The Daily Stoic - Epictetus - Discourses Pt. 1

Episode Date: July 2, 2023

In today’s audiobook reading, Ryan presents an excerpt from one of the seminal texts of Stoicism, the Discourses of Epictetus, read by Michael Reid. As a series of lectures given by Epictetus that were written down by his pupil Arrian in 108 A.D., these discourses provide practical advice to think on and practice in order to move oneself closer toward the ultimate goal of living free and happy. This first section encompasses Epictetus’s teachings on what we should do about what is in our power and what is not.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Stoic Podcast. On Sundays, we take a deeper dive into these ancient topics with excerpts from the Stoic texts, from the Stoic texts, audio books that we like here, recommend here at Daily Stoic, and other long form wisdom that you can chew on on this relaxing weekend. We hope this helps shape your understanding of this philosophy and most importantly that you're able to apply it to virtual life. Thank you for listening. Hey, it's Ryan Holiday. Welcome to another weekend episode of the Daily Stood podcast. We've talked about epictetus here quite a bit. Actually, we just rolled out this really cool new YouTube video about epictetus's secrets for bit. Actually, we just rolled out this really cool new YouTube video about epictetus's secrets for resilience. You can check that out at youtube.com slash daily stow it.

But epictetus is fascinating because unlike all the other stowings, he actually experienced profound and real adversity without any of the privileges that would have balanced out the life of Marcus Arrealis or Seneca, okay? He's born a slave, he spends 30 years in slavery. In fact, even his name, Epictetus, it means acquired one. The student doesn't even get his own name. Now, Epictetus doesn't write anything down as far as we know.

Epictetus that we're going to hear from today, even the epictetus that Marcus really quotes in his meditations is coming to us from lecture notes from his students. Was Marcus's from his philosophy teacher Rousticus? Are these Rousticus's notes or is Rousticus himself just handing Marcus really the notes from Aryan, who also writes a fascinating book about Alexander the Great, who is a favorite of Hadrian, the Emperor. Anyways, that's why Epochetus's work is called the Discourses, because it's the lecture notes is what Epochetus is talking about in his philosophy school in Necapolis, in Greece, the early second century AD.

And there's a bunch of different translations. I like the Penguin Classic translation. Robin Waterfeld has a new translation of Epic Teedis. It's also quite good. In today's episode, we're reading one from an older translation. This is going to be read to us by Michael Reed. He's been doing a bunch of awesome voiceover work for Daily Stoke, including the Epic Teedis video that I mentioned earlier. But Epic Teictetus starts at the beginning, right? He says, this is about what's in our control and what isn't, how to make use of what's in our power and treat the rest as something we accept,

something we put up with, something we come to terms with, something we find out how to use, how to be made better for having gone through, which is all the more poignant, again, when you think about what epictetus went through in his life, the things he had to come to terms with, things he had to accept, you know, he's not being glib about it. He's not talking about being stuck in traffic, right? He's talking about his lame leg, which was broken by a cruel slave master.

He's talking about the years of his life that were stolen. He's talking about the injustices of the society that he lives in, which came down so hard on him. So I wanted to bring you some thoughts directly from epictetus himself, although direct epictetus gives his lectures, Aryan and other students write them down, then these get translated and translated and translated, and then they were read. And then this excerpt from book one of epictetus's discourses is brought to you by Daily Stoke and Michael Reed. And you can grab any of the translations of epictetus from the Painted Porch, grab them anywhere books are sold. But I hope this is a little intro into the one and only epictetus.

Life can get you down. I'm no stranger to that. When I find things are piling up, I'm struggling to deal with something. Obviously, I use my journal, obviously I turn to stochism, but I also turn to my therapist, which I've had for a long time and has helped me through a bunch of stuff. Because I'm so busy and I live out in the country, I do therapy remote, so I don't have to drive somewhere. And that's where today's sponsor comes in.

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As a listener of this podcast, you can get 80 bucks off your first month with Talkspace when you go to Talkspace.com.sashtoic. To match with a license therapist today, go to Talkspace.com.sashto to get 80 bucks off your first month and show your support for the daily stope. That's ToxPace.com slash Stoic. Book 1. Concerning what is in our power and what is not. In general, you will find no art or faculty that can analyze itself. Therefore, none that can approve or disapprove of itself. The art of grammar is restricted to analyzing and commenting on literature. Music is conned to the analysis of harmony.

Consequently, neither of them analyzes itself. Now, if you're writing to a friend, the art of grammar will help you decide what words to use, but it will not tell you whether it is a good idea to write to your friend in the first place. Music is no different. Whether this is a good time to sing and play or a bad one, the art of music by itself cannot decide. So what can? The faculty that analyzes itself as well as the others, namely the faculty of reason.

Reason is unique among the faculties assigned to us and being able to evaluate itself, what it is, what it is capable of, how valuable it is, in addition to passing judgment on others. What decides whether a sum of money is good? The money is not going to tell you. It must be the faculty that makes use of such impressions. Reason. Reason. In addition, takes the measure of music, grammar, and the other arts, judging their bane, and deciding when it's best to use them. So it's only appropriate that the gods have given us the best and most ecacious gift, the ability to make good use of impressions.

