THE PHILOSOPHY OF EPICTETUS THE PHILOSOPHY OF EPICTETUS by John Bonforte n PHILOSOPHICAL LIBRARY NEW YORK Copyright 1955 by PHILOSOPHICAL LIBRARY, INC. 15 East 40th Street, New York, N. Y. Printed in the United States of America A ship ought not to be held by a single anchor, nor life by a single hope.—e p i c t e t u s r:-~447 Preface H ist o r y T h e r e a r e few known facts about Epictetus. Even his real name is unknown. The name, Epictetus, means “Ac­ quired” in Greek. It is believed that he was bom at Hier- apolis in Phrygia (about 75 miles west of Angora, Turkey) between 50 and 60, a .d . As a boy, he was a slave; but he managed to attend the lectures of the Stoic philosopher, Rufus. He was probably taken to Rome when he was a young man, where he was the slave of Epaphroditus. It is told that when his master once put his leg in a torture, his philosophic slave quietly remarked,—“You will break my leg.”—When this happened, he added in the same tone,—“Did I not tell you so?” Whether this story is true or not, certain it is, that in later life, Epictetus suffered from extreme lameness. Eventually, he became free, and lived very frugally in Rome, teaching philosophy. When Emperor Domitian banished the philosophers from Rome in 90 a .d ., Epic­ tetus retired to Nicopolis in Epirus (in the northwestern part of modem Greece on the shore of the Ionian Sea), where he taught philosophy as before. After Hadrian became emperor (117, a .d .) , Epictetus vii viii Preface was treated with favor, but he probably did not return to Rome. The exact date of his death is not known. Epictetus actually wrote none of his own philosophy. The entire record that we have of his thoughts are from the notes taken by one of his pupils, named Arrian. Arrian divided the Discourses of Epictetus into eight books. In addition, he wrote an Encheiridion, or manual, containing many of the maxims of Epictetus. To these are usually added a number of sayings, which are usually ascribed to Epictetus. A letter that Arrian wrote to Lucius Gellius, briefly describing the Discourses of Epictetus is appended at the end of this preface. T r a n s l a t io n The last four books of the Discourses have been lost and have never been found. The four remaining books and the Encheiridion were translated from Greek into English in 1758 by Elizabeth Carter (bom in 1717; died 1806). Mrs. Carters translation was rewritten in 1865 by Thomas Wentworth Higginson. It is Mr. Higginsons translation which I have used in writing this book. The following is a quotation from the preface of Mr. Higginson’s book:— “I hesitated for some time whether to call this book simply a revision of Elizabeth Carter's translation, or a new one based on hers. The latter alternative was finally chosen, less in order to claim for myself any credit of hers, than to save her from sharing any discredit of mine. The enterprise was begun simply as a revision. But to revise any translation made a century ago is like underrunning a telegraphic cable: one may inspect a good deal of it, and find but trifling repairs needful; and then one may come to a point where a wholly new piece must go in. These substitutions multiplied so rapidly,—and even where the changes were slight, they Preface ix touched words and phrases so vital,—that the name I have chosen is really the least dishonest that could be given. Newport, R.I., 1865 Thomas Wentworth Higginson ” P r e s e n t V e r s io n I quote this preface of Mr. Higginson, because it ex­ presses some of my own thoughts in presenting this book to the reader. However, I can make no claim of present­ ing a better translation of the Discourses of Epictetus, because I am no Greek scholar,—in fact, I know not a single word of Greek. My only excuse for offering this version of the Dis­ courses, is to give the present-day, hurried reader an opportunity of reading the philosophy of Epictetus with a minimum of effort. I started out with the intention of simply grouping the thoughts contained in the Discourses into chapters under suitable headings, eliminating duplications, and other subject matter not related to the chapter heading, but without changing a single word of die Discourses, as translated by Mr. Higginson. After the Discourses had been divided up into chapters according to the respective subject matter of each, it appeared to me that the meaning of certain passages could be brought out better by substituting a word here and another word there. In addition, when the material for each chapter was all gathered together, it became necessary to introduce a few words, or a sentence to bind the various parts into a single unit. The taking of one liberty led to another, until like Mr. Higginson before me, I found that I had something very different than my predecessor. Therefore, while I ac­ X Preface knowledge using Mr. Higginson s translation, I accept the responsibility for presenting this book, as it is. To those Greek Scholars and admirers of Epictetus, who may read this book, I ask their tolerance. This book is not concerned with words, literally translated; but with thoughts. My aim has been to reproduce the thoughts of Epictetus, as I understand them, in plain, simple English, and in systematic order. P h il o s o p h y There is an apparent similarity between the philosophy of Epictetus and that of Jesus Christ. While Epictetus lived at a slightly later period than Jesus, it appears fairly certain that Epictetus never came into contact with any of the Christian teachers or with the philosophy that they taught. From Epictetus’s own words, we know that his great heroes were Socrates and Diogenes, especially the for­ mer. The outstanding qualities of Epictetus's philosophy are:— 1. The home-spun quality of its thought. 2. The avoidance of abstract, metaphysical generalities. 3. Its high ethical character. 4. The single-mindedness of its Stoic thought. A r r ia n As there would be no Discourses of Epictetus without Arrian, a brief biographical sketch of this student of Epic­ tetus seems necessary. Arrians full name was Flavius Arrianus. He was bom of Greek parents in Nicomedia (about 50 miles east of Istanbul on the shore of the Sea of Marmara) about 96, a .d . The Romans appointed him Governor of Cappadocia (a district in eastern Turkey, Asia Minor, bordering on the Black Sea, and about the size of modem Portugal). This appointment was the first Preface xi important military command given to a Greek by the Romans. Arrian was also an historian and a philosopher. He died about 180. To the reader, I suggest that this book be read slowly, preferably one chapter at a time. Like fine, old mellowed wine, it should be imbibed slowly, in order to derive the most benefit from it. J o h n B o n f o r t e Pueblo, Colorado August 28,1954 Letter of Arrian Arrian To Lucius Gellius Wisheth All Happiness I n e i t h e r composed the Discourses of Epictetus in the sense in which things of this nature can properly be said to have been composed, nor did I myself produce them to public view, any more than I composed them. But what­ ever I heard from his own mouth, that I tried to set down in the very same words, so far as possible, and to preserve as memorials for my own use, of his manner of thinking, and his frank utterance. These Discourses are such as one person would nat­ urally deliver from his own thoughts, extempore, to an­ other; not such as he would prepare to be read by others afterwards. Such as they are, I cannot tell how, without either my consent or knowledge, they have fallen into the hands of the public. But it is of little consequence to me if I do not appear an able writer, and of none to Epictetus if any one treats his Discourses with contempt, since it was very evident, even when he uttered them, that he aimed at nothing more than to move the minds of his hearers toward virtue. If they produce that one effect, they have in them what, I think, philosophical discourses ought to have. And should they fail of it, let the readers however be assured, that when Epictetus himself pro- xiii xiv Letter of Arrian nounced them, his audience could not help being affected in the very manner he intended they should. If by them­ selves his Discourses have less efficacy, perhaps it is my fault, or perhaps it is unavoidable. Farewell. The Philosophy of Epictetus I G o d s a y s to me,—“Epictetus, if it had been possible, I would have made this little body and property of thine, free, and not liable to hindrance. And now, make no mis­ take:—it is not thy own, but only a finer mixture of clay. “Since then, I could not give thee this, I have given thee a certain portion of Myself:—the faculty of exerting the powers of pursuits and avoidances, of desires and aver­ sions,—in a word, the use of your Will.