Rating: 
Summary: It's a good book...
Review: ...but I agree with those who question who the author is. A better title would probably be "Art of Living: Reading Epictetus", by Lebell. Other than that, I'd say the text, while not being a direct translation, is very close to the original, nothing much seems "invented" by the author directly.
Rating: 
Summary: To the core practical.
Review: A wonderful, clear, and very approachable book, written by a philosopher too practical for today's academic discussions. Time and time again I had to put the book down and say wow.
Rating:
Summary: The Art of Living
Review: Although this book was written centuries ago, it touches so many subjects of today's times. I practically booked marked each page. I am borrowing it to everyone, as a must read for self improvement, or enjoyment. The second best book I have ever read!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Who is Epictetus?
Review: Born a slave in 55 A.D., the great Stoic philosopher Epictetus spent his life outlining the path to happiness, fullfillment, and tranquility. In aphorisms of stunning insight and simplilcity, he emphasized progress rather than perfection and a day-by-day, down-to-earth life of virtue. Both touchstone and guide, this definitive modern translation of Epictetus is as important on the eve of the twenty-first century as it was in the first century.
Rating: 
Summary: Strains to be so contemporary that it distorts
Review: Epictetus desperately needs a modern, contemporary translation. As far as I know, all of the available translations in print are either terribly academic or use Victorian language. This is NOT a translation but a very free, very loose paraphrase and condensation. I knew I was in trouble when I read the introduction. The author slams Western philosophy for being too cerebral and for not dealing sufficiently with the irrational aspects of life. She obviously does not like the use of reason to deal with day to day life. Then why, I might ask, is she paraphrasing a philosopher who is one of the presursors to modern rational psychotherapy? Like many Westerners who dabble in Eastern philosophy and only know it superficially, she assumes that it speaks more directly to the needs of people than Western philosophy. This despite the fact that Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Epictetus, etc. were immensely popular with the general population of ancient times. So much so, in fact, that common citizens wore rings and bought mirrors with sayings of Epicurus on them and Socrates could be lampooned in a popular comedy. Stoicism was the unoffical religion of the roman army-not an elitist, irrelevant teaching. And Epicureanism had widespread allegiance and was able to fill huge communities all throughout the ancient world. The most popular devotional books of the 17th and 18th century were all basically rewrites of the ancient Greeks. By the time the introduction was finished, I knew that I was in for a very trendy, inaccurate rendering of Epictetus. The worst chapter has to be the one called "Avoid casual sex". Being familiar with Epictetus, I would love to know where the author found anything in his works which would justify her stating that an active sex life is okay "within a framework of personal commitment". Epictetus believed that men and women should perform their moral duty no matter how difficult. That meant sex only within marriage-not some absurd arrangement that is, as the author says, "within a framework of personal commitment" which could mean anything-and usually does. Epictetus felt that men and women had a duty to something greater than their own personal ideas of what they thought that their duties and commitments might be at any particular moment. Individuals are citizens of a wider community and what they do should lend harmony to the larger community. Their behavior is not determined by trends but by the highest standards. Moderns may not like that. It goes against their grain. Fine, but don't distort Epictetus just to make people feel good. Epictetus, who never minced words, would never flatter his audience or offer a salve to their conscience. I think that Epictetus, the moral rigorist, would have been appalled. His teachings are very stern and difficult. That's why stoicism is both greatly admired and, also, widely rejected. It is a philosophy of moral battle and psychological toughness in a world where, as Tom Wolfe says in "A Man in Full" "principles are dead". When individuals feel they are surrounded by nothing but corruption, injustice, and irresponsibility and feel that they are victims of the same and can do little about any of it, Stoicism shows a way to salvation, a way to preserve your integrity and peace of mind even when you are working for a corporation run by modern day Nero's (are there any other kind?), or suffering physically and mentally from the stress of modern life and its overwhelming evils. Stocisim urges us all to be good men and women even-especially-when it is tough to do so. Epictetus teaches that the happy life is the virtuous one. Watering down his message is doing a disservice to him. Rather than claiming that this is Epictetus speaking, the author should have simply mentioned that it was inspired by some Stoic ideas. That is all it truly is.
