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Enchiridion of Epictetus

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Enchiridion
Chapter 1 of the Enchiridion of Epictetus from a 1683 edition in Greek and Latin
AuthorEpictetus/Arrian
LanguageKoine Greek
SubjectEthics
GenrePhilosophy
Publication date
c. 125 CE
Publication placeGreece

TheEnchiridionorHandbookof Epictetus(Ancient Greek:Ἐγχειρίδιον Ἐπικτήτου,Enkheirídion Epiktḗtou) is a short manual ofStoicethical advice compiled byArrian,a 2nd-century disciple of the Greek philosopherEpictetus.Although the content is mostly derived from theDiscourses of Epictetus,it is not a summary of theDiscoursesbut rather a compilation of practical precepts. Eschewingmetaphysics,Arrian focuses his attention on Epictetus's work applying philosophy to daily life. Thus, the book is a manual to show the way to achieve mental freedom and happiness in all circumstances.

TheEnchiridionwas well-known in the ancient world, and in the medieval period, it was specially adapted for use in Greek-speaking monasteries. In the 15th century it was translated intoLatin,and then, with the advent of printing, into multiple European languages. It reached the height of popularity in the 17th century, in parallel with theNeostoicismmovement.

Title[edit]

The word "Enchiridion" (Ancient Greek:ἐγχειρίδιον) is an adjective meaning "in the hand" or "ready to hand".[1]The word sometimes meant a handy sword, or dagger, but coupled with the word "book" (biblion,Greek:βιβλίον) it means a handy book or hand-book.[1]Epictetus in theDiscoursesoften speaks of principles which his pupils should have "ready to hand" (Greek:πρόχειρα).[1]Common English translations of the title areManualorHandbook.[2]

Writing[edit]

The work consists of fifty-three short chapters typically consisting of a paragraph or two. It was compiled some time in the early 2nd century. The 6th-century philosopherSimplicius,in hisCommentaryon the work, refers to a letter written by Arrian which prefaced the text.[3]In this letter Arrian stated that theEnchiridionwas selected from theDiscourses of Epictetusaccording to what he considered to be most useful, most necessary, and most adapted to move people's minds.[4]Around half of the material in theEnchiridionhas been shown to have been derived from the surviving four books ofDiscoursesbut variously modified.[5]Other parts are presumed to be derived from the lostDiscourses.[6]Some chapters appear to be reformulations of ideas which appear throughout theDiscourses.[6]

There are some puzzles concerning the inclusion of two chapters. Chapter 29 is practically word for word identical withDiscourseiii. 15.[7]Since it was omitted in one of the early Christian editions (Par), and not commented on by Simplicius, it may not have been in the original edition.[7][8]Chapter 33 consists of a list of moral instructions, which are "not obviously related to Epictetus' normal Stoic framework."[6]

The current division of the work into fifty-three chapters was first adopted byJohann Schweighäuserin his 1798 edition; earlier editions tended to divide the text into more chapters (especially splitting chapter 33).[9]Gerard Boter in his 1999critical editionkeeps Schweighäuser's fifty-three chapters but splits chapters 5, 14, 19, and 48 into two parts.[9]

Contents[edit]

TheEnchiridionappears to be a loosely-structured selection of maxims.[10]In his 6th-centuryCommentary,Simplicius divided the text into four distinct sections suggesting a graded approach to philosophy:[10]

  1. Chapters 1–21. What is up to us and not, and how to deal with external things.
    1. Chs 1–2. What is up to us and not, and the consequences of choosing either.
    2. Chs 3–14. How to deal with external things (reining the reader in from them).
    3. Chs 15–21. How to use external things correctly and without disturbance.
  2. Chapters 22–28. Advice for intermediate students.
    1. Chs 22–25. The problems faced by intermediate students.
    2. Chs 26–28. Miscellania: the common conceptions, badness, and shame.
  3. Chapters 30–47. Technical advice for the discovery of appropriate actions (kathēkonta).
    1. Chs 30–33. Appropriate actions towards (a) other people, (b) God, (c) divination, (d) one's own self.
    2. Chs 34–47. Miscellaneous precepts on justice (right actions).
  4. Chapters 48–53. Conclusions on the practice of precepts.
    1. Ch 48. Final advice and his division of types of people.
    2. Chs 49–52. The practice of precepts.
    3. Ch 53. Quotations for memorisation.

