# CLXXIII explained — Short Works

> Chapter companion for Short Works by Epictetus.

## What happens

Socrates responds to Xanthippe's complaint about his minimal preparations for guests, asserting that true friendship is not dependent on material provisions.

## Themes in this chapter

### Moderation and Simplicity

Socrates' lack of elaborate preparation embodies the Stoic value of simplicity, rejecting superfluous social conventions.

### Social Duty and Relationship

Redefines the duty of a host and the nature of friendship, focusing on the intrinsic virtue of the relationship over external displays.

## Character check-ins

### Socrates

Demonstrates indifference to external preparations, defining friendship by inner character rather than material display.

### Epictetus

As the narrator/author, presents this anecdote as a practical lesson in applying Stoic principles to social life.

## Key lines

> Xanthippe was blaming Socrates, because he was making small preparation for receiving his friends: but Socrates said, If they are our friends, they will not care about it; and if they are not, we shall care nothing about them.

When Xanthippe criticized Socrates for his meager arrangements for guests, he replied that real friends would not mind the simplicity, and if they were not real friends, their opinion would not matter to him.

_Encapsulates the core Stoic idea of judging relationships by their intrinsic worth (virtue/friendship) rather than by external, indifferent factors like the quality of hospitality._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/chapters/clxxiii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/epictetus_short_works_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/chapters