Frequestly Asked Questions (and answers) about Stoic philosophy
There are many articles, blog posts, lecture viduos, and podcasts on Stocism. Some of them are excellent, but many others are highly inaccurate. Some of the best (accurate) resources are:
There is no “one best” work for a modern person to study to learn about Stoicism. Instead, there are a variety of resources, the suitability of which depends on exactly what the reader is looking for. The following list includes common choices, and ones regular posters on /r/Stoicism have found particularly useful.
The Discourses and Enchiridion of Epictetus
There were originally twelve formal lectures by Epictetus, plus eight books of informal discussions (Discourses) and a handbook of short reminders (the “Enchiridion”) recorded by his student, Arrian. Of these, all of the lectures and four of the books of discourses are lost: what remains available are four of the books of discourses and the handbook.
The Enchiridion is a very short book of aphorisms, reminders, and exhortations derived from Epictetus’s other works. Their inspirational character and brevity makes them an attractive and approachable introduction to Stoicism, while at the same time the lack of explanation and context can lead to significant misinterpretation: many of the enduring and common misunderstandings of Stoicism arise from reading the Enchiridion without sufficient context.
The Discourses themselves provide some of that context and explanation, particularly when it concerns practical application. Even the Discourses, though, are not formal, complete, or systematic presentations of Stoic philosophy, and it assumes a significant knowledge of the works of earlier philosophers that would have been studied in the formal lessons, and perhaps the (now lost) formal lectures by Epictetus himself. Sometimes these references are direct and obvious (e.g. explicit mentions of a dialogue by Plato), but often the references are transparent to readers of English translations (e.g. brief references to arguments presented at length in other works, or usage of technical Greek terms only used in Stoic theory, but translated as common English words).
Despite these limitations, and perhaps because they do not digress into theoretical discussions, the Discourses can provide a practical, inspirational introduction to Stoic thought. Students studying Stoicism should be prepared, however, to revise their interpretation as they read additional sources.
Many translations of the Discourses and Enchiridion are available, and several are public domain and online; among the best free translations is that of Oldfather. Anthony A. Long, who should not be confused with George Long (who made a much older translation), translated the Enchiridion and included a selection from the Discourses under the title How to be Free. How to be Free is a particularly clear translation for new, modern readers and includes an excellent introduction that helps prevent misinterpretation.
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
In addition to reading and memorizing exhortations and reminders of the type compiled in the Enchiridion, Stoic practice sometimes included writing exercises. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius are thought to the a compilation of such exercises.
The strengths and weaknesses in studying Stoicism through the Meditations are similar to those of studying the Enchiridion: the entries are short, approachable, and easily browsed, and also (in good translations) often beautiful and inspiring. At the same time, they were composed for the author himself, not an external audience, so much is lost in context, and significant background information is assumed.
In spite of these similarities, the Meditations and the Enchiridion can be very different works; Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus each had their own personalities and idiosyncrasies, and these show in their works.
Modern readers are encouraged to read the IEP entry on Marcus Aurelius to help interpret his book.
There are many translations of the Meditations. See this question for more discussion of those available, and links to free online versions.
The Letters and Essays of Seneca the Younger, and the Essays of Cicero
In both Greece and Rome, philosophers wrote primarily in Greek. Not only were Epictetus’s Enchiridion and Dialogues were written in Greek, but also Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations and the preponderance of other (mostly lost, now) books of philosophy. Seneca and Cicero, however, wrote in Latin, and appear to have had a wider, more “popular” audience in mind. Their essays and letters present more systematic and exhaustive discussions of their topics, and are less cryptic and open to misinterpretation. Because they were in Latin rather than Greek, they were more influential for significant periods in European history during which literacy in Latin was more common than literacy in Greek.
Seneca the Younger was a wealthy Roman polician who wrote a number of essays and letters on Stoicism. Particularly good starting points for beginners written by Seneca include:
One good translation of these essays (and several others) is Seneca: Dialogues and Essays, translated by John Davies. Seneca: Selected Letters, translated by Elaine Fantham, is a good source for the Epistulae Morales, but includes only 80 out of the full 124. (The link above provides the full set, in an older translation.)
Cicero was another, earlier Roman politician. He studied with philosophers from several schools, including the Epicureans, Stoics, and Academics (Platonists), and although he regarded himself as an Academic, he was sympathetic to Stoic philosophy as well. He wrote most of his philosophical works between 44 and 46 BC. Works written at these times were not (and were not purported to be) original works, but were rather Latin paraphrases of books (written in Greek) by philosophers from a variety of schools, supplemented with Cicero’s own examples, and sometimes combined with works on the same topic from philosophers of other schools into imagined debates between different philosophies.
Works particularly recommended for newcomers to Stoicism include:
The Guided Tour: Stoic Serenity: A Practical Guide to Finding Inner Peace by Keith Seddon
Keith Seddon’s book is not a “stand-alone” introduction to Stoicism. It is intended to be read in conjunction with Robin Campbell’s translation of Seneca in Seneca: Letters from a Stoic and Robin Hard’s translation of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, and provides extensive discussion and quotes from other Stoic authors such as Epictetus to help the reader interpret and understand the philosophy as a cohesive system.
