Enchiridion
by Epictetus · Ἐγχειρίδιον
Assigned by 5 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 125 CE
- Era
- Roman Empire
- Form
- Treatise
- Language
- Greek
- Length
- Short · 30 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Approachable1 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendDiscourses and Selected Writings, translated by Robert DobbinPenguin Classics, 2008Modern and readable, and it prints the Handbook with enough of the Discourses to see where it comes from.
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A short handbook of Stoic practice, compiled by Epictetus's student Arrian out of the longer Discourses. It opens with the division on which everything else rests: some things are up to us, namely judgement, desire and aversion, and some things are not, namely body, reputation, office and everything external. Misery comes from wanting what is not ours to control. The fifty-three brief chapters then apply this to grief, illness, insults, family, dinner parties, public office and death, and end with the reminder that a person is judged by what they do with the role they are given.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Enchiridion are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
