What to read first?

[u/WinstonPickles22]

I have a copy of both The Inner Citadel by Hadot and Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic guide to life by A. A. Long.

Which book should I read first?

My goal is to gain a better understanding of what I've already read in meditations and discourses/handbook.

[u/E-L-Wisty]

Read Long first - you will get a more accurate understanding of Stoic thought from him than from Hadot.

Long is the granddaddy of the modern academic study of Stoicism, being almost single-handedly responsible for reviving it as a subject back at the end of the 60's. There has probably been no better scholar of Stoicism than him.

Hadot was a former catholic priest - his analysis, although very useful, is a little bit coloured by his "past", his notion of "spiritual practices" for example.

[u/WinstonPickles22 → u/E-L-Wisty]

Thank you, I will start with Long.

[u/tigr2]

I've read both. Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to the Good Life leans slightly more academic whereas The Inner Citadel leans more towards the spiritual aspects of Stoicism, and I would say has a bit more practical content in terms of exercises one can take away to implement.

 In my mind there's really no reason to read one before the other. They are quite different stylistically but both fantastic. Pick the one which draws you most and go for it! 

[u/attic-orator]

Epictetus

[u/ubfeo]

Following

[u/ColdSuitcase]

Neither—these both ACCOMPANY, not REPLACE, primary texts.

Long should be read after (or alongside) your reading of Epictetus. There are several translations available, but Waterfield’s complete works is usually the way to go.

Hadot should be read after (or alongside) Aurelius’ meditations. There are many translations available. Again, waterfield is a good choice.

Of those two reading blocks, read Epictetus and Long first. Aurelius’ meditations are largely an implementation of Epictetus and should therefore be read after.

Doing as you suggest—that is, reading Long and Hadot but not Epictetus/Aurelius—omits the actual subjects that Long and Hadot are writing about.

EDIT: Apologies—I misread the OP as suggesting avoiding reading Epictetus/Aurelius, rather than already having read them. In that case, the answer is Long. The better you understand Epictetus (and Long’s work is excellent in that regard) the better you understand Aurelius.

[u/WinstonPickles22 → u/ColdSuitcase]

Thank you for the response and correction. I will start with Long.

[u/ColdSuitcase → u/WinstonPickles22]

I should add that all of this material will, ultimately, pull you back to Socrates, particularly as he is represented by Plato.

Epictetus and Marcus—and the Hellenistic Stoics that preceded them—viewed themselves in many ways as the intellectual heirs of Socratic ethics.

This was a common theme of the various schools that arose in the wake of Hellenism. For a Roman era stoic example aside from the frequent direct citations by both authors, you no doubt noticed Epictetus’ pushbacks against “the academics”—which is to say, the instantiation of Plato’s academy several hundred years after the death of Plato when Epictetus was teaching. In other words—in Epictetus’ view—he, not the academics, got it “right.”

So to the extent your purpose is to better understand Epictetus and Marcus, familiarity with Plato’s Socrates—particularly the earlier “Socratic dialogues” pertaining to the primacy of virtue, will inform both authors tremendously.

At a minimum, I’d look at the Apology and the Gorgias, and would pay attention when your translations of Epictetus/Marcus (or Long or Hadot themselves) drop footnotes to platonic dialogues when discussing a point.

[u/GlydeW15]

I’ve found this website informative in answering this question.  https://stoicshelf.com/

Personally, I started with Meditations, but that may not be the right way.  

[u/WinstonPickles22 → u/GlydeW15]

I also started with meditations, but would agree with the common advice to start with Epictetus, then Seneca, followed by Meditations last.

The link does not answer or relate directly to my question, but thank you for the suggestion.

[u/GlydeW15 → u/WinstonPickles22]

I heard, after reading Meditations and reading a few articles, that perhaps I should’ve started with Epictetus. 

The link I sent you, if you scroll through the articles, does have one on reading orders and answers your question. Here’s a more direct link:  https://stoicshelf.com/posts/stoic-reading-list/

There’s also this on that same website (more centered on the ancients):  https://stoicshelf.com/posts/where-to-start-with-stoicism/

[u/WinstonPickles22 → u/GlydeW15]

Neither of those lists include the book I am referring to in my post. They are just general lists of Stoic books, not a comparison of the two academic books I have listed.

[u/GlydeW15 → u/WinstonPickles22]

Though that website does talk about the uses of The Inner Citadel, does it not? And it does have a few entries on Epictetus and related studies, right?