# CXXXIX explained — Short Works

> Chapter companion for Short Works by Epictetus.

## What happens

The chapter presents a single, powerful maxim: truth must be held as the highest value, even above the choice of a friendship that exists outside the influence of the passions, as these passions disturb and obscure justice.

## Themes in this chapter

### Virtue as the Only Good

Truth is explicitly named as the supreme value, positioning it as a core component of virtue that must be prioritized above all else, including social bonds.

### Practical Ethics and Self-Discipline

The instruction provides a practical rule for ethical decision-making, emphasizing the need to guard against passions that can corrupt judgment in relationships.

## Key lines

> Let nothing be valued more than truth: not even selection of a friendship which lies without the influence of the affects, by which (affects) justice is both confounded (disturbed) and darkened.

Hold truth as the highest good. Do not prioritize even the choice of a dispassionate friendship, because the passions themselves confuse and cloud justice.

_The core teaching establishes a hierarchy of values, with truth at the apex, and warns that the passions inherently undermine justice._

## Links

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