Review (PDF) Discourses And Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)
A new translation of the influential teachings of the great Stoic philosopherDESPITE BEING BORN into slavery, Greco-Roman philosopher Epictetus became one of the most influential thinkers of his time. Discourses and Selected Writings is a transcribed collection of informal lectures given by the philosopher around AD 108. A gateway into the life and mind of a great intellectual, it is also an important example of the usage of Koine or ?common? Greek, an ancestor to Standard Modern Greek.
Series: Penguin Classics
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics; 1 edition (November 25, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0140449469
ISBN-13: 978-0140449464
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #53,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #29 in Books > History > Ancient Civilizations > Greece #45 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Ancient #61 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > Ethics
“The true man is revealed in difficult times. So when trouble comes, think of yourself as a wrestler whom God, like a trainer, has paired with a tough young buck. For what purpose? To turn you into Olympic-class material. But this is going to take some sweat to accomplish. From my perspective, no one’s difficulties ever gave him a better test than yours, if you are prepared to make use of them the way a wrestler makes use of an opponent in peak condition.”~ Epictetus from DiscoursesEpictetus is known as one of the world’s leading Stoic philosophers. Along with Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, the three make up a very interesting bunch.Seneca was essentially a billionaire advisor to Nero who was exiled and compelled to commit suicide while Aurelius was part Roman Emperor + part Stoic philosopher who wrote his Meditations while leading battles in the Danube.Epictetus was a former slave turned philosopher who lived from 55-135 (a little later than Seneca and before Aurelius). After all the philosophers were kicked out of Rome, he settled in to a town called Nicopolis on the Adriatic coast of Greece where he ran a school of philosophy attended by Rome’s elite young men.We covered another one of Epictetus’s books called the Enchiridion which literally means “ready at hand” or a “handbook.” That one is a short little distillation of some of his more pithy wisdom.This book is a transcription of the informal lectures Epictetus gave to his students. While the Enchiridion is incredibly potent, with this one we get to see just how witty Epictetus is as he unpacks his ideas during lectures. (Both the Enchiridion and Discourses were transcribed and published by one of his students, Arrian. Thank you, Arrian.
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