Top 10 Lost Works From Ancient Philosophy I Would Like Read

This is a more personal video, in which I respond to an intriguing question asked by a viewer - Given all the texts of ancient philosophy that we have lost, which are the ones you would most like to be able to read? After thinking about it, I decided to pick a top 10 list of lost works by ancient philosophers.

Here are the works I selected:
1) Heraclitus - On Nature
2) Protagoras - The Art of Controversy
3) Gorgias - On Non-Existence
4) Antisthenes - Of Discussion
5) Aristippus - On Virtue
6) Epicurus - On Nature
7) Aristotle - The Constitution of Thebes
8) Zeno - Of Life According to Nature
9) Chyrsippius - Of Habit
10) Cicero - Hortensius

[alexjohnson]

Moral of the story: don't call your book 'on nature' if you don't want it to get lost

[DiegishT]

Wow! I´m so glad that my question got a video! It was a very interesting to hear a little of what we could´ve known from those works. I also wondered how there are some great works that were left unfinished like the Pensées of Pascal and how much better they could´ve been if they were finished...

[efrayimelimelech]

An impressive list! I am hoping that I will one day read Epictetus' four missing discourses. Thank YOU for a very interesting and informative video!

[csvscs]

Can you please post Amazon links to the works you listed?? 😁

[Winterwalker]

Dr. Sadler, your videos have helped me so much throughout the years. Thank you so much and wish you the best!

[AndrewIsbell]

Great #1 choice, Heraclitus was the first to talk about the divine Logos which is important for Christians. John 1:1 and 1:14 equate Jesus with the divine Logos. You can say it's not the same divine Logos but Saint Justin Martyr in the 2nd century says it is!

Before seeing your list my first thought was Aristotle's dialogues. But I like yours better! Epaminondas is the most underrated general in history!

[vrixphillips]

Honestly, I'm upset more Greek drama didn't survive :'( especially Aeschylus, who was supposedly one of the best. But then again, we might /have/ his best work haha.
Also would be interesting to read Cicero's biography of Cato the Younger [as well as some of Cato's own writing... that'd be interesting, since I understand he was also a gifted orator.]

[mefogus]

I am four years late to the party but I love this list and I appreciate you keying me into this thought experiment! While I’m not terribly versed in the classics, I will say that there are some modern books that I would be interested in getting my hands on — though most of those that I can think of were not lost, but instead never create in the first place. Dick’s The Owl in Daylight would be top my list. 😂

[zarathustra]

I haven't seen the video yet, but I'm sure Cicero's Hortensius will be one of your picks! At least it would be one of mine's. Everytime I think about that book being lost forever, I weep a little, spiritually. However, I secretly hold the hope that someday we might miraculously find it on a hidden lost cave on Egypt or the Maghreb.

[cowchips]

Hah, I was going to ask this very question on Saturday's AMA. Now I'll need to think of something else. When I started the video I bet my bottom dollar to myself that Chrysippus would make the list. My list would be somewhat different. First and foremost I'm going to need all of the epic cycle, followed by many more of the lost plays. Empedocles, Parmenides

[Luke-lbcv]

My one simple dream would be to read the rest of the Critias (if it's true that humanity lost the other part of it, instead of Plato simply never getting around to writing it)

[blankpage]

I don't want to die before reading heraclitus' and epicurus' of nature. I just don't want to die before reading them....

[UnconsciousQualms]

Wow I thought Aristotle's second book of poetics would be your number one. Interesting video nonetheless

[jesusguerrero]

Considering only Ancient Philosophy, Epicurus would be at the top of my list.

[giovannaliviana]

I am surprised that, having included something by Herakleitos, you did not list _On Nature, _ by Parmenides. That would certainly have been in my list. It's not entirely lost, as I'm sure you know, but the greater part of it is.

One which is entirely lost and which I would have included is _On the Pythagoreans, _ by Aristotle.