Customer Reviews

Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life

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There are three types of books : the Great Books, those that distract us from them and those that lead us to them. A. A. Long's *Epictetus* belongs to the latter category : it is the perfect introduction to the thought of Roman Stoic philosopher Epictetus (c.50- c.130) and what little has survived of it (I was particularly distressed to learn that what I knew as his Discourses are only about half of the original text, as only four of the original eight books have survived.)

A leading proponent of Late Stoicism («the phase of Stoics during the Roman Empire» (19)), converted by his teacher Musonius Rufus, Epictetus may well be the most attractive figure of the movement. Unlike Seneca, he was a «practicing teacher» (11) and had no «fascination with suicide» (204.) And unlike Marcus Aurelius, he was not involved in the persecution of Christians (In his brilliant *The Founding of Christendom*, historian Warren Carroll writes that «Marcus Aurelius would never have approved the hellish tortures inflicted on the martyrs of Lyons in 177, yet they were inflicted on his authority» (p488.))

Moreover, contrary to the pantheism of most members of the school, he had a personalist conception of God (21) which makes his thought much more germane to the worldview of modern Christians, as this tends to replace the «point of view of the [impersonal] universe» cherished by Aurelius with a much more benevolent and purposive divine point of view as a frame of reference (205.) Epictetus's understanding of Providence and of the Natural Law should also appeal to modern conservative Catholics. As for his saying that «No one is free who is in error» (108), it finds a clear echo in its more famous converse : « the Truth shall make you free.»

Long shows how central Epictetus's concept of God was to his whole philosophy. «The structuring principle of the entire universe,» God was the ultimate role model for the Stoic sage, «the paradigm of the virtues human beings are equipped to achieve» (145.) He is «rational perfection» itself, and understanding Him and His plan is a prerequisite for understanding our duties : «our reasoning powers and moral sense are an `offshoot' of the world's divine governor, whose cosmic order is a pattern for the harmony we should try to replicate in our thoughts and actions» (26.) Even to grasp the Stoic ideal of the life according to nature requires that we focus our lives on God : «the nature that interests [Epictetus] is exclusively animate, under which he includes not only human beings and other animals but first and foremost God» (143.) «To live `in accordance with nature' is to play one's specific part within the structure of the divine plan» (174.)

As the subtitle of the book indicates, Epictetus was not only a Stoic, but a disciple of Socrates. Long even goes so far as to say that «he appropriates Socrates more deeply than any other philosopher after Plato» (8), making him «more prominent than any other predecessor, including the Stoic Zeno and the Cynic Diogenes» (57.) Devoting a whole chapter to this influence, Long counts no less than 100 references to Socrates in the extant corpus, and claim that Epictetus knew Plato's «*Gorgias* more or less by heart» (70.)

In a fascinating glimpse of student life under the Stoic master, Long tries to reconstruct the kinds of readings that would have supplemented the lectures, which would have been addressed to students 18 to 25. He helps the reader understand Epictetus's teaching methods by identifying three distinct styles : protreptic (or exhortative, admonitory, giving «advice and displine on making progress» as a Stoic (61)) ; elenctic (or Socratic, challenging and correcting «beliefs and emotional attitudes» (id.)) ; and didactic (or doctrinal.) And he fleshes out the three successive fields of study in the Stoic curriculum : the regulation of desires and aversions, ethics and, last but not least, logic. The ideal sage was not only to have reached apatheia, but also to possess «a skill in logic so powerful that he would be immune from the slightest risk of error» (117.)

Epictetus's ambition as a teacher was to provide his students with «a systematic plan of life that would, ideally, assure purposefulness, serenity, dignity and social utility at every waking moment, irrespective of external circumstance» (20.) He did so by stressing the need to care for nothing but what is up to us, i.e. our rationality and our moral character. By his careful and sympathetic treatment of this powerful ideal, A. A. Long's book provides a golden opportunity for modern readers to make their first steps on this path.

Another reference on the same subject is A. F. Bonhöffer's *The Ethics of the Stoic Epictetus*, but it is a much less accessible work than Long's, containing as it does much untranslated Latin and Greek. Also highly recommended is Richard Sorabji's *Emotions and Peace of Mind* (2000.)

[Note added later: I had originally given this book a 4 star review. Almost two years later I came back and bumped it up to 5. This is a book to cherish and to come back to over and over again. Stoicism is a way of life, and it requires a lifetime to study it. Long's book is an invaluable companion on the journey. The rest of this review is the same as originally written.]

The great strength of A. A. Long's book on Epictetus is that Long views Epictetus, and Stoicism in general, as being firmly rooted in the broader tradition of ancient philosophy. This is reflected in his reference to Socrates in the book's title.

Throughout the book Long engagingly draws the reader into the world of philosophy as it was lived. Especially in the first half of the book Long emphasizes Epictetus' humanity - as well as that of his students. The result is that anyone who reads this book will, if they haven't already, be compelled to read Epictetus.

The two things that I wasn't crazy about are (1) Long's dismissal of the Epictetus' "Handbook" as unimportant (Long prefers to only look at the "Discourses"), and (2) the second half of the book is more technical and less fun to read than the first half. Long is, after all, a contemporary philsopher, and the second half of the book seems to be more aimed at his colleagues and students of academic philosophy rather than the general public.

This is a fine introduction to the thought of the ex-slave Epictetus. A.A. Long is a well-established specialist in the philosophical schools of the Hellenistic period. While professional philosophers have paid attention to the technical and "academic" side of this period, it is finally refreshing to see serious, thoughtful engagement with the practical and humanistic thinkers. Philosophy used to be a guide for living and perhaps it can be again some day. The work of Pierre Hadot, especially his studies on Marcus Aurelius or Plotinus, is also be recommended.

