Upload validation.txt

validation.txt

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+Enough of this wretched life and murmuring and apish tricks. Why art
+thou disturbed? What is there new in this? What unsettles thee? Is
+it the form of the thing? Look at it. Or is it the matter? Look at
+it. But besides these there is nothing. Towards the gods, then, now
+become at last more simple and better. It is the same whether we examine
+these things for a hundred years or three. 
+
+If any man has done wrong, the harm is his own. But perhaps he has
+not done wrong. 
+
+Either all things proceed from one intelligent source and come together
+as in one body, and the part ought not to find fault with what is
+done for the benefit of the whole; or there are only atoms, and nothing
+else than mixture and dispersion. Why, then, art thou disturbed? Say
+to the ruling faculty, Art thou dead, art thou corrupted, art thou
+playing the hypocrite, art thou become a beast, dost thou herd and
+feed with the rest? 
+
+Either the gods have no power or they have power. If, then, they have
+no power, why dost thou pray to them? But if they have power, why
+dost thou not pray for them to give thee the faculty of not fearing
+any of the things which thou fearest, or of not desiring any of the
+things which thou desirest, or not being pained at anything, rather
+than pray that any of these things should not happen or happen? for
+certainly if they can co-operate with men, they can co-operate for
+these purposes. But perhaps thou wilt say, the gods have placed them
+in thy power. Well, then, is it not better to use what is in thy power
+like a free man than to desire in a slavish and abject way what is
+not in thy power? And who has told thee that the gods do not aid us
+even in the things which are in our power? Begin, then, to pray for
+such things, and thou wilt see. One man prays thus: How shall I be
+able to lie with that woman? Do thou pray thus: How shall I not desire
+to lie with her? Another prays thus: How shall I be released from
+this? Another prays: How shall I not desire to be released? Another
+thus: How shall I not lose my little son? Thou thus: How shall I not
+be afraid to lose him? In fine, turn thy prayers this way, and see
+what comes. 
+
+Epicurus says, In my sickness my conversation was not about my bodily
+sufferings, nor, says he, did I talk on such subjects to those who
+visited me; but I continued to discourse on the nature of things as
+before, keeping to this main point, how the mind, while participating
+in such movements as go on in the poor flesh, shall be free from perturbations
+and maintain its proper good. Nor did I, he says, give the physicians
+an opportunity of putting on solemn looks, as if they were doing something
+great, but my life went on well and happily. Do, then, the same that
+he did both in sickness, if thou art sick, and in any other circumstances;
+for never to desert philosophy in any events that may befall us, nor
+to hold trifling talk either with an ignorant man or with one unacquainted
+with nature, is a principle of all schools of philosophy; but to be
+intent only on that which thou art now doing and on the instrument
+by which thou doest it. 
+
+When thou art offended with any man's shameless conduct, immediately
+ask thyself, Is it possible, then, that shameless men should not be
+in the world? It is not possible. Do not, then, require what is impossible.
+For this man also is one of those shameless men who must of necessity
+be in the world. Let the same considerations be present to thy mind
+in the case of the knave, and the faithless man, and of every man
+who does wrong in any way. For at the same time that thou dost remind
+thyself that it is impossible that such kind of men should not exist,
+thou wilt become more kindly disposed towards every one individually.
+It is useful to perceive this, too, immediately when the occasion
+arises, what virtue nature has given to man to oppose to every wrongful
+act. For she has given to man, as an antidote against the stupid man,
+mildness, and against another kind of man some other power. And in
+all cases it is possible for thee to correct by teaching the man who
+is gone astray; for every man who errs misses his object and is gone
+astray. Besides wherein hast thou been injured? For thou wilt find
+that no one among those against whom thou art irritated has done anything
+by which thy mind could be made worse; but that which is evil to thee
+and harmful has its foundation only in the mind. And what harm is
+done or what is there strange, if the man who has not been instructed
+does the acts of an uninstructed man? Consider whether thou shouldst
+not rather blame thyself, because thou didst not expect such a man
+to err in such a way. For thou hadst means given thee by thy reason
+to suppose that it was likely that he would commit this error, and
+yet thou hast forgotten and art amazed that he has erred. But most
+of all when thou blamest a man as faithless or ungrateful, turn to
+thyself. For the fault is manifestly thy own, whether thou didst trust
+that a man who had such a disposition would keep his promise, or when
+conferring thy kindness thou didst not confer it absolutely, nor yet
+in such way as to have received from thy very act all the profit.
