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Enchiridion (Dover Thrift Editions)

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Epictetus's "Enchiridion" ("The Manual") is a book about living as a stoic. This book was used as a manual for Roman Centurions and has influenced the lives of many ancient and modern people. It teaches you to deal with hardships and the dissappointments that one encounters in daily life. The stoic philosophy from the Enchiridion helped people like VADM James Stockdale deal with years of captivity in a North Vietnamese prison camp. Basically, the idea behind stoicism is that people can achieve virtue and excellence by concentrating their efforts on what they can control and being indifferent to what they cannot. Unlike Epicurianism, stoicism holds that people are supremely reasonable and that happiness is the result of virtue, honor and conformity to the way of the world. This philosophy was respected by early Christians, and emperors like Marcus Aurelius (The old king in the movie "Gladiator" and a stoic philosopher himself). The translation by George Long is second to none. This book is a valuble handbook for life in modern times and with only 43 pages, it is densely packed with simple ideas for being a better person. I have read it over a dozen times and each time I learn something else about myself and about life. It is a particularly valuble philosophy for members of the military because it explains how to gain control despite overwhelming odds and lack of personal authority. I would recommend this small book to every student of Greek Philosphy and anyone who desires to be a virtuous and successful person.

Nowadays people tend to think a "stoic" person is one who bears up under sorrow without complaining. While this is somewhat true, it is a blindered view of what a Stoic aspires to. Epictetus was a freed slave, apparently born sometime during the middle of the first century. He became the leading teacher of Stoicism and an immense [though indirect] influence upon the emperor Marcus Aurelius, the closest the world has ever come to having a "philosopher-king." The Enchiridion is a "digest," a sampling of the heart of Epictetus' teaching, which must not be thought of as Epictetus' own ideas, but rather as his embodiment and distillation of the "truths" of Stoicism as brought forward over several centuries to his day. His aim was to live a life, and to teach his students to live a life, of calm and peace and happiness, in which outward events, no matter how hideous, cannot disturb. In this, he was similar to the Buddha, teaching his students to rise toward nirvana. The basic principle of Stoic philosophy, as maintained by Epictetus, was simple: we, as human beings, control only our responses to what happens around us: we cannot control events; we cannot make others do what we wish; we cannot even control whether we get sick or not: we CAN control how we react toward events, and it is toward this that we should direct our efforts. The Enchiridion is a wonderful book, a soothing balm, a great place to begin: read it slowly; think about how its teachings can be applied to your daily situation; then strive to apply them. When you feel that you have a good grasp of the Enchiridion, THEN go on to the Discourses. Stoicism is not a matter of learning "doctrines" or "dogmas": it is a matter of bringing your spirit into line--a goal to strive toward, without ever truly reaching it. The Buddha believed that all life is suffering, and that we must learn how to transcend that suffering. Epictetus' view of the world is more positive: life contains both good and bad, but we must learn how to control our reactions to both. His teachings are a manual for the striver

Epictetus concerned himself with finding the satisfying life - not the happiest or richest, but the life filled with treasures that can never be taken away. His disciple, Arrian, collected his wisdom, and distilled it down into this booklet of aphorisms.

The essence is simple: "No man is free who is not master of himself." In part, that is because the self is all anyone can truly own. Everything else is under the control of others, of the state, or finally of the gods. Happiness based on what can be taken away is a flimsy sort of thing, and fighting the will of the gods is futile.

Still, this isn't about ascetic self-denial. There are pleasures to be had in the world. If there is wine, enjoy it, remembering that excess is hardly enjoyable. Enjoy the loves in your life, without becoming slave to them. He also recommends reticence in most matters, since so few are under one's control, and since foolishness is easier to speak than wisdom. These thoughts are as effective in today's life as they were two thousand years ago.

//wiredweird

The Enchiridion is the bridge between the old radical schools of Stoicism in the tradition of Zeno of Citium which taught to deny desire and defeat emotion to achieve 'eudaimonia' (excellence in temper) and the late era Stoicism which teaches us not to defeat emotion and desire but simply not to let it dominate prudent judgments, decisions and actions.

Epictetus' Stoic philosophy is a practical philosophy for life that focuses on understanding what causes us grief in our life and then detaching ourselves from that grief; removing from our lives unnecesary pains. The Enchiridion offers insightful and straightforward wisdom on how to endure misfortune by developing character and apatheia (clear judgment) by training ourselves in the Socratic lifestyle. The four cardinal virtues of such a lifestyle are sophrosyne (temperance/self-control), dikaiosyne (justice/righteousness/honesty/authenticity), sophia (prudence/wisdom), and andreia (fortitude/courage). When we dedicate our lives in the pursuit of virtue and not in the pursuit of gratifying our emotions, not only do we fulfill our duty within nature in achieving harmony amidst the community and earth but we also find how meaningless a good deal of the constant bickering, drama, dishonesty and insincerity of the mob really is.

A Stoic philosopher removes himself from addictions, a life centered around sex, inauthenticity, falsity, selfishness and actions which would unbalance the natural order or damage the community. At the heart of the Epictetus' philosophy is a sort of civic virtue that transcends nations and borders:

"If what philosophers say of the kinship of God and Men be true, what remains for men to do but as Socrates did:--never, when asked one's country, to answer, 'I am an Athenian or a Corinthian,' but 'I am a citizen of the world.'"

A Stoic looks beyond silly and proud displays of nationalism and instead accepts everyone for what they are, while striving to attain righteousness within himself. Stoics were the first philosophers to detest slavery. For Epictetus slavery is a thing which only occurs in the mind, when we allow ourselves to become a slave mentally. In fact all misfortunes are illusory things which only become misfortunate when we define them as being such. The core of the Stoic philosophy of the Enchiridion is realizing that nothing bad can happen to us, that we have no control over external things, and can only be concerned with controlling our own actions, decisions and judgments.

If we are not in control ourselves, we are a slave. For Epictetus, who was a slave before being a Roman-era Socrates, slavery is a mindset. We can maintain our diginity, charm, cheerfulness and character in the face of any disaster. He offers a interesting proposition: surely we would be angered if someone tried to control our body like a puppet, so why do we so easily hand our mind over to others when we are angered, in love or jealous? For Epictetus everything must be accounted for - and there is no physical circumstance, including death, which is unfortunate. In this we see a sort of proto-nihilism in the vein of Heraclitus - who was a heavy influence on the Stoics. Although Epictetus and the later Marcus Aurelius acknowledge a inpersonal divine force and logic manifesting itself behind all things (the Logos), they never presume that God has any influence in the roll of events and for all intents and purposes, suggest living as if this matter before us, shifting every constantly, is the only consideration. This nihilistic view which is within the Enchiridion is perfectly summed up in Marcus Aurelius' Meditations:

"Like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you and suddenly realizing: This is a dead fish. A dead bird. A dead pig. Or that this noble vintage is grape juice., and the purple robes are sheep wool dyed with shellfish blood. Or making love - something rubbing against your penis, a brief seizure and a little cloudy liquid.

Perceptions like that - latching onto things and piercing through them, so we see what they really are. That's what we need to do all the time - all through our lives when things lay claim to our trust- to lay them bare and see how pointless they are, to strip away the legend that encrusts them."

When we understand the innate nature of things, which is nihilism (without any innate meaning), we can begin to avoid having our mind disturbed when they are changed or destroyed, for change is the only persistent nature of existence. How can we be disturbed when our favorite jug is destroyed, Epictetus proposes, if it is simply a piece of clay that we had no control over in the first place? We have control over nothing external, even our own bodies and immediate possessions. We only have control over our judgments, actions, decisions and how we decide to temper our lives with reason and logic. Agony occurs when we attempt to control what is not within our power to control (anything external to the mind) or when we expect external things to act in certain ways. We can only expect ourselves to act in a certain fashion.

Epictetus even says that we should not be disturbed when our wife or child dies - the person hasn't died, just the body, something we have no true control over. We have to evaluate why exactly we are being disturbed: because we will miss what they brought to our lives OR because they have gone to glory? The former is a greedy and irrational judgment, the latter should bring us no disturbance, but only joy, in the passing of the body and its rejoining of nature. How are we to ever presuppose what happens after death? For a Stoic this is entirely unimportant, the only thing that matters is a nihilistic philosophy of realism, attending to the matter at hand, as virtously as possible, as well as possible, and leaving the rest up to Fate, blaming no one, forever remaining generous of character, valuing friendship and maintaining our charm, charisma and apatheia (clear judgment) in the face of great disaster and misfortune.

