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Discourses and Selected Writings

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Discourses and Selected Writings

By: Epictetus, Robert Dobbin
Narrated by: Richard Goulding
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Richard Goulding, best known for Me Before You, The Iron Lady and The Windsors.

Epictetus, a Greek stoic and freed slave, ran a thriving philosophy school in Nicropolis in the early second century AD. His animated discussions were celebrated for their rhetorical wizardry and were written down by Arrian, his most famous pupil. Together with the Enchiridion, a manual of his main ideas, and the fragments collected here, The Discourses argue that happiness lies in learning to perceive exactly what is in our power to change and what is not, and in embracing our fate to live in harmony with god and nature. In this personal, practical guide to the ethics of stoicism and moral self-improvement, Epictetus tackles questions of freedom and imprisonment, illness and fear, family, friendship and love, and leaves an intriguing document of daily life in the classical world.

Public Domain (P)2021 Penguin Audio Ethics & Morality Greek & Roman History Philosophy Stoicism Happiness Thought-Provoking

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All stars
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Enjoyable listen with some light hearted takes on stoicism which are excellently relayed by the narrator. Particularly enjoyed Epictetus’s simple but effective narrative which for a beginner I believe was easier to grasp than Marcus Aurelius Meditations.

Excellent introduction to Stoicism

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Fantastic lively and well read version. I will definitely listen again. It makes this stoic epic very accessible

A great classic really well read

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As fresh today as the time of Trajan -- just so true in his analysis of human nature

Spot on

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This book demonstrates how we can have full control over our actions, emotions and thoughts. We can either choose to act in violence, have negative thoughts or illicit emotions in response to harsh circumstances.

We can control our actions

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My first book on philosophy. I had heard of being stoic and the usual stern, wise and quiet person came to mind. Then I watched PewDiePie do a summary on stoicism and said I'd give it a read, it looked like a way of thinking I would be interested in. It's surreal to think a man living in ancient Rome, an ancient civilisation filled with ancient gods, slaves and the setting for some of my favourite films growing up would have so much knowledge that is applicable to me, an Irish man living in 2021 and the age of social media. I would recommend it to anyone struggling with their own values, virtues, vices and path in life.

Excellent starting point

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really great book full of ideas, most of the chapters are quite short so the whole book seemed to fly by, I would really recommend

a must read,

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Really enjoyed the audio book. particularly like the way each chapter is broken up and titled so one can pick and choose what to listen to.

Narrator also very good.

Excellent

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one of my most listened to ausiobooks. easy lessons with depth. timeless advice. excellent

excellent narration, excellent content

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I have been studying the Stoic philosophy seriously for the last eight months and it has transformed my life. I had an older translation of the Discourses but a lot of the passages were quite obscure. This newer translation is much clearer for the modern reader.
This audiobook is fantastic, the narration is spot on and listening to the works take it to a whole new level and complements the written material incredibly well. The discourses after all are lectures compiled by one of Epictetus student, and this audio version immerses you into what of his classes may have felt back in the day.
Amazon also did a good job of listing each individual discourse so I can always get to your favourites quite easily. The Enchiridion is provided as one single chapter though but that's ok.

Fantastic, Epictetus on demand!

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A wonderful book and essential reading for anyone interested in Stoicism or philosophy in general. Epictetus has a lot of valuable wisdom to dispense and does so in a clear way (unlike some other philosophers)
It's clear Epictetus has a strong desire for his Stoic philosophy to be practical, not simply theoretical. Anyone listening to this would do well to put what he says into practice.
It has to be read with it firmly in mind that Epictetus was a Roman, an ancient civilisation with a different culture and understanding of the cosmos.
It's very well narrated too.

Indispensible Wisdom

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