View source for Enchiridion of Epictetus

{{Short description|Stoic ethical advice compiled by Arrian}}
{{Infobox book
| name          = Enchiridion
| title_orig    =
| translator    =
| image         = Epictetus Enchiridion 1683 page1.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Chapter 1 of the Enchiridion of Epictetus from a 1683 edition in Greek and Latin
| author        = [[Epictetus]] / [[Arrian]]
| illustrator   =
| cover_artist  =
| country       = [[Roman Greece|Greece]]
| language      = [[Koine Greek]]
| series        =
| subject       = Ethics
| genre         = Philosophy
| publisher     =
| pub_date      = {{c.|lk=no|125&nbsp;CE}}
| english_pub_date =
| pages         =
| isbn          =
| oclc          =
| preceded_by   =
| followed_by   =
| wikisource = Enchiridion (Epictetus)
}}

The '''''Enchiridion''''' or '''''[[Handbook]] of Epictetus''''' ({{langx|grc|Ἐγχειρίδιον Ἐπικτήτου}}, ''Enkheirídion Epiktḗtou'') is a short manual of [[Stoicism|Stoic]] ethical advice compiled by [[Arrian]], a 2nd-century disciple of the Greek philosopher [[Epictetus]]. Although the content is mostly derived from the ''[[Discourses of Epictetus]]'', it is not a summary of the ''Discourses'' but rather a compilation of practical precepts. Eschewing [[metaphysics]], Arrian focuses his attention on Epictetus's work applying philosophy to daily life. Thus, the book is a manual to show the way to achieve mental freedom and happiness in all circumstances.

The ''Enchiridion'' was well known in the medieval world and was specially adapted for use in Greek-speaking monasteries. In the 15th century it was translated into [[Latin]], and then, with the advent of printing, into multiple European languages. It reached the height of popularity in the 17th century, in parallel with the [[Neostoicism]] movement.

==Contents==
The word "Enchiridion" ({{langx|grc|ἐγχειρίδιον}}) is an adjective meaning "in the hand" or "ready to hand".<ref name="matty263">{{Harvnb|Matheson|1916|p=263}}</ref> The word sometimes meant a handy sword, or dagger, but coupled with the word "book" (''biblion'', {{langx|el|βιβλίον}}) it means a handy book or hand-book.<ref name="matty263"/> Epictetus in the ''Discourses'' often speaks of principles which his pupils should have "ready to hand" ({{langx|el|πρόχειρα}}).<ref name="matty263"/> Common English translations of the title are '''Manual''' or '''Handbook'''.<ref name="oldfart_xii">{{Harvnb|Oldfather|1925|p=xii}}</ref>

The ''Enchiridion'' consists of fifty-three short chapters typically consisting of a paragraph or two, and appears to be a loosely-structured selection of maxims.<ref name="brittybrenny_6">{{Harvnb|Brittain|Brennan|2002|p=6}}</ref> It was compiled some time in the early 2nd century. Around half of the material in the ''Enchiridion'' has been shown to have been derived from the surviving four books of ''Discourses'' but variously modified.<ref name="oldfart2_479">{{Harvnb|Oldfather|1928|p=479}}</ref> Some chapters appear to be reformulations of ideas which appear throughout the ''Discourses''.<ref name="hard346"/> Other parts are presumed to be derived from the lost ''Discourses''.<ref name="hard346">{{Harvnb|Hard|2014|p=346}}</ref>

The 6th-century philosopher [[Simplicius of Cilicia|Simplicius]], in his commentary on the work, refers to a letter written by Arrian which prefaced the text.<ref name="boat_xiii">{{Harvnb|Boter|1999|p=xiii}}</ref> In this letter Arrian stated that the ''Enchiridion'' was selected from the ''[[Discourses of Epictetus]]'' according to what he considered to be most useful, most necessary, and most adapted to move people's minds.<ref name="longxiii">{{Harvnb|Long|1877|p=xiii}}</ref> In his commentary, Simplicius divided the text into four distinct sections suggesting a graded approach to philosophy:<ref name="brittybrenny_6"/>

# Chapters 1–21. What is up to us and not, and how to deal with external things.
## Chs 1–2. What is up to us and not, and the consequences of choosing either.
## Chs 3–14. How to deal with external things (reining the reader in from them).
## Chs 15–21. How to use external things correctly and without disturbance.
# Chapters 22–28. Advice for intermediate students.
## Chs 22–25. The problems faced by intermediate students.
## Chs 26–28. Miscellania: the common conceptions, badness, and shame.
# Chapters 30–47. Technical advice for the discovery of appropriate actions (''[[Kathekon|kathēkonta]]'').
## Chs 30–33. Appropriate actions towards (a) other people, (b) God, (c) divination, (d) one's own self.
## Chs 34–47. Miscellaneous precepts on justice (right actions).
# Chapters 48–53. Conclusions on the practice of precepts.
## Ch 48. Final advice and his division of types of people.
## Chs 49–52. The practice of precepts.
## Ch 53. Quotations for memorisation.

