Stoic Six Pack (Illustrated): Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Golden Sayings, Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus, Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion: ... Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion

by Marcus Aurelius

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.

Stoic Six Pack brings together the six essential texts of Stoic Philosophy:

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
The Golden Sayings of Epictetus
Fragments of Epictetus
Selected Discourses of Epictetus
Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic 
The Enchiridion of Epictetus

In addition to these six master texts, there is also:

*Biography of Marcus Aurelius.
*Link to free audio recording of Seneca’s Letters.
*Seneca Image gallery.
*Epictetus Image gallery.

For students of Stoicism, there is the convenience of having all six texts in one searchable volume. People new to the ideas of Zeno, Seneca, Aurelius et al could ask for no better introduction than this awesome anthology.
 
*Two image galleries.
*Dynamic Table of Contents.

Genres: Philosophy, Classics, History, Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Personal Development

520 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2014

About the author

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (often referred to as "the wise") was Emperor of the Roman Empire from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the more important Stoic philosophers. His two decades as emperor were marked by near continual warfare. He was faced with a series of invasions from German tribes, and by conflicts with the Parthian Empire in the east. His reign also had to deal with an internal revolt in the east, led by Avidius Cassius.

Marcus Aurelius' work Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty and has been praised for its "exquisite accent and its infinite tenderness."

Reviews

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading through all of this took quite a long time, but, I think, is the best way to read it. It is meant to be imbibed a little bit at a time, and to think over the lesson proffered. There is much to ponder, ancient wisdom, and also some ancient anachronisms, too. The Stoic philosophy is a very interesting, and also somewhat alien view to the money based ideas in vogue today.

I very much like thinking about the Stoic way of life, and how it can be integrated into today's world, and I find that a lot of the practical ethics and psychology they talked about is easy to transport today. If you think that tranquility is something that is worthwhile in life, then this book will help you see a way towards that.

[Bruce Strom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an inexpensive compilation of the Stoic philosophers Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca. We did not like the translation they used for Marcus Aurelius, I found it difficult to understand, and I am okay with the late 1800’s translations of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, so I would purchase another translation for Marcus Aurelius.

This compilation, though inexpensive, suffers from many of the shortcomings of many inexpensive Amazon compilations. The typeface was large enough to read comfortably, so this was not a problem. Plus, there are no introductions or footnotes, and they drop the paragraph numbers that so many scholars use to refer to these ancient works. I did not find this to be a major problem, you can still refer to the chapter names, and I have listened to so many Great Courses lectures that I do not mind the lacking introduction, though it would be interesting to know more about the manuscript histories.

Epictetus (in Stoic Six Pack)

Epictetus is my favorite Roman Stoic Philosopher. The writings of Epictetus are accessible and easy to read, consisting of one maxim after another, resembling the teachings of the early Church Fathers in the Philokalia, echoing many of sayings in the Gospels and Epistles of St Paul. Many of his writings were his recollections of the sayings of his Stoic teacher, Musonius Rufus.
To Epictetus, only the good can be truly happy, only the good can truly be free, tyrants may take all you own, but they can never take your most prized possession, your freedom of will; tyrants can throw you in jail, but they can never take away the freedom of your mind; tyrants can take your life, but they can never have your soul. Epictetus, the great philosopher of freedom, was a former slave, a slave to a freed man, and was both poor and a cripple, eking out a living by teaching philosophy.
Epictetus tells us of someone who stole his lamp one night, Epictetus got the better end of the exchange. For Epictetus only lost his lamp, but he kept his faith. The man who stole his lamp, in exchange for the lamp he consented to become a thief, becoming faithless.

We include many more of the sayings of Epictetus in our video. Enjoy!

Our YouTube Video and blogs on Epictetus:
https://youtu.be/Dhd543kov-E
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com...
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com...
Seneca (in Stoic Six Pack)

Seneca and the Stoic philosophers s were the self-help gurus of the ancient world. Living a godly and moral life is all that mattered to the Stoic philosophers. In this video we ponder what Seneca tells us about how virtues are not changed by suffering, the virtue of kindness and graciousness, the healing power of forgiveness, true wisdom, and many other wise sayings of Seneca.

Philosophy is the study of wisdom, for as Seneca writes, “no man can live a happy life without the study of wisdom,” and “life is endurable even when we first begin our study of wisdom.” You must study philosophy every day, “you must persevere, you must develop new strength by continuous study, until that which is only a good inclination becomes a good habit.” “Philosophy molds and constructs the soul; it orders our life, guides our conduct, shows us what we should do and what we should leave undone; philosophy sits at the helm of our ship and directs our course as we waver amid the uncertainties of life. Without philosophy, no one can live fearlessly or in peace of mind. Countless occurrences every hour call for advice, and such advice is to be found in philosophy.”

