Discourses, Fragments, Handbook (Oxford Worlds Classics)

This is one of my 20 favorite books, and represents the heart and root of Stoicism. It is a jewel of a book that is a collection of gem essays on how to live a good and productive life. I particularly like the Oxford press books. Consider buying this along with Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations in the same series of books. And a great translation.

If you're reading this review, you're interested in stoicism. Or you're a student and being forced to take an interest. The success (for the reader, at least) of any book of this kind relies on a few things: the clarity and readability of the translation, the quality of introductory material, and the value of the explanatory notes. Oh, and the content, of course. This edition excels at all of them. First, the translation is excellent. The language is straight-forward and understandable, but not simplistic or limited. So if you're interested, you'll understand. Moreover, any necessary historical context or explanation is provided in the notes. And those notes aren't too overbearing either, being just informative enough without being pedantic. (For those who care: the notes are at the end of the book, in the style of 'Notes to pages xx-xx.' I would prefer at the bottom of each page, but I don't care enough about it to get annoyed.) The introduction is excellent without the eye-rolling length sometimes associated with important literary or philosophical works. Translator Hard understands that you came to read Epictetus, so he gets out of the way after a respectable introduction. I appreciate that, because otherwise I'd just skip it. Finally, the content. Well, I'm not qualified to critique Stoicism (nor should you care about my opinion on the matter), but I find it a useful worldview and I try to embrace it myself. But even if you're not looking to adopt a philosophy, and you're just an inveterate learner, I think you'll be glad you purchased this edition. It won't let you down.

This edition has an index of names and an index of main themes. They are handy for study and for book clubs. The translation of the text is easy to follow (I enjoy reading a few translations side by side but this reads well on its own). The introduction to the text is clear, succinct, and helpful. I appreciate that some of the Greek themes, like prohairesis, are identified, briefly discussed, and given specific areas of the text where they occur. The footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography are also excellent. The smell of the paper and glue making this book is not so great unfortunately but I would wholeheartedly recommend this edition regardless.

This complete edition of the works of Epictetus is a must-read for any man seeking self-improvement. The stoic philosophers were the best group for actually teaching a man how to survive in an unjust world. Many of the issues are remarkably modern, showing how little mankind has change. Of note is some hilarious commentary about gender, which Amazon would probably not like me to further explain. Read the book for yourself. This edition is solid, good translation, endnotes, and all that.

Epictetus was a Roman slave and Stoic philosopher in the late-1st / early-2nd century AD. Although Epictetus did not write anything (or at least, he did not write anything that survives to the present), his student Arrian compiled his lecture notes of Epictetus teachings. About half of these lecture notes survive as the "Discourses", with the "Handbook" acting as an abridged version. The Discourses consists of Stoic aphorisms, ranging in length from a few sentences to a few pages. The aphorisms put forth the Stoic ethical view: one should focus only on that which is in one's control -- that is, judgements and evaluations -- and should be undisturbed by everything else that it outside of one's control -- health, wealth, popularity, etc. A few of my favorite aphorisms: 1.22(10 - 11): Within our power lie moral choice and all actions that depend on that choice, whereas our body and every part of it are not in our power, and likewise our possessions, parents, brothers and sisters, children, country, and, in short, everyone with whom we associate. What, then, are we to place our good? To what kind of reality are we to apply that name? To what lies without our power. 2.5(13): For I am not everlasting, but a human being, a part of the whole as an hour is a part of the day. Like an hour I must come, and like an hour pass away. 3.24(27 - 29): How can you wish to reach old age and yet, at the same time, not to see any of those whom you love come to die? Don't you know that over a long stretch of time, many things of every kind are bound to occur? That a fever will get the better of one person, a robber of another, and a tyrant of someone else again? Such is the nature of the world around us, such is the nature of the people with whom we share it; heat or cold, an unsuitable diet, a journey by land or by sea, the winds of the air, dangers of every kind, will cause one person to perish, another to be driven into exile, another to be dispatched on an embassy, and another to be sent out on a campaign. 3.24(34 - 35): The life of every one of us is a campaign, and a long one subject to varying circumstances. You must fulfill the role of a soldier and carry out every deed as your general bids, divining his will so far as is possible. 3.24(70): Someone who is destined to be overpower by another human being must first have been overpowered well before by things.

