# Chapter LXIV explained — Short Works

> Chapter companion for Short Works by Epictetus.

## What happens

A brief, metaphorical chapter comparing the judge of character to a touchstone for gold, asserting that the true judge remains unswayed and uncorrupted by what he examines.

## Themes in this chapter

### Dichotomy of Control

The judge's faculty is to remain unaffected (within his control), just as the touchstone is not altered by the gold (an external).

### Practical Ethics and Self-Discipline

The ideal of maintaining impartial judgment and inner integrity when evaluating others, a core practical discipline.

## Key lines

> As the stone which tests the gold is not at all tested itself by the gold, so it is with him who has the faculty of judging.

A true judge of character, like a touchstone for gold, remains uncorrupted and unchanged by the things he evaluates.

_Emphasizes the ideal of impartiality and inner stability in judgment._

## Links

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