Epictetus’ Handbook and the Tablet of Cebes Life is full of misfortune and disappointment, so how can we be happy and flourish? Nearly 2000 years ago, musing on this problem of human flourishing and how it may be secured, the Stoic teacher Epictetus instructed his students in the Stoic art of living. This new translation of Epictetus’ Handbook brings his ancient teachings to those who wish to live the philosophic life by finding a way to live happily in the world without being overwhelmed by it. In this book, readers will learn how to sustain emotional harmony and a ‘good flow of life’ whatever fortune may hold in store for them. This modern English translation of the complete Handbook is supported by the first thorough commentary since that of Simplicius, 1500 years ago, along with a detailed introduction, extensive glossary, index of key terms, and helpful tables that clarify Stoic ethical doctrines at a glance. Accompanying the Handbook is the Tablet of Cebes, a curious and engaging text from an unknown author. In complete contrast to the Handbook’s more conventional philosophical presentation, the Tablet is an allegory that shows progress to philosophical wisdom as a journey through a landscape inhabited by personifications of Happiness, Fortune, the Virtues and Vices. It is apparent that there are Stoic influences on this work, making it a fitting companion text to the Handbook of Epictetus. Keith Seddon is a freelance academic, author, and practising Stoic. He is Professor of Philosophy at Warnborough University. Epictetus’ Handbook and the Tablet of Cebes Guides to Stoic Living Keith Seddon First published 2005 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2005 Keith Seddon All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Seddon, Keith, 1956– Epictetus’ Handbook and the Tablet of Cebes: guides to Stoic living / Keith Seddon. – 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Epictetus. Manual. 2. Kabåetos Thåebaiou pinax. 3. Conduct of life. 4. Stoics I. Epictetus. Manual. English. II. Kebåetos Thåebaiou pinax. English. III. Title. B561.M53S44 2005 188-dc22 2005008169 ISBN 0–415–32451–3 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–32452–1 (pbk) Wherever I go it will be well with me. Epictetus, Discourses 4.7.14 This is what constitutes the virtue of the person who flourishes well and who enjoys a smooth flow of life – to do everything in harmony with both the spirit that dwells within each person and the will of the One who orders the universe. Diogenes Laertius, Life of Zeno in Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.88 Contents Preface ix Acknowledgements xii Abbreviations xiii Part I: The Handbook of Epictetus 1 Introduction to Epictetus 3 Overview 3 Life 4 Writings 6 The Discourses 7 The Handbook 7 Fragments 7 Epictetus’ Stoicism 8 Key concepts 9 The promise of philosophy 9 What is really good 10 What is in our power 11 Making proper use of impressions 13 The three topoi 14 God 20 On living in accordance with nature 22 Metaphors for life 24 Making progress 27 The Handbook of Epictetus: translation and commentary 31 viii Contents Part II: The Tablet of Cebes 173 Introduction to the Tablet of Cebes 175 Overview 175 Authorship and date 176 Outline of the Tablet 180 Is the Tablet Stoic? 183 The Tablet of Cebes 185 Appendix 1: The story of Er 201 Appendix 2: Tables, plans, and drawing 207 Appendix 3: A page from the author’s Stoic notebook 215 Glossary A: Epictetus 216 Glossary B: The Tablet of Cebes 233 Bibliography 243 Index of key terms in the Handbook of Epictetus 267 Index 276 Preface Stoic ethics aims at supplying to those who would live the philosophic life what they need to live well and what they need to avoid living badly. It is the latter enterprise of removing those things that make life go badly that will be the most easily understood, and probably the most welcomed. What makes our lives go badly is feeling that things are wrong, living from day to day with negative emotions that taint what satisfaction and enjoyment may come our way. We can feel oppressed by people who put unwelcome demands upon us, and we can feel dissatisfaction that our efforts have produced such feeble results. And perhaps worst of all, we are aware that any effort that we may make to do well in life (however we conceive of this enterprise prior to exposure to the Stoic perspective) is set against the background of our inevitable deaths, and for some, against the background of illness or some other substantial source of unremitting suffering. From within the Stoic tradition that was founded by Zeno of Citium in about 300 BC, Epictetus teaches his students how to adopt a new Stoic perspective on their lives, in which our distress and suffering take on a different significance. As Epictetus will show us in the course of this book, the Stoic practitioner finds a way to eliminate distress and dissatisfaction, and if successful, they will be able to make progress towards the ideal of flourishing fully. We should have no qualms in seeing this enterprise as progress towards a spiritual enlightenment, in which the world and one’s place in it are seen in a radically new light. It is this realisation of what human beings really are and how we should engage in life that Epictetus sought to convey to his students in his school nearly 2,000 years ago. The Cynics who foreshadowed the Stoic movement (one of Zeno’s teachers was Crates the Cynic) conceived of the philosopher as a messenger sent by Zeus to save human beings from their folly and show them how to flourish in a way that befits their true nature (see Discourses