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There is a popular, well written novel by Tom Wolfe in 1998 called, A Man in Full. Tom Wolfe has a degree in philosophy from Yale University.

In this novel, he has us following the lives of two modern characters, Charlie Croker, an established Southern football hero and entrepreneur, and Conrad Hensley, a young blue collar worker from California. Their lives keep spiraling downward into helpless situations of seemingly insurmountable proportions. Through chance, Hensley is exposed to the teachings of Epictetus and by applying them to his life he starts to work his way clear of his troubles. When Hensley ends up working with Croker, he imparts his knowledge to the elder hero who uses Epictetus' philosophy to escape the heavy shackles placed upon him.

It is a captivating story with twists and turns surprising the reader at every step. Mr. Wolfe has an uncanny knack in relating the burdens, both emotional and physical that are placed on these sorry characters. After you see how Epictetus's teachings could be applied to these situations, you realize that they can also help every individual deal with life's travails. The reading of this book can lead to a rich and rewarding adventure into the teachings and philosophy of Epictetus.

The Secretary of the Roman Senate during the time of Epictetus, Arrian, attended Epictetus' Philosophy School and doing what came naturally to him, wrote eight books of Epictetus' actual words verbatim spoken during his class room lectures. Four have survived. They are available in two volumes for around $20 each. The titles are: 'EPICTETUS THE DISCOURSES AS REPORTED BY ARRIAN BOOKS I-II' and 'EPICTETUS THE DISCOURSES BOOKS III-IV FRAGMENTS ENCHEIRIDION'.

A wealthy American named James Loeb began in the early 1900's to commission the leading scholars of ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts to translate into English the classic writings. He had the brilliance to format the clothbound books with the original Greek and Latin writings on the left page with the translated English on the right page. With generous footnotes throughout you get the essence of the original writings. The Greek Classics are all hard bound in green with the Latin works in red.

Mr. Loeb donated the Loeb Classical Library to Harvard College which has kept the books in print and has added to the collection. The books are constructed using traditional high quality workmanship with only the finest acid-free paper and binding materials used. They easily fit in your jacket pocket or purse and will stand up to your repeated readings. By having the original Greek or Latin manuscripts always in front of you, it brings out a natural inquisitiveness and makes you wonder if you have the wherewithal to learn to read them in their original form.

The more you read and contemplate these writings the more you find yourself gaining perspective about human nature. It strikes you that basic human nature has changed very little in thousands of years and that modern man hasn't come up with all the answers and isn't any smarter that his ancestors.

The Art of Living, by Sharon Lebell, is an excellent starting point into the teachings and philosophy of Epictetus. Ms. Lebell paraphrases and organizes some of the discourses and Enchiridion that Arrian wrote of Epictetus, using everyday, modern language.

You can breeze through it and use it as a focal point for contemplation and meditation. Young people especially are attracted to it's clean, simple presentation.There is one thought per page. The hardcover version is definitely essential because you'll find yourself referring back to your favorite sections time and time again.

What many people will end up doing is developing an interest into discovering more about Epictetus' actual thoughts and words. That interest can be sated by obtaining the discourses and Enchiridion taken down almost 2000 years ago by Arrian.

This celebrated work is a compilation made by Arrian himself from the 'Discourses', and the great majority of those who know Epictetus at all have come to do so from this little book alone.

Occasionally Arrian has modified to a slight degree the form of statement, as we may observe from the numerous instances, amounting to somewhat more than half of the book, where material from the first four books of the 'Discourses' has been employed; but the substance seems to have been faithfuly preserved, wherever it is possible to follow his procedure in detail.

This soft covered, 45 page booklet costs under $ 5.00. It is a translation by George Long (1800-1879).

The Enchiridion is a brief introductory manual on how to transform Stoicism into a way of life. In it are covered rules for proper social and sexual conduct, and for true thinking. Part of right thinking entails knowing how to distinguish that which we can change from that which we cannot. Our lives are subject to many intractables: the vagaries of health and fortune, and finally, death. But we retain the power to control our thinking, passions and decisions. In this way we can come to terms with our environment, and thus free ourselves from a world of change and dependencies.

