Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life by A. A. Long

A helpful companion to the Discourses
This comprehensive look at Epictetus, the man and his thought, provides a wealth of valuable information for anyone hoping to read and understand the Stoic philosopher’s Discourses. The subtitle “A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life” is accurate only in reference to Epictetus himself as a guide; this book is not a practical “guide to life” per se, and might have been more aptly called “A Companion to the Discourses.” This book will not change your life, but it will help you understand the writings of Epictetus, which will change your life. The strength of this book is that it concentrates on Epictetus as an individual and not just as a member of the Stoic school. It emphasizes the ways in which his teachings differ from those of the earlier Stoics, and the strong influence that Socrates had on his philosophy and methodology.

Reading this book was frustrating at first because it felt like a lot of set-up with little payoff. The first five chapters provide a mother lode of background material on the life of Epictetus, his place in history, the record of philosophy up to that time, other schools of thought that were prevalent in his time, who Arrian was and how he transcribed Epictetus’s words, who Epictetus’s students were, plus an excessively detailed discussion of Epictetus’s rhetorical style and the methods he used to construct his arguments. It isn’t until chapter 6 that Long really starts analyzing the actual message of the Discourses, which is what I, and probably most readers, really want to get at. In the latter half of the book, Long’s insightful commentary on the Discourses is accompanied by a generous helping of judiciously selected excerpts, and Long’s translations of these are a pleasure to read. I would have preferred more of this concentration on Epictetus’s words themselves and less of the contextual foundation that preceded it. On the other hand, I thought the epilogue about the effect of Epictetus’s thought over the last 2,000 years was one of the more interesting parts of the book.

In his introduction, Long states he has “tried to make this book as accessible as possible,” but to that end he only achieves mixed results. At times the intended audience seems unclear. There is a lot of introductory material that would seem elementary to a philosophical scholar, yet there are more complex passages that seem directed towards Long’s peers and would probably be over the head of a novice. The result is a book that philosophy professors would probably love to assign to their students, but not one the average student himself would necessarily enjoy nor perhaps even understand. Those serious about the subject, however, will find it a rewarding read and well worth the effort.
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