There are some puzzles concerning the inclusion of two chapters. Chapter 29, a one-page ''Discourse'' which compares the training needed to become a Stoic with the rigorous approach needed to become an Olympic victor,<ref>{{Harvnb|Hard|2014|p=331}}</ref> is practically word for word identical with ''Discourse'' iii.&nbsp;15.<ref name="oldfart2_506">{{Harvnb|Oldfather|1928|p=506}}</ref> Since it was omitted in one of the early Christian editions (''Par''), and not commented on by Simplicius, it may not have been in the original edition.<ref name="oldfart2_506"/><ref name="boat_127">{{Harvnb|Boter|1999|p=127}}</ref> Chapter 33 consists of a list of moral instructions, which are "not obviously related to Epictetus' normal Stoic framework."<ref name="hard346"/>

==Themes==
The ''Enchiridion'' begins with the statement, "Of things, some depend upon ourselves, others do not depend upon ourselves."<ref name="rolypoly_xvii">{{Harvnb|Rolleston|1881|p=xvii}}</ref> So it starts with announcing that the business and concern of the real self is with matters subject to its own control, uninfluenced by external chance or change.<ref name="rolypoly_xviii">{{Harvnb|Rolleston|1881|p=xviii}}</ref> Epictetus makes a sharp distinction between our own internal world of mental benefits and harms and the external world beyond our control.<ref name="aalong_xxxvi">{{Harvnb|Long|2018|p=xxxvi}}</ref> Freedom is to wish for nothing which is not up to ourselves.<ref>{{Harvnb|Long|2018|p=xlv}}</ref> When we are tried by misfortune, we should never let our suffering overwhelm our sense of inward mastery and freedom.<ref name="rolypoly_xviii"/>

A constant vigilance is required, and one should never relax attention to one's reason, for it is judgements, not things, which disturb people.<ref name="along93">{{Harvnb|Long|2003|p=93}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgments about the things.  For example, "death is nothing dreadful (or else it would have appeared dreadful to [[Socrates]])&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;."|Chapter Five<ref name="handbook">''Handbook of Epictetus'', trans. Nicholas P. White, Hackett Publishing Company, 1983.</ref>}}

Reason is the decisive principle in everything.<ref name="aalong_xxxvi"/> Thus, we must exercise our power of assent over impressions and wish for nothing, nor avoid anything that is up to other people.<ref>{{Harvnb|Long|2018|p=xliv}}</ref>

To a large extent, the ''Enchiridion'' suppresses many of the more amiable aspects of Epictetus, which can be found in the ''Discourses'', but this reflects the nature of the compilation.<ref name="oldfart_xix">{{Harvnb|Oldfather|1925|p=xix}}</ref> Some believe that, unlike the ''Discourses'' which seeks to encourage the student through argument and logic, the ''Enchiridion'' largely consists of a set of rules to follow.<ref name="wrighty_333">{{Harvnb|Wright|2007|p=333}}</ref> Others challenge this view, arguing that the chapters of the ''Enchiridion'' can be interpreted as containing arguments and articulating concepts that develop progressively throughout the work.<ref name="aikinystephensy_ix">{{Harvnb|Aikin|Stephens|2023|p=ix}}</ref> The work is built on the conception that the wise person, by the aid of philosophy, may reap benefit from every experience in life.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rolleston|1881|pp=xxvi–xxvii}}</ref> With proper training the student can flourish in adverse situations as well as favorable ones.<ref name="aalong_xxxv">{{Harvnb|Long|2018|p=xxxv}}</ref> The human spirit has capacities as yet undeveloped, but which it is for our good to develop.<ref name="rolypoly_xx">{{Harvnb|Rolleston|1881|p=xx}}</ref> Thus, the book is a manual on how to make progress towards what is necessary and sufficient for happiness.<ref name="aalong_xxxv"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Long|2018|p=xxxvii}}</ref>

