Discourses by Epictetus

Maximilian Kallas

Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus

Genre: Philosophy

276 pages

Discourses is collection of lectures by the Stoic philosopher, Epictetus. However, Epictetus did not write these down himself; his pupil, Arrian is responsible for transcribing his lectures and conversations around 108 A.D., which describe the tenets of the Stoic philosophy. Discourses emphasizes the importance of the right use of impressions, or events, so that one may live in accordance with nature. While living in “accordance with nature” is a vague term, Epictetus defines this as utilizing one’s capacity for reason to make correct judgments about the events that occur in life and responding appropriately.

The main point that Epictetus frequently stresses is the fact that the only thing that you have some degree of control over is your own mind; everything else is external and out of your control. Thus, you should not worry about externals and what may come of them, but because your thoughts and feelings are within your power, you should train yourself to exercise control over them in order to live in accordance with nature as a rational animal.

Epictetus also groups actions and events as either good, bad, or indifferent. Things that are good are virtues and using reason. Things that are bad are vices, or a corruption of reason. In the last category, all externals are labeled as indifferent, or neither good nor bad. Epictetus often addresses death in his lectures to remind his students that death is indifferent and should not be feared because it is not within one’s power.

Overall, I thought this was a great book and I agreed with most of the principles that Epictetus discusses. However, in some areas, he does lean to an extreme. For example, in one of the books of Discourses, he says that one should try not to be funny, which does not sound like fun. I think the best part of the book is the fact that Epictetus constantly reminds his students that his lectures are of no use if they do not put them in practice by living according to the Stoic principles in every moment of their lives.