+For what more dost thou want when thou hast done a man a service?
+Art thou not content that thou hast done something conformable to
+thy nature, and dost thou seek to be paid for it? Just as if the eye
+demanded a recompense for seeing, or the feet for walking. For as
+these members are formed for a particular purpose, and by working
+according to their several constitutions obtain what is their own;
+so also as man is formed by nature to acts of benevolence, when he
+has done anything benevolent or in any other way conducive to the
+common interest, he has acted conformably to his constitution, and
+he gets what is his own. 
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BOOK TEN
+
+Wilt thou, then, my soul, never be good and simple and one and naked,
+more manifest than the body which surrounds thee? Wilt thou never
+enjoy an affectionate and contented disposition? Wilt thou never be
+full and without a want of any kind, longing for nothing more, nor
+desiring anything, either animate or inanimate, for the enjoyment
+of pleasures? Nor yet desiring time wherein thou shalt have longer
+enjoyment, or place, or pleasant climate, or society of men with whom
+thou mayest live in harmony? But wilt thou be satisfied with thy present
+condition, and pleased with all that is about thee, and wilt thou
+convince thyself that thou hast everything and that it comes from
+the gods, that everything is well for thee, and will be well whatever
+shall please them, and whatever they shall give for the conservation
+of the perfect living being, the good and just and beautiful, which
+generates and holds together all things, and contains and embraces
+all things which are dissolved for the production of other like things?
+Wilt thou never be such that thou shalt so dwell in community with
+gods and men as neither to find fault with them at all, nor to be
+condemned by them? 
+
+Observe what thy nature requires, so far as thou art governed by nature
+only: then do it and accept it, if thy nature, so far as thou art
+a living being, shall not be made worse by it. 
+
+And next thou must observe what thy nature requires so far as thou
+art a living being. And all this thou mayest allow thyself, if thy
+nature, so far as thou art a rational animal, shall not be made worse
+by it. But the rational animal is consequently also a political (social)
+animal. Use these rules, then, and trouble thyself about nothing else.
+
+Everything which happens either happens in such wise as thou art formed
+by nature to bear it, or as thou art not formed by nature to bear
+it. If, then, it happens to thee in such way as thou art formed by
+nature to bear it, do not complain, but bear it as thou art formed
+by nature to bear it. But if it happens in such wise as thou art not
+formed by nature to bear it, do not complain, for it will perish after
+it has consumed thee. Remember, however, that thou art formed by nature
+to bear everything, with respect to which it depends on thy own opinion
+to make it endurable and tolerable, by thinking that it is either
+thy interest or thy duty to do this. 
+
+If a man is mistaken, instruct him kindly and show him his error.
+But if thou art not able, blame thyself, or blame not even thyself.
+
+Whatever may happen to thee, it was prepared for thee from all eternity;
+and the implication of causes was from eternity spinning the thread
+of thy being, and of that which is incident to it. 
+
+Whether the universe is a concourse of atoms, or nature is a system,
+let this first be established, that I am a part of the whole which
+is governed by nature; next, I am in a manner intimately related to
+the parts which are of the same kind with myself. For remembering
+this, inasmuch as I am a part, I shall be discontented with none of
+the things which are assigned to me out of the whole; for nothing
+is injurious to the part, if it is for the advantage of the whole.