Epictetus makes vivid use of imagery, and analogies include life depicted as: a ship's voyage (Ch. 7), an inn (Ch. 11), a banquet (Chs. 15, 36), and acting in a play (Ch. 17, 37).<ref name="brittybrenny_7">{{Harvnb|Brittain|Brennan|2002|p=7}}</ref> He takes many examples from everyday life, including: a broken jug (Ch. 3), a trip to the baths (Chs. 4, 43), his own lameness (Ch. 9), the loss of a child (Ch. 11), and the price of lettuce (Ch. 25).<ref name="brittybrenny_7"/>

== Reception ==
[[File:Epicteti Enchiridion, Angelo Politiano interprete (Basel 1554) page 1.jpg|thumb|right|Latin translation by Angelo Poliziano (Basel 1554)]]
For many centuries, the ''Enchiridion'' maintained its authority both with [[Paganism|Pagans]] and [[Christians]].<ref name="smithy351">{{Harvnb|Schmitz|1870|p=351}}</ref> 

===Commentary of Simplicius===
In the 6th century the Neoplatonist philosopher [[Simplicius of Cilicia]] wrote a huge commentary on the ''Enchiridion'', which is more than ten times the bulk of the original text.<ref name="oldfart2_480">{{Harvnb|Oldfather|1928|p=480}}</ref> Chapter after chapter of the ''Enchiridion'' is dissected, discussed, and its lessons drawn out with a certain laboriousness.<ref name="rolypoly_xiif">{{Harvnb|Rolleston|1881|pp=xii–xiii}}</ref> Simplicius' commentary offers a distinctly [[Platonism|Platonist]] vision of the world,<ref name="brittybrenny_vii">{{Harvnb|Brittain|Brennan|2002|p=vii}}</ref> one which is often at odds with the Stoic content of the ''Enchiridion''.<ref name="brittybrenny_4">{{Harvnb|Brittain|Brennan|2002|p=4}}</ref> Sometimes Simplicius exceeds the scope of a commentary; thus his commentary on ''Enchiridion'' 27 (Simplicius ch. 35) becomes a refutation of [[Manichaeism]].<ref name="boat_xiv">{{Harvnb|Boter|1999|p=xiv}}</ref>

===Christian adaptations===
The ''Enchiridion'' was adapted three different times by Greek Christian writers. The oldest manuscript, ''Paraphrasis Christiana'' (''Par''), dates to the 10th century.<ref name="boat_xiv"/> Another manuscript, falsely ascribed to [[Nilus of Sinai|Nilus]] (''Nil''), dates to the 11th century.<ref name="boat_xiv"/> A third manuscript, Vaticanus gr. 2231 (''Vat''), dates to the 14th century.<ref name="boat_xiv"/> It is not known when the original versions of these manuscripts were first made.<ref name="boat_xiv"/> These guides served as a rule and guide for monastic life.<ref name="oldfart_xxvii">{{Harvnb|Oldfather|1925|p=xxvii}}</ref> The most obvious changes are in the use of proper names: thus the name Socrates is sometimes changed to Paul.<ref name="rolypoly_xiif"/><ref name="oldfart_xxvii"/> All three texts follow the ''Enchiridion'' quite closely, although the ''Par'' manuscript is more heavily modified: adding or omitting words, abridging or expanding passages, and occasionally inventing new passages.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boter|1999|p=206}}</ref>

=== Transmission ===
Over one hundred manuscripts of the ''Enchiridion'' survive.{{Ref label|A|a|none}} The oldest extant manuscripts of the authentic ''Enchiridion'' date from the 14th century, but the oldest Christianised ones date from the 10th and 11th centuries, perhaps indicating the Byzantine world's preference for the Christian versions.<ref name="boat_xv">{{Harvnb|Boter|1999|p=xv}}</ref> The ''Enchiridion'' was first translated into [[Latin]] by [[Niccolò Perotti]] in 1450, and then by [[Angelo Poliziano]] in 1479.<ref name="boat_xv"/> The first printed edition (''[[editio princeps]]'') was Poliziano's Latin translation published in 1497.<ref name="boat_xv"/> [[List of editiones principes in Greek|The original Greek was first published]] (somewhat abbreviated) with Simplicius's ''Commentary'' in 1528.<ref name="boat_xv"/> The edition published by [[Johann Schweighäuser]] in 1798 was the major edition for the next two-hundred years.<ref name="boat_xv"/><ref name="oldfart_xxii">{{Harvnb|Oldfather|1925|p=xxii}}</ref> A critical edition was produced by Gerard Boter in 1999.<ref name="boat_xvi">{{Harvnb|Boter|1999|p=xvi}}</ref>

