EpictetusThe Handbook (The Encheiridion) (Hackett Classics)

Funny Amazon should offer us to buy this book together with Enchiridion by Epictetus (Long Translation) when these two are in fact one and the same book, different translators and different supplemental background info/comments. Of course I only realized that when both books arrived and I compared them :(. One star to Amazon for that :((( As for the book, the reason I put it on my wish list last year was the fact that in the course of last 3 years I had to release and let go of many things (and people), and I had struggled with the conflict between fighting for what I want and never giving up (cause nothing is completely lost until we give up on it) and knowing when to let go. I reverted to stoic thought for strength to live without regret and feeling of loss. And while it helped me resolve some of my inner conflicts, I must warn you that this book is not writing of a self-help guru, its an actual philosohical work. Which is OK for me, but might not serve the same purpose for everyone that it did for me. As for translation, I prefer this one to Long's because it is more in the spirit of English language, at the same time remaining non-colloquial. I also find additional information included by translator to be very enlightening and good guide into phylosophy of the age and further reading.

Worked well

Hard to adequately rate the ancient philosophers on content alone. The book was basic and conveyed the author's intent without too much fluff. Translation seemed pretty good with plenty of background and reference. Recommended reading for all stoics or there!

Fantastic little booklet. The paper is cheap but this is right in the spirit of the Handbook. Very easy to keep around, travel with, or hand out. I have had mine for a decade. Bought 50 or so to hand out to coworkers as small gifts.

If you're ordering this book then you probably already know something about stoic philosophy - or you're a student whose about to find out. Either way, it's a good read.Unfortunately, the student who owned this book before thought some of his ideals were "stupid" and felt the urge to write this within the book itself, which I don't appreciate. However, I also recognize this is not the seller's fault. Anyway, what kind of world would it be if I was never exposed to another opinion.

I intially rented this book for a philosophy class and because it was used I didn’t want to purchase it all the way. But when I started reading it I was so amazed by how amazing it was that I had to purchase it as soon as I could. This book helped me realize the reality of a lot of things for my life. I feel like I could be calm now whenever I have issues especially if they’re emotional ones.

I have read about philophers and history and our founding fathers wonderfully created documents and the great historical and philosophic works behind their conclusions all my life. In all that time I have found almost all of them to be profound and inspiring. Yet unlike others who have reviewed this work I have found it wanting in it's basic interprative conclusions. By that I mean in one paragraph there will be great insight and in the next the interpretation seems to loose coherency all together or has absolutely no rational application what-so-ever for living well. Oh there are many profound ideals represented in this booklet and I agree that for his time and place in history Epictetus must have been one great piece of work to come to many of the conclusions put forth in these pages. Such as those on page 22 and 23 where:1. He criticises the use of fortune tellers and warnes that one should see them for what they really are (just fault ridden human beings)and indicates that one does not need a fortune teller or soothsayer to know it is right to share the burden of a friend and to defend ones nation or,2. that one should not allow the influence of others, when mingling, to cause one to slide into their bad habits, practices/lifestyles or unethical behavior and;3. Sexual abstinence if you can achieve it is a good thing. Boy I bet the ACLU and the liberals elites in America must hate Eptictetus. But I constantly got the feeling that the author was stuggling to give us these insights or tried just too hard to be clinical in his analysis and that he was being too Stoic (ha...ha...isn't that an interesting thought) in telling us what Epictetus really thought or was trying to impart. I almost got the impression in considering what Epictetus had said (if one can trust, not the writings of the man himself, but what someone else thought he said or meant) and not what White's conept or interpretation of his meaning was or is...that although this Stoics philosopher was tyring to be like some Vulcan Mystic from Star Trek that he was really more like Spoc, who had underlying conflicting more human feelings. I believe all good philosohers do struggle with this issue and ask themselves "Is what I believe, true" from time to time. The great ones do not just dismiss this question as political party die hards and hacks do today...but actually grapple with this question and adjust when their phiolsophies trun out to be wanting, wrong, unethical, immoral and just down right false. Yes one can glean the beginnings of great thought here when considering the time and place of his teachings, but I would not at all consider Epictetus the greatest of all philsophers whether Stoic or other wise. He is just one of many hundreds that should be considered for that title during ones lifelong study of our rise from barbaric nomads to civilized mankind. Of course one can, if one studies modern man's fall from grace in the 20th and 21 centuries, from a neutral point of view, actually consider that we are less civlized now than we were in Epictetus' time. Of course that is a discussion for another time. A good booklet, if read critically, as all should be, to add to any self-made philosophers collection and also for the aspiring student.

If you are interested in learning about the Life Philosophy of Stoicism and how the practice can help you in your everyday life, spend an hour reading this book. If you want to learn more about Epictetus, listen to the Podcast the Happiness Lab: Happiness Lessons of the Ancients: Epictetus

This is truly a handbook (and a very short one). However, the message is clear and I appreciate having something short to read rather than most books these days, which could say their core message in about 1/10th of the words. I bought it because I became interested in stoicism (as a applicable/practical philosophy to live my life). Mine is a work copy: it has notes all over the place. Buy it and have OR borrow it OR look it up online. If you are reading this review all the way here is because you are seriously interested, so go and READ IT. Could be one of the best things you do with your life. It help me enormously (with other resources) to restructure how I see the world and how I live my life (no joke, no exaggeration either). Good luck.

51 notes recorded by Epictetus' studen;, Stoicism in a Nut shell.