Discourses, Books 1–2 (Loeb Classical Library)

This is the first of the two volume Loeb Classical Library edition of Epictetus' Discourses, with Greek and W. A. Oldfather's English translation on facing pages. For those who have no intgerest in the Greek, purchasing this volume may seem like a bit of overkill when compared with inexpensive reprints such as the one from NuVision Publications (September 19, 2006). As someone who bought the reprint first, I must tell you I tried to use it once and was immediately disappointed. Just as with my copies of Homer, Plato, Aristotle, and practically every other classic author, I rarely read them or parts of them from start to finish. Rather, I look up sections when I find references to them in commentaries on, for example, parts of the Old or New Testaments. In order to find the appropriate passage, one must use the established section and paragraph numbering. Unfortunately, this numbering is entirely missing from the reprint, which I have donated to my nearest library after receiving my Loeb copies. These little gems cost about four times the reprint, but for that, you get a book you will be proud to own, and even show off a bit on your bookshelf, plus a great little commentary on the Discourses, as well as the 'Fragments' and 'The Encheiridion', a summary of Epictetus thoughts by his secretary, Arrian. The reprint has none of this and, for the third time, I suggest it is less than useless, as it gives the illusion of value, and you will be disappointed when you find it missing.

This volume contains the first two books of transcripts of Epictetus' Discourses. A student, Arrian copied down Epictetus' words, and the explanation of how scholars validated this claim is provided and interesting. The chapters themselves are to the precepts laid down in the Encheiridion what derivations are to axioms in mathematics. Each chapter is the full discussion behind the principles of Stoicism as Epictetus taught it. While possessing tremendous value, these books are not as approachable or succinct as the Encheiridion (and while not as succinct as Marcus Aurelius, this is laid out more clearly and thoroughly).A great volume for when you are ready to move past the basics of Stoicism.E.M. Van Court

A work everyone should read. Our government would be much better if based on this work rather than Christianity.

This is a book you will keep returning to it and it will again and again speak to you. Worth of reading every bit of it.

Text is excellent and untouchable, no need to comment on that.The binding of this brand-new version of a Loeb classic is poor though. I bought it NEW from Amazon like you're thinking about doing right after you're done reading reviews in order to justify your next purchase. Just know that you're looking at the latest version from Harvard University Press, specifically the 2000 reprint. See the next paragraph.I own the 1998 reset/reprinting by Loeb, supposedly the exact same book but one which is FAR superior to this recycled book mock duck. Aside from the slightly jaundiced paper color alone, is 2) ISBN 0674991451's sheer anorexia: whereas the 1998 edition is 1 1/8" thick (better paper), this one is a mere 7/8" overall (basic paper). Maybe the worst part is that what once was a sewn binding is 3) now just a glueback between hardcovers, and looking at this 2000 version even closer, even more worse is 4) how, if you buy it, thinking how you'll feel "played" like me for having paid the exact same price I once paid for a 1998, but instead you paid for awful craftsmanship that's, well, just junk. (And yes, this book is so good you will buy it for friends.)"Save a buck there, buck here! Who cares?"Don't answer them. Find a used version of this amazing text and gladly skip class on Loeb's new cost-cutting philosophy.

Excellent

Good reading!

This is volume one of a two volume set. The second volume is "Epictetus : Discourses, Books 3 and 4 (Loeb Classical Library, No 218)". The contents for both volumes are as follows:VOLUME I:Introduction (editors)BibliographySymbolsDiscourses, Book IDiscourses, Book IIIndexVOLUME II:Discourses, Book IIIDiscourses, Book IVFragmentsEncheiridionThe first thing worth noting is that although the titles of the volume refer to just the Discourses, the set is really a complete set of extant works, including fragments from other sources as well as a complete copy of the Encheiridion.As is typical for the Loeb classical library books, the volumes are physically small, and the original text (Greek, for Epictetus) is given on the left hand page, with the English translation on the right.The Introduction gives a brief biography of Epictetus and background information concerning Stoic philosophy. The Bibliography (which contains an update note from the original 1925 edition) gives the state of Epictetus scholarship. In the actual texts, footnotes are abundant and explain unfamiliar names, places, difficulties with translation, uncertainties about the source text, and Epictetus' quotes from earlier writers are more fully referenced. In summation, the background material supplied with these books is excellent.As for the texts themselves, they were not actually written by Epictetus, but were notes taken by Arrian, one of his students (not unlike the Nicomachean Ethics, which were notes taken by a student of Aristotle). The Discourses are quite lively in style; Epictetus' personality and teaching style comes through vividly. This is not true of the Encheiridion, which Arrian abstracted from the Discourses and which had the life wrung out of it in the process.The Discourses are not a well-organized body of work, as their origin might suggest. They are repetitive, and points that should have been grouped together logically are dispersed throughout.The content is almost entirely ethical. Epictetus emphasizes the spark of divinity within man - that a man should always behave honourably. External things, such as wealth and power, are not things to be valued - they can be lost at any time, and are not worth a man's honour. Because his teachings are ethical, Epictetus is not concerned with what a man knows, but how he lives. The point isn't to understand his philosophy (which isn't hard), but to live it (which is).

The Discourses and Handbook of Epictetus are not actually written by Epictetus himself, but by Arrian (also known for his history of Alexander the Great). In effect they are Arrian's "lecture notes" based on the teaching of the man himself. Sadly only 4 books of the Discourses survive - we know that there were more books, possibly as many as 8. As one of the few Stoic sources to survive in any quantity, alongside Seneca (whose corpus is also incomplete), Marcus Aurelius (personal notes and reflections never intended for publication) and Musonius Rufus (preserved only as extracts by Johannes Stobaeus), it takes on particular importance, and whilst for my part Seneca is the most valuable for many other modern followers of Stoicism Epictetus is regarded as the primary writer.As is often the case with these Loeb editions of the classics, the facing English translation is not particularly great, often coming across as very dated (this particular translation was made in 1925), and the print quality is not always outstanding, but to have side by side Greek/English texts which don't cost the earth this is invaluable. In the case of Epictetus I am not aware of any other complete bilingual text for that matter.

Nice and in good condition. I like it.

It was my sons birthday gift, he loved it! He has it as a treasure!

I just finished the Loeb 1&2 and it is a much better book by far than the Everyman translation. The ideas and words seem to fit together better and flow easier. I feel that Epictetus's ideas are wonderful to ponder and practice. I wish I would have stumbled upon this book earlier in my life, but considering how we live I may not have been so accepting of these ideas then. The Loeb books so far seem to be closest to his thinking in my feeling.