The separate editions and translations of the ''Enchiridion'' are very many.<ref name="oldfart_xxx">{{Harvnb|Oldfather|1925|p=xxx}}</ref> The ''Enchiridion'' reached its height of popularity in the period 1550–1750.<ref name="along261">{{Harvnb|Long|2003|p=261}}</ref> It was translated into most European languages, and there were multiple translations in English, French, and German.<ref name="along261"/> The first English translation was by [[James Sandford (translator)|James Sandford]]  in 1567 (a translation of a French version) and this was followed by a translation (from the Greek) by [[John Healey (translator)|John Healey]] in 1610.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|2007|pp=325–326}}</ref> The ''Enchiridion'' was even partly translated into Chinese by the [[Jesuit]] missionary [[Matteo Ricci]].<ref>{{cite wikisource |zh:二十五言 |trans-title=Twenty-Five Sayings |last=Ricci |first=Matteo |language=zh}}</ref><ref name="along261"/> The popularity of the work was assisted by the [[Neostoicism]] movement initiated by [[Justus Lipsius]] in the 16th century.<ref name="along262">{{Harvnb|Long|2003|p=262}}</ref> Another Neostoic, [[Guillaume du Vair]], translated the book into French in 1586 and popularised it in his ''La Philosophie morale des Stoiques''.<ref name="along263">{{Harvnb|Long|2003|p=263}}</ref>

=== Modern era ===
In the 17th century the German monk Matthias Mittner compiled a guide on mental tranquillity for the [[Carthusians|Carthusian Order]] by taking the first thirty-five of his fifty precepts from the ''Enchiridion''.<ref name="oldfart_xxviii">{{Harvnb|Oldfather|1925|p=xxviii}}</ref> 

In the English-speaking world it was particularly well known in the 17th century: at that time it was the ''Enchiridion'' rather than the ''Discourses'' which was usually read.<ref name="wrighty_325">{{Harvnb|Wright|2007|p=325}}</ref> It was among the books [[John Harvard]] bequeathed to the newly founded [[Harvard College]] in 1638.<ref name="along268">{{Harvnb|Long|2003|p=268}}</ref> The work, being written in a clear distinct style, made it accessible to readers with no formal training in philosophy, and there was a wide readership among women in England.<ref name="wrighty_326">{{Harvnb|Wright|2007|p=326}}</ref> The writer [[Mary Wortley Montagu]] made her own translation of the ''Enchiridion'' in 1710 at the age of twenty-one.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: Comet of the Enlightenment|author1-first=Isobel|author1-last=Grundy|year=1999|page=37|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0198187653}}</ref> The ''Enchiridion'' was a common school text in Scotland during the [[Scottish Enlightenment]]—[[Adam Smith]] had a 1670 edition in his library, acquired as a schoolboy.<ref name="phillipson">{{cite book | title=Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life | publisher=Yale University Press | author=Phillipson, Nicholas | year=2010 | pages=19 | isbn=978-0300174434 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P830m6yCmYUC&q=enchiridion&pg=PA1730}}</ref> 

At the end of the 18th century, the ''Enchiridion'' is attested in the personal libraries of [[Benjamin Franklin]] and [[Thomas Jefferson]].<ref>{{Cite book|author1-last=Wolf|author1-first=Edwin|author2-last=Hayes|author2-first=Kevin J.|title=The Library of Benjamin Franklin|year=2006|page=278|publisher=American Philosophical Society|isbn=978-0871692573|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibgiSlbMDPUC&pg=PA278}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author1-last=Gilreath|author1-first=James|author2-last=Wilson|author2-first=Douglas L.|title=Thomas Jefferson's Library: A Catalog with the Entries in His Own Order|year=2008|page=52|publisher=The Lawbook Exchange Ltd|isbn=978-1584778240|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PS7e0wujFRMC&pg=PA52}}</ref>

The Simplicius' commentary enjoyed its own period of popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries. An English translation by [[George Stanhope]] in 1694 ran through four editions in the early 18th century.<ref name="wrighty_326"/> [[Edward Gibbon]] remarked in his ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'' that Simplicius' ''Commentary on Epictetus'' "is preserved in the library of nations, as a classic book" unlike the commentaries on [[Aristotle]] "which have passed away with the fashion of the times."<ref name="brittybrenny_vii"/>

The current division of the work into fifty-three chapters was first adopted by [[Johann Schweighäuser]] in his 1798 edition; earlier editions tended to divide the text into more chapters (especially splitting chapter 33).<ref name="boat_146-7">{{Harvnb|Boter|1999|pp=146–147}}</ref> Gerard Boter in his 1999 [[critical edition]] keeps Schweighäuser's fifty-three chapters but splits chapters 5, 14, 19, and 48 into two parts.<ref name="boat_146-7"/> 