Epictetus was one of the most important Stoic philosophers of the first century A.D., along with Seneca, Lucius Annaeus Cornutus and Musonius Rufus. Stoicism's emphasis on reason, austerity and self-control continued to appeal to sober-minded individuals during the next century (the emperor Marcus Aurelius being Stoicism's most distinguished late exponent), before fading as a school in the third century A.D.

Nevertheless, the works of Epictetus as compiled by Arrian have played an influential role in the development of the modern philosphies of rationalism and secularism.

Throughout the Discourses, Epictetus referred in reverential tones to Socrates. Socrates dedicated his entire life in helping everyone he met to lead a more virtuous life. Socrates lived what he preached up until his last breath.

The SYMPOSIUM means 'The Banquet'. The SYMPOSIUM of Plato holds an acknowledged place among those few masterpieces of human art which unveil and interpret something of the central mystery of life. It has been a source of light and inspiration to successive ages since the revival of learning, and is revisited by the same reader at different times of life with fresh wonder and praise.

Like other great works of art it provides its own introduction; so perfectly is the scene set and presented that even at the distance of twenty-four centuries we are able to catch the various tones of the speakers, first in the ripple of their casual talk and then in the flow of their competitive eloquence. But while the modern reader can hardly miss the main effect of the simple narrative, as it develops the lively drama in which the sparkle of satiric wit is made to enhance the glow of high poetic rapture, there are one or two points to which attention may be usefully directed in order that the work may convey the fullest possible measure of its meaning and value.

Its theme is the passion of personal love, so often the subject or occasion of literary art, but rarely examined in its moral aspect with any true perception or profit. Love is treated here with a sense of its universal importance and with a reach and certainty of insight which do not appear in any other of the great religious or moral teachers. This confident mastery was one of the extraordinary powers of Socrates which Plato at this stage of his writing was intent on portraying.

It was one of the strangely memorable impressions which the elder man left on his associates, in spite of his simple, inquisitive manner and his constant avowals of ignorance. It is one of the great dramatic excellences of Plato that he shows us how Socrates adapted his tone and language to the characters of his hearers and to the several stages if his argument or exposition.

In the proportions of its design and the texture of its style the SYMPOSIUM stands out from even the best writings of Plato as a marvel of artistic ease and grace. SYMPOSIUM is one part of the Loeb Classical Library book named PLATO III LYSIS,SYMPOSIUM,GORGIAS. It is available for around $20.

The book was originally published in 1925 and was translated by the eminent scholar, W. R. M. Lamb. A wealthy American named James Loeb began in the early 1900's to commission the leading scholars of ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts to translate into English the classic writings. He had the brilliance to format the clothbound books with the original Greek and Latin writings on the left page with the translated English on the right page. With generous footnotes throughout you get the essence of the original writings. The Greek Classics are all hard bound in green with the Latin works in red.

Mr. Loeb donated the Loeb Classical Library to Harvard College which has kept the books in print and has added to the collection. The books are constructed using traditional high quality workmanship with only the finest acid-free paper and binding materials used. They easily fit in your jacket pocket or purse and will stand up to your repeated readings. By having the original Greek or Latin manuscripts always in front of you, it brings out a natural inquisitiveness and makes you wonder if you have the wherewithal to learn to read them in their original form.

Throughout the Discourses, Epictetus referred in reverential tones to Socrates. Socrates dedicated his entire life in helping everyone he met to lead a more virtuous life. Socrates lived what he preached up until his last breath. The PHAEDRUS has the title 'ON THE BEAUTIFUL, ETHICAL'. The PHAEDRUS is pre-eminent among the dialogues of Plato for the variety of its contents and style, the richness of its imaginative description, and the sportive humor of its conversation.

The chief theme of the dialogue is rhetoric, the art of speaking, a subject which formed an important part of the oral and written instructions of the sophists. Plato assumes that the result aimed at by rhetoric is persuasiveness, the ability to lead the mind of the hearers to a particular belief or action. The sophists claimed that knowledge of the truth concerning the subject under discussion is not essential; all that is necessary is ability to make one's conclusions seem probable. Plato shows that only the man who knows the truth can know what will seem probable. He must also know the minds or souls to be persuaded. This he cannot do without a knowledge of the nature of the soul.

