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Enchiridion (Dover Thrift Editions) |
Author: Epictetus
Published: 2004-01-15 |
List price: $2.00
Our price: $2.00
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As of: November 20th, 2008 06:17:11 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Wisdom for two Bucks
This edition costs only two dollars but contains wisdon that is priceless. If you are at all interested in the Stoics or in gaining insights into how to deal with adversity this is a great book to start with.
I do not read Greek so I can not comment upon the translation. It reads well and does not seem cluttered by an attempt to update book into some type of twelve step program.
I would not have gotten this book without a suggestion from Amazon when I was looking for another book. Thank you Amazon.
 Short and excellent intro to Stoic Philosophy
This book is a short, very short, introduction to stoic philosophy as Echiridion knew it. This isn't really a book that reads like a philosophy book, it is a series of thoughts about life and how to live it as set down by the ancient thinker Enchiridion.
Enchiridion was an obvious genious and some of his thoughts may be a bit hard to follow, but his insights are timeless and the presentation of the stoic way of thinking is well done. Of course, Enchiridion does not say "Here is stoic philosophy in a nutshell..." but by carefully following his thought processes through the clips of thought presented in this short work one can grasp how a stoic must approach life.
A good read.
AD2
Interesting
It is amazing how a slave had become so powerful in the Roman empire and the influence he had on the soldiers and leaders.
 enchiridion
I Didn't know what to expect with this volume, but this edition was a little too bare bones. A little more back ground and insight would have been better.
I realize this was a least expensive book and I probably got what I paid
for Thrift Edition more or less says it all.
Learn to trim your sail- not curse the Wind
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.
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