# Socrates — Discourses character guide > Socrates in Discourses by Epictetus. **Role:** supporting **First appearance:** 0004-i-of-the-things-which-are-in-our-power-and-not-in-our-power ## Snapshot The philosopher who practiced speaking until he could face tyrants, judges, and prison without flinching—Epictetus's proof that philosophy is trained, not merely thought. ## Who they are Socrates stands in Epictetus's lectures as the gold standard of a man whose words were backed by practice, someone who addressed tyrants and dicasts and even spoke in his prison cell without losing his nerve. He is not a remote historical figure here but a challenge: Epictetus invokes him to shame students who weave syllogisms in corners while avoiding the real work of living. His presence in the Discourses turns abstract Stoic claims into a test of whether anyone today could actually do what he did. ## Relationships ### [Diogenes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/diogenes) _friendship_ Diogenes and Socrates are portrayed as philosophical allies, with Diogenes often invoking Socrates as a model of virtue and wisdom. ### [Menelaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/menelaus) _friendship_ Menelaus is a student or follower of Socrates, engaging in dialectical exchanges that reflect Socratic mentorship. ### [Demonax](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/demonax) _friendship_ Demonax reveres Socrates as a philosophical ancestor, embodying Socratic irony and ethical inquiry. ### [Menelaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/menelaus) _friendship_ Menelaus is a student or follower of Socrates, engaging in dialectical exchanges that reflect Socratic mentorship. ### [Diogenes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/diogenes) _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 reveres Socrates as a philosophical ancestor, embodying Socratic irony and ethical inquiry. ### [Diogenes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/diogenes) _friendship_ Diogenes and Socrates are portrayed as philosophical allies, with Diogenes often invoking Socrates as a model of virtue and wisdom. ## In the story ### [Discourses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/discourses) Cited as a model of happiness in adversity and philosophical integrity. ### [Book I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/book-i) Cited as an example of being willingly in prison, illustrating that true imprisonment is being somewhere against one's will. ### [II: How a Man on Every Occasion Can Maintain His Proper Character](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/ii-how-a-man-on-every-occasion-can-maintain-his-proper-character) Mentioned as a model of greatness and proper character. ### [Of Progress or Improvement](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/iv-of-progress-or-improvement) Quoted indirectly through the phrase 'Dear Crito, if it is the will of the gods that it be so, let it be so,' exemplifying acceptance of fate. ### [IX: How from the Fact That We Are Akin to God a Man May Proceed to the Consequences](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/ix-how-from-the-fact-that-we-are-akin-to-god-a-man-may-proceed-to-the-consequences) Exemplar of one who lived as a kinsman of the gods, refusing to desert his post even under threat of death. ### [Of Contentment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xii-of-contentment) Cited as an example of willing acceptance: he was not in prison because he was there willingly. ### [That the Logical Art Is Necessary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xvii-that-the-logical-art-is-necessary) Referenced as an example of one who began education with the examination of names, underscoring the logical art. ### [XIX: How We Should Behave to Tyrants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xix-how-we-should-behave-to-tyrants) Mentioned as a model whom people imitate, in contrast to the tyrant whom no one wishes to become like. ### [On the Same](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxv-on-the-same) Socrates is held up as a model of one who always had one face, unmoved by insults, and who practiced the means to be unimpeded and free. ### [What Is the Law of Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxvi-what-is-the-law-of-life) Cited as an example of advocating for an examined life, which Epictetus endorses. ### [On Constancy (Or Firmness)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxix-on-constancy-or-firmness) Cited as the model of firmness and happiness in adversity; he excused his jailor and calmly accepted hemlock, showing that external threats cannot harm the true self. ### [Book II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/book-ii) Cited as a model of courage and indifference to externals, particularly in his trial and imprisonment. ### [I: That Confidence (Courage) Is Not Inconsistent with Caution](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/i-that-confidence-courage-is-not-inconsistent-with-caution) Cited as the philosopher who called external evils 'tragic masks' and who practiced self-examination through writing and dialogue. ### [Of Tranquillity (Freedom from Perturbation)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/ii-of-tranquillity-freedom-from-perturbation) Cited as the prime example of maintaining what is in one's own power, having prepared for his trial all his life by never doing injustice. ### [Against a Person Who Had Once Been Detected in Adultery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/iv-against-a-person-who-had-once-been-detected-in-adultery) Referenced ironically as the model of a guest at a feast, contrasting with the adulterer's behavior. ### [How Magnanimity Is Consistent with Care](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/v-how-magnanimity-is-consistent-with-care) Cited as an example of playing skillfully with life's trials, using pleasantry during his trial and questioning Anytus about daemons. ### [VI: Of