Discourses and Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)

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Two elements are combined in our creation, the body, which we have in common with the beasts; and reason and good judgement, which we share with the gods. One strength in his approach is that there is not a sharp line between epistemology, education, and ethics. Skeptics claim nothing can be known, but yet this proposition if proclaimed to be a general truth - how do they know? His conception of a human being itself requires the individual being defined in relation to the city, and then to the “universal city” (the kingdom of god). Without this training in the art of life, it is only the existence of slaves which one should expect.

As a matter of fact, Epictetus brilliantly remarks, a true Epicurean should teach his students Stoicism, since then he can, being a closet-Epicurean, have all the fun for himself. Suffering is thought very little of here; it's not even given a consolation in any sort of afterlife.

Epictetus, perhaps in line with his own philosophy of limitations, never gets to the substance of the issue. A lot of his philosophy is also based on an understanding of theism that falls pretty flat nowadays. To achieve this one needs a rigorous training of the faculty of the will and its appreciation of impressions. However, as with most of the Penguin classics, the introduction and footnotes are excellent and provide details and explanations on the philosophy as well as appreciation for this work. If he says, ‘I will throw you into prison,’ I say, ‘He is threatening my entire body’; if he threatens exile, I say the same.

If being related to the emperor or any of the other great ones at Rome is enough to live without fear, in privilege and security, shouldn’t having God as our creator, father and defender protect us even more from trouble and anxiety?His owner, Epaphroditus, was himself a former slave who rose to become a secretary in the imperial courts of Nero and Domitian.

The majority of these dialogues is concerned with avoiding disturbance and maintaining peace of mind. Epictetus' Discourses and Selected Writings read like a self-improvement book, but an ancient one, written two millennia ago in the Roman Empire.A prominent figure among the Stoic school of thought, Epictetus deals with several subjects such as the correct use of impressions, desire and aversion, the importance of logic in governing one's own life, and many others. To Epictetus, all external events are determined by fate, and are thus beyond our control, but we can accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. What would have become of Hercules, do you think, if there had been no lion, hydra, stag or boar – and no savage criminals to rid the world of? He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present day Pamukkale, Turkey), and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in north-western Greece for the rest of his life. Born a slave, sent into exile, never rich nor powerful, he certainly had more need of the stoic philosophy than Aurelius, an emperor, or Seneca, a senator.

I must depart into exile; so can anyone prevent me from setting off with a smile, cheerfully and serenely? To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Surrounded as we are by such people – so confused, so ignorant of what they’re saying and of whatever faults they may or may not have, where those faults came from and how to get rid of them – I think we too should make a habit of asking ourselves: Could it be that I’m one of them too? This means that human beings have to accept Nature's indifference towards them, and accept their fate. Again, in this situation I think Epictetus’s hard division between things outside or within our control blinds him to the dialogue between attitude and circumstances that comprise human life and happiness.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. There's an argument about convictions and how important it is to maintain one's convictions in the face of adversity, but also an acknowledgement that convictions are only worth maintaining if they are moral and correct and dogged persistence in being wrong is not virtue but vice. The virtuous philosopher that is led by their principles knows that nothing or no one external to themselves can truly harm them; no one has that power. When you try to control the incontrollable, you will only face disappointment, anger, sadness, anxiety, fear and suffering. These criticisms are minor when I consider that this book is easily one of the greatest books on the art of living that I have yet read.