We include in our YouTube video a brief biography of Seneca, including why Nero forced him to commit suicide. Seneca was an admirer of Epicurus, while Epictetus despised Epicurus, so we will discuss this paradox.

Please watch our first video on Seneca, which includes a short biography and some of our favorite wise sayings of Seneca.
https://youtu.be/wgD8skYi3I0
Our second YouTube video has more sayings from Seneca:
https://youtu.be/m4mcP2F9c4w

Please view our blogs on Seneca:
Seneca, Moral Epistles, Blog 1, Living Well, Dying Well
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com...
Seneca, Moral Epistles, Blog 2, Stoicism and Living a Godly Life
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com...
Seneca, Moral Epistles, Blog 3, Loving Philosophy, Loving God, Loving our Neighbor
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com...
Seneca, Moral Epistles, Blog 4, Stoic Concepts of Virtue and the Good
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com...
Seneca, Moral Epistles, Blog 5, On the Benefits of Friends and Keeping Score
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com...
Seneca, Moral Epistles, Blog 6, Stoicism and the Golden Rule
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com...
Seneca, Moral Epistles, Blog 7, Precious Stoic Nuggets of Wisdom
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com...

[Sokcheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have to stop reading because I was becoming bitchier and bitchier. To the point I had to take a break from work, friends and family, to go on a small little trip to ask myself why I was so irritated at people, where my compassion has gone.

I wouldn't blame stoicism entirely; still, it played a huge part in that bitch-transformation. The essential lesson I got out of half of this book is : endure fortune, be disciplined, and tolerate others' faults. Somehow, it made life a very unenjoyable place for me. When I fail to be disciplined, when someone fails to live up to my standard, I get irritated; yet still had to tell myself to be tolerant.

I find life more enjoyable when I read/watch philosophy of Thich Nhat Hanh. The Order of Interbeing's philosophy is: be mindful, be understanding/compassionate towards others, be disciplined (but you have to know when and why you're not so that you don't be too hard on yourself).

Bye bye, stoicism. Maybe I'm too soft for you.

[Roberto Rigolin F Lopes · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are around -180, and got a pack with six books by Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. Our ancient friends are reminding us that ALL in life is opinion and you can control your own thoughts to enjoy life to the fullest. The only way is to master ourselves studying philosophy to improve our reasoning capabilities. They urge us to be aware that life is wasting away daily. Thus, we should focus on quenching our thirst for knowledge to avoid the superfluous stuff flooding daily life. They defend that happiness is strong related to FREEDOM which is achieved by conquering intellectual independence. Here goes my favorite quote. "Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make new things like them." (Marcus Aurelius).

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is quite possibly the best book ever written! However, the narration was atrocious!

[Antje van Oosten · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite kind of six pack. It is very comforting and inspiring. I never finish reading these book as I keep rereading them in bits. Of course some ideas are (out)dated, but there is still a lot of wisdom and comfort in these old words. And some of them are even more relevant today. Those about the value of time for example. Which is probably why this is an ancient best seller. I would start with Epictetus, but it doesn't really matter.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an absolute grind of a read. Really, it is five books smashed together. However, there are so much wisdom of the ancients crammed into this collection. I suggest anyone read this book, but be aware that it will be challenging to read and time consuming.

[Izthak Zadwing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has a lot of pragmatic knowledge we can use every day. Sometime we need another point of view, a different perspective can give more confidence in G*d and ourselves. With that and the metaphors we have the strength to face the challenges and enjoy the life without excesses. I like this kind of knowledge, that does not teach you just how to think, teach you how to live.

[Dan Grigsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to read in e-book form. Recommend you purchase print versions of these writings which, because of their copyright status, are inexpensive.

[Sarin Das Shrestha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tranlsation in Old English, makes it quite difficult to read

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing set of insight.

[John Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting..

[Amar Nanavati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Converted me into a stoic

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Treasure Chest of Life Enhancing Conversations

This 6 pack of stoic thoughts are a priceless treasure that left a deeper impression on me than anything christianity has fabricated for the masses. Common sense abounds thru the entire collection. The conclusion by the compiler of this data could have been left out, but overall truth outshines any interjection of personal opinion.

Read this collection and your life will be enhanced!

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stoic everyday

A stoic collections, many wise sayings here. You need to progress slowly if you want to undemrstand. Overall this is a good compilation and I hope there are more like this book out there for free.

[Jovany Agathe · Rating 3 out of 5]

good.