> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.urantia.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Epictetus, Discourses 3.22 API

> Epictetus, Discourses 3.22 API: get any passage by its reference, as JSON. W. A. Oldfather, 1928. 22 passages, public domain, no key needed.

The API serves **Discourses 3.22: On the Calling of a Cynic** (W. A. Oldfather, 1928) as JSON, one passage at a time, by the reference people use. Epictetus on the life and calling of a Cynic philosopher. It has 22 passages in 1 book. No key and no account.

## Get a passage

```bash theme={null}
# Epictetus 3.22.45-49
curl https://api.urantia.dev/scriptures/epictetus-cynic/3.22.45
# A whole book
curl https://api.urantia.dev/scriptures/epictetus-cynic/3.22
```

```json theme={null}
{
  "data": {
    "corpus": {
      "slug": "epictetus-cynic",
      "title": "Discourses 3.22: On the Calling of a Cynic",
      "translator": "W. A. Oldfather",
      "year": 1928
    },
    "passages": [
      {
        "ref": "Epictetus 3.22.45-49",
        "division": 3,
        "text": "And how is it possible for a man who has nothing, who is naked, without home or hearth, in squalor, without a slave, without a city, to live serenely? Behold, God has sent you the man who will show in practice that it..."
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

The slug `epictetus-cynic`, the id `epictetus-3-22-oldfather-1928`, and the prefix `epictetus` all name this text.

## References

Book, chapter, and section, `Epictetus 3.22.45`. Oldfather numbers every fifth section, so each passage covers up to five sections, and `3.22.47` returns `Epictetus 3.22.45-49`. Ask for `3.22` to get the whole chapter.

`GET /scriptures/epictetus-cynic` lists every book with its first and last reference.

## Search

```bash theme={null}
# By meaning
curl -X POST https://api.urantia.dev/scriptures/search/semantic \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q":"your question","corpus":"epictetus-cynic","limit":5}'
# By keyword
curl 'https://api.urantia.dev/works/search?q=your%20words&work=epictetus-cynic'
```

Each passage also links to the closest paragraphs of the Urantia Papers: `GET /scriptures/epictetus-cynic/3.22.45/urantia-parallels`. The [world religions guide](https://docs.urantia.dev/scriptures.md) explains how the links are made, and the [MCP server](https://docs.urantia.dev/mcp-servers.md) has the same calls for AI agents.

## Source

* **Text:** Discourses 3.22: On the Calling of a Cynic, translated by W. A. Oldfather (1928)
* **Source:** [en.wikisource.org](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epictetus,_the_Discourses_as_reported_by_Arrian,_the_Manual,_and_Fragments/Book_3/Chapter_22)
* **License:** Public domain in the United States
* **Notes:** One chapter of the Discourses, as reported by Arrian. Oldfather marks every fifth section, so each passage covers up to five sections, such as 3.22.5-9.


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