All the Works of Epictetus, which are now extant; consisting of his Discourses, preserved by Arrian, in four books, the Enchiridion, and fragments. by EPICTETUS [Elizabeth Carter] - 1758

London: S. Richardson, 1758. First Thus. Hardcover. very good. One of the Earliest Major Works of Greek Scholarship by a WomanElizabeth Carter’s Monumental Translation of the Complete Works of Epictetus EPICTETUS. All the Works of Epictetus, which are now extant; consisting of his Discourses, preserved by Arrian, in four books, the Enchiridion, and fragments. S. Richardson, London, 1758. 2 blank leaves + TP + 2 leaves = Irregular Ode + 6 leaves = List of Subscribers + [i] - [xxxiv] = Introduction + xxxv - xxxix = Contents + xli - [xlii] = Letter from Arian to Lucius Gellius + [1] - 431 = Discourses of Epictetus + half title + 435 - 464 = the Enchiridion + half title + 467 - 502 = Fragments + 503 - 505 = Fragments omitted by Mr. Upton + [506] - [512] = Index + [513] - [516] = Appendix. Large Quarto. First Edition of Carter’s Translation. Epictetus (circa 55-135 AD) taught in Rome until 94 AD when the Emperor Domitian banished philosophers from the city. In exile, he established a school of Stoic philosophy where his distinguished students included, among others, Marcus Aurelius, author of "Meditations". The translator of this first complete collection of his writing in English was Elizabeth Carter (1717–1806). Carter was a poet, scholar, translator, essayist, and letter writer, but she had many other skills besides. Hearing a lady praised for her learning, Dr Samuel Johnson observed: “A man is in general better pleased when he has a good dinner upon the table than when his wife talks Greek. My old friend, Mrs Carter, could make a pudding as well as translate Epictetus.” Carter, it has been noted, “is perhaps doomed to be best remembered” for this “intended compliment.” Elizabeth Carter, however, might have regarded this doom as a triumph and a testimony to her struggle to balance the disparate, often contradictory, claims of matter and spirit, and combining them into a harmonious unity. In Carter’s correspondence with her friend, Catherine Talbot (1721–70), in her poetic Dialogue between Body and Mind (1741), and her translation of All the Works of Epictetus (1758), the reader can trace a developing pattern of conflict and reconciliation that finally reveals closer and more intricate connections between pudding and philosophy than Dr Johnson’s casual aside allows. Carter was not only a scholar, but also a very successful – however reluctant – entrepreneur. Her close friend, Catherine Talbot, not only convinced her to publish this work, but also actively solicited subscribers. Talbot’s efforts were so successful that the list extends to 12 pages in the front of this book and includes everyone from the Prince of Wales to Samuel Johnson himself – along with, it should be noted, an interesting preponderance of women subscribers. Epictetus live about A.D. 90. His Enchiridion contains a masterly sketch of what is called the Stoic Philosophy. This piece was wrote by Arrrianus, a constant auditor and scholar of his; who has likewise preserved many of his larger discourse upon moral subjects. Simplicius wrote an exegetical comment upon the Enchiridion. Dr. Edward Bentham.CONDITION: Very good+ in 19th century half-morocco over marbled boards. Marbled endpapers. Gilt lettering on spine. Edges sprinkled red. Modern ink signature in preliminaries, light foxing. From the library that once owned the book, the H.H. Baxter Library in Rutland, Vermont. 

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