The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness - Hardcover

Epictetus; Lebell, Sharon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062513222 ISBN 13: 9780062513229

Publisher: HarperOne, 1995

Synopsis

Perennial wisdom on how best to live with serenity and joy in a thoroughly contemporary and delightfully pragmatic new adaptation. "Wise as a grandfather, earthly as the Tao."-- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

About this title

Review:

"Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can't control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible." The Stoic philosopher Epictetus was born on the eastern edges of the Roman Empire in A.D. 55, but The Art of Living is still perfectly suited for any contemporary self-help or recovery program. To prove the point, this modern interpretation by Sharon Lebell casts the teachings in up-to-date language, with phrases like "power broker" and "casual sex" popping up intermittently. But the core is still the same: Epictetus keeps the focus on progress over perfection, on accomplishing what can be accomplished and abandoning unproductive worry over what cannot.

About the Author:

Epictetus (circa 55-135 ce) taught in Rome until the year 94 ce, when Emperor Domitian banished philosophers from the city. In exile, he established a school of philosophy where his distinguished students included Marcus Aurelius, author of Meditations. Some 1,863 years after Epictetus's death, Tom Wolfe revived his philosophy in the bestselling novel A Man in Full.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperOne
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0062513222
• ISBN 13: 9780062513229
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 114