Chapter 29, which was probably absent from the text used by Simplicius, is a one-pageDiscoursewhich compares the training needed to become a Stoic with the rigorous approach needed to become an Olympic victor.[11]

Themes[edit]

TheEnchiridionbegins with the statement that "Of things, some depend upon ourselves, others do not depend upon ourselves."[12]So it starts with announcing that the business and concern of the real self is with matters subject to its own control, uninfluenced by external chance or change.[13]Epictetus makes a sharp distinction between our own internal world of mental benefits and harms, and the external world beyond our control.[14]Freedom is to wish for nothing which is not up to ourselves.[15]When we are tried by misfortune we should never let our suffering overwhelm our sense of inward mastery and freedom.[13]

A constant vigilance is required, and one should never relax attention to one's reason, for it is judgements, not things, which disturb people.[16]

What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgments about the things. For example, "death is nothing dreadful (or else it would have appeared dreadful toSocrates)... "

— Chapter Five[17]

Reason is the decisive principle in everything.[14]Thus we must exercise our power of assent over impressions, and wish for nothing nor avoid anything that is up to other people.[18]

To a large extent theEnchiridionsuppresses many of the more amiable aspects of Epictetus which can be found in theDiscourses,but this reflects the nature of the compilation.[19]Some believe that, unlike theDiscourseswhich seeks to encourage the student through argument and logic, theEnchiridionlargely consists of a set of rules to follow.[20]Others challenge this view, arguing that the chapters of theEnchiridioncan be interpreted as containing arguments and articulating concepts that develop progressively throughout the work.[21]The work is built on the conception that the wise person, by the aid of philosophy, may reap benefit from every experience in life.[22]With proper training the student can flourish in adverse situations as well as favorable ones.[23]The human spirit has capacities as yet undeveloped, but which it is for our good to develop.[24]Thus the book is a manual on how to make progress towards what is necessary and sufficient for happiness.[23][25]

Epictetus makes a vivid use of imagery, and analogies include life depicted as: a ship's voyage (Ch. 7), an inn (Ch. 11), a banquet (Chs. 15, 36), and acting in a play (Ch. 17, 37).[26]He takes many examples from everyday life, including: a broken jug (Ch. 3), a trip to the baths (Chs. 4, 43), his own lameness (Ch. 9), the loss of a child (Ch. 11), and the price of lettuce (Ch. 25).[26]

Subsequent history[edit]

Latin translation by Angelo Poliziano (Basel 1554)

For many centuries, theEnchiridionmaintained its authority both withPagansandChristians.[27]Simplicius of Ciliciawrote a commentary upon it in the 6th century, and in theByzantine eraChristian writers wrote paraphrases of it.[27]Over one hundred manuscripts of theEnchiridionsurvive.[a]The oldest extant manuscripts of the authenticEnchiridiondate from the 14th century, but the oldest Christianised ones date from the 10th and 11th centuries, perhaps indicating the Byzantine world's preference for the Christian versions.[28]TheEnchiridionwas first translated intoLatinbyNiccolò Perottiin 1450, and then byAngelo Polizianoin 1479.[28]

The first printed edition (editio princeps) was Poliziano's Latin translation published in 1497.[28]The original Greek was first published(somewhat abbreviated) with Simplicius'sCommentaryin 1528.[28]The edition published byJohann Schweighäuserin 1798 was the major edition for the next two-hundred years.[28][29]A critical edition was produced by Gerard Boter in 1999.[30]

The separate editions and translations of theEnchiridionare very many.[31]TheEnchiridionreached its height of popularity in the period 1550–1750.[32]It was translated into most European languages, and there were multiple translations in English, French, and German.[32]The first English translation was byJames Sandfordin 1567 (a translation of a French version) and this was followed by a translation (from the Greek) byJohn Healeyin 1610.[33]TheEnchiridionwas even partly translated into Chinese by theJesuitmissionaryMatteo Ricci.[32]The popularity of the work was assisted by theNeostoicismmovement initiated byJustus Lipsiusin the 16th century.[34]Another Neostoic,Guillaume du Vair,translated the book into French in 1586 and popularised it in hisLa Philosophie morale des Stoiques.[35]

