# IX: To a Certain Rhetorician Who Was Going Up to Rome on a Suit explained — Discourses

> Chapter companion for Discourses by Epictetus.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### Epictetus

Engages with a rhetorician, emphasizing self-examination and the primacy of right opinions over external success.

## Key lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/discourses_se/chapters/ix-to-a-certain-rhetorician-who-was-going-up-to-rome-on-a-suit
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/discourses_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/discourses_se/chapters