
Slave, Scholar, Stoic - diodorus
http://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2017/05/slave-scholar-stoic.html
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fapjacks
I first picked up the stoics in my early twenties many years ago when I
started going to war, and I can't recommend them enough. What you get out of
stoic philosophy will definitely depend on the translation you pick up. Every
time you read a new translation, you'll get something new out of it. I would
recommend researching the various translations, or even just buying a variety
of translations on Amazon because they're so cheap. You can get all of the
typical stoic works (Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Seneca) for the cost of
shipping on Amazon. That is incidentally amazing to me. There's a joke about
the world in there somewhere. Anyway, I suggest starting with the translation
which you find most digestible. Some of them can be extremely difficult,
especially if you've never had to read archaic translations.

~~~
ashark
I did as thorough a comparison of translations of _Meditations_ as I could as
a non-Greek-speaker a couple years ago, and settled on Maxwell Staniforth's
for being highly readable while also holding much closer to the original than
most. The only hardcover available (at that time) was from Folio Society, so a
little pricey even used, but I'm pretty sure there's at least one paperback in
print.

There was, notably, one popular recent translation that tried to give it more
of a "quickly-jotted notes" feel to capture the flavor of the original, or so
it claimed, implying greater fidelity to the original. In doing so it took far
too many liberties with the text—which, to my Greekless eye aided by some
online tools, didn't read that way _at all_ , and was typically much wordier
than this translation and generally closer to _basically any translation but
this one_. Be wary of anything like that.

Just throwing that out there in case anyone finds it useful.

~~~
literallycancer
I've read this one[1] a while ago, and remember being annoyed at the usage of
some words, like 'nature'. Is it different in other translations?

Then there's also the irony of the most powerful man in the world writing a
book where he recommends the reader to be content with their station and to
preserve the status quo.

1 -
[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Thoughts_of_the_Emperor_M...](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Thoughts_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Aurelius_Antoninus)

~~~
fapjacks
Yes, George Long is only one translator for these works, though he is
definitely the most popular. Most of the available translations are from the
19th and early 20th centuries, so you can expect them all to have some degree
of difficulty. Also, if this is your first exposure to stoic philosophy,
Marcus Aurelius is probably not the best introduction. Epictetus would be
better, or Seneca. There's also a short ( _short_ ) book by James Stockdale
called Courage Under Fire about his time as a POW in Vietnam, and how stoic
philosophy helped him survive. It doesn't explore the mechanics very well, but
if you ever needed the benefits explained, that book will do it.

If you can stomach some slightly more archaic and difficult translations,
Harvard's Loeb Classical Library translations are readable, and Aurelius is
translated there by Haines, Epictetus in his Discourses (including the
Encheiridion) by Oldfather, Seneca's Letters by Gummere. The Loeb editions are
nice because they're side-by-side with the original Greek, so it comes in
handy if you want to take your study to the next level. A quick note about
Seneca's Letters: Most of the common editions only include _some_ of his
letters. You'll have to actively search for an edition which includes all 124
of them. The Dover Thrift Edition of Seneca's Letters from a Stoic include all
of them and is also translated by Gummere, but does not include the original
Greek and is cheaper than the Loeb edition. The Loeb books are really
attractive in my library, though. If you're anything of a collector, you'll
probably get hooked buying them.

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jackhammer2022
I like - A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William
Irvine, provides a good overview of stoicism.

~~~
jacobolus
I was very disappointed in this book after hearing so many positive
recommendations. It seemed like a lazy repackaging of famous stoic writings,
dumbed down to appeal to a mass pop-science type audience, plus some
projection the author’s personal opinions and ideas onto other writers, in a
way that felt kind of forced and sloppy.

Just go to the primary sources.

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Luc
Here's a cool side-by-side comparison of the English translations of the
Enchiridion:
[https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:twh,twr,gl,pem,s...](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:twh,twr,gl,pem,sw/section:meta)

Pick your favourite!

~~~
Jun8
Thanks! And for those for which Ancient Greek is "within their power" here's
the first sentence

τῶν ὄντων τὰ μέν ἐστιν ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν.

from Perseus
([http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%...](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0235%3Atext%3Denc)).

Actually you don't have to know anything at all, you can just click on each
word and it will show you the meaning. You can then judge yourself which
translation you like best. Note, for example that the word _control_ is not
used.

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jtth
It's really worth reading:
[http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html](http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html)

~~~
gloriousduke
It's interesting that Trump became the leader of free world by embodying the
opposite of many of these precepts (he'd probably call someone adhering to
them a loser or weakling). Epictetus would not be surprised, nor care.

~~~
Amygaz
I have been thinking to write a book about leadership and use the opposite of
what my managers are doing, and I am pretty certain that many on this board
could do the same. But then, do I really care? Would that change anything?
There are plenty of books andstories providing good leadership examples.

There are also plenty of studies supporting the observation than cheaters have
an easier time making financial gains, no matter how good or bad they actually
are at their job, as long as they can pretend and manipulate the opinion of a
group of enablers.

I refuse to be a cheater or an enabler. That I do care, and that is something
I can do, and have done.

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nradam123
Enchiridion of Epictetus is the best book I have read on Stoic Philosophy.

~~~
briancleland
Perhaps the most incisive work of philosophy ever written. Short, funny and
out of copyright. What's not to like?

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hkon
Audiobooks from Audible on the subject is also worth a listen. I listen to
epictetus/seneca/aurelius at least once a year.

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quickben
In the same vein, I would warmly recommend Marcus Aurelius notes to anybody
wondering what all that and this was/is about.

~~~
Shawnecy
Seconded.

There's an online version I like (which is also available in markdown and json
format) [1]. I can't comment on the translation quality as I'm no expert on
the source matter.

[1] =
[http://directingmind.com/meditations](http://directingmind.com/meditations)