Rating:
Summary: Epictetus for everybody
Review: Epictetus is one of the real "greats" in the history of philosophy. From the very bottom of the Roman social ladder, he taught and practiced a philosophy (originally due to Zeno) that came to be called "Stoicism" and influenced Roman society all the way to the very top: Roman soldiers used to carry copies of the _Enchiridion_ into battle, and the emperor Marcus Aurelius's famous "Meditations" consist mostly of his urging himself, apparently with limited success, to come closer to the Stoic ideal.The people who characterize Sharon Lebell's interpretive rendering as a "self-help" book have at least half a point; the written records of Epictetus's teachings (Epictetus didn't write them down himself) were self-help books in the first place. And fine ones they were. Oh, there are a few points at which Epictetus counsels heights of detachment suitable only for inhuman monsters, as when he suggests that we remember our wives and children are mortal so that we won't grieve when they die. But on the whole his teachings are firmly founded on the view that absolutely everything occurs by Providence, we are all of us children of God and citizens of the world with natural fellowship with one another, and we should assume responsibility for precisely those things which we can control -- namely, ourselves. This view, or something very close to it, has grounded religious and philosophical programs from the Torah to Alcoholics Anonymous, from Spinoza to the Musar movement, from antiquity to the very latest modernity (e.g., Mark Rosen's excellent _Thank You for Being Such a Pain_): when you face a challenge, use it to improve yourself; that's what it's for. And Epictetus's teachings were not assembled into books in order to provide academic employment for classical scholars. They were recorded because Epictetus himself wasn't going to be around to teach forever and it was believed to be important that his influence outlive him. His philosophy, after all, was supposed to be both practical and practiced. What Sharon Lebell has done in this excellent little volume is skim the very cream of Epictetus's philosophy and make it accessible to the modern reader. And it is worth remembering that Epictetus himself did not teach in writing but spoke directly to his listeners; his students would not have sat in the library poring over long crabbed volumes but sat in the open air listening to popularly accessible discourses. Lebell does interpret and modify, and she doesn't always say so. For example, she has Epictetus say at one point, "Rationality isn't everything." This is by way of making the entirely unexceptionable point that there are things we're just not going to understand. But there is a good case to be made that, for Epictetus, rationality -- i.e., conformity to "nature" under the governance of reason -- was indeed "everything," not merely a means to an end, as Lebell's rendering suggests, but both means _and_ end. But this is a piddling objection; Lebell's interpretations stay pretty close to the original, as any reader can verify by actually checking her text against a good translation of the sources. (I like the _Everyman_ edition, but I think it's out of print.) And before dismissing Lebell's interpretation as just another self-help book, we should ask ourselves how many _other_ "self-help books" include the advice, "Let your reason be supreme" [p. 62].
Rating:
Summary: Epictetus for everybody
Review: Epictetus is one of the real "greats" in the history of philosophy. From the very bottom of the Roman social ladder, he taught and practiced a philosophy (originally due to Zeno) that came to be called "Stoicism" and influenced Roman society all the way to the very top: Roman soldiers used to carry copies of the _Enchiridion_ into battle, and the emperor Marcus Aurelius's famous "Meditations" consist mostly of his urging himself, apparently with limited success, to come closer to the Stoic ideal. The people who characterize Sharon Lebell's interpretive rendering as a "self-help" book have at least half a point; the written records of Epictetus's teachings (Epictetus didn't write them down himself) were self-help books in the first place. And fine ones they were. Oh, there are a few points at which Epictetus counsels heights of detachment suitable only for inhuman monsters, as when he suggests that we remember our wives and children are mortal so that we won't grieve when they die. But on the whole his teachings are firmly founded on the view that absolutely everything occurs by Providence, we are all of us children of God and citizens of the world with natural fellowship with one another, and we should assume responsibility for precisely those things which we can control -- namely, ourselves. This view, or something very close to it, has grounded religious and philosophical programs from the Torah to Alcoholics Anonymous, from Spinoza to the Musar movement, from antiquity to the very latest modernity (e.g., Mark Rosen's excellent _Thank You for Being Such a Pain_): when you face a challenge, use it to improve yourself; that's what it's for. And Epictetus's teachings were not assembled into books in order to provide academic employment for classical scholars. They were recorded because Epictetus himself wasn't going to be around to teach forever and it was believed to be important that his influence outlive him. His philosophy, after all, was supposed to be both practical and practiced. What Sharon Lebell has done in this excellent little volume is skim the very cream of Epictetus's philosophy and make it accessible to the modern reader. And it is worth remembering that Epictetus himself did not teach in writing but spoke directly to his listeners; his students would not have sat in the library poring over long crabbed volumes but sat in the open air listening to popularly accessible discourses. Lebell does interpret and modify, and she doesn't always say so. For example, she has Epictetus say at one point, "Rationality isn't everything." This is by way of making the entirely unexceptionable point that there are things we're just not going to understand. But there is a good case to be made that, for Epictetus, rationality -- i.e., conformity to "nature" under the governance of reason -- was indeed "everything," not merely a means to an end, as Lebell's rendering suggests, but both means _and_ end. But this is a piddling objection; Lebell's interpretations stay pretty close to the original, as any reader can verify by actually checking her text against a good translation of the sources. (I like the _Everyman_ edition, but I think it's out of print.) And before dismissing Lebell's interpretation as just another self-help book, we should ask ourselves how many _other_ "self-help books" include the advice, "Let your reason be supreme" [p. 62].
