118 The Imperial Government
enthusiasm;andthephilosopheronshowforculturallymindedtravellersat
Nicopolishadacertainroletoplayasacriticoftheworldanditsoccupations.
None the less, actions and events in a bygone society must be seen, in the
firstinstance,intermsoftheattitudestothem—alltheattestedattitudes—
expressedbycontemporaries.ForthatreasonEpictetus’viewpoint,unique
inoursources,makeshistestimonyallthemorevaluable—andspecifically
asacomplementtotheverydifferentviewpointofPlinytheYounger.
Moreover,theconsiderablequantityoffactualinformationEpictetuspro-
videscoversawiderangeoftopics,fromtheworkingsofthecourttothe
lifeoftheGreekcities.Heshouldthustakehisplaceasahistoricalsource
alongsidehistwodirectcontemporaries,PlutarchandDioofPrusa.
Postscript
Thischapterhaditsorigininthecollectionofmaterialforabookontheim-
perialcourtfromAugustustoConstantine,notinthestudyofEpictetusor
ofArrian(neitherhasreceivedanyfullmodernstudy,whichbothrichlyde-
serve).Topickoutsuchmaterial,ashasbeendonehere,mustinevitablygive
apartialanddistortedpictureofEpictetus’teaching,whichisprimarilycon-
cernedwithconductinordinarylife,andusesexamplesfrommanyspheres
otherthanpolitics.Nonetheless,thepoliticalaspectof histeachingcould
be regarded as subversive, as is made explicit when an (imaginary?) inter-
locutorasks‘‘Doyouphilosophers,then,teachustodespiseourkings?’’^90 It
mayhavebeenpartlyforthisreasonthatArrian,asheexplainsinhisintro-
ductory letter, did not spontaneously publish his transcripts, and was only
provokedintodoingsobythecirculation,againsthiswill,ofunauthorized
copies.Alsowedonotknowwhetherhepublishedthemduringtheperiod
(uptoabout140)ofhiscareerasaRomansenator,orduringthefollowing
periodwhenhelived,wrote,andheldlocalmagistraciesinAthens.^91 Allthat
weknowisthattheworkwasincirculationbytheearly150swhenAulus
Gellius,asastudent,heardapassagefromitreadoutinthevillaofHerodes
AtticusnearAthens.^92
Bythistimeitwaspossibletolookbackontheearlieremperors,especially
theJulio-Claudians,asanunfortunateaberration.MarcusAureliuscouldtalk
- 1,29,9.
- SeePIR^2 F219.
- AulusGellius,NA1,2,6–13.Thedatecanberoughlycalculatedfromthefactthat
Gellius,now‘‘apudmagistros’’(1,2,1),hadbeenanadulescensattendinggrammatici(gram-
marians)inRomeintheurbanprefectureofEruciusClarus(7,6,12;13,18,2–3),whodied
inofficein146(PIR^2 E96).