Indifference](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/vi-of-indifference) Mentioned as a model for writing paeans in prison, demonstrating steadfastness. ### [Of Disputation or Discussion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xii-of-disputation-or-discussion) Exemplar of gentle, effective disputation; compelled adversaries to bear witness and avoided abuse. ### [XIII: On Anxiety (Solicitude)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xiii-on-anxiety-solicitude) Cited as a model of confident speaking before tyrants, judges, and in prison. ### [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) Cited as a model of a true philosopher who lived and died with integrity. ### [How We Should Struggle Against Appearances](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xviii-how-we-should-struggle-against-appearances) Cited as an exemplar of self-mastery, who lay with Alcibiades and mocked his beauty, achieving a victory over himself. ### [What Is the Property of Error](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxvi-what-is-the-property-of-error) Cited as the exemplar of using logical contradiction to guide others to truth, trusting the interlocutor's own rational judgment. ### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/book-iii) Mentioned as a model of happiness in adversity, though not directly quoted in these excerpts. ### [I: Of Finery in Dress](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/i-of-finery-in-dress) Cited as a model of relentless truth-telling and care for others, even in the face of opposition. ### [Against Those Who on Account of Sickness Go Away Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/v-against-those-who-on-account-of-sickness-go-away-home) Cited as an example of one who found daily joy in moral improvement and never claimed to teach trivialities. ### [To the Administrator of the Free Cities Who Was an Epicurean](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/vii-to-the-administrator-of-the-free-cities-who-was-an-epicurean) Cited as a model governor of men who made others imitators of himself by subjecting their desires and aversions to reason. ### [About Exercise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xii-about-exercise) Cited as the exemplar of examining appearances and living an examined life. ### [Certain Miscellaneous Matters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xiv-certain-miscellaneous-matters) Cited as the first to practice confutation to remove arrogance. ### [That We Ought with Caution to Enter Into Familiar Intercourse with Men](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xvi-that-we-ought-with-caution-to-enter-into-familiar-intercourse-with-men) Cited as a model of someone who could lead his companions to his own purpose in social intercourse. ### [On Providence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xvii-on-providence) Referenced implicitly as a model of virtue and correct opinion. ### [That We Ought Not to Be Disturbed by Any News](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xviii-that-we-ought-not-to-be-disturbed-by-any-news) Cited as an example of someone unjustly condemned by judges, yet unaffected in his true self. ### [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 confuting error. ### [About Cynism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxii-about-cynism) Quoted as a model for the Cynic's bold public address to misguided people. ### [To Those Who Read and Discuss for the Sake of Ostentation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxiii-to-those-who-read-and-discuss-for-the-sake-of-ostentation) Cited as a model of humility and genuine philosophical practice, who sent people to different teachers and focused on reason rather than display. ### [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) Cited as an example of loving his children as a free man, remembering to be a friend to the gods first. ### [To Those Who Fear Want](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxvi-to-those-who-fear-want) Cited as an example of a genuine philosopher who lived with a wife and children despite poverty. ### [Book IV: On Freedom and Familiar Intimacy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/book-iv) Held up as a model of freedom through his acceptance of death and his enduring usefulness to humanity after his execution. ### [About Freedom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/i-about-freedom) Cited as an example of a free man whose memory and actions remain useful even after death. ### [To Those Who Are Desirous of Passing Life in Tranquillity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/iv-to-those-who-are-desirous-of-passing-life-in-tranquillity) Cited as a model of happiness in adversity: he served in military expeditions and wrote paeans in prison, never lamenting lost leisure. ### [Against the Quarrelsome and Ferocious](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/v-against-the-quarrelsome-and-ferocious) Exemplar of avoiding quarrels and enduring provocation, as seen in Xenophon's Symposium and his tolerance of his wife and son. ### [On Freedom from Fear](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/vii-on-freedom-from-fear) Mentioned as a model of virtue whose praise would be meaningful, contrasting with flattery of tyrants. ### [VIII: Against Those Who Hastily Rush Into the Use of the Philosophic Dress](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/viii-against-those-who-hastily-rush-into-the-use-of-the-philosophic-dress) Cited as an example of a philosopher who was not recognized by most people but was content with being a philosopher and not being thought one. ### [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 as a model of virtue that the person has abandoned in favor of corrupting influences. ### [XI: About Purity (Cleanliness)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xi-about-purity-cleanliness) Cited as an example of a philosopher who washed seldom but was clean and pleasant in appearance, loved for his character. ## 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