Discourses · Chapter
IX: To a Certain Rhetorician Who Was Going Up to Rome on a Suit explained
Epictetus challenges a rhetorician traveling to Rome for a lawsuit, arguing that success or failure depends not on external outcomes but on the quality of one's opinions.
What happens
Epictetus challenges a rhetorician traveling to Rome for a lawsuit, arguing that success or failure depends not on external outcomes but on the quality of one's opinions. He criticizes the man for neglecting self-examination and pursuing status, contrasting the philosopher's focus on inner virtue and freedom from anxiety with the worldly man's insatiable desires.
Themes in this chapter
Rationality and Self-Examination
Epictetus urges the rhetorician to examine his own opinions, the true causes of his actions, rather than seeking external advice.
Desire and Aversion
The chapter contrasts insatiable desire for status and possessions with the philosopher's contentment and freedom from perturbation.
Characters to notice
- Epictetus
Engages with a rhetorician, emphasizing self-examination and the primacy of right opinions over external success.
Key passages
“If you ask me what you will do in Rome, whether you will succeed or fail, I have no rule about this. But if you ask me how you will fare, I can tell you: if you have right opinions, you will fare well; if they are false, you will fare ill.”
Epictetus says he cannot predict the outcome of the lawsuit, but the rhetorician's inner state—determined by his beliefs—will decide his true well-being.
Highlights the Stoic distinction between external events and internal judgment.
“I have no need of such things; but if you possess many things, you have need of others; whether you choose or not, you are poorer than I am.”
Epictetus claims that material wealth creates further needs, making the rich man poorer in terms of self-sufficiency.
Illustrates the Stoic paradox of wealth versus inner freedom.