Before this review is concluded I will showcase one quote that I believe is the quintessence of the Enchiridon and all Stoic philosophy. What Epictetus is about to say is also the quintessence of a Socratic life - one based on actions, not pretention and not words:

"Never call yourself a philosopher, nor talk a great deal among the unlearned about theorems, but act conformably to them. Thus, at an entertainment, don't talk how persons ought to eat, but eat as you ought. For remember that in this manner Socrates also universally avoided all ostentation. And when persons came to him and desired to be recommended by him to philosophers, he took and recommended them, so well did he bear being overlooked. So that if ever any talk should happen among the unlearned concerning philosophic theorems, be you, for the most part, silent. For there is great danger in immediately throwing out what you have not digested. And, if anyone tells you that you know nothing, and you are not nettled at it, then you may be sure that you have begun your business. For sheep don't throw up the grass to show the shepherds how much they have eaten; but, inwardly digesting their food, they outwardly produce wool and milk. Thus, therefore, do you likewise not show theorems to the unlearned, but the actions produced by them after they have been digested."

- Epictetus

Epictetus Enchiridion

A great little book (Enchiridion means "handbook") that can be read in an hour or so-and that was precisely what Epictetus or the compiler, his student Arrian, intended. Epictetus, possibly the clearest of Stoic philosophers, provides a remarkable system of "dos and don'ts" for the seeker of wisdom. His ideas go well beyond Stoicism--I myself have heard management consultants quote his most significant idea: we should pursue things within our power and shun what is not within our power:

"In our power are opinion, movement toward a thing, desire, aversion (turning from a thing); and in a word, what are our own acts; not in our power are the body, property, reputation, offices (magisterial power), and in a word, whatever are not our own acts."

If you pursue things not in your power, "you will be hindered, you will lament, you will be disturbed, you will blame both gods and men."

Doesn't that about sum up most of the world's ills? The rest of the handbook provides the details about how to carry out this most important Stoic dictum.

Epictetus was a freed Roman slave born A.D. 55 in Phrygia, the Asian part of today's Turkey. With all philosophers (can't have those!) he was banned from Rome in 89 by Domitian and established his own school in Nicopolis in Greece. His student, Arrian, compiled two works, Discourses, which seems to record Epictetus' conversations with students, and this much shorter Enchiridion, or handbook, which is a kind of boiling down of the broader philosophy into principles for living.

If the translation seems somewhat quaint, it's because it is. This is the mid-19th Century translation of George Long. It would have been nice of the publisher, Prometheus Books, to tell us what language Enchiridion was translated FROM. The original was written in Koine, Greek, the same language as the New Testament. Different from Classical Greek, this was the Lingua Franca of the Eastern Roman Empire.

this is a book that should be on everyone's nightstand. it offers clear perspectives on how to live. by releasing yourself of what you cannot control; by controlling that which is in your power, you will lead a happy live. this book is so simple in scope and so powerful in nature you will wonder why you didn't think of it yourself and thank epictetus.

I am so glad that this work has survived for 2,000 years. read it and you will understand it also.

this book is a must have. read it and live it.

For a small book, "Enchiridion" packs a huge punch.

The trappings of life may have changed immensely since Epictetus's time, but human nature remains essentialy the same. We still all too frequently get worked up over things we cannot control, or throw our hands in the air and refuse to make changes which are plainly within our ability. This book, then, reminds us of the futility of those behaviors and the necessity, instead, for some clear-eyed realizations.

Its lessons are simple but effective: some things are within our control, and some things aren't. It is foolish to get worked up over things which aren't in our control. Usually we aren't disturbed by events, but by our opinion of those events.

Taken together, these and other simple lessons offer a path to serenity and peace of mind at odds with, but far more pleasant than, the myriad anxieties of modern life. As a Christian, I found it perfectly complemented Jesus' Sermon on the Mount teachings about avoiding worry and retaliation. (I happened to read it while going through a career transition, and what could have been a turbulent and traumatic experience instead went rather smoothly, without the bitterness and hard feelings one might have expected.) Still, I think people from all belief systems will find themselves richly rewarded by its teachings.

This particular translation has its merits and quirks. Personally, I liked the rather brief introduction and the relative paucity of supplementary materials. Great books should stand or fall on their own merits, rather than on the blovating opinions of modern-day commentators. On the other hand, I didn't enjoy the translator's parenthetical explanations of words and phrases peppered throughout the text. They disrupted the flow of the reading and weren't always terribly necessary.

Still, I can't complain, for this book appeared at exactly the right time in my life, and it came with the exact advice I needed. If, like me, you frequently think you know everything, pick it up, and learn something.

Epictetus' "Enchiridion" is a short book that is long on timeless, practical lessons for living a life of contentment and productivity. This "manual" was not the easiest book to read, but once I got comfortable with the dated and sometimes awkward language, I found the book tough to put down. I believe the lessons contained in this book take moments to learn and understand, but require a lifetime to master. I highly recommend this powerful book to anyone interested in seeing how the thoughts of one of mankind's greatest philosophers apply to life today.