The rationalistic explanation of myths is briefly discussed and rejected, the higher and lower forms of love are analyzed, the nature of the soul is described in the beautiful figure of the charioteer and his two horses. Toward the end of the PHAEDRUS, Plato inserts a remarkable discussion of the relative value of the spoken and written word. It is somewhat startling to find so voluminous a writer maintaining that the written word is only a plaything, or at best, a reminder. This must be what Plato truly believed, however.

PHAEDRUS is one part of the Loeb Classical Library book named PLATO I EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, PHAEDO, PHAEDRUS. It is available for around $20.

The book was originally published in 1914 and was translated by the eminent scholar, Harold North Fowler. A wealthy American named James Loeb began in the early 1900's to commission the leading scholars of ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts to translate into English the classic writings. He had the brilliance to format the clothbound books with the original Greek and Latin writings on the left page with the translated English on the right page. With generous footnotes throughout you get the essence of the original writings. The Greek Classics are all hard bound in green with the Latin works in red.

Mr. Loeb donated the Loeb Classical Library to Harvard College which has kept the books in print and has added to the collection. The books are constructed using traditional high quality workmanship with only the finest acid-free paper and binding materials used. They easily fit in your jacket pocket or purse and will stand up to your repeated readings. By having the original Greek or Latin manuscripts always in front of you, it brings out a natural inquisitiveness and makes you wonder if you have the wherewithal to learn to read them in their original form.

Throughout the Discourses, Epictetus referred in reverential tones to Socrates. Socrates dedicated his entire life in helping everyone he met to lead a more virtuous life. Socrates lived what he preached up until his last breath. The PHAEDO has the title 'ON THE SOUL; ETHICAL'.

The PHAEDO, like the CRITO, has for its scene the prison of Socrates. The immediate purpose of the dialogue seems to be to show that the philosopher will be glad to die; and this purpose is never lost sight of, for it appears toward the end, as at the beginning. In order, however, to prove that willingness to die is rational, it is necessary to prove that the soul will continue to exist after the death of the body. Most believe that the real subject of the PHAEDO is the immortality of the soul.

The dialogue in PHAEDO establishes the doctrine of the real existence of ideas as the sole objects of knowledge and also shows how that doctrine is necessary to human happiness, because it serves to prove that the soul is immortal. The beautiful, imaginative description of the life of souls in the other world is not merely a picturesque addition to the variety of the composition, it teaches us how Plato believed that right and wrong actions were rewarded or punished. The justice of the treatment accorded the souls is made clear and the importance of conduct in this life is emphasized.

PHAEDO is one part of the Loeb Classical Library book named PLATO I EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, PHAEDO, PHAEDRUS. It is available for around $20.

The book was originally published in 1914 and was translated by the eminent scholar, Harold North Fowler. A wealthy American named James Loeb began in the early 1900's to commission the leading scholars of ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts to translate into English the classic writings. He had the brilliance to format the clothbound books with the original Greek and Latin writings on the left page with the translated English on the right page. With generous footnotes throughout you get the essence of the original writings. The Greek Classics are all hard bound in green with the Latin works in red.

Mr. Loeb donated the Loeb Classical Library to Harvard College which has kept the books in print and has added to the collection. The books are constructed using traditional high quality workmanship with only the finest acid-free paper and binding materials used. They easily fit in your jacket pocket or purse and will stand up to your repeated readings. By having the original Greek or Latin manuscripts always in front of you, it brings out a natural inquisitiveness and makes you wonder if you have the wherewithal to learn to read them in their original form.

Throughout the Discourses, Epictetus referred in reverential tones to Socrates. Socrates dedicated his entire life in helping everyone he met to lead a more virtuous life. Socrates lived what he preached up until his last breath. The LYSIS has the title 'or ON FRIENDSHIP; Obstetric'.

In the LYSIS Socrates relates how he was taken by some young friends into a wrestling school, where he finds a large and well-dressed company of youths and boys assembled for a sacrificial ceremony in honor of Hermes. He proceeds to a narrative of two conversation which he had with a handsome boy, Lysis, and his friend, Menexenus. The first one is a simple introductory talk on the motives of personal affection, which are surmised to depend on a sense of utility, and therefore on knowledge. The second and main discussion deals with the nature of friendship, and although this relation is in the end left unexplained, we are conducted through a number of speculations whose method and incidental suggestions are of deep interest to the student of morals.

