Epictetus Works (Discourses, Enchiridion, Fragments)

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...conceptions of God and noble goals for humanity; I know of no other work where the inescapable laws of justice original: "retribution" are more grandly stated, with less reliance on childish bribes or threats. It is sad to see the well-meaning Mrs. Carter Elizabeth Carter (1717–1806) was an English scholar and writer who published the first English translation of the works of Epictetus in 1758. apologizing for this high-minded thought as if it were a flaw. It is also strange to find Merivale Charles Merivale (1808–1893) was an English historian and churchman known for his history of Rome. criticizing it as a "low and popular view" to suggest that vice is its own punishment and virtue its own reward. However, my goal is not to defend these simple principles, but to allow them to speak for themselves with as much of their original clarity as possible.

It did not seem strange to me, but actually very natural, to transition from life in a military camp to the study of Epictetus. Where else should a student find peace during a forced retirement from active service, if not in "the still air of delightful studies"? This is a reference to a phrase by the poet John Milton in his work The Reason of Church-Government (1642). There also seemed to be a special appropriateness in coming to this work after leading a regiment of Black soldiers original: "colored soldiers." Higginson served as the Colonel of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, the first federally authorized African-American regiment, during the Civil War.. Their great role model, Toussaint l’Ouverture Toussaint l’Ouverture (c. 1743–1803) was the leader of the Haitian Revolution; like Epictetus, he was born into slavery and rose to great influence., considered the writings of this fellow slave to be a favorite handbook. Furthermore, the return of peace Referring to the end of the American Civil War in 1865. feels like a fitting time to call public attention once again to those eternal principles that form the only basis for true prosperity. In an era of increasing religious tolerance, it is a good time to revive the voice of one who testified to the highest spiritual truths before any of our current religious denominations original: "sects" were even born.

T. W. H. Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823–1911) was an American minister, author, abolitionist, and soldier who edited this version of Epictetus.