In the 19th century, [[Walt Whitman]] discovered the ''Enchiridion'' when he was about the age of sixteen. It was a book he would repeatedly return to, and late in life he called the book "sacred, precious to me: I have had it about me so long—lived with it in terms of such familiarity."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Routledge Encyclopedia of Walt Whitman|editor1-first=J.R.|editor1-last=LeMaster|editor2-first=Donald D.|editor2-last=Kummings|year=1998|page=692|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415890571}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Refbegin}}
'''a.''' {{Note label|A|a|none}} Gerard Boter in his 1999 critical edition catalogues 59 extant manuscripts of the ''Encheiridion'' proper, and another 27 manuscripts of Simplicius' ''Commentary'' which contain the ''Encheiridion'' as ''lemmata'' (headings). He also lists 37 Christianised manuscripts, (24 ''Par'', 12 ''Nil'', 1 ''Vat''). Cf. {{Harvnb|Boter|1999|pp=3ff}}
{{Refend}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{Citation|author1-last=Aikin|author1-first=Scott|author2-last=Stephens|author2-first=William O.|title=Epictetus's ''Encheiridion'': A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics|year=2023|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1350009530}}
* {{Citation|last=Boter|first=Gerard|title=The Encheiridion of Epictetus and Its Three Christian Adaptations|year=1999|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004113584}}
* {{Citation|author1-last=Brittain|author1-first=Charles|author2-last=Brennan|author2-first=Tad|title=Simplicius. On Epictetus Handbook 1–26|year=2002|publisher=Gerald Duckworth & Co|isbn=978-0715630686}}
* {{Citation|last=Hard|first=Robin|year=2014|title=Discourses, Fragments, Handbook|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199595181}}
* {{Citation|last=Long|first=A. A.|title=Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life|year=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199245567}}
* {{Citation|last=Long|first=A. A.|year=2018|title=How to Be Free: An Ancient Guide to the Stoic Life|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0691177717}}
* {{Citation|last=Long|first=George|title=The Discourses of Epictetus, with the Encheridion and Fragments|year=1877|publisher=George Bell}}
* {{Citation|last=Matheson|first=Percy Ewing|year=1916|title=Epictetus: The Discourses and Manual together with Fragments of his Writings|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{Citation|last=Oldfather|first=William Abbott|title=Epictetus, the Discourses as reported by Arrian, the Manual, and Fragments|volume=1|year=1925|publisher=Loeb Classical Library}}
* {{Citation|last=Oldfather|first=William Abbott|title=Epictetus, the Discourses as reported by Arrian, the Manual, and Fragments|volume=2|year=1928|publisher=Loeb Classical Library}}
* {{Citation|last=Rolleston|first=T. W. H.|title=The Encheiridion of Epictetus|year=1881|publisher=Kegan, Paul, Trench, & Co}}
* {{Cite DGRBM|last=Schmitz|first=Leonhard|title=Arrianus 4|volume=1|page= |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Darrianus-bio-4}}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Wright |first1=Gillian |date=2007-07-24  |title=Women Reading Epictetus |journal=Women's Writing |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=321–337 |doi=10.1080/09699080701314840|s2cid=161602668 }}

==External links==
{{Wikisourcelang|en|Enchiridion (Epictetus)}}
{{Wikisourcelang|el|Ἐγχειρίδιον|Ἐγχειρίδιον}}

* [https://livingstoicism.com/2023/05/31/the-enchiridion-or-manual-of-epictetus-by-elizabeth-carter-1758/ Text of the Enchiridion of Epictetus by Elizabeth Carter 1758]
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/epictetus/short-works/george-long|Display Name=''The Enchiridon'', translated by George Long|noitalics=true}}
* Text of translation by P. E. Matheson, 1916, [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/dep/dep102.htm ''The Discourses of Epictetus, The Manual Of Epictetus'']
* Text of translation by William Abbott Oldfather, 1928, [https://www.stoictherapy.com/elibrary-enchiridion-oldfather ''The Enchiridion'']
* {{librivox book | title=The Enchiridion of Epictetus | author=Epictetus}}
* [[Simplicius of Cilicia]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20050519213611/http://www.geocities.com/stoicvoice/journal/0301/sc0301b0.htm ''Commentary on the Enchiridion of Epictetus''], translated by [[George Stanhope]], 1722.

{{Stoicism}}
{{Ancient Greece topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:2nd-century books]]
[[Category:Ancient Stoic literature]]
[[Category:Works by Arrian]]
[[Category:Texts in Koine Greek]]
[[Category:Ethics literature]]