+For the whole contains nothing which is not for its advantage; and
+all natures indeed have this common principle, but the nature of the
+universe has this principle besides, that it cannot be compelled even
+by any external cause to generate anything harmful to itself. By remembering,
+then, that I am a part of such a whole, I shall be content with everything
+that happens. And inasmuch as I am in a manner intimately related
+to the parts which are of the same kind with myself, I shall do nothing
+unsocial, but I shall rather direct myself to the things which are
+of the same kind with myself, and I shall turn an my efforts to the
+common interest, and divert them from the contrary. Now, if these
+things are done so, life must flow on happily, just as thou mayest
+observe that the life of a citizen is happy, who continues a course
+of action which is advantageous to his fellow-citizens, and is content
+with whatever the state may assign to him. 
+
+The parts of the whole, everything, I mean, which is naturally comprehended
+in the universe, must of necessity perish; but let this be understood
+in this sense, that they must undergo change. But if this is naturally
+both an evil and a necessity for the parts, the whole would not continue
+to exist in a good condition, the parts being subject to change and
+constituted so as to perish in various ways. For whether did nature
+herself design to do evil to the things which are parts of herself,
+and to make them subject to evil and of necessity fall into evil,
+or have such results happened without her knowing it? Both these suppositions,
+indeed, are incredible. But if a man should even drop the term Nature
+(as an efficient power), and should speak of these things as natural,
+even then it would be ridiculous to affirm at the same time that the
+parts of the whole are in their nature subject to change, and at the
+same time to be surprised or vexed as if something were happening
+contrary to nature, particularly as the dissolution of things is into
+those things of which each thing is composed. For there is either
+a dispersion of the elements out of which everything has been compounded,
+or a change from the solid to the earthy and from the airy to the
+aerial, so that these parts are taken back into the universal reason,
+whether this at certain periods is consumed by fire or renewed by
+eternal changes. And do not imagine that the solid and the airy part
+belong to thee from the time of generation. For all this received
+its accretion only yesterday and the day before, as one may say, from
+the food and the air which is inspired. This, then, which has received
+the accretion, changes, not that which thy mother brought forth. But
+suppose that this which thy mother brought forth implicates thee very
+much with that other part, which has the peculiar quality of change,
+this is nothing in fact in the way of objection to what is said.
+
+When thou hast assumed these names, good, modest, true, rational,
+a man of equanimity, and magnanimous, take care that thou dost not
+change these names; and if thou shouldst lose them, quickly return
+to them. And remember that the term Rational was intended to signify
+a discriminating attention to every several thing and freedom from
+negligence; and that Equanimity is the voluntary acceptance of the
+things which are assigned to thee by the common nature; and that Magnanimity
+is the elevation of the intelligent part above the pleasurable or
+painful sensations of the flesh, and above that poor thing called
+fame, and death, and all such things. If, then, thou maintainest thyself
+in the possession of these names, without desiring to be called by
+these names by others, thou wilt be another person and wilt enter
+on another life. For to continue to be such as thou hast hitherto
+been, and to be tom in pieces and defiled in such a life, is the character
+of a very stupid man and one overfond of his life, and like those
+half-devoured fighters with wild beasts, who though covered with wounds
+and gore, still intreat to be kept to the following day, though they
+will be exposed in the same state to the same claws and bites. Therefore
+fix thyself in the possession of these few names: and if thou art
+able to abide in them, abide as if thou wast removed to certain islands
+of the Happy. But if thou shalt perceive that thou fallest out of
+them and dost not maintain thy hold, go courageously into some nook
+where thou shalt maintain them, or even depart at once from life,
+not in passion, but with simplicity and freedom and modesty, after
+doing this one laudable thing at least in thy life, to have gone out
+of it thus. In order, however, to the remembrance of these names,
+it will greatly help thee, if thou rememberest the gods, and that
+they wish not to be flattered, but wish all reasonable beings to be
+made like themselves; and if thou rememberest that what does the work
+of a fig-tree is a fig-tree, and that what does the work of a dog
+is a dog, and that what does the work of a bee is a bee, and that
+what does the work of a man is a man. 
+
+Mimi, war, astonishment, torpor, slavery, will daily wipe out those
+holy principles of thine. How many things without studying nature
+dost thou imagine, and how many dost thou neglect? But it is thy duty
+so to look on and so to do everything, that at the same time the power
+of dealing with circumstances is perfected, and the contemplative
+faculty is exercised, and the confidence which comes from the knowledge
+of each several thing is maintained without showing it, but yet not
+concealed. For when wilt thou enjoy simplicity, when gravity, and
+when the knowledge of every several thing, both what it is in substance,
+and what place it has in the universe, and how long it is formed to
+exist and of what things it is compounded, and to whom it can belong,
+and who are able both to give it and take it away? 
+
+A spider is proud when it has caught a fly, and another when he has
+caught a poor hare, and another when he has taken a little fish in
+a net, and another when he has taken wild boars, and another when
+he has taken bears, and another when he has taken Sarmatians. Are
+not these robbers, if thou examinest their opinions? 
+
+Acquire the contemplative way of seeing how all things change into
+one another, and constantly attend to it, and exercise thyself about
+this part of philosophy. For nothing is so much adapted to produce
+magnanimity. Such a man has put off the body, and as he sees that
+he must, no one knows how soon, go away from among men and leave everything
+here, he gives himself up entirely to just doing in all his actions,
+and in everything else that happens he resigns himself to the universal
+nature. But as to what any man shall say or think about him or do
+against him, he never even thinks of it, being himself contented with
+these two things, with acting justly in what he now does, and being
+satisfied with what is now assigned to him; and he lays aside all
+distracting and busy pursuits, and desires nothing else than to accomplish
+the straight course through the law, and by accomplishing the straight
+course to follow God. 
+
+What need is there of suspicious fear, since it is in thy power to
+inquire what ought to be done? And if thou seest clear, go by this
+way content, without turning back: but if thou dost not see clear,
+stop and take the best advisers. But if any other things oppose thee,
+go on according to thy powers with due consideration, keeping to that
+which appears to be just. For it is best to reach this object, and
+if thou dost fail, let thy failure be in attempting this. He who follows
+reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time,
+and also cheerful and collected. 
+
+Inquire of thyself as soon as thou wakest from sleep, whether it will
+make any difference to thee, if another does what is just and right.
+It will make no difference. 
+
+Thou hast not forgotten, I suppose, that those who assume arrogant
+airs in bestowing their praise or blame on others, are such as they
+are at bed and at board, and thou hast not forgotten what they do,
+and what they avoid and what they pursue, and how they steal and how
+they rob, not with hands and feet, but with their most valuable part,
+by means of which there is produced, when a man chooses, fidelity,
+modesty, truth, law, a good daemon (happiness)? 
+
+To her who gives and takes back all, to nature, the man who is instructed
+and modest says, Give what thou wilt; take back what thou wilt. And
+he says this not proudly, but obediently and well pleased with her.
+
+Short is the little which remains to thee of life. Live as on a mountain.
+For it makes no difference whether a man lives there or here, if he
+lives everywhere in the world as in a state (political community).
+Let men see, let them know a real man who lives according to nature.
+If they cannot endure him, let them kill him. For that is better than
+to live thus as men do. 
+
+No longer talk at all about the kind of man that a good man ought
+to be, but be such. 
+
+Constantly contemplate the whole of time and the whole of substance,
+and consider that all individual things as to substance are a grain
+of a fig, and as to time, the turning of a gimlet. 
+
+Look at everything that exists, and observe that it is already in
+dissolution and in change, and as it were putrefaction or dispersion,
+or that everything is so constituted by nature as to die.
+
+Consider what men are when they are eating, sleeping, generating,
+easing themselves and so forth. Then what kind of men they are when
+they are imperious and arrogant, or angry and scolding from their
+elevated place. But a short time ago to how many they were slaves
+and for what things; and after a little time consider in what a condition
+they will be. 
+
+That is for the good of each thing, which the universal nature brings
+to each. And it is for its good at the time when nature brings it.
+
+"The earth loves the shower"; and "the solemn aether loves": and the
+universe loves to make whatever is about to be. I say then to the
+universe, that I love as thou lovest. And is not this too said, that
+"this or that loves (is wont) to be produced"? 
+
+Either thou livest here and hast already accustomed thyself to it,
+or thou art going away, and this was thy own will; or thou art dying
+and hast discharged thy duty. But besides these things there is nothing.
+Be of good cheer, then. 
+
+Let this always be plain to thee, that this piece of land is like
+any other; and that all things here are the same with things on top
+of a mountain, or on the sea-shore, or wherever thou choosest to be.
+For thou wilt find just what Plato says, Dwelling within the walls
+of a city as in a shepherd's fold on a mountain. 
+
+What is my ruling faculty now to me? And of what nature am I now making
+it? And for what purpose am I now using it? Is it void of understanding?
+Is it loosed and rent asunder from social life? Is it melted into
+and mixed with the poor flesh so as to move together with it?
+
+He who flies from his master is a runaway; but the law is master,
+and he who breaks the law is a runaway. And he also who is grieved
+or angry or afraid, is dissatisfied because something has been or
+is or shall be of the things which are appointed by him who rules
+all things, and he is Law, and assigns to every man what is fit. He
+then who fears or is grieved or is angry is a runaway. 
+
+A man deposits seed in a womb and goes away, and then another cause
+takes it, and labours on it and makes a child. What a thing from such
+a material! Again, the child passes food down through the throat,
+and then another cause takes it and makes perception and motion, and
+in fine life and strength and other things; how many and how strange
+I Observe then the things which are produced in such a hidden way,
+and see the power just as we see the power which carries things downwards
+and upwards, not with the eyes, but still no less plainly.
+
+Constantly consider how all things such as they now are, in time past
+also were; and consider that they will be the same again. And place
+before thy eyes entire dramas and stages of the same form, whatever
+thou hast learned from thy experience or from older history; for example,
+the whole court of Hadrian, and the whole court of Antoninus, and
+the whole court of Philip, Alexander, Croesus; for all those were
+such dramas as we see now, only with different actors. 
+
+Imagine every man who is grieved at anything or discontented to be
+like a pig which is sacrificed and kicks and screams. 
+
+Like this pig also is he who on his bed in silence laments the bonds
+in which we are held. And consider that only to the rational animal
+is it given to follow voluntarily what happens; but simply to follow
+is a necessity imposed on all. 
+
+Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and
+ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee
+of this. 
+
+When thou art offended at any man's fault, forthwith turn to thyself
+and reflect in what like manner thou dost err thyself; for example,
+in thinking that money is a good thing, or pleasure, or a bit of reputation,
+and the like. For by attending to this thou wilt quickly forget thy
+anger, if this consideration also is added, that the man is compelled:
+for what else could he do? or, if thou art able, take away from him
+the compulsion. 
+
+When thou hast seen Satyron the Socratic, think of either Eutyches
+or Hymen, and when thou hast seen Euphrates, think of Eutychion or
+Silvanus, and when thou hast seen Alciphron think of Tropaeophorus,
+and when thou hast seen Xenophon think of Crito or Severus, and when
+thou hast looked on thyself, think of any other Caesar, and in the
+case of every one do in like manner. Then let this thought be in thy
+mind, Where then are those men? Nowhere, or nobody knows where. For
+thus continuously thou wilt look at human things as smoke and nothing
+at all; especially if thou reflectest at the same time that what has
+once changed will never exist again in the infinite duration of time.
+But thou, in what a brief space of time is thy existence? And why
+art thou not content to pass through this short time in an orderly
+way? What matter and opportunity for thy activity art thou avoiding?
+For what else are all these things, except exercises for the reason,
+when it has viewed carefully and by examination into their nature
+the things which happen in life? Persevere then until thou shalt have
+made these things thy own, as the stomach which is strengthened makes
+all things its own, as the blazing fire makes flame and brightness
+out of everything that is thrown into it. 
+
+Let it not be in any man's power to say truly of thee that thou art
+not simple or that thou are not good; but let him be a liar whoever
+shall think anything of this kind about thee; and this is altogether
+in thy power. For who is he that shall hinder thee from being good
+and simple? Do thou only determine to live no longer, unless thou
+shalt be such. For neither does reason allow thee to live, if thou
+art not such. 
+
+What is that which as to this material (our life) can be done or said
+in the way most conformable to reason. For whatever this may be, it
+is in thy power to do it or to say it, and do not make excuses that
+thou art hindered. Thou wilt not cease to lament till thy mind is
+in such a condition that, what luxury is to those who enjoy pleasure,
+such shall be to thee, in the matter which is subjected and presented
+to thee, the doing of the things which are conformable to man's constitution;
+for a man ought to consider as an enjoyment everything which it is
+in his power to do according to his own nature. And it is in his power
+everywhere. Now, it is not given to a cylinder to move everywhere
+by its own motion, nor yet to water nor to fire, nor to anything else
+which is governed by nature or an irrational soul, for the things
+which check them and stand in the way are many. But intelligence and
+reason are able to go through everything that opposes them, and in
+such manner as they are formed by nature and as they choose. Place
+before thy eyes this facility with which the reason will be carried
+through all things, as fire upwards, as a stone downwards, as a cylinder
+down an inclined surface, and seek for nothing further. For all other
+obstacles either affect the body only which is a dead thing; or, except
+through opinion and the yielding of the reason itself, they do not
+crush nor do any harm of any kind; for if they did, he who felt it
+would immediately become bad. Now, in the case of all things which
+have a certain constitution, whatever harm may happen to any of them,
+that which is so affected becomes consequently worse; but in the like
+case, a man becomes both better, if one may say so, and more worthy
+of praise by making a right use of these accidents. And finally remember
+that nothing harms him who is really a citizen, which does not harm
+the state; nor yet does anything harm the state, which does not harm
+law (order); and of these things which are called misfortunes not
+one harms law. What then does not harm law does not harm either state
+or citizen. 
+
+To him who is penetrated by true principles even the briefest precept
+is sufficient, and any common precept, to remind him that he should
+be free from grief and fear. For example- 
+
+Leaves, some the wind scatters on the ground- 
+So is the race of men. Leaves, also, are thy children; and leaves,
+too, are they who cry out as if they were worthy of credit and bestow
+their praise, or on the contrary curse, or secretly blame and sneer;
+and leaves, in like manner, are those who shall receive and transmit
+a man's fame to aftertimes. For all such things as these "are produced
+in the season of spring," as the poet says; then the wind casts them
+down; then the forest produces other leaves in their places. But a
+brief existence is common to all things, and yet thou avoidest and
+pursuest all things as if they would be eternal. A little time, and
+thou shalt close thy eyes; and him who has attended thee to thy grave
+another soon will lament. 
+
+The healthy eye ought to see all visible things and not to say, I
+wish for green things; for this is the condition of a diseased eye.
+And the healthy hearing and smelling ought to be ready to perceive
+all that can be heard and smelled. And the healthy stomach ought to
+be with respect to all food just as the mill with respect to all things
+which it is formed to grind. And accordingly the healthy understanding
+ought to be prepared for everything which happens; but that which
+says, Let my dear children live, and let all men praise whatever I
+may do, is an eye which seeks for green things, or teeth which seek
+for soft things. 