It is characteristic of Socrates that he takes the prevalent and accepted vogue of strong attachments between young Athenians of his later days as a means of arousing interest in moral speculation. Socrates' educational method is brilliantly illustrated and recommended by the art of Plato. In fact, the mere tone of Socrates towards the boys is itself a lesson in friendship.

LYSIS is one part of the Loeb Classical Library book named PLATO I EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, PHAEDO, PHAEDRUS. It is available for around $20.

The book was originally published in 1914 and was translated by the eminent scholar, Harold North Fowler. A wealthy American named James Loeb began in the early 1900's to commission the leading scholars of ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts to translate into English the classic writings. He had the brilliance to format the clothbound books with the original Greek and Latin writings on the left page with the translated English on the right page. With generous footnotes throughout you get the essence of the original writings. The Greek Classics are all hard bound in green with the Latin works in red.

Mr. Loeb donated the Loeb Classical Library to Harvard College which has kept the books in print and has added to the collection. The books are constructed using traditional high quality workmanship with only the finest acid-free paper and binding materials used. They easily fit in your jacket pocket or purse and will stand up to your repeated readings. By having the original Greek or Latin manuscripts always in front of you, it brings out a natural inquisitiveness and makes you wonder if you have the wherewithal to learn to read them in their original form.

Throughout the Discourses, Epictetus referred in reverential tones to Socrates. Socrates dedicated his entire life in helping everyone he met to lead a more virtuous life. Socrates lived what he preached up until his last breath. The GORGIAS has the title 'or ON RHETORIC; REFUTATIVE'.

Plato produced the GORGIAS as his manifesto towards the time when, at forty years of age, he embarked on his great experiment in philosophic education. The design of attracting the attention of the ordinary man of some culture is evident, first in the choice of the venerable Gorgias-famed all over Greece for his ingenious wit and jingling eloquence-as the figurehead of the piece. Plato fiercely attacks rhetoric, so flourishing and influential in forensic and political debate.

Lastly, he proudly renunciates the pomp and vanities of the world while passionately insisting on the claims of truth and right. The surgical unmasking of the foundation of rhetoric is important to read and ponder in our time. The current vogue of government and political spokesmen and leaders is to use rhetoric as Gorgias did. Their basic belief that it is just to use any words that persuade people to agree with them even though there is no foundation in truth or right is exposed by Plato and Socrates. The words of Socrates in GORGIAS may be more Plato's than of Socrates. The lengthy speeches in Gorgias are not in keeping with Socrates' avowed dislike of lengthy speeches.

We hear in GORGIAS the unmistakable tone of the teacher who is intent on pure logic: the purview is no longer limited to the ethical outlook of Socrates, but is expanding into the region of metaphysics. Gorgias is an excellent introduction into Plato's teachings and may well lead you into his profound work, REPUBLIC.

GORGIAS is one part of the Loeb Classical Library book named PLATO I EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, PHAEDO, PHAEDRUS. It is available for around $20.

The book was originally published in 1914 and was translated by the eminent scholar, Harold North Fowler. A wealthy American named James Loeb began in the early 1900's to commission the leading scholars of ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts to translate into English the classic writings. He had the brilliance to format the clothbound books with the original Greek and Latin writings on the left page with the translated English on the right page. With generous footnotes throughout you get the essence of the original writings. The Greek Classics are all hard bound in green with the Latin works in red.

Mr. Loeb donated the Loeb Classical Library to Harvard College which has kept the books in print and has added to the collection. The books are constructed using traditional high quality workmanship with only the finest acid-free paper and binding materials used. They easily fit in your jacket pocket or purse and will stand up to your repeated readings. By having the original Greek or Latin manuscripts always in front of you, it brings out a natural inquisitiveness and makes you wonder if you have the wherewithal to learn to read them in their original form.

Throughout the Discourses, Epictetus referred in reverential tones to Socrates. Socrates dedicated his entire life in helping everyone he met to lead a more virtuous life. Socrates lived what he preached up until his last breath. The EUTHYPHRO is the first of four dialogues dealing with the trial and death of Socrates.