Short, Accessible Introductions
These short introductions present concise overviews of historical Stoicism, and make excellent introductions or supplementary reading for those learning primarily from the primary sources above:
Modern Adaptations
Historical writing and descriptions are often difficult to put into practice, and modern people inspired by Stoicism are typically selective about what aspects of historical Stoicism they embrace, modify what they do embrace, and supplement Stoic philosophy with other influences.
Collections of Excerpts and Quotes
Collections of excerpts and quotes are a popular way to become familiar with Stoicism, and several such collections are available. Some popular examples are:
All of these include explanations and commentary.
Historical Stoicism
The emphasis in the accounts listed in the previous section are strongly influenced by the intent to provide a basis for modern practice. Several aspects of historical Stoicism are both challenging for modern readers to understand and unlikely to be adopted even if understood, and so are discussed only very briefly in the sources intended for modern practice. However, these elements, including Stoic cosmology, theology, and physics, were fundamentally important to many of the Stoics themselves, and understanding them is essential to understanding their place in the history of science and philosophy. Those interested in Stoicism primarily as history will therefore be better served by books with a different emphasis.
In addition to the classical sources listed as “starting points,” there are a number of additional classical sources that can provide a significantly deeper and more systematic understanding, and provide material for further study.
Unfortunately, the original canon of books written by Chrysippus, Zeno of Citium, and other leaders of the school are lost. A number of fragments and second-hand accounts remain, and there are two collections that make these accounts available:
In addition to the Enchiridion, Arrian took more extensive notes on Epictetus’s lectures. Many of these survive, and several translations are public domain and available free online, including those by Oldfather, Carter and Matheson.
Notes on some lectures of Musonius Rufus, Epictetus’s teacher, are also available in print and on-line.
Seneca the Younger wrote a number of essays not listed in the “starting points” section, and most collections of his letters are not comprehensive. Tracking down these remaining letters and essays is recommended. Notable examples include On Benefits, On Anger, On Firmness, On Mercy, and On Providence.
Cicero left a considerable body of work, and On Duties is not the only one of relevance to those studying Stoicism. Other recommended works by Cicero include the Tusculan Disputations, Stoic Paradoxes, On Ends, On Fate, and On the Nature of the Gods.
Diogenes Laërtius’s Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, an encyclopedia of the views of different philosophers written sometime between 200 CE and 500 CE, includes an account of Stoicism in the entry on Zeno of Citium. The entry can be challenging to read, and Diogenes Laërtius has been criticized for not completely understanding the views he is reporting, but this second hand account is valuable in that it is an attempt to give a balanced overview of the views of the school, rather than the opinions of one specific author on the topics that interest that author.
Arius Didymus’s Epitome of Stoic Ethics is a summary of Stoic ethics, preserved in Stobaeus’s Anthology. Inwood and Gerson’s The Stoics Reader contains the Epitome in its entirety (Text 102, pp. 124-151).
Good resources for exercises a modern person inspired by Stoicism might want to practice include:
The Stoic were strongly influenced by a number of their predecessors and rivals, and in turn exerted a significant influence on many philosophies that followed them. Some works with the strongest relationship to Stoicism include:
In addition to the sources listed in other sections, there are a number of contemporary scholarly works that are highly valuable in understanding and interpreting Stoic philosophy. Some particularly recommended books are:
There are also several highly recommended collections of scholarly papers by multiple authors:
In additions to the recent books on Stoicism listed above, there are several worthwhile late-19th and early 20th century books that describe Stoicism. Free scans of many of these can be found on archive.org, and facsimile reprint editions (of varying quality, sometimes very poor) are available as well. In some cases, there are ebooks for sale that are just uncorrected (and nearly unreadable) OCR output. Both of the books below are good introductions to Stoicism, and available in modern editions of reasonable quality. (There are also poor quality editions of both available, and some major online booksellers make it very easy to accidentally get a different edition than you intend.)
The translation by Gregory Hays is the most popular here, but there are sometimes questions about its accuracy. Other widely recommended translations include those of the Robin Hard, Hammond, and Hicks and Hicks. The one by Farquharson is worth looking into as well; although the translation itself is in modern English it is not the most eloquent or easiest to read, but the extensive notes are very valuable for understanding references, finding related entries, and otherwise providing context, and it is available free online. There are many other translations old enough to be public domain (at least in the U.S.), but most of them mimic archaic (King James Bible style) English, which isn’t to everyone’s taste. There are a few people who do like the (free) translation by Long.
This comment shows the same passage as translated in many of the different translations.
The last 5 pages of Haines’ introduction to his 1916 translation (starting page xvi) discusses the merits and flaws of a number of earlier translations
Pre-1923 translations (mostly with links to scanned books online):
There are numerous more recent (copyrighted) translations: