The Enchiridion appears to be a loosely-structured selection of maxims.[10] In his 6th-century Commentary, Simplicius divided the text into four distinct sections suggesting a graded approach to philosophy:[10]
- Chapters 1–21. What is up to us and not, and how to deal with external things.
- Chs 1–2. What is up to us and not, and the consequences of choosing either.
- Chs 3–14. How to deal with external things (reining the reader in from them).
- Chs 15–21. How to use external things correctly and without disturbance.
- Chapters 22–28. Advice for intermediate students.
- Chs 22–25. The problems faced by intermediate students.
- Chs 26–28. Miscellania: the common conceptions, badness, and shame.
- Chapters 30–47. Technical advice for the discovery of appropriate actions (kathēkonta).
- Chs 30–33. Appropriate actions towards (a) other people, (b) God, (c) divination, (d) one's own self.
- Chs 34–47. Miscellaneous precepts on justice (right actions).
- Chapters 48–53. Conclusions on the practice of precepts.
- Ch 48. Final advice and his division of types of people.
- Chs 49–52. The practice of precepts.
- Ch 53. Quotations for memorisation.
Chapter 29, which was probably absent from the text used by Simplicius, is a one-page Discourse which compares the training needed to become a Stoic with the rigorous approach needed to become an Olympic victor.[11]