Antisthenes was a pupil of Socrates, from whom he imbibed the fundamental ethical precept that virtue, not pleasure, is the end of existence. In all that the wise man does, Antisthenes said, he conforms to perfect virtue, and pleasure is not only unnecessary to man, but a positive evil. He is reported to have held pain and even ill-repute (يوناني: ἀδοξία) to be blessings, and that madness is preferable to pleasure. It is, however, probable that he did not consider all pleasure worthless, but only that which results from the gratification of sensual or artificial desires, for we find him praising the pleasures which spring ""from out of one's soul"", and the enjoyments of a wisely chosen friendship. The supreme good he placed in a life lived according to virtue, - virtue consisting in action, which when obtained is never lost, and exempts the wise man from error. It is closely connected with reason, but to enable it to develop itself in action, and to be sufficient for happiness, it requires the aid of Socratic strength (يوناني: Σωκρατικὴ ἱσχύς).