In the English-speaking world it was particularly well known in the 17th century: at that time it was theEnchiridionrather than theDiscourseswhich was usually read.[36]It was among the booksJohn Harvardbequeathed to the newly-foundedHarvard Collegein 1638.[37]The work, being written in a clear distinct style, made it accessible to readers with no formal training in philosophy, and there was a wide readership among women in England.[38]The writerMary Wortley Montagumade her own translation of theEnchiridionin 1710 at the age of twenty-one.[39]TheEnchiridionwas a common school text in Scotland during theScottish Enlightenment—Adam Smithhad a 1670 edition in his library, acquired as a schoolboy.[40]At the end of the 18th century, theEnchiridionis attested in the personal libraries ofBenjamin FranklinandThomas Jefferson.[41][42]

In the 19th century,Walt Whitmandiscovered theEnchiridionwhen he was about the age of sixteen. It was a book he would repeatedly return to, and late in life he called the book "sacred, precious to me: I have had it about me so long—lived with it in terms of such familiarity."[43]

The Enchiridion gave its name to a fictional book from the cartoonAdventure Time.[44]

TheCommentaryof Simplicius[edit]

In the 6th century the Neoplatonist philosopher Simplicius wrote a huge commentary on theEnchiridion,which is more than ten times the bulk of the original text.[45]Chapter after chapter of theEnchiridionis dissected, discussed, and its lessons drawn out with a certain laboriousness.[46]Simplicius' commentary offers a distinctlyPlatonistvision of the world,[47]one which is often at odds with the Stoic content of theEnchiridion.[48]Sometimes Simplicius exceeds the scope of a commentary; thus his commentary onEnchiridion27 (Simplicius ch. 35) becomes a refutation ofManichaeism.[49]

TheCommentaryenjoyed its own period of popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries. An English translation byGeorge Stanhopein 1694 ran through four editions in the early 18th century.[38]Edward Gibbonremarked in hisDecline and Fall of the Roman Empirethat Simplicius'Commentaryon Epictetus "is preserved in the library of nations, as a classic book" unlike the commentaries onAristotle"which have passed away with the fashion of the times."[47]

Christian adaptations[edit]

TheEnchiridionwas adapted three different times by Greek Christian writers. The oldest manuscript,Paraphrasis Christiana(Par), dates to the 10th century.[49]Another manuscript, falsely ascribed toNilus(Nil), dates to the 11th century.[49]A third manuscript, Vaticanus gr. 2231 (Vat), dates to the 14th century.[49]It is not known when the original versions of these manuscripts were first made.[49]

These guides served as a rule and guide for monastic life.[50]The most obvious changes are in the use of proper names: thus the name Socrates is sometimes changed to Paul.[46][50]All three texts follow theEnchiridionquite closely, although theParmanuscript is more heavily modified: adding or omitting words, abridging or expanding passages, and occasionally inventing new passages.[51]

In the 17th century the German monk Matthias Mittner did something similar, compiling a guide on mental tranquillity for theCarthusian Orderby taking the first thirty-five of his fifty precepts from theEnchiridion.[52]

Notes[edit]

a.^Gerard Boter in his 1999 critical edition catalogues 59 extant manuscripts of theEncheiridionproper, and another 27 manuscripts of Simplicius'Commentarywhich contain theEncheiridionaslemmata(headings). He also lists 37 Christianised manuscripts, (24Par,12Nil,1Vat). Cf.Boter 1999,pp. 3ff

Citations[edit]

