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Essential Works of Stoicism
- GenresPhilosophy
224 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1968
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47 people want to read
About the author
Moses Hadas
88 books14 followersMoses Hadas (1900–1966) was an American teacher, one of the leading classical scholars of the twentieth century, and a translator of numerous works.
Raised in Atlanta in a Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish household, his early studies included rabbinical training; he graduated from Jewish Theological Seminary of America (1926) and took his doctorate in classics in 1930. He was fluent in Yiddish, German, ancient Hebrew, ancient Greek, Latin, French, and Italian, and well-versed in other languages.
His most productive years were spent at Columbia University, where he was a colleague of Jacques Barzun and Lionel Trilling. There, he took his talent for languages, combined it with a popularizing impulse, to buck the prevailing classical methods of the day—textual criticism and grammar—presenting classics, even in translation, as worthy of study as literary works in their own right.
This approach may be compared to the New Criticism school: even as the New Critics emphasized close reading, eschewing outside sources and cumbersome apparatus, Hadas, in presenting classical works in translation to an influx of post-war G.I. Bill students, brought forth an appreciation of his domain for those without the specialized training of classicists.
His popularizing impulse led him to embrace television as a tool for education, becoming a telelecturer and a pundit on broadcast television. He also recorded classical works on phonograph and tape.
Raised in Atlanta in a Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish household, his early studies included rabbinical training; he graduated from Jewish Theological Seminary of America (1926) and took his doctorate in classics in 1930. He was fluent in Yiddish, German, ancient Hebrew, ancient Greek, Latin, French, and Italian, and well-versed in other languages.
His most productive years were spent at Columbia University, where he was a colleague of Jacques Barzun and Lionel Trilling. There, he took his talent for languages, combined it with a popularizing impulse, to buck the prevailing classical methods of the day—textual criticism and grammar—presenting classics, even in translation, as worthy of study as literary works in their own right.
This approach may be compared to the New Criticism school: even as the New Critics emphasized close reading, eschewing outside sources and cumbersome apparatus, Hadas, in presenting classical works in translation to an influx of post-war G.I. Bill students, brought forth an appreciation of his domain for those without the specialized training of classicists.
His popularizing impulse led him to embrace television as a tool for education, becoming a telelecturer and a pundit on broadcast television. He also recorded classical works on phonograph and tape.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 27, 2022
There are helpful things to be extracted from Stoicism, but plenty is silly, extreme, naive, or impossible. It worships rationality and explains its merits well, and also shows you the ill effects of rationality unchecked. Yes, regulate your emotions, acknowledge that you are small in time and space, think clearly. Cool. But, don't be sad your son died, because you knew he was mortal? Don't appreciate the beauty of your spouse or else you will be angry with their lover? Pleasure is not good unless it is useful? Marcus Aurelius my man, chill
August 2, 2012
The meat of this slim volume is the writings of Epictetus and Marcus Auerlieus "To Himself". The rest is immaterial and doesn't matter, anyway. But the humble, searching tone of the other two works and the settled peace with acceptance and a reflective, circumspect attitude speaks with a voice that reaches across the eons to deliver wisdom.
This is the best, compact overview of classic Stocism I have ever seen.
This is the best, compact overview of classic Stocism I have ever seen.
October 22, 2013
Most useful translation of Epictetus' Enchiridion I have read. Accurate to the spirit of the original Greek and easily accessible to a modern English-speaking audience. Recommended for anyone who wants to try out Stoicism for themselves.
January 2, 2012
Either I've lost the ability to read something intellectual, or these are just some boring mamma jammas.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews