Gold does not always glitter, and not all of these “Golden Sayings” of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus may appeal equally to the reader of today. Yet as the Golden Sayings unfold, they provide a compelling and persuasive opportunity for thoughtful readers to question the way in which they are living their lives. Epictetus, a Greek by heritage, had been enslaved during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero; later, having gained his freedom, he had to leave Rome when a later emperor, Domitian, arbit...

Memorable quotes:"If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother. ""If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"

Very insightful. I liked this one a lot. Epictetus is one of my favorite philosophers!4/5

Some of my favorites from the Golden Sayings of Epictetus:"But I have one whom I must please, to whom I must be subject, whom I must obey:—God, and those who come next to Him (i.e., good and just men). He hath entrusted me with myself: He hath made my will subject to myself alone and given me rules for the right use thereof." "It is a kingly thing, O Cyrus, to do well and to be evil spoken of.""How did Socrates bear himself in this regard? How else than as became one who was fully assured that h...

This book shows that there are some truths which are universal whether they are in the Bible or in Roman philosophy. That being said, though there are numerous instances where Epictetus seems to be in step with the Bible, there are just as many instances where he grossly departs from the teachings of the Bible as well.

The Golden Sayings is a compilation of quotes, thoughts, conversations and aphorisms spoken by and with the former-slave philosopher Epictetus; one of the most highly regarded of the Stoics. Ya - it's a self-help book. Now, Stoicism often faces the criticism of being a weaponizable part of a master-slave apparatus: of course the Roman ruling class were fans of a philosophy based upon accepting one's fate and the hardships that come one's way; when viewed a certain way Stoicism can literally be s...

Stoic philosophical musing that has a lot in common with Judaeo-Christian thought and can hold its own with any contemporary self-help manual.

One of the first self-help books. A few of my favorite quotes..."The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.""Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. ""There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will. ""Other people's views and troubles can be contagious. Don't sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes throug...

Nothing against the book, I just don't like Epictetus. I thought it would be best to read something right to the point but no he's still boring.

Coming from strictly reading analytical philosophy for quite a few years, it was definitely time for some "continental" reading; and really, to what philosophy in general has been forced to relegate to, only the most passionate of hobbyists and academic pursuers would be interested in what the former doctrines are currently focused on-- an unfortunate struggle as the pool of purposeful and viable ideas continues to be ripped out of the hands of the analytics due to an ever-evolving specialized s...

Golden sayings -- but not particularly memorable sayings, if the fact counts that I remember none some months after reading them. I can't recall it boring me too bad, at least; though this ought to be a reminder to me to review books shortly after they have been read.

Having read Epictetus's book of life, I'm a bit confounded. Essentially, I expected something along the lines of Marcus Aurelius and the general Stoic flavor: sustine et abstine (yes, I know these are Epictetus's own words), a dry and dispassionate "faith", constant struggle with passions etc. But, the overall impression is quite different from the expected: Epictetus's worldview seems to be a rather disjointed "unity" of at least two visions of life and nature. One is the "Stoic by the book" mi...

The Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus's teachings, in concise snippets that cover a range of ideas and advice on behaviour. Nearly all of these boil down to a core belief, that humans are governed by God, and should therefore (a) model their behaviour accordingly, being virtuous, driven by reason, etc; and (b) remember that their sojourn on Earth is temporary, so instead of looking towards the pleasures of the body, they should seek to improve the soul. Some of these precepts tend to meander, or...

Epictetus really gets under your skin. These golden ideas comes from his lessons on Stoicism thatwas recorded by one of his students. The philosophy is deceptivelysimple, but effective. These simple tactics are helpful in facing the dailystresses of life.

A short freebie of sayings of the Greek philosopher. Some are very common sense, some I couldn't wrap my head around. He felt that happiness results from focusing our concern on what is up to us while not worrying about what is beyond our control. His idea of happiness was freedom from fear, worry, grief, and dependence upon luck.To all my Goodreads friends!

It has really phrases, but I must disagree with some of them...4,5 stars. Some phrases are mere tautologies or apeals to gods.Overall they're loose, so no real theory on how to live a good life. (Hard to not call the book "rubbish" because of the bite-size format.)Still, the good phrases are really good.

The first and most important thing to remember, when reading Epictetus, is that his philosophy is not the rarefied abstractions that one might think, but rather more like concrete advice. Think less a professor and more one's grandfather, or mentor, or such a person. To Epictetus, philosophy that had no impact in life was no real philosophy at all. I believe that's one major reason why Stoic philosophy in general, and Epictetus in particular, has remained inspirational even to this day. While hi...

I liked Epictetus better than Marcus Aurelius, perhaps because Epictetus was actually lecturing and teaching people, while Aurelius was writing purely for himself. Still not a Stoic though.

I read this collection of guiding principles for a theological literature class I’m taking as a guest.At first I was very wary of the reading list, but I must say I have been pleasantly surprised with every book so far.The Golden Sayings of Epictetus are no exception, but I’ll allow that I enjoyed thinking about it more than actually reading it. The moral principles presented are highly different from anything that is modernly popular, and it was gratifying to view humanity through a new filter....

Epictetus was a sour old bastard who spent his days telling other people how to be righteous and miserable: Don't laugh, don't eat food that tastes good, don't complain, don't want anything, don't expect much 'cause you ain't gonna get it, keep your yap shut but act quietly superior, be humble but make sure that everyone notices your humility, take what the gods dump on you and thank them for it. Epictetus was one of the later Stoics, who seem to have been the grumpy elder brothers of Buddhists,...