Discourses

Stoic lessons on judgment, freedom, and daily conduct

By Epictetus

Epictetus’s teachings, recorded by Arrian, explore how to judge clearly, act responsibly, and meet difficult circumstances. Four books in George Long’s English translation.

In Discourses, Epictetus examines philosophy through questions, arguments, and the pressures of ordinary life. Recorded by his student Arrian, these conversations ask what is within our power, how we should respond to impressions, and what it means to live as a free and responsible person. The four surviving books explore character, friendship, anxiety, duties, attention, and the relationship between reasoning and conduct. Epictetus repeatedly challenges the distance between understanding a principle and putting it into practice. His emphasis on judgment and choice invites careful action rather than indifference to other people. The English edition uses George Long’s translation, with his introduction and notes and Arrian’s preface. The Vietnamese edition, Đàm luận, is translated from that English text. Readers familiar with the concise Enchiridion in Short Works can turn here for fuller discussions and examples.