Showing titles in Greek & Roman

Many struggle with anxiety, confusion, and doubt, feeling like they’re losing control over their lives. But what if there’s a way to navigate through these stormy seas and emerge stronger than ever? This enlightening guide delves into the powerful principles of Stoicism, offering you the tools to develop mental clarity and resilience.

For nearly 2,500 years, students, politicians, political thinkers, and military leaders have read the eloquent and shrewd speeches in Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War for profound insights into military conflict, diplomacy, and the behavior of people and countries in times of crisis. How to Think about War presents the most influential and compelling of these speeches in an elegant new translation by classicist Johanna Hanink, accompanied by an enlightening introduction.   

Plutarch: Alexander is the essential companion to Plutarch's Caesar, the life paired with Alexander in Plutarch's Parallel Lives. This new English version of Alexander is followed by an Afterword about Plutarch’s Parallel Lives by the translator, Christopher Pelling, Emeritus Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford University.

Worried that old age will inevitably mean losing your libido, your health, and possibly your marbles too? Well, Cicero has some good news for you. In How to Grow Old, the great Roman orator and statesman eloquently describes how you can make the second half of life the best part of all - and why you might discover that reading and gardening are actually far more pleasurable than sex ever was.

Although he was born into slavery and endured a permanent physical disability, Epictetus (ca. 50-ca. 130 CE) maintained that all people are free to control their lives and live in harmony with nature. We will always be happy, he argued, if we learn to desire that things should be exactly as they are. After attaining his freedom, Epictetus spent his career teaching philosophy and advising a daily regimen of self-examination.

The dramatic nature of Plato’s dialogues is delightfully evident in the "Symposium." The marriage between character and thought bursts forth as the guests gather at Agathon's house to celebrate the success of his first tragedy. With wit and insight, they each present their ideas about love - from Erixymachus’s scientific naturalism to Aristophanes' comic fantasy. The unexpected arrival of Alcibiades breaks the spell cast by Diotima’s ethereal climb up the staircase of love to beauty itself.

Gaius Musonius Rufus was a Roman Stoic philosopher of the first century AD. He has been referred to as the Roman Socrates and is also remembered for being the teacher of Epictetus. He taught philosophy in Rome during the reign of Nero and so was sent into exile in 65 AD, returning to Rome only under Galba. Twenty-one of his lectures survive together with a few fragmentary notes from others, all of which are contained in this narration.

Aristotle said that philosophy begins with wonder, and the first Western philosophers developed theories of the world which express simultaneously their sense of wonder and their intuition that the world should be comprehensible. But their enterprise was by no means limited to this proto-scientific task. Through, for instance, Heraclitus's enigmatic sayings, the poetry of Parmenides and Empedocles, and Zeno's paradoxes, the Western world was introduced to metaphysics, rationalist theology, ethics, and logic.

In Aristotle's Rhetoric, the philosopher identifies rhetoric as one of the three key elements of philosophy, along with logic and dialectic. According to Aristotle, logic is concerned with reasoning to reach scientific certainty while dialectic and rhetoric - because they are concerned with probability - are the branches of philosophy best suited to human affairs. Rhetoric is a tool for practical debate, a means for persuading a general audience to resolve practical issues using probable knowledge.

The Discourses of Epictetus are a series of informal lectures by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus written down by his pupil Arrian around 108 AD. Four books out of an original eight are still extant. The philosophy of Epictetus is intensely practical.

The Enchiridion or Handbook of Epictetus is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice compiled by Arrian, a 2nd-century disciple of the Greek philosopher Epictetus. Although the content is mostly derived from the Discourses of Epictetus, it is not a summary of the Discourses but rather a compilation of practical precepts. Eschewing metaphysics, Arrian focuses his attention on Epictetus's work applying philosophy to daily life. The book is thus a manual to show the way to achieve mental freedom and happiness in all circumstances.

Drawing on the wisdom of Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and others, Nancy Sherman's Stoic Wisdom presents a compelling modern Stoicism that teaches grit, resilience, and the importance of close relationships in addressing life's biggest and smallest challenges.

Does happiness come from the pursuit of pleasure or moral virtue? A vivid new translation of Cicero’s exploration of a timeless question.

Life is unpredictable. Challenges arise, setbacks happen, and uncertainty is inevitable. But while you may not control what happens, you can control how you respond. Imagine facing uncertainty without fear, setbacks without frustration, and loss without despair. This book will show you how to shift your focus from what you can’t control to what you can—your thoughts, actions, and perspective.

For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by peace and freedom from fear, the absence of pain, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans; the universe is infinite and eternal; and events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms.

Brought to you by Penguin. We all know what it means to be ‘stoical’: to have a stiff upper lip, to hide or suppress one’s emotions, to be indifferent to the outside world. Many people might reasonably think that this doesn’t sound like a good way to live. Who would want to feel nothing?...

Master ancient wisdom for modern resilience and inner peace in as little as one hour a day, even if your current lifestyle feels overwhelmingly busy. Do you struggle to find inner peace amidst the chaos of everyday life? Are you seeking effective methods to manage stress in your professional world? Perhaps you're simply curious about how ancient philosophies can offer contemporary solutions?

Rather than confusing you with jargon, which is often the case with other books, this book is a simple-to-follow practical guide on using Stoic philosophy to become more calm, assured, and confident. This book will teach you about the many benefits of a stoic mentality and help you understand that a fulfilling life is found in a lifestyle that aligns with your values and dreams.

Listening is a skill—even an art—and it’s essential to learning and to life. Indeed, as Plutarch writes in How to Listen, “listening well is the foundation for living well.” In this volume, Jeffrey Beneker presents a vivid and accessible new translation of Plutarch’s classic essay about how to become a skilled listener, complete with an inviting introduction.

When I consider how much honor is attributed to antiquity, and how many times, not to mention many other examples, a fragment of an antique statue has been bought at a great price in order to have it near to one, honoring his house, being able to have it imitated by those who delight in those arts, and how they then strive with all industry to present them in all their work: and when I see, on the other hand, the works of greatest virtu which Historians indicate have been accomplished by ancient Kingdoms and Republics, by Kings, Captains, Citizens, Lawgivers, and others....