Discourses of Epictetus
Encyclopedia
The Discourses of Epictetus are a series of extracts of the teachings of the Stoic
philosopher Epictetus
written down by Arrian
c. 108 AD. There were originally eight books, but only four now remain in their entirety, along with a few fragments of the others. In a preface attached to the Discourses, Arrian explains how he came to write them:
The Discourses are unlikely to be word-for-word transcriptions and are probably written-up versions of Arrian's lecture notes. The books did not have a formal title in ancient times. Although Simplicius
called them Diatribai (Discourses), other writers gave them titles such as Dialexis (Talks), Apomnêmoneumata (Records), and Homiliai (Conversations). The modern name comes from the titles given in the earliest medieval manuscript: "Arrian's Diatribai of Epictetus" .
of the Discourses is a twelfth-century manuscript kept at the Bodleian Library
, Oxford. In the Bodleian manuscript, a blot or stain has fallen onto one of the pages, and has made a series of words illegible; in all the other known manuscripts these words (or sometimes the entire passage) are omitted, thus all the other manuscripts are derived from this one archetype.
The Discourses were first printed (in Greek) by Vettore Trincavelli
, at Venice
in 1535.
translation did not appear until 1758 with the appearance of Elizabeth Carter
's translation. This proved to be very successful, with a second edition appearing a year later (1759), a third edition in 1768, and a fourth edition published posthumously in 1807. It influenced later translations: e.g. those of Higginson and George Long (see his Introduction for comments, some critical of Carter).
A complete list of English translations is as follows:
All of these are complete translations with the exception of Robert Dobbin's book which only contains 64 out of the 95 Discourses.
STOIC
STOIC was a variant of Forth.It started out at the MIT and Harvard Biomedical Engineering Centre in Boston, and was written in the mid 1970s by Jonathan Sachs...
philosopher Epictetus
Epictetus
Epictetus was a Greek sage and Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia , and lived in Rome until banishment when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece where he lived the rest of his life. His teachings were noted down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses...
written down by Arrian
Arrian
Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
c. 108 AD. There were originally eight books, but only four now remain in their entirety, along with a few fragments of the others. In a preface attached to the Discourses, Arrian explains how he came to write them:
I neither wrote these Discourses of Epictetus in the way in which a man might write such things; nor did I make them public myself, inasmuch as I declare that I did not even write them. But whatever I heard him say, the same I attempted to write down in his own words as nearly as possible, for the purpose of preserving them as memorials to myself afterwards of the thoughts and the freedom of speech of Epictetus.
The Discourses are unlikely to be word-for-word transcriptions and are probably written-up versions of Arrian's lecture notes. The books did not have a formal title in ancient times. Although Simplicius
Simplicius of Cilicia
Simplicius of Cilicia, was a disciple of Ammonius Hermiae and Damascius, and was one of the last of the Neoplatonists. He was among the pagan philosophers persecuted by Justinian in the early 6th century, and was forced for a time to seek refuge in the Persian court, before being allowed back into...
called them Diatribai (Discourses), other writers gave them titles such as Dialexis (Talks), Apomnêmoneumata (Records), and Homiliai (Conversations). The modern name comes from the titles given in the earliest medieval manuscript: "Arrian's Diatribai of Epictetus" .
Manuscript editions
The earliest manuscriptManuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
of the Discourses is a twelfth-century manuscript kept at the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, Oxford. In the Bodleian manuscript, a blot or stain has fallen onto one of the pages, and has made a series of words illegible; in all the other known manuscripts these words (or sometimes the entire passage) are omitted, thus all the other manuscripts are derived from this one archetype.
The Discourses were first printed (in Greek) by Vettore Trincavelli
Vettore Trincavelli
Vettore Trincavelli , was an eminent physician, but is most famous as the editor of some of the first editions of the Greek classics.-Life:He was born at Venice in 1496...
, at Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1535.
English translations
The first EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation did not appear until 1758 with the appearance of Elizabeth Carter
Elizabeth Carter
Elizabeth Carter was an English poet, classicist, writer and translator, and a member of the Bluestocking Circle.-Biography:...
's translation. This proved to be very successful, with a second edition appearing a year later (1759), a third edition in 1768, and a fourth edition published posthumously in 1807. It influenced later translations: e.g. those of Higginson and George Long (see his Introduction for comments, some critical of Carter).
A complete list of English translations is as follows:
- Elizabeth CarterElizabeth CarterElizabeth Carter was an English poet, classicist, writer and translator, and a member of the Bluestocking Circle.-Biography:...
, (1758), All the works of Epictetus, which are now extant; consisting of his Discourses, preserved by Arrian, in four books, the Enchiridion, and fragments. (Richardson) - Thomas Wentworth HigginsonThomas Wentworth HigginsonThomas Wentworth Higginson was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with disunion and militant abolitionism...
, (1865), The Works of Epictetus. Consisting of His Discourses, in Four Books, The Enchiridion, and Fragments. (Little, Brown, and Co.) - George Long, (1877), The Discourses of Epictetus, with the Encheridion and Fragments. (George Bell)
- Percy Ewing MathesonPercy Ewing Matheson-Selected works:* A skeleton outline of Roman history * The Theory of the State by Johann Caspar Bluntschli * National ideals...
, (1916), Epictetus: The Discourses and Manual together with Fragments of his Writings. (Oxford University Press) - William Abbott OldfatherWilliam Abbott OldfatherWilliam Abbott Oldfather was an American classical scholar.He was born in Urumiah, Persia to missionary parents, Jeremiah Oldfather and Felicia...
, (1925-8), Discourses. (Loeb Classical Library) ISBN 0-674-99145-1 and ISBN 0-674-99240-7 - Robin Hard (translation reviser), Christopher Gill (editor), (1995), The Discourses of Epictetus. (Everyman) ISBN 0-460-87312-1
- Robert Dobbin, (2008), Discourses and Selected Writings. (Penguin Classics) ISBN 0-140-44946-9
All of these are complete translations with the exception of Robert Dobbin's book which only contains 64 out of the 95 Discourses.
External links
- Elizabeth Carter, The Moral Discourses of Epictetus at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- Thomas Wentworth Higginson, The Works of Epictetus at the Perseus ProjectPerseus ProjectThe Perseus Project is a digital library project of Tufts University that assembles digital collections of humanities resources. It is hosted by the Department of Classics. It has suffered at times from computer hardware problems, and its resources are occasionally unavailable...
- George Long, The Discourses of Epictetus at the Internet Archive
- George Long, The Discourses of Epictetus at the Perseus Project
- Percy Ewing Matheson, Epictetus: The Discourses and Manual together with Fragments of his Writings at the Internet Archive
- William Abbott Oldfather, Epictetus. The Discourses As Reported by Arrian. Volume 1, Volume 2 at the Internet Archive