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Discourses, Books 1–2
Series: Loeb Classical Library
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Discourses, Books 1–2
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Ideal for readers interested in Stoic philosophy, ancient wisdom, and ethical living. Suitable for students of classical philosophy and those seeking practical moral guidance.
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Unlike his predecessors, Epictetus (c. 50 120 CE), who grew up as a slave, taught Stoicism not for the select few but for the many. A student, the historian Arrian, recorded Epictetus s lectures and, in the Encheiridion, a handbook, summarized his thought.
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Description
Epictetus was a crippled Greek slave of Phrygia during Nero's reign (54–68 CE) who heard lectures by the Stoic Musonius before he was freed. Expelled with other philosophers by the emperor Domitian in 89 or 92, he settled permanently in Nicopolis in Epirus. There, in a school which he called 'healing place for sick souls', he taught a practical philosophy. Details of his teachings were recorded by Arrian, a student of his, and survive in four books of Discourses and a smaller Encheiridion, a handbook which briefly presents the chief doctrines of the Discourses. He apparently lived into the reign of Hadrian (117–138 CE).
Epictetus was a teacher of Stoic ethics, broad and firm in method, sublime in thought, and by turns humorous, sad, or severe in spirit. How should one live righteously? Our god-given will is our paramount possession, and we must not covet others'. We must not resist fortune. Man is part of a system; humans are reasoning beings (in feeble bodies) and must conform to god's mind and the will of nature. Epictetus presents us with a vivid picture of the perfect (Stoic) man.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Discourses, Books 1–2 by Epictetus is available in two volumes.
Series: Loeb Classical Library
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Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780674991453
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 01 January 1925
Country: United States
Imprint: Harvard University Press
Illustration: Index
Contributors:
- Translated by W. A. Oldfather
- Translated by W. A. Oldfather
- Translated by W. A. Oldfather
Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 25.0mm
Width: 108.0mm
Height: 162.0mm
Weight: 363g
Pages: 480
About the Author
William Abbott Oldfather (1880–1945), one of America’s most important classicists, was a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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