  1. ^abcMatheson 1916,p. 263
  2. ^Oldfather 1925,p. xii
  3. ^Boter 1999,p. xiii
  4. ^Long 1877,p. xiii
  5. ^Oldfather 1928,p. 479
  6. ^abcHard 2014,p. 346
  7. ^abOldfather 1928,p. 506
  8. ^Boter 1999,p. 127
  9. ^abBoter 1999,pp. 146–147
  10. ^abBrittain & Brennan 2002,p. 6
  11. ^Hard 2014,p. 331
  12. ^Rolleston 1881,p. xvii
  13. ^abRolleston 1881,p. xviii
  14. ^abLong 2018,p. xxxvi
  15. ^Long 2018,p. xlv
  16. ^Long 2003,p. 93
  17. ^Handbook of Epictetus,trans. Nicholas P. White, Hackett Publishing Company, 1983.
  18. ^Long 2018,p. xliv
  19. ^Oldfather 1925,p. xix
  20. ^Wright 2007,p. 333
  21. ^Aikin & Stephens 2023,p. ix
  22. ^Rolleston 1881,pp. xxvi–xxvii
  23. ^abLong 2018,p. xxxv
  24. ^Rolleston 1881,p. xx
  25. ^Long 2018,p. xxxvii
  26. ^abBrittain & Brennan 2002,p. 7
  27. ^abSchmitz 1870,p. 351
  28. ^abcdeBoter 1999,p. xv
  29. ^Oldfather 1925,p. xxii
  30. ^Boter 1999,p. xvi
  31. ^Oldfather 1925,p. xxx
  32. ^abcLong 2003,p. 261
  33. ^Wright 2007,pp. 325–326
  34. ^Long 2003,p. 262
  35. ^Long 2003,p. 263
  36. ^Wright 2007,p. 325
  37. ^Long 2003,p. 268
  38. ^abWright 2007,p. 326
  39. ^Grundy, Isobel (1999).Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: Comet of the Enlightenment.Oxford University Press. p. 37.ISBN978-0198187653.
  40. ^Phillipson, Nicholas (2010).Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life.Yale University Press. p. 19.ISBN978-0300174434.
  41. ^Wolf, Edwin; Hayes, Kevin J. (2006).The Library of Benjamin Franklin.American Philosophical Society. p. 278.ISBN978-0871692573.
  42. ^Gilreath, James; Wilson, Douglas L. (2008).Thomas Jefferson's Library: A Catalog with the Entries in His Own Order.The Lawbook Exchange Ltd. p. 52.ISBN978-1584778240.
  43. ^LeMaster, J.R.; Kummings, Donald D., eds. (1998).The Routledge Encyclopedia of Walt Whitman.Routledge. p. 692.ISBN978-0415890571.
  44. ^Olson, Martin (2013).The Adventure Time Encyclopædia: Inhabitants, Lore, Spells, and Ancient Crypt Warnings of the Land of Ooo Circa 19.56 B.G.E. - 501 A.G.E.Abrams Books. p. 131.
  45. ^Oldfather 1928,p. 480
  46. ^abRolleston 1881,pp. xii–xiii
  47. ^abBrittain & Brennan 2002,p. vii
  48. ^Brittain & Brennan 2002,p. 4
  49. ^abcdeBoter 1999,p. xiv
  50. ^abOldfather 1925,p. xxvii
  51. ^Boter 1999,p. 206
  52. ^Oldfather 1925,p. xxviii

References[edit]

  • Aikin, Scott; Stephens, William O. (2023),Epictetus'sEncheiridion:A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics,Bloomsbury,ISBN978-1350009530
  • Boter, Gerard (1999),The Encheiridion of Epictetus and Its Three Christian Adaptations,Brill,ISBN9004113584
  • Brittain, Charles; Brennan, Tad (2002),Simplicius. On Epictetus Handbook 1–26,Gerald Duckworth & Co,ISBN978-0715630686
  • Hard, Robin (2014),Discourses, Fragments, Handbook,Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0199595181
  • Long, A. A. (2003),Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life,Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0199245567
  • Long, A. A. (2018),How to Be Free: An Ancient Guide to the Stoic Life,Princeton University Press,ISBN978-0691177717
  • Long, George (1877),The Discourses of Epictetus, with the Encheridion and Fragments,George Bell
  • Matheson, Percy Ewing (1916),Epictetus: The Discourses and Manual together with Fragments of his Writings,Oxford University Press
  • Oldfather, William Abbott (1925),Epictetus, the Discourses as reported by Arrian, the Manual, and Fragments,vol. 1, Loeb Classical Library
  • Oldfather, William Abbott (1928),Epictetus, the Discourses as reported by Arrian, the Manual, and Fragments,vol. 2, Loeb Classical Library
  • Rolleston, T. W. H. (1881),The Encheiridion of Epictetus,Kegan, Paul, Trench, & Co
  • Public DomainSchmitz, Leonhard (1870)."Arrianus 4".InSmith, William(ed.).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.Vol. 1.
  • Wright, Gillian (2007-07-24). "Women Reading Epictetus".Women's Writing.14(2): 321–337.doi:10.1080/09699080701314840.S2CID161602668.

External links[edit]

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