Socrates comes to the courthouse to attend to some preliminaries of his trial on the charge of impiety and corrupting the youth. Here he meets Euthyphro, who is bringing a charge of manslaughter against his father, on account of the death from exposure of a servant who is himself a murderer. Euthyphro says that he is bringing the charge in the interest of piety, proper religious observances and the will of the gods. It is this claim which leads to the discussion of the nature of piety, or holiness, the chief theme of the dialogue.

The purpose of the dialogue is in part to teach correct methods of thinking. Instructions in methods of thinking may seem needless to modern readers, but the reality is insights into the correct methods of thinking is as important now as it was during the time of Plato. The instructions on thinking play an important part in most of Plato's dialogues.

EUTHYPHRO is one part of the Loeb Classical Library book named PLATO I EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, PHAEDO, PHAEDRUS. It is available for around $20.

The book was originally published in 1914 and was translated by the eminent scholar, Harold North Fowler. A wealthy American named James Loeb began in the early 1900's to commission the leading scholars of ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts to translate into English the classic writings. He had the brilliance to format the clothbound books with the original Greek and Latin writings on the left page with the translated English on the right page. With generous footnotes throughout you get the essence of the original writings. The Greek Classics are all hard bound in green with the Latin works in red.

Mr. Loeb donated the Loeb Classical Library to Harvard College which has kept the books in print and has added to the collection. The books are constructed using traditional high quality workmanship with only the finest acid-free paper and binding materials used. They easily fit in your jacket pocket or purse and will stand up to your repeated readings. By having the original Greek or Latin manuscripts always in front of you, it brings out a natural inquisitiveness and makes you wonder if you have the wherewithal to learn to read them in their original form.

Throughout the Discourses, Epictetus referred in reverential tones to Socrates. Socrates dedicated his entire life in helping everyone he met to lead a more virtuous life. Socrates lived what he preached up until his last breath. The APOLOGY has the title 'THE DEFENCE OF SOCRATES AT HIS TRIAL'.

In the spring of 399 B.C., when Socrates was 70 years old, he was accused of impiety and of corrupting the youth. The chief accuser was Meletus, who was seconded by Anytus and Lyco. Meletus is mentioned in the EUTHYPHRO as a youth and in the APOLOGY he is said to have been incensed by Socrates' criticism of the poets. Anytus was a wealthy Athenian who had served as General of the armies. He was a bitter enemy of all the sophists and especially Socrates because of his criticism of employing his son in his tannery when the son was fitted for higher things. Lyco played a minor role in all of this.

Socrates was tried before a court of 501. After Socrates was found guilty, the penalty still remained to be determined. The convicted was to propose a counter penalty and the APOLOGY is substantially the speech Socrates made before the court. The high moral character and genuine religious faith of Socrates are made abundantly clear throughout this whole discourse. His condemnation is to be explained by the general hostility to the sophists. Socrates was not a sophist. He did not teach for pay and did not promise any definite results. His aim was to show the way to righteousness, to the perfection of the individual soul. Socrates tried to make them think, and thinking, especially on matters of religion, is not welcomed by the slothful or the conservative.

APOLOGY is one part of the Loeb Classical Library book named PLATO I EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, PHAEDO, PHAEDRUS. It is available for around $20.

The book was originally published in 1914 and was translated by the eminent scholar, Harold North Fowler. A wealthy American named James Loeb began in the early 1900's to commission the leading scholars of ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts to translate into English the classic writings. He had the brilliance to format the clothbound books with the original Greek and Latin writings on the left page with the translated English on the right page. With generous footnotes throughout you get the essence of the original writings. The Greek Classics are all hard bound in green with the Latin works in red.

Mr. Loeb donated the Loeb Classical Library to Harvard College which has kept the books in print and has added to the collection. The books are constructed using traditional high quality workmanship with only the finest acid-free paper and binding materials used. They easily fit in your jacket pocket or purse and will stand up to your repeated readings. By having the original Greek or Latin manuscripts always in front of you, it brings out a natural inquisitiveness and makes you wonder if you have the wherewithal to learn to read them in their original form.