--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You ought to choose both physician and…" description: "\"You ought to choose both physician and friend, not the most agreeable, but the most useful.\" — Epictetus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/epictetus-413_discrimination_you-ought-to-choose-both-physician-and-f_657914.jpg" --- # You ought to choose both physician and friend, not the… ![“You ought to choose both physician and friend, not the most agreeable, but the most useful.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/epictetus-413_discrimination_you-ought-to-choose-both-physician-and-f_657914.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/epictetus-413_discrimination_you-ought-to-choose-both-physician-and-f_657914.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/epictetus-413_discrimination_you-ought-to-choose-both-physician-and-f_657914.jpg) > “You ought to choose both physician and friend, not the most agreeable, but the most useful.” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing a physician who is also a friend ensures both competence and trust, prioritizing usefulness over mere agreeableness. **In simple terms:** Pick a helpful, trustworthy doctor, not just a friendly one. Key Takeaway Value competence and trust in relationships. Themes friendship trust practicality Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - medical decisions - personal advice - mentor selection - team building Key Concepts Stoicism ethical judgment relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance usefulness with emotional comfort? - When is agreeableness more important? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on usefulness may neglect emotional support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians/) ## Related quotes > [“I must be more in want of a friend, or an agreeable companion, than I have yet been, to take the trouble of conquering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-must-be-more-in-want-of-a-friend-or-an-agreeable-companion-than-i/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [All good biography, as all good fiction, comes down to the study of original sin, of our inherent disposition to choose death when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/all-good-biography-as-all-good-fiction-comes-down-to-the-study-of/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“Again, it is for the sake of the soul that goods external and goods of the body are eligible at all, and all wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/again-it-is-for-the-sake-of-the-soul-that-goods-external-and-goods-of/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Those who wish well to the State ought to choose to places of trust men of inward principle, justified by exemplary conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-witherspoon/those-who-wish-well-to-the-state-ought-to-choose-to-places-of-trust/) [John Witherspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-witherspoon/) > [I became a physician in order to help save lives. 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If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. 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Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/for-it-is-not-death-or-pain-that-is-to-be-feared-but-the-fear-of-pain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? 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