Stirring reflections on the human condition from a warrior and emperor provide a fascinating glimpse into the mind and personality of a highly principled Roman of the 2nd century. Recognizing that suffering is at the core of life, he counsels stoic detachment in the face of inevitable pain, loss and death.
Poetics by Aristotle Extraordinarily influential treatise on fine art contains seminal ideas on nature of drama, tragedy, poetry, music and more. Catharsis, tragic flaw, unities of time and place, other concepts.
Utopia by Sir Thomas More 16th-century classic by English ecclesiastic and scholar envisioned a tolerant, patriarchal island kingdom free of private property, violence, bloodshed and vice. Forerunner of many later attempts.
Discourses (Books 3 and 4) by Epictetus, P. E. Matheson, In this compilation of Books 3 and 4 of Epictetus' Discourses, the philosopher discusses the quest for freedom, solitude, cynicism, fear, discretion, the avoidance of quarrels, and other subjects of enduring interest.
Discourses (Books 1 and 2) by Epictetus, P. E. Matheson, These discussions between an ancient Greek teacher of Stoicism and his students offer secular thinkers a mode of reasoning that dismisses the strictures of absolutism and emotionalism in exchange for a more peaceful life.
Enchiridion by Epictetus, George Long A first-century Stoic, Epictetus argued that we will always be happy if we learn to desire that things should be exactly as they are. His Enchiridion distills his teachings to illuminate a way to a tranquil life.
