Product Description
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.

About the Author
Epictetus (c. 55–135 AD) was a teacher and Greco-Roman philosopher. Originally a slave from Hierapolis in Anatolia (modern Turkey), he was owned for a time by a prominent freedman at the court of the emperor Nero. After gaining his freedom he moved to Nicopolis on the Adriatic coast of Greece and opened a school of philosophy there. His informal lectures (the Discourses) were transcribed and published by his student Arrian, who also composed a digest of Epictetus’ teaching known as the Manual (or Enchiridion).

 
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This is the second  part of yesterday’s guest post “An In-Depth Review: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius – Part 1” written by Adam Isom, which can be read here.

How To Live and The Work in Life

But then the question is, how should you go about living? Firstly, always do your duty and live according to reason and nature, according to Marcus the Stoic. Don’t conjecture what others are thinking of you, but only care that what you do is just, sincere, consistent, and not to serve fame, pleasure, or pain. Rather than saying to someone that you are determined to be fair to them, be fair and good and it will show. Rather than thinking or talking about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, be a good man (or woman), without affectation, and others will see your virtue. In other words, do your duty and reveal yourself through action rather than words.

As for what you work at, Marcus recommends that you occupy yourself with few things while still doing what is necessary. He also exhorts you to never be too busy for someone, and to examine things calmly as if you had all the time in the world. In this latter aspect, he perhaps unwittingly repeats yet another one of the 48 Laws of Power, formulated by Robert Greene two thousand years later.

Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic, and that is why he insists that nothing, even sickness, should deflect you from your duty. Your inner work should be on shaping your character daily with contentment, simplicity, and modesty to achieve a ‘tranquillity that another man cannot upset’, unlike anything physical (which implies the possibility of degrading).

Finally, if you are genuinely wrong, then you should gladly change. For if you really seek the truth, you won’t allow your ego to get in the way—something scientists and philosophers in particular appreciate.

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Today, I will be running a guest post by a precocious young man named Adam Isom of adamisom.com. Adam’s blog is fairly new and currently ranges between philosophy and marketing, reflective “meditations” and in-depth analyses. He has given much thought to The Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius, and has written a thoughtful and insightful analysis that he would like to share with the world – and I’m more than happy to have him post it here.

First, I thought I’d dig up a few old posts on Marcus Aurelius and Stoic Philosophy in general — For a nice introduction to Stoicism please read ‘Use Stoic Philosophy to Achieve Total Joy and Untroubling Equanimity’, and in the following post ‘Practical Wisdom: ‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius’ I write my own shorter review on ‘Meditations’.   Adam’s analysis takes a different tack, however, distilling the book down to its essence, thematically speaking. Due to its length, it will appear in two parts.

If you’re interested in writing on the subjects of philosophy and wisdom, or you wish to do a review on any philosophical self-help book you’re passionate about please contact me here about the possibility of a guest post.

So without further ado, I give you…

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Adam Isom

Ask yourself: how many journals of campaigning emperors have I read this year? If the answer is none, you’re in for a treat: The Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius, also happens to be one of the most celebrated expositions of Stoic philosophy.

Today, we peek inside the secret journals, never meant to be read by anyone else, of the last Good Emperor of the Roman Republic. Despite their origin, the journals have been read, and continue to be read, by countless individuals seeking insight into living better.

This post does not replace actually reading the book, but it is intended to inform you what it’s all about before you even crack open the first page. The idea being, that leaves you free to focus on the subtle details and pithy expressions found therein.

How I approached reading The Meditations was to ask myself “what is he trying to say?” What follows is my multi-pronged answer to this question, examined through the concept of “themes”.

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Watch this fantastic lecture given by professor Michael Sugrue of Princeton University, as he presents an overview on the life and stoic ideals of none other than Plato’s “Philosopher King” himself – Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius.

Part 1

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In these troubling times of perpetual man-made conflict and recent natural disasters, let us now embrace the practical teachings of a wise old Stoic called Epictetus.

So why not apply this stoic wisdom daily so to calm our minds and strengthen our wills against all adversity.

As Epictetus advised regarding one who is experiencing trials and tribulations:

Chapter 24

How we should struggle with circumstances

It is circumstances which show what men are. Therefore when a difficulty
falls upon you, remember that God, like a trainer of wrestlers, has matched you
with a rough young man. “For what purpose?” you may say, Why, that you may
become an Olympic conqueror; but it is not accomplished without sweat. In my
opinion no man has had a more profitable difficulty than you have had, if you
choose to make use of it as an athlete would deal with a young antagonist. We
are now sending a scout to Rome; but no man sends a cowardly scout, who, if he
only hears a noise and sees a shadow anywhere, comes running back in terror and
reports that the enemy is close at hand. So now if you should come and tell us,
“Fearful is the state of affairs at Rome, terrible is death, terrible is exile;
terrible is calumny; terrible is poverty; fly, my friends; the enemy is near”;
we shall answer, “Begone, prophesy for yourself; we have committed only one
fault, that we sent such a scout.”

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