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Contents

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Cleanse your own heart, cast out from your mind,... pain, fear, desire, envy, ill will, avarice, cowardice, passion uncontrolled.
These things you cannot cast out, unless you look to God alone, on Him alone set your thoughts, and consecrate yourself to His commands.
--(bk. II, ch. xvii, p. 316)

Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher (b. 55-d. 135 Ce).

Born a slave in Hierapolis, Phyrgia, in what is today Turkey, Epictetus lived in Rome until exiled to Nicopolis in Northern Greece.
It was in exile that Epictetus' disciple Arrian took down his Discourses.
As we have no actual writings of Epictetus, Arrian's notes are the only remnants of his philosophy.

This edition includes the Discourses, and two minor works, the Fragments, and the Manual, also known as the Enchiridion.--J.B. Hare, June 13th, 2009.


Title Page

Preface

The Discourses

Book I


Chapter I. On Things in Our Power and Things Not in Our Power

Chapter II. How One May Be True to One's Character in Everything

Chapter III. What Conclusions May be Drawn From the Fact That God is Father of Men

Chapter IV. On Progress, or Moral Advance

Chapter V. Against Followers of the Academy

Chapter VI. On Providence

Chapter VII. On the Use of Variable Premisses and Hypothetical Arguments and the Like

Chapter VIII. That Faculties are Fraught With Danger for the Uneducated

Chapter IX. How One May Draw Conclusions From the Fact That We are God's Kinsmen

Chapter X. To Those Who Have Spent Their Energies on Advancement in Rome

Chapter XI. On Family Affection

Chapter XII. On Contentment

Chapter XIII. How One May Act in All Things so as to Please the Gods

Chapter XIV. That God Beholds All Men

Chapter XV. What Philosophy Professes

Chapter XVI. On Providence

Chapter XVII. That the Processes of Logic are Necessary

Chapter XVIII. That We Should not be Angry at Men's Errors

Chapter XIX. How One Should Behave Towards Tyrants

Chapter XX. How Reason has the Faculty of Taking Cognizance of Itself

Chapter XXI. To Those Who Wish to be Admired

Chapter XXII. On Primary Conceptions

Chapter XXIII. Against Epicurus

Chapter XXIV. How One Should Contend Against Difficulties

Chapter XXV. On the Same Theme

Chapter XXVI. What is the Law of Life

Chapter XXVII. On The Ways in Which Impressions Come to Us: and the Aids We Must Provide for Ourselves to Deal With Them

Chapter XXVIII. That We Must not be Angry with Men: and Concerning what Things are Small and what are Great Among Men

Chapter XXIX. On Constancy

Chapter XXX. What A Man Should Have Ready to Hand in the Crises of Life

Notes

Book Ii


Chapter I. That There is no Conflict Between Confidence and Caution

Chapter II. On Peace of Mind

Chapter III. To Those who Commend Persons to Philosophers

Chapter IV. To the Man Caught in Adultery

Chapter V. How A Careful Life is Compatible with a Noble Spirit

Chapter VI. On What is Meant by 'Indifferent' Things

Chapter VII. How to Consult Diviners

Chapter VIII. What is the True Nature of the Good

Chapter IX. That We Adopt the Profession of the Philosopher When We Cannot Fulfil That of a Man

Chapter X. How the Acts Appropriate to Man Are to be Discovered From the Names He Bears

Chapter XI. What is the Beginning of Philosophy

Chapter XII. On the Art of Discussion

Chapter XIII. Concerning Anxiety

Chapter XIV. On Naso

Chapter XV. On Those Who Cling Stubbornly to Their Judgements

Chapter XVI. That We do not Practise Applying our Judgements About Things Good and Evil

Chapter XVII. How We Must Adjust Our Primary Conceptions to Particular Things

Chapter XVIII. How We Must Struggle Against Impressions

Chapter XIX. To Those Who Take Up the Principles of the Philosophers Only to Discuss Them

Chapter XX. Against Followers of Epicurus and of the Academy

Chapter XXI. Concerning Inconsistency of Mind

Chapter XXII. On Friendship

Chapter XXIII. On the Faculty of Expression

Chapter XXIV. To One Whom He Did Not Think Worthy

Chapter XXV. How The Art of Reasoning is Necessary

Chapter XXVI. What is the Distinctive Character of Error

Notes

Book Iii


Chapter I. On Adornment

Chapter II. 1) In What Matters Should the Man Who is to Make Progress Train Himself: And (2) That We Neglect What is Most Vital

Chapter III. What is the Material with Which the Good Man Deals: and What Should be the Object of Our Training

Chapter IV. Against One Who was Indecorously Excited in the Theatre

Chapter V. Against Those Who Make Illness an Excuse For Leaving the Lecture-Room

Chapter VI. Scattered Sayings

Chapter XII. Dialogue with the Commissioner of the Free Cities, Who was an Epicurean

Chapter VIII. How We Should Train Ourselves to Deal With Impressions

Chapter IX. To a Rhetor Going up to Rome for a Trial

Chapter X. How One Should Bear Illnesses

Chapter XI. Scattered Sayings

Chapter XII. On Training

Chapter XIII. What a 'Forlorn' Condition Means, and a 'Forlorn' Man

Chapter XIV. Scattered Sayings

Chapter XV. That We Should Approach Everything with Consideration

Chapter XVI. That We Must Be Cautious In Our Social Relations

Chapter XVII. Concerning Providence

Chapter XVIII. That We Must Not Allow News to Disturb Us

Chapter XIX. What is the Difference Between the Philosopher and the Uneducated Man

Chapter XX. That Benefit May be Derived From All Outward Things

Chapter XXI. To Those Who Undertake the Profession of Teacher With A Light Heart

Chapter XXII. On the Calling of the Cynic

Chapter XXIII. To Those Who Read and Discourse For Display

Chapter XXIV. That We Ought not to Spend Our Feelings on Things Beyond Our Power

Chapter XXV. To Those Who Fail to Achieve What They Set Before Them

Chapter XXVI. To Those Who Fear Want

Notes

Book Iv


Chapter I. On Freedom

Chapter II. On Intercourse With Men

Chapter III. What To Aim at in Exchange

Chapter IV. To Those Whose Heart is Set On a Quiet Life

Chapter V. To Those That are Contentious and Brutal

Chapter VI. To Those Who are Distressed at Being Pitied

Chapter VII. On Freedom From Fear

Chapter VIII. To Those Who Hastily Assume the Character of Philosophers

Chapter IX. To One Who Was Modest and Has Become Shameless

Chapter X. What Things We Should Despise, and What We Should Deem Important

Chapter XI. On Cleanliness

Chapter XII. On Attention

Chapter XIII. To Those Who Lightly Communicate Their Secrets

Notes

Fragments

The Enchiridion


The Manual [Enchiridion] of Epictetus

Subject Index to the Discourses of Epictetus
how oracle| how oracle
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