Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-26
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Such is the Illuminating sentence
applied by the late Prof. T. w. Role
ston to the teaching Of Stoicism.
While the modern reader of Epictetus
will peruse the "Discourses" with twen-
tieth-century knowledge he viii be
willing to admit that this grand old
philosopher came nearer to modern
needs than most of them.
In his own day and age the courtly
Seneca, polished, suave friend of en-
perors, taught the same doctrines, but
he did it with his tongue in his cheek.
Seneca praised poverty and had many
mansions. far-flung gardens, slaves.
Epictetus praised poverty and was poor
Seneca was the admired writer, whose
scrolls on Stoicism were in the libraries
of all wealthy Romans.
EpictetuS wrote nothing.
Seneca no doubt thought, If he ever
considered the matter at all, that in the
centuries to come his works" would be
widely read. Today no one reads him.
Epictetus. granting that he might
have looked to the future, could have
had little idea that thousands of his
utterances would be treasured and loved
in the year 1929.
Nor could he have foreseen that his
name would crop up 1000 years later
on the editorial page of The Evening
Star, a paper published at the seat OF
Government of the United States of
America.
Perhaps Arrian might.
Arrian was a shrewd young fellow
who must have had shorthand system
of his own. If any one doubts this, he
has but to turn to the "DiscourSeS.
Their authenticity is on their face. No
man could have faxed them.
No man but Epictetus could have said
them ArriaIl was one of the first good
newspaper men in worlds history. He
did swell job" as we would say today.
"I neither composed the Discourses
of Epictetus in such a manner as
things of this nature are commonly
composed" he declared in his dedica-
ton of the correct edition, NOR did /
myself produce them to public view any
more than I composed them"
He says, further: "TheSe Discourses
are such as one person would naturally
deliver from his own thoughts, extern
pore, to another; not such as he would
prepare to be read by numbers after
wards"
1t would seem, therefore, that Arrian
not only admits the difficulty of reading
Epictetus but also upholds our conten-
ton that a totally different kind OF
edition of him is necessary. Was neces-
sary then, and is necessary now, If the
thoughts of this great man are to reach
the greatest number of readers (the
modern idea of education).
Somehow Arrian's notes" fell into
other hands and were published with
out his consent. His subsequent
authoritative edition contains the fol-
lowing preface, which should urge the
modern reader on to read this best OF
PHILOSOPHERS based on the power OF
mind:
at Is of ttleseonsequence to me If I
do not appear an able writer and OF
none to Epictetus, II any one treats his
Discourses with contempt, since 1t was
very evident, even when he uttered
them, that he aimed at nothing more
than to excite his hearers to virtue.
"If they produce that one effect, they
have in them what, think, philosophi-
cal discourses ought to have.
"And should they fail of 1t, let the
readers, however, be assured that when
Epictetus himself pronounced them his
audience could not help being affected
in the very manner he intended they
should
IF by themselves they have less
efficacy, perhaps it is my fault, or per-
haps 1t is unavoidable.
Farewell"