Book Notes: "Enchiridion" by Epictetus

Enchiridion by Epictetus

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Enchiridion reads like the Proverbs and the Hadith. I am finding much in Stoicism that aligns with many of my own ideas. I am not sure whether this is from aspects of training and education that were implicitly Stoic or not. Indeed, I cannot recall any explicitly Stoic teachings in my formal education. Long's translations are interesting and draw upon previous translations. The notes are helpful, especially where all translators are unable to comprehend the precise meaning of certain of Epictetus's [reading Stephen King converted me to the s's rather than the s' plural] "fragments". This is a quick read, and worth further reflection.

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Book Notes: "The Right of Revolution" by Truman Nelson

The Right of Revolution by Thomas Truman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Truman Nelson's work is relatively obscure today, but his belief in the right of revolution burns in the pages of this book. Written following the Newark riots, Nelson challenges the status quo by drawing on the Constitution's 'Right of Revolution' and the Fourteenth Amendment to justify armed action in response to inequality based on race. Reading this was timely, as I will soon read John Locke's Second Treatise on Government which was drawn upon in the framing of the Constitution. Nelson refers back to the American Revolution and the Civil War, arguing that civil rights for African Americans were paid little more than lip-service. The glacial pace of actualised civil rights meant that revolution was the only way to make these rights real. What is interesting is the historical 'process' of civil rights, with one step forward, two steps backward appearing again and again throughout history. When applied to the problems of today, it is clear that we are currently in the 'two steps backwards' phase. Nelson makes the story of republican liberal democracy come to life, and challenges the conservative republicanism that is all-pervasive in present times. That Nelson considered revolution to be the stuff of republican liberal democracy is obvious, but it is now a myth of antiquity, long lost in the fifty-odd years since his writing. This work makes me think that we are entering the final phase of the end of empire.



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Book Notes: "The Book of Hadith" translated by Charles Le Gai Eaton

The Book of Hadith: Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad from the Mishkat Al Masabih by Charles Le Gai Eaton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Like all religious works, there is much debate over what should and should not be in the text. This work includes translations and the original Arabic text, and is well-regarded. I took copious notes from the Book of Hadith, but these resonate most:
- "If anyone travels a path in search of knowledge, God will conduct him through one of the paths of Paradise" (p. 11).
- "Be in the world as though you were a stranger or a passing traveler" (p. 41).
- "Do not curse time, for God is time!" (p. 100).
- "Beware of envy! Envy devours good deeds just as fire devours firewood" (p. 112).
- "A person keeps saying 'Mine, mine!' But what is theirs but three things? What he's eaten and consumed, what he's worn and worn out, what he's given and that is what endures. Everything else is fleeting and must be given up eventually to others" (p. 117).
A real eye-opener. As the sheikh in Amman said to me "You must read widely, and read for yourself. Do not believe what others tell you, listen only to God".



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