Épictète , in Greek old Ἐπίκτητος Epiktêtos (Hiérapolis, Phrygie, 50 • Nicopolis, Épire 125 or 130) was a Philosophe of the stoical school.
Biography
Probably born with Hiéropolis (South-western of the Phrygie), Épictète passes its childhood as slave to the service of Epaphrodite (one freed from the emperor Néron) whose tradition makes a cruel Master of it (it would have broken the leg to him, from where the nickname given of Épictète the lame ).Épictète however succeeds in attending the conferences of stoical the Musonius Rufus. Thereafter, it is him also freed under conditions which remain unspecified. It then studies philosophy and Stoïcisme in particular. But in 89, it must leave Rome following an edict against the philosophers of the Domitien emperor. Domitien which badly puts up with the influence that has the Stoïcisme among the opponents with his tyrannical mode.
Épictète is withdrawn with Nicopolis d' Épire where it opens a school which is a great success. During several years he teaches in the form of discussions and handing-over in question. Its contemporaries seem to have the greatest regard for the quality of its teaching. According to Spartianus, it returns then to Rome where it becomes familiar of the emperor Hadrian, but the fact is dubious. According to the Welded, it lives until the reign of Marc-Aurèle, but according to Aulu-Cold, Épictète already died when this one arrives at the capacity.
Épictète did not leave any writing, but one of its disciples, Arrien, collected its remarks gathered in two works the talks ( ιαϬ, ριβαί) and the handbook (Enchiridion) which summarize its doctrines in the form of aphorisms. Its heritage was preserved through a single manuscript, dating from XIe or XIIe century, and was preserved at the bibiothèque of Oxford.
Here the course of the courses of Épictète, such as Emile Bréhier reconstituted it:
- “the meeting started with a technical lesson, made by the Master or a disciple: comment of a text of Chrysippe or Zénon or exercise of logic; after which, often at the time of a question put by a listener, the Master let himself go to an improvisation, released of any form a technical, in style often shining and coloured, full with anecdotes, having recourse to indignation and the irony. ”
Doctrines
The philosophy of Epictète wants to be practical, as a whole of rules making it possible to put pursuant to great values Morale S. the uprightness of spirit which he recommends makes him reject the stylistic effects of the speakers, the logical pseudo tournaments of the Sophiste S and the unrestrained research of the honors.The principal question which the philosophy of Epictète tries to answer is of knowing how its life should be lived. Vis-a-vis this first interrogation, all the other great questionings of philosophy are of little importance in its eyes. For this purpose Epictète puts the question of the existence first of all, or not, of a `natural of the things' which is invariable, inviolable and valid for all the men without exception. Its answer is clear: the `natural of the things' exists and he formulates it, at the beginning of sound Manuel , by saying that, of all the things of the world, some are in our exclusive capacity while others are not it. Our opinions, our movements, our desires, our slopes, our aversions a word, all our actions belong to the first class of the things and it calls them `prohairetic'. The body, the goods, the reputation, dignities a word, all the things which are not number of our actions belongs to the second class of the things and it calls them `aprohairetic'. What is this thus the `Prohairesis'? Epictète shows us that the Prohairesis is the faculty which makes us different from all the other living beings. It is the faculty which enables us to wish or to have aversion, to feel an impulsive need or repulsion, to say yes or not, according to our judgments. The prohairetic things are precisely free by their nature because the freedom of our prohairesis is absolute: it can be restricted neither by the pain, neither by death, nor by anything which is external for him. If our prohairesis makes that we put up with an unspecified fact it is that it thus decided.
Thus, although we are not responsible for the representations which are born freely in our Conscience, we are absolutely and without any doubt persons in charge of the way in which we make use of those. According to Epictète it is paramount to keep in mind that apart from our Prohairesis there exists neither well nor Mal, and that it is vain to try to modify the nature of the things. Which is thus the criterion which enables us to respect in any situation the nature of the things? Epictète explains us why this criterion is a judgment which it is necessary to learn by philosophy and it calls this judgment `Dihairesis'. Vis-a-vis all that is aprohairetic (events, objects, individuals, etc) which is then the attitude which it is necessary to have? It is necessary to adopt the attitude of the good player of failures, i.e. courage to play and overcome.
And if the part is lost? To also lose belonged to the nature of the things. If the part is lost, the Dihairesis which guides us prevents us from making unspecified complaint for what occurs and which does not depend on us. Indeed, it is necessary to accept what the events and the destiny bring to us, as long as this is not our spring. The Man is integral part of a system which exceeds it. Rather than to be opposed vainly to the fate which is reserved to him, it thank you accepts it and says for the occasion that it had to play, because it includes/understands the divine one which is in him and makes reason its life with the tuning fork of its judgments guided by the dihairesis. That means that, provided that one safeguarded the freedom of our prohairesis and complied with the rules of the game, even if one lost the one day match, the true match was always gained.
For stoical nothing is not used for to venerate nature, the gods or other Masters. Only rational principles must make it possible to include/understand • or simply to accept - the movement of the world and the men. It is by a rational analysis that it determines what does not depend on him, and it is thanks to this same reason that it defines its judgments on the world.
The historical models of which Epictète makes think are Diogène and Socrate. According to his Discours one can trace the portrait of what would be for him the stoical accomplished one. This wise would be free and happy even if it had neither country, neither house, neither grounds, neither woman, neither child, nor slaves, and even if his bed were the ground and its only roof was the sky. He would suffer without complaining the mockeries and the blows until loving his torturer like a brother or a father. He is equal Héros and gods because he overcame his interior demons: the Suffering, the Fear, the Desire…
Quotations
- “IV. Thus REMEMBER that, if you believe free the things which of their nature are slaves, and clean with you those who depend on others, you will meet with each step of the obstacles, you will be afflicted, disturbed, and you will complain about the gods and the men. With the place that if you believe tien what belongs to you into clean, and foreign what is with others, never nobody will force himself to do what you do not want, nor will not prevent to you from doing what you want; you will not complain about anybody; you will not show anybody; you will not do anything, not even the smallest thing, in spite of you; nobody will have any evil, and you will not have an enemy, because it will arrive to you nothing vermin. ” - the handbook -
- “XI. TO SHOW the others of its misfortunes, that is of ignorant; to show only oneself of it, that is of a man who starts to inform himself; and to show neither oneself of it nor the others, that is of a man already educated. ” - the handbook -
- “XIX. IF you want to advance in the study of wisdom, does not refuse, on the external things, to pass for imbecile and foolish. ” - the handbook -
- “XLVIII. The gods created all the men so that they are happy; they are unhappy only by their fault. ” - the talks -
Posterity
Marc Aurèle quotes it on several occasions. Its example is also put forward by Origène like model of pagan martyr (episode of the broken leg). It is however about forgotten during the Middle Ages even if writings apocryphal books circulate sometimes ( Dialog of Hadrian and Épictète ). The work of Arrien is translated into Latin only starting from 1453 and the first edition in Greek appears in 1535.
Blaise Pascal writes in 1655 - 1656 the Entetiens with Mister de Saci on Épictète and Montaigne where it pays homage to the philosopher.
Works
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