"Enchiridion" is organized into 52 descriptive paragraphs (chapters) that are considered the highlights of Epictetus' documented philosophical teachings. Each paragraph presented common life situations and describes how one should think and act about them.

The opening lesson introduced the practice of recognizing those things in life that are and are not in our power. Those things in our power, described as, "such great things... through which alone happiness and freedom are secured,..." are our own acts, like opinion, desire, moving towards and turning from a thing. Those things not in our power, described as being slavish, subject to restraint, and in the power of others, are our bodies, property, reputation, and jobs or careers. This lesson concluded with focusing on those things within our power, and not being concerned about what is not in our power.

The other great comforting lesson for me was, "Remember that thou art an actor in a play of such a kind as the teacher (author) may choose; if short, of a short one; if long, of a long one: if he wishes you to act the part of a poor man, see that you act the part naturally; if the part of a lame man, of a magistrate, of a private person, (do the same). For this is your duty, to act well the part that is given to you; but to select the part, belongs to another."

The pages of this thin book are pregnant with meaning, insights, and wisdom, and I believe it is a very positive influence in my life.

In this brief work of Stoic philosphy, Epictetus offers up good advice that's as relevant for the contemporary reader as it was for the ancient Roman.
A lot of what is covered here may strike one as obvious: Don't dwell on what isn't in your power to change, and don't neglect what is; Consider the consequences of potential actions; Don't let verbal abuse get you down; Speak only when you have something to say, and when you are fairly certain that you know what you are talking about.
On the other hand, some of the wise opinions expressed are either rarely a part of contemporary discourse, or are unfashionable and contradict today's commonly held beliefs. For example, Epictetus stresses taking responsibility for one's own actions and refraining from blaming one's problems on external causes. While I agree to a certain extant that many personal problems are exacerbated by societal pressures, straight-talking wisdom such as that in this book (along with the fact that an ability to apprehend non-physical social control mechanisms implies at least some independence from them) reminds us that, ultimately, we are masters of our own destinies in more ways than we often realize. This assertion is reinforced by urging the reader to accept those things which are inevitable without pointlessly judging whether they are good or bad. This may strike some readers as fatalistic acceptance of the status quo, but I think Epictetus makes it abundantly clear that we should carefully consider whether or not something is within our power and vigorously seize upon it if it is.
Moderation and a measure of detachment where it is advantageous are other themes. Epictetus advises simplicity in living and avoidance of ambition to the superficial, especially at the expense of what truly makes life worthwhile: Timely advice for our greedy, plastic, pre-fab culture.
While there are culturally specific curiosities here and there, this book is surprisingly relevant throughout. The fact that this volume is short and to the point should make it easy to fit into any busy schedule. In today's climate of whiny victimhood and a herd mentality across the political spectrum, it's more important than ever to cultivate an independent mind that can cut through the mind-numbing Spectacle and "lay hold of the thing by that handle by which it can be borne."

It is amazing how much more one gets from the Enchiridion when it is reread in later life. In youth, it is too easy to rush through without digesting the deeper meaning (and thereby escaping much pain and wasted effort.) Here, in this slim volume is the core of Epictetus' immortal teachings, his Discourses may expand upon them, but all the essentials are outlined here.

Some people dismiss these teachings as pessimistic. After all, the central message here is to learn to differentiate between what you can change and what you cannot. Most modernists will instead tell you to dream big and never say die. Then again, such critics existed in Epictetus' own day, for we are told that you can either be a philosopher or a procurator, but you cannot truly be both.

Personally, I see nothing defeatist in the philosophy expressed here. At its deepest level we are being told that the ultimate goal is to make our will and God's will as one. You see, in spite of the admonition in the publisher's note that the God of the Philosopher's and the God of Judeo-Christian theology are two unrelated things, the truth is that they both touch upon the pre-existing ultimate realty of the Divine One in their own ways. The Stoic desire to conform to Nature is the perennial spiritual ideal to unite with the One and the Good. Far from being a defeat, this is the highest possible victory in life for Christian and/or Philosopher.

This excellent, unabridged little Dover volume is probably the one that Epictetus would recommend. In fact, you might also want to purchase the Dover edition of MEDITATIONS by Marcus Aurelius for they are in the same spirit and make a natural set. There could be no more thoughtful a gift to send to an introspective friend.