Further revealing the force that Epictetus’ remarks were understood in antiquity to have in challenging the discordance that exists between many purported philosophers’ teachings and their actions, Gellius later remarks that Favorinus (whose own philosophical enterprise it can be noted was vulnerable to charges of sophistry40) records that Epictetus declared most individuals who give the appearance of practicing philosophy were: “without deeds, only so far as words,” id significat factis procul, verbis tenus.41
Turning to consider the records of Epictetus’ discussions for ourselves, it can first of all be observed that he provides evidence that the wider public were, at least to some extent, aware that to declare a philosophical identity required that the claimant should follow a high level of moral behavior; as he comments to his students: “We cannot bear to have those who meet us say, ‘Look, so-and-so has become a philosopher, who was like this or that,’” οὐδὲ φέρομεν τοὺς ἀπαντῶντας καὶ λέγοντας ‘εἴδ᾽ ὁ δεῖνα φιλοσοφεῖ, ὁ τοῖος καὶ ὁ τοῖος.’42 That is, their previous behavior did not suggest a life that would naturally come to be dedicated to philosophical study. Meanwhile, Epictetus depicts a bystander, observing a philosopher who was disturbed by a noise and whose reflexes disclosed his concern for his physical safety, as exclaiming: “Philosopher, what has become of what you were saying? Where did it come from? From your lips only?” ποῦ ἐστιν, φιλόσοφε, ἐκεῖνα ἃ ἔλεγες; πόθεν αὐτὰ προφερόμενος ἔλεγες; ἀπὸ τῶν χειλῶν αὐτόθεν.43
Secondly, Epictetus’ own high expectation of his students’ behavior is repeatedly evidenced; for example, he trenchantly informs one of them:
Do you think that you can act as you currently do, and still be a philosopher? That you can eat, drink, and burst forth with anger and irascibility as you do now? You must conquer certain desires, must be aloof to your familiars, be derided by a slave, be mocked by the people you meet; come off worse than others in everything, whether that be in power, in honor, in the courts. When you have diligently weighed all these things then, if you think it suitable, come to philosophy, and be willing to exchange all of this for serenity, freedom and an unperturbed mind. Otherwise do not come near.44
καίτοι τίς οὕτως δύναται εἰπεῖν ὡς ἐκεῖνος; θέλουσιν καὶ αὐτοὶ φιλοσοφεῖν. ἄνθρωπε, σκέψαι πρῶτον τί ἐστι τὸ πρᾶγμα, εἶτα καὶ τὴν σαυτοῦ φύσιν, τί δύνασαι βαστάσαι. εἰ παλαιστής, ἰδού σου τοὺς ὤμους, τοὺς μηρούς, τὴν ὀσφῦν. ἄλλος γὰρ πρὸς ἄλλο τι πέφυκεν. δοκεῖς ὅτι ταῦτα ποιῶν δύνασαι φιλοσοφεῖν; δοκεῖς ὅτι δύνασαι ὡσαύτως ἐσθίειν, ὡσαύτως πίνειν, ὁμοίως ὀργίζεσθαι, ὁμοίως δυσαρεστεῖν; ἀγρυπνῆσαι δεῖ, πονῆσαι, νικῆσαί τινας ἐπιθυμίας, ἀπελθεῖν ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων, ὑπὸ παιδαρίου καταφρονηθῆναι, ὑπὸ τῶν ἀπαντώντων καταγελασθῆναι, ἐν παντὶ ἔλασσον ἔχειν, ἐν ἀρχῇ, ἐν τιμῇ, ἐν δίκῃ. ταῦτα περισκεψάμενος, εἴ σοι δοκεῖ, προσέρχου, εἰ θέλεις ἀντικαταλλάξασθαι τούτων ἀπάθειαν, ἐλευθερίαν, ἀταραξίαν. εἰ δὲ μή, μὴ πρόσαγε.
In this passage, everything from eating and drinking habits to the conquering of desires are asserted by Epictetus to be under philosophy’s oversight. If the student cannot manage to undertake this effort, he is told that he must not (μὴ πρόσαγε) come near engaging in the study of philosophy. Epictetus similarly proceeds to caution that individuals should not consider commencing philosophical study in the same lighthearted manner as children do when they envisage their possible future careers, such as vacillating between aspiring to be a wrestler one moment, a gladiator the next, and a trumpet player the next. In Epictetus’ view, philosophy’s candidates should instead manifest a similar disposition to athletes who manage to achieve success at the Olympic Games: namely, a steely resolve and an unbaiting fixation upon obtaining this hard-won goal.45 Furthermore, one of Epictetus’ frequently utilized words to express the training that his students should undertake is ἄσκησις, a word that holds the sense of a drill, or a routine that entails strenuous physical exercise.46
Additionally, in a discourse that is entitled To Those Who Take Up the Teachings of the Philosophers For the Sake of Talk Alone (Πρὸς τοὺς μέχρι λόγου μόνον ἀναλαμβάνοντας τὰ τῶν φιλοσόφων), which is the passage that Aulus records Herodes citing above, Epictetus chides students under his tuition, and opens his comments in the imperative mood by exclaiming:
Observe how you conduct yourself, and you will find out to what school you are affiliated with. For most of you, you will find that you are Epicureans, and some are Peripatetics—although rather inadequate ones. For, how do you show that you believe virtue is equal, and even superior, to everything else? Show me a Stoic if there is one among you. Where, or how? . . . Who, then, is a Stoic? As we say a statue is “Phelidian” if it has been crafted according to the art of Pheidias, so show me a person who is fashioned in accordance with the judgements that he professes.47
Τηρεῖτε οὕτως ἑαυτοὺς ἐν οἷς ἐπράσσετε καὶ εὑρήσετε τίνος ἔσθ᾽ αἱρέσεως. τοὺς πλείστους ὑμῶν Ἐπικουρείους εὑρήσετε, ὀλίγους τινὰς Περιπατητικοὺς καὶ τούτους ἐκλελυμένους. ποῦ γὰρ ἵν᾽ ὑμεῖς τὴν ἀρετὴν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἴσην ἢ καὶ κρείττονα ἔργῳ ὑπολάβητε; Στωικὸν δὲ δείξατέ μοι, εἴ τινα ἔχητε. ποῦ ἢ πῶς; . . . τίς οὖν ἐστι Στωικός; ὡς λέγομεν ἀνδριάντα Φειδιακὸν τὸν τετυπωμένον κατὰ τὴν τέχνην τὴν Φειδίου, οὕτως τινά μοι δείξατε κατὰ τὰ δόγματα ἃ λαλεῖ τετυπωμένον.
Despite learning Stoicism in his school, because of their actions Epictetus claims that his pupils are actually the adherents of the Epicurean school (i.e., they are seeking pleasure48), and he later scolds them for failing to exhibit progress in conquering their desires, or in managing their feelings of jealousy or anger, by asking: “why do you dress in a [philosophical] dress that is not yours, and walk around in it, as thieves and robbers who have stolen titles and properties that do not belong to them?” καὶ περιθέμενοι σχῆμα ἀλλότριον περιπατεῖτε κλέπται καὶ λωποδύται τούτων τῶν οὐδὲν προσηκόντων ὀνομάτων καὶ πραγμάτων.49 Again, it can be seen from this passage, as well as other similar remarks that