Section 33

The section opens with a command that governs everything that follows: set yourself a character now, and keep to it alone and in company. The specific instructions — be mostly silent, don't laugh loudly, avoid oaths, be cautious at banquets of the uninstructed, moderate the body, abstain or act within norms regarding pleasure, don't defend yourself against reports of what others say — are each an application of this root requirement. A character is not a performance adjusted to the audience. It is the same in every room because it is yours, not theirs.

Several of the section's specific instructions are counter-intuitive to modern ears. Don't go to the theatre often; if you do, don't shout or be swept away, and don't talk much afterward about what you saw. Don't attend public readings readily. When visiting someone powerful, tell yourself in advance that you may not be admitted, and accept that without complaint — going with equanimity means not saying afterward that it wasn't worth it. Don't talk at length about your own exploits. Each of these applies the same lens: the person governed by externals needs applause, access, recognition. The person with a settled character does not.

The section's most memorable single line is the response to a report of criticism: 'He must not know my other faults, or he would have mentioned those too.' The move is disarming rather than defensive. It neither confirms the accusation nor rejects it — it signals that the speaker is not governed by what others think of him, and is therefore undamageable by their opinions. Epictetus returns to this posture throughout the closing sections: the philosopher who has settled her character does not need to manage her reputation, because her standard is internal, not dependent on what the audience sees.