Professor Long is an outstanding scholar, but as important, he is an excellent writer and a genuine pedagogue. Not content with a vehicle for academic display, he manages to produce an extremely readable book. I am most impressed with his obvious devotion to teaching, as his careful presentation makes evident. After reading this book, I am very impressed with Epictetus, but even more impressed with Professor Long. Thank you Sir.

The book reads well and is full of information. It's like taking an entire course about Epictetus at a major university--becuase it is. I am a student at Tulane University and I just used this book for an Independent Study course on Epictetus. I designed the course myself. This book was the only one I needed to buy in order to get an A from my advisor whose discipline is in Ancient Philosophy. This is worth every penny if you are interesting in rediscovering the powerful message of the Stoic approach to life and happiness.

I don't have much to add to the glowing reviews of this book. It's gracefully written, philosophically sensitive, and of manageable length. If I had any complaint, it's that the author, Berkeley prof A.A. Long, doesn't devote enough attention to the Stoic thinkers who preceded Epictetus. Instead, he explores Epictetus's affinities to Socrates. This makes his book less-than-ideal as an introduction to Stoicism -- but anyone who already has that background and wants to deepen his understanding of Epictetus's Discourses should start here. Highly recommended.

This comprehensive look at Epictetus, the man and his thought, provides a wealth of valuable information for anyone hoping to read and understand the Stoic philosopher's Discourses. The subtitle "A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life" is accurate only in reference to Epictetus himself as a guide; this book is not a practical "guide to life" per se, and might have been more aptly called "A Companion to the Discourses." This book will not change your life, but it will help you understand the writings of Epictetus, which will change your life. The strength of this book is that it concentrates on Epictetus as an individual and not just as a member of the Stoic school. It emphasizes the ways in which his teachings differ from those of the earlier Stoics, and the strong influence that Socrates had on his philosophy and methodology.

Reading this book was frustrating at first because it felt like a lot of set-up with little payoff. The first five chapters provide a mother lode of background material on the life of Epictetus, his place in history, the record of philosophy up to that time, other schools of thought that were prevalent in his time, who Arrian was and how he transcribed Epictetus's words, who Epictetus's students were, plus an excessively detailed discussion of Epictetus's rhetorical style and the methods he used to construct his arguments. It isn't until chapter 6 that Long really starts analyzing the actual message of the Discourses, which is what I, and probably most readers, really want to get at. In the latter half of the book, Long's insightful commentary on the Discourses is accompanied by a generous helping of judiciously selected excerpts, and Long's translations of these are a pleasure to read. I would have preferred more of this concentration on Epictetus's words themselves and less of the contextual foundation that preceded it. On the other hand, I thought the epilogue about the effect of Epictetus's thought over the last 2,000 years was one of the more interesting parts of the book.

In his introduction Long states he has "tried to make this book as accessible as possible," but to that end he only achieves mixed results. At times the intended audience seems unclear. There is a lot of introductory material that would seem elementary to a philosophical scholar, yet there are more complex passages that seem directed towards Long's peers and would probably be over the head of a novice. The result is a book that philosophy professors would probably love to assign to their students, but not one the average student himself would necessarily enjoy nor perhaps even understand. Those serious about the subject, however, will find it a rewarding read and well worth the effort.

In the introduction, A.A. Long wrote,

"...Epictetus often uses the vocative 'anthrope', literally '(O) human being' or (O) man'; but neither of these translations works in modern English. So I have preferred to write 'friend' or 'my friend'..."

This told me what I needed to know about A.A. Long's translation: it is not what I am looking for. Here, Long actually confesses to changing the substantive meaning of a phrase for the purpose of making it "work in modern English." It certainly is a substantive change, since one may logically conclude that all people who are "friend"/"my friend" are "human being/man", but not all who are "human being"/"man" are necessarily "friend"/"my friend". It is painfully obvious that "human being"/"man" is not a synonym for "friend"/my friend". When Epictetus chose to use the vocative "anthrope", he was purposefully addressing a broader group than "friend"/"my friend": he was addressing both "friend AND "non-friend". There is a profound, substantive difference between addressing an audience as "(O) man!/(O) human being" and addressing an audience as "Friend"/"My friend" That difference gives insight to the ideas of the speaker.

If A.A. Long has changed this, then what else has he changed? Maybe a lot, maybe nothing. But, I don't want to risk wasting my time -- there's too much to read without having to worry about whether a modern translator has been unfaithful to the substantive meaning.

These days, Epictetus barely survives as a footnote in discussions of Stoicism, yet there are signs that he may be due for a comeback. Oddly enough, I found my way to this book via Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full and Roy Abraham Varghese's The Wonder of the World: A Journey from Modern Science to the Mind of God.

Although my path to finding this book may have been odd, I am very happy with the result. One could hardly hope for a clearer exposition of Epictetus. And the book becomes more interesting when read with Varghese's, because Varghese offers a pretty convincing demonstration that there is a God who created and sustains the universe. Epictetus is of the same opinion.

Now, Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher who lived around 100-200 AD. He had apparently heard almost nothing of Christianity, but he was quite sure about the nature of God (or Zeus, or The Force, or The Great Spirit). This is something I had missed about Stoicism (or Late Stoicism), and Dr. Long does a great job of demonstrating and explicating it. I suppose you could call it another instance of Deism, which is apparently a firm belief in (God, Zeus, The Force, etc.) which exists apart from any religion based on divine revelation (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism come to mind).

However this all works out, I suspect that the "Gang of Four" --- the militant atheists who have all published extremely militant books in the past year or two --- may have made a truly glorious error in their timing, because it seems to be getting harder and harder to be an atheist.

Two other books to consult are The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions and The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth.

But the book to consult about Epictetus is this one!