Other capacities, they did not put in our power. Was it because they did not want to? Personally, I believe that they would have endowed us with those others too, had they been able. But they were not. Since we are on earth, you see, bound to a material body and material things, we can hardly avoid being limited by these extraneous factors. Well, what does Zeus say?

Epicetus, if it were possible, I would have made your little body in possessions both free and unrestricted. As it is though, make no mistake, this body does not belong to you. It is only cunningly constructed clay. And since I could not make the body yours, I have given you a portion of myself instead, the power of positive and negative impulse, of desire and aversion, the power, in other words,

of making good use of impressions. If you take care of it and identify with it, you will never be blocked or frustrated. You won't have to complain and never will need to blame or alter anyone. Is that enough to satisfy you? It's more than enough, thank you. And yet, while there is only the one thing we can care for and devote ourselves to, we choose instead to care about and attach ourselves to a score of others, to our bodies, to our property, to our family, friends and slaves. And being attached to many things, we are weighed down and dragged along with them.

If the weather keeps us from traveling, we sit down, fret, and keep asking which way is the wind blowing? From the north, that's no good. When will it blow from the West? When it wants to, or rather when Aeolus wants it to, because God put Aeolus in charge of the winds, not you. What should we do then? Make the best use of what is in our power, and treat the rest in accordance with its nature, and what is its nature. And what is its nature?

However, God decides. It's funny. I talked to lots of people and a good chunk of those people haven't been readers for a long time. They've just gotten back into it. And I always love hearing that and they tell me how they fall in love with reading, they're reading more than ever and I go, let me guess, you listen audio books, don't you? And it's true and almost invariably they listen to them on Audible. That's because Audible offers an incredible selection of audio books across every genre from bestsellers and new releases to celebrity memoirs and of course, ancient philosophy, all my books are

available on audio, read by me for the most part. Audible lets you enjoy all your audio entertainment in one app. You'll always find the best of what you love, or something new to discover. And as an Audible member, you get to choose one title a month to keep from their entire catalog, including the latest best sellers and new releases. You'll discover thousands of titles from popular favorites, exclusive new series, and exciting new voices in audio. You can check out Stillness is the Key, the Daily Dad.

I just recorded so that's up on Audible now. Coming up on the 10-year anniversary of the obstacle is the way audio books, so all those are available and new members can try Audible for free for 30 days. Visit audible.com slash daily stoke or text daily stoke to 500-500. That's audible.com slash daily stoke or text daily stoke to 500 500. Must I be beheaded now in the loan? Well, do you want everyone to be beheaded just because misery loves company? Why not hold out your neck the way Latteranus did in Rome, when condemned by Nero to be beheaded. He held out his neck willingly to take the blow, but the blow was decent, so he recoiled a bit, but then had enough self-command to offer his neck a second time.

The grounds of his conspiracy, he replied, if I want anything, I will tell it to your master. What should we have ready at hand in a situation like this? The knowledge of what is mine and what is not mine, and what I can and cannot do. I must die, but must I die bawling. I must die, but must I die bawling? I must be put in chains, but moaning and groaning, too. I must be exiled, but is there anything to keep me from going with the smile? Calm and self-composed. Tell us your secrets. I refuse as this is up to me. I will put you in chains. What's that you say, friend? It's only my leg. You will chain. Not even God can conquer my will. I will throw you in prison. Correction, it is my body. You will throw there. I will behead you." Well, when did I ever claim that mine was the only neck that couldn't be severed? That's the kind of attitude you need to cultivate if you would be a philosopher. The sort of

sentiments you should write down every day and put in practice. Thresha used to say, I would sooner be killed today than banished tomorrow. In what did Musoneus say to him, if you choose death because it is the greater evil, what sense is there in that? Or if you choose it as the lesser evil, remember who gave you the choice. Why not try coming to terms with what you have been given? Agribinus used to say, I don't add to my troubles. To illustrate, someone once said to him, you are being tried in the Senate. Good luck, but it was 11 in the morning, and at that hour he was in the habit of taking

his bath and exercise. Let us be to exercise. When he was done, word came that he had been condemned. To exile, he asked, or death. Exile. In my estate, what about that? It has not been confiscated. Well, then, let us go to my villa in Aurecia and have lunch there. This shows what is possible when we practice what is necessary and make our desire and aversion safe against any setback or adversity. I have to die. If it is

now, well then I die now. If later, then now I will take my lunch, since the hour for lunch has arrived. And dying, I will tend to later. How? As someone who knows that you have to return what belongs to somebody else. Thanks for listening to The Daily Stoke Podcast. Just a reminder, we've got signed copies of all my books in the Daily Stoke Store. You can get them personalized, you can get them sent to a friend.

The app goes the way. You go as the enemy, still in this is the key. The leather bound edition of the Daily Stoke, we have them all in the Daily Stoke Store, which you can check out at store.dailystoke.com. Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic early and ad-free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music App today, or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could live in a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean working during the day and partying at night with your best friends and have it be 100% paid for.

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