# On Familiar Intimacy explained — Discourses

> Chapter companion for Discourses by Epictetus.

## What happens

Epictetus warns against maintaining close ties with former friends whose behavior conflicts with one's philosophical progress. He argues that one cannot simultaneously please old companions and improve oneself; a choice must be made between the two paths.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Duty and Friendship

Explores the tension between maintaining old friendships and pursuing personal moral improvement.

### Rationality and Self-Examination

Urges the listener to rationally choose between incompatible ways of life and to examine one's priorities.

## Character check-ins

### Epictetus

Delivers the discourse on the necessity of choosing between former habits and philosophical improvement.

### Thersites

Used as an example of a base character that one cannot combine with a noble one like Agamemnon.

### Agamemnon

Used as an example of a noble character that one cannot combine with a base one like Thersites.

## Key lines

> If you do not observe this rule, you will ruin yourself.

Failing to keep this principle will lead to your own downfall.

_Epictetus emphasizes the high stakes of maintaining incompatible associations._

> You cannot act both Thersites and Agamemnon.

It is impossible to embody two contradictory characters at once.

_Uses Homeric figures to illustrate the impossibility of moral inconsistency._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/discourses_se/chapters/ii-on-familiar-intimacy
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/discourses_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/discourses_se/chapters