Rating:
Summary: It makes we stop to rethink our lives
Review: Epictetus, in the stoic tradition, faces life in such an open-hearted way, that by the first pages we are already totally shocked. Those short sentences and simple thoughts pack such "weight" and truth in them, that in a matter of minutes you are already questioning all the important decisions you took in the past and start to ask yourself where the heck you thought you were heading... :-) The worst thing: Even if you don't like what he writes, it totally makes sense and you can feel it inside you... It's terrifying! :-) As it was supposed to be, this short book is an invaluable manual for good living and peace of mind. It makes all those important "truths" you were taught for years and years, suddenly seem so small, that the phrase "rethink your life" had to be associated to this book. By teaching us to face life in a different way, this book simply makes us better human beings. The so-called big problems suddenly become small and the otherwise "small things" are turned into a font of happiness. And the best of all, this book is so cheap and thin, that is hard to find an excuse not to read it! I am sure we all can take at least something of great value to our lives by reading this book. It is amazing that after thousands of years, nobody can know, explain and understand human nature so well as those ancient Greeks(or Greecians, as some might say...). Also, if you like this book, check the works of Seneca because they are very, very interesting too!
Rating:
Summary: It makes we stop to rethink our lives
Review: Epictetus, in the stoic tradition, faces life in such an open-hearted way, that by the first pages we are already totally shocked. Those short sentences and simple thoughts pack such "weight" and truth in them, that in a matter of minutes you are already questioning all the important decisions you took in the past and start to ask yourself where the heck you thought you were heading... :-) The worst thing: Even if you don't like what he writes, it totally makes sense and you can feel it inside you... It's terrifying! :-) As it was supposed to be, this short book is an invaluable manual for good living and peace of mind. It makes all those important "truths" you were taught for years and years, suddenly seem so small, that the phrase "rethink your life" had to be associated to this book. By teaching us to face life in a different way, this book simply makes us better human beings. The so-called big problems suddenly become small and the otherwise "small things" are turned into a font of happiness. And the best of all, this book is so cheap and thin, that is hard to find an excuse not to read it! I am sure we all can take at least something of great value to our lives by reading this book. It is amazing that after thousands of years, nobody can know, explain and understand human nature so well as those ancient Greeks(or Greecians, as some might say...). Also, if you like this book, check the works of Seneca because they are very, very interesting too!
Rating:
Summary: The Art Of Living
Review: For the most part, this was a very practical book. "Do you wish to be invincible? Then do not enter into combat over what you have no real control over." Coming from an evangelical Christian family, I especially appreciated his(her?) thoughts on filial relationships and our responsibility to respect and love our family members, warts and all. That being said, I think one should be careful reading this book. For example, it may be true that "glib" conversation should be avoided in some contexts, but who among us has not felt existential relief while engaging from time to time in playful bantering and teasing? Sometimes it is fun to be laughed at, it is a sign that people find you approachable. And what constitutes "inferior and foolish" entertainment? For example, many of my friends and I love college football. Why do we go to the games? Mostly, we just like having an excuse to be together. In other words, the entertainment is not the end, the relationship is. Maybe too much introspection and purposeful thinking robs the soul of spontaneous joy? My example is probably not what old Epi meant, but we must strive not to become boring and self-righteous in our quest to live a moral life. One cannot help but think how Epictetus would fare if he were dropped into our world? He might have a more difficult time defining which "customs" and "rituals" to "prudently" observe. Is buying the party line really what defines faithfulness? Finally, I found the final section on "Essential Teachings" to be the most profound and insightful part of the book. "Philosophy's purpose is to illuminate the way our soul has been infected by unsound beliefs, untrained tumultuous desires, and dubious life choices and preferences that are unworthy of us. Self-scrutiny applied with kindness is the main antidote." Now that's good stuff.
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