Scratching The Surface

My understanding of Epictetus’s Handbook is still pretty basic. I think he’s trying to gives a guide for living without remorse or sadness. What confuses me is the humorous and ambiguous tone that the text has. Still, I was able to pick up certain things that I found quite interesting.

Number 17 is one of the easier points to understand and has a very important meaning concerning our way of life. Epictetus is saying that we are the ones that design our lives and we are responsible for the way we are. “If he wants to play a beggar, play even this part skillfully…” (Pg. 16) We have to give our all, no matter what the circumstances are. That’s the message I’m getting from this text, DO YOUR BEST AT ALL TIMES.

Other than this, I observed that this text shows that those who claim themselves to be philosophers really aren’t. I related this to Socrates since he claimed that he was the wisest man just because he recognized that he didn’t know anything. Maybe Epictetus was influenced by Socrates when writing The Handbook, maybe it’s my impression since I’m currently taking a philosophy class.

If I were to take the text as a whole I wouldn’t be able to specify what the main idea is. I would say that it’s a guide to life, but it also has a sarcastic feel which shows an odd resemblance to Mark Twain’s Advice to Youth.