# Diogenes — Discourses character guide > Diogenes in Discourses by Epictetus. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Philosophers Diogenes, Diogenes 581, Diogenes 535 **First appearance:** 0004-i-of-the-things-which-are-in-our-power-and-not-in-our-power ## Snapshot The Cynic who spoke to Alexander, to pirates, and to the man who bought him with the same unshakable confidence—proof that practiced speech makes a free man. ## Who they are Diogenes appears alongside Socrates as one of Epictetus's two great examples of men whose confidence came from practice, not theory. He talked to Alexander, to pirates, and to the person who purchased him as a slave, and in each case he was the one who remained free. Epictetus uses him to expose the gap between students who can argue and men who can actually stand their ground, making Diogenes a measuring stick for whether philosophy has been absorbed or merely memorized. ## Relationships ### [Socrates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/socrates) _friendship_ Diogenes and Socrates are portrayed as philosophical allies, with Diogenes often invoking Socrates as a model of virtue and wisdom. ### [Demonax](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/demonax) _friendship_ Demonax and Diogenes share a bond of Cynic philosophy, with Demonax admiring Diogenes' radical simplicity and wit. ### [Demonax](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/demonax) _friendship_ Demonax and Diogenes share a bond of Cynic philosophy, with Demonax admiring Diogenes' radical simplicity and wit. ### [Socrates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/socrates) _friendship_ Diogenes and Socrates are portrayed as philosophical allies, with Diogenes often invoking Socrates as a model of virtue and wisdom. ### [Socrates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/socrates) _friendship_ Diogenes and Socrates are portrayed as philosophical allies, with Diogenes often invoking Socrates as a model of virtue and wisdom. ## In the story ### [How We Should Struggle with Circumstances](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxiv-how-we-should-struggle-with-circumstances) Presented as the ideal scout who reported that death, pain, and poverty are not evils, proving it by his own courage, tranquillity, and freedom. ### [Book II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/book-ii) Mentioned for his practical wisdom in recommending himself through his character rather than letters, and for his confidence in speaking to tyrants. ### [To Those Who Recommend Persons to Philosophers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/iii-to-those-who-recommend-persons-to-philosophers) Quoted for his remark that a man's character is self-evident to a skilled philosopher, needing no letters of recommendation. ### [XIII: On Anxiety (Solicitude)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xiii-on-anxiety-solicitude) Cited as a model of confident speaking before Alexander, pirates, and his buyer. ### [XVI: That We Do Not Strive to Use Our Opinions About Good and Evil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xvi-that-we-do-not-strive-to-use-our-opinions-about-good-and-evil) Mentioned as an example of a philosopher who did not weep or grieve over external losses. ### [XIX: Against Those Who Embrace Philosophical Opinions Only in Words](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xix-against-those-who-embrace-philosophical-opinions-only-in-words) Cited as an authority on ethics, but Epictetus stresses that quoting him is not the same as living his teachings. ### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/book-iii) Invoked as the ideal Cynic, demonstrating that a life without possessions can still be free and happy. ### [In What a Man Ought to Be Exercised Who Has Made Proficiency; and That We Neglect the Chief Things](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/ii-in-what-a-man-ought-to-be-exercised-who-has-made-proficiency-and-that-we-neglect-the-chief-things) Pointed out a sophist by stretching out his middle finger, demonstrating that a man is shown by his principles, not by his finger. ### [Against Those Who Readily Come to the Profession of Sophists](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxi-against-those-who-readily-come-to-the-profession-of-sophists) Cited as one whom God advised to occupy the office of royalty and reproof. ### [About Cynism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxii-about-cynism) Cited as a spy of good and evil, and as an exemplar of the Cynic who gloried in his circumstances. ### [XXIV: That We Ought Not to Be Moved by a Desire of Those Things Which Are Not in Our Power](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxiv-that-we-ought-not-to-be-moved-by-a-desire-of-those-things-which-are-not-in-our-power) Used as a model of freedom and affection for mankind, who was made free by Antisthenes and lived without attachment to place. ### [To Those Who Fear Want](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxvi-to-those-who-fear-want) Mentioned as a model of simple living and philosophical integrity. ### [About Freedom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/i-about-freedom) Presented as the model of a truly free man, who had cast off all handles of slavery and treated nothing as his own. ### [On Freedom from Fear](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/vii-on-freedom-from-fear) Mentioned alongside Socrates as a philosopher whose approval would be a true measure of character. ### [To a Person Who Had Been Changed to a Character of Shamelessness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/ix-to-a-person-who-had-been-changed-to-a-character-of-shamelessness) Mentioned alongside Socrates as a figure of virtuous simplicity that the person no longer admires. ### [XI: About Purity (Cleanliness)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xi-about-purity-cleanliness) Mentioned alongside Socrates as a philosopher who showed through his body that he lacked nothing and lived happily despite hardship. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/diogenes - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters