Discourses and Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)

Discourses and Selected Writings gathers influential texts connected with Epictetus, the Greek Stoic and former slave who taught philosophy in Nicopolis in the early second century AD. His conversations, recognised for their rhetorical skill, were written down by Arrian, described as his most famous pupil.

Presented in translation, this Penguin Classics volume is edited and introduced by Robert Dobbin. It brings together Discourses, Fragments and the Enchiridion, offering a focused view of Epictetus’s ethical teaching and its practical concerns.

Key details

• Penguin Classics edition
• By Epictetus
• Recorded by Arrian
• Translated and edited, with an introduction, by Robert Dobbin
• Includes Discourses, Fragments and Enchiridion

Synopsis

These writings centre on the belief that happiness depends on understanding what lies within our power to change and what does not. Epictetus sets out an approach to living that involves accepting fate and seeking harmony with god and nature, framed as a practical guide to Stoic ethics and moral self-improvement.

Across the collection, he considers questions of freedom and imprisonment, illness and fear, and the place of relationships, including family, friendship and love.