+
+There is no man so fortunate that there shall not be by him when he
+is dying some who are pleased with what is going to happen. Suppose
+that he was a good and wise man, will there not be at last some one
+to say to himself, Let us at last breathe freely being relieved from
+this schoolmaster? It is true that he was harsh to none of us, but
+I perceived that he tacitly condemns us.- This is what is said of
+a good man. But in our own case how many other things are there for
+which there are many who wish to get rid of us. Thou wilt consider
+this then when thou art dying, and thou wilt depart more contentedly
+by reflecting thus: I am going away from such a life, in which even
+my associates in behalf of whom I have striven so much, prayed, and
+cared, themselves wish me to depart, hoping perchance to get some
+little advantage by it. Why then should a man cling to a longer stay
+here? Do not however for this reason go away less kindly disposed
+to them, but preserving thy own character, and friendly and benevolent
+and mild, and on the other hand not as if thou wast torn away; but
+as when a man dies a quiet death, the poor soul is easily separated
+from the body, such also ought thy departure from men to be, for nature
+united thee to them and associated thee. But does she now dissolve
+the union? Well, I am separated as from kinsmen, not however dragged
+resisting, but without compulsion; for this too is one of the things
+according to nature. 
+
+Accustom thyself as much as possible on the occasion of anything being
+done by any person to inquire with thyself, For what object is this
+man doing this? But begin with thyself, and examine thyself first.
+
+Remember that this which pulls the strings is the thing which is hidden
+within: this is the power of persuasion, this is life, this, if one
+may so say, is man. In contemplating thyself never include the vessel
+which surrounds thee and these instruments which are attached about
+it. For they are like to an axe, differing only in this that they
+grow to the body. For indeed there is no more use in these parts without
+the cause which moves and checks them than in the weaver's shuttle,
+and the writer's pen and the driver's whip. 
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BOOK ELEVEN
+
+These are the properties of the rational soul: it sees itself, analyses
+itself, and makes itself such as it chooses; the fruit which it bears
+itself enjoys- for the fruits of plants and that in animals which
+corresponds to fruits others enjoy- it obtains its own end, wherever
+the limit of life may be fixed. Not as in a dance and in a play and
+in such like things, where the whole action is incomplete, if anything
+cuts it short; but in every part and wherever it may be stopped, it
+makes what has been set before it full and complete, so that it can
+say, I have what is my own. And further it traverses the whole universe,
+and the surrounding vacuum, and surveys its form, and it extends itself
+into the infinity of time, and embraces and comprehends the periodical
+renovation of all things, and it comprehends that those who come after
+us will see nothing new, nor have those before us seen anything more,
+but in a manner he who is forty years old, if he has any understanding
+at all, has seen by virtue of the uniformity that prevails all things
+which have been and all that will be. This too is a property of the
+rational soul, love of one's neighbour, and truth and modesty, and
+to value nothing more more than itself, which is also the property
+of Law. Thus then right reason differs not at all from the reason
+of justice. 
+
+Thou wilt set little value on pleasing song and dancing and the pancratium,
+if thou wilt distribute the melody of the voice into its several sounds,
+and ask thyself as to each, if thou art mastered by this; for thou
+wilt be prevented by shame from confessing it: and in the matter of
+dancing, if at each movement and attitude thou wilt do the same; and
+the like also in the matter of the pancratium. In all things, then,
+except virtue and the acts of virtue, remember to apply thyself to
+their several parts, and by this division to come to value them little:
+and apply this rule also to thy whole life. 
+
+What a soul that is which is ready, if at any moment it must be separated
+from the body, and ready either to be extinguished or dispersed or
+continue to exist; but so that this readiness comes from a man's own
+judgement, not from mere obstinacy, as with the Christians, but considerately
+and with dignity and in a way to persuade another, without tragic
+show. 
+
+Have I done something for the general interest? Well then I have had
+my reward. Let this always be present to thy mind, and never stop
+doing such good. 
+
+What is thy art? To be good. And how is this accomplished well except
+by general principles, some about the nature of the universe, and
+others about the proper constitution of man? 
+
+At first tragedies were brought on the stage as means of reminding
+