn to manage our impressions, and evaluate them correctly. We overestimate what we can control. But we can act in a way that is appropriate to the direction we want to take, we can choose our friends, we can teach ourselves to see the futility of prolonged mourning or overlamented loss. It looks to me like Shakespeare used this as a sourcebook for Hamlet.
I'd like to dramatise some of these ideas myself.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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7 reviews
54 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Nice translation but the text is ABRIDGED
29 May 2009
Format:Paperback
This is a nice, flowing, intelligent translation of the Discourses of Epictetus by an important and respected scholar in the field. The edition also includes the Enchiridion (Handbook) and fragments. The notes and recommended readings are current and helpful.
There is one caveat though: The text is ABRIDGED. The product description does not make this clear. Dobbin justifies omitting selected discourses from books 3-4 due to repetition of themes. For example in book 3, sections 1-2, 6-7, 9-15, 17-19, 21, 24-26 are missing. In book 4, discourses 5-12 have been omitted. This unfortunately limits the usefulness of the text. If you want the complete text, I recommend the Everyman edition (edited by Christopher Gill, with a revised translation by Robin Hard). Better yet if you can afford it, get the two volume Loeb Classical Library edition with the facing Greek text.
In short, this is a nice abridged edition of Epictetus, useful for those who want a streamlined introduction to the philosopher, but limited due to the abridgment.
There is one caveat though: The text is ABRIDGED. The product description does not make this clear. Dobbin justifies omitting selected discourses from books 3-4 due to repetition of themes. For example in book 3, sections 1-2, 6-7, 9-15, 17-19, 21, 24-26 are missing. In book 4, discourses 5-12 have been omitted. This unfortunately limits the usefulness of the text. If you want the complete text, I recommend the Everyman edition (edited by Christopher Gill, with a revised translation by Robin Hard). Better yet if you can afford it, get the two volume Loeb Classical Library edition with the facing Greek text.
In short, this is a nice abridged edition of Epictetus, useful for those who want a streamlined introduction to the philosopher, but limited due to the abridgment.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
The Original Self Help Book
3 April 2010
Format:Paperback
Philosophy has intrigued me since I was eighteen years old (never mind how long ago that was!) While I am hardly an expert in philosophy, it has made for some fascinating reading, and the writings of the Stoics have particularly grabbed me, especially Epictetus. He was the first Stoic writer I read. I later went on to read Marcus Aurelius and parts of Seneca, but I must confess that Epictetus is my favorite.
I was pleasantly surprised the first time I began the DISCOURSES. I had confused STOICISM with SPARTAN and was expecting to read admonitions to sleep on nails, sleep outside in the freezing cold wearing only one thin garment and to self-flagellate regularly. Well, I found none of the above. Basically, Epictetus teaches that happiness consists of learning what is in our control and what isn't, and to live in harmony with God and nature. Also central to Stoic thought is the importance of correct reasoning.
I was also pleasantly surprised that Stoicism does not advocate an uncaring view of the world. The DISCOURSES are full of examples of family, politics, friendship issues as well as dealing with hardships. I had a good chuckle over the the title: "To those who tackle philosophy just to be able to talk about it." (Book 2, chapter 19) On page 126, he says "Just pay attention to the way you behave and you will discover the philosophy you really belong to."
The introduction and "Further Reading" sections give examples of prominent people whose lives were (and some still are) profoundly influenced by Epictetus.
This volume contains all four "Books" of Epictetus' DISCOURSES as well as the ENCHIRIDION, a condensation of his teachings into smaller paragraphs and sayings. I was also pleased to find fragments of other writings from Epictetus as well which I didn't know still were around.
They are well worth reading.
I was pleasantly surprised the first time I began the DISCOURSES. I had confused STOICISM with SPARTAN and was expecting to read admonitions to sleep on nails, sleep outside in the freezing cold wearing only one thin garment and to self-flagellate regularly. Well, I found none of the above. Basically, Epictetus teaches that happiness consists of learning what is in our control and what isn't, and to live in harmony with God and nature. Also central to Stoic thought is the importance of correct reasoning.
I was also pleasantly surprised that Stoicism does not advocate an uncaring view of the world. The DISCOURSES are full of examples of family, politics, friendship issues as well as dealing with hardships. I had a good chuckle over the the title: "To those who tackle philosophy just to be able to talk about it." (Book 2, chapter 19) On page 126, he says "Just pay attention to the way you behave and you will discover the philosophy you really belong to."
The introduction and "Further Reading" sections give examples of prominent people whose lives were (and some still are) profoundly influenced by Epictetus.
This volume contains all four "Books" of Epictetus' DISCOURSES as well as the ENCHIRIDION, a condensation of his teachings into smaller paragraphs and sayings. I was also pleased to find fragments of other writings from Epictetus as well which I didn't know still were around.
They are well worth reading.
19 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Great Book, Bad Translation
8 May 2011
Format:Paperback
Dobbin's translation attempts to 'modernize' Epictetus, but succeeds only in rendering the text awkward and clunky. Far, far better is the Everyman's Library edition, translated by Robin Hard. The Discourses of Epictetus - The Handbook - Fragments (Everyman's Library) Here's a comparison to illustrate my point, from Book 3, Chapter 22 (On The Cynic Calling) Line 20:
Dobbin: "My mind represents for me my medium - like wood to a carpenter, or leather to a shoemaker. The goal in my case is the correct use of impressions."
Hard: "From this time forth, the material I must work upon is my own mind, as wood is the material of a carpenter or leather that of a shoemaker; for my business is to make right use of my impressions."
Dobbin: "My mind represents for me my medium - like wood to a carpenter, or leather to a shoemaker. The goal in my case is the correct use of impressions."
Hard: "From this time forth, the material I must work upon is my own mind, as wood is the material of a carpenter or leather that of a shoemaker; for my business is to make right use of my impressions."
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