If you want to be a philosopher prepare to be ridiculed...

Donald's Commentary on The Handbook of Epictetus #22

If you yearn for philosophy, prepare at once to be met with ridicule, to have many people jeer at you, and say, “Here he is again, turned philosopher all of a sudden,” and “Where do you suppose he got that high brow?” But do you not put on a high brow, and do you so hold fast to the things which to you seem best, as a man who has been assigned by God to this post; and remember that if you abide by the same principles, those who formerly used to laugh at you will later come to admire you, but if you are worsted by them, you will get the laugh on yourself twice.

Commentary

Epictetus tends to portray becoming a philosopher in all or nothing terms. If you are serious about becoming a philosopher, a true lover of wisdom, you should assume that people are going to ridicule you for doing so. They’ll accuse you of being insincere, pretentious, and a phoney. You have to be ready to ignore them and do what seems right to you regardless, as though you’re answering a calling from God.