Beautiful copy. Easy to read. Nice cover binding for a paperback. It feels good flipping through it. There is an index of people and a very brief index titled General Themes. But no index or glossary including earth shattering technical terms such as guiding principle (hegemonikon) , impulse (horme), representation (phantasia), etc. What are we doing here other than trying to really master these terms and their significance? As critical as I am about the lack of a meaningful index this is my favorite copy of the Discourses (I have 3). It just means I need to take a lot more notes while reading through their version of the translation to catch their interpretation of the original. A revised version should include a much more thorough index. The extra pages are worth it.

This translation truly captures the essence of Epictetus and Stoicism.

Such a good book! So much wisdom. Will change the way you think!

“Eu tenho que morrer. Se é agora, bem, então eu morro agora; se mais tarde, então vou almoçar, já que chegou a hora do almoço – e morrendo, morrerei mais tarde.” O leitor não tem como deixar de rir com o aforismo acima, já que a morte segura é inevitável. Está chegando agora? Se é agora, estou pronto, vamos, vamos fazer isso, porque todo mundo tem que morrer. Mas se não é agora, então vou fazer outras coisas e, claro, quando a morte chegar, não está sob seu controle, então você simplesmente aceita, sempre que acontecer. O aforismo revela dois traços importante da personalidade de Epicteto: senso de humor e pragmatismo. De um modo geral, os Discursos são sobre como viver sua vida: eles apresentam os princípios básicos do estoicismo uma e outra vez, de diferentes ângulos, explorando as consequências em diferentes contextos. Provavelmente o mais básico que Epicteto insiste várias vezes é a sua famosa dicotomia de controle: ele diz que algumas coisas estão sob seu controle e outras coisas não estão sob seu controle. Então ele lista os tipos de coisas que estão sob seu controle e aquelas que não estão. Coisas que estão sob seu controle: seu comportamento, suas decisões, seus processos de pensamento racional. Coisas que não estão sob seu controle são todas as externalidades: sua saúde, sua riqueza, sua educação, sua estatura na vida, sua reputação. Não é que você não possa influenciar as coisas que não estão sob seu controle; é claro que você pode. Ele diz isso explicitamente. Mas elas não estão inteiramente sob seu controle. Você só pode tentar ser saudável, rico e educado, e ter uma boa vida no sentido da externalidade, mas, como você sabe, a ‘desgraça’ acontece...O estoicismo de Epicteto é sobre como lidar com uma situação em que a ‘desgraça’ realmente acontece. O que fazes, então? Como você reage na vida quando as coisas não seguem o seu caminho? Enfim, a dicotomia de controle é crucial no estoicismo, particularmente aqui na filosofia de Epicteto. Encerro a resenha com outra máxima de Epicteto: Um de seus alunos, diz-lhe: "Escutei alguém falando tão mal de você hoje". E a resposta de Epicteto é: "Bem, é porque ele não me conhece muito bem; caso fosse o contrário, ele estaria falando muito, muito pior de mim... Boa leitura!

You don't like war, you don't like violence, you're exhausted from struggling against political power and obnoxious people. How do you convince yourself to take a step back, without abandoning your principles? This is a good book to help with that. BONUS: You don't need to read it cover-to-cover, but can flip open anywhere and start reading. The author wanted discipline but was also obviously a realist about how much time attention span we can spare for him.

Epicteto, el esclavo liberado, máximo estoico en práctica. Buena edición de Oxford que contiene la obra completa del filósofo, además de fragmentos recopilados de otros autores donde hacen mención de sus humildes enseñanzas.

How many ways can I sing praises for this translation of the Discourses? 1. It is a great size to tote around anywhere much better than the knock off public domain translations and even though it is bigger than the Everymans translation it is softcover and all in one book instead of two. 2. It uses modern English and there are great notes to back it up. Gill and Hard used the ideas of AA Long and really help you get so much more out of the Discourses. Plus all other writings are there too fragments and the Handbook too!!!!! There are no errors and typos like many of the other books and it is just plain fun to read. The 2 number one books are Oldfather's and this one by Hard in my opinion.

Quite poor print quality (text is not at all sharp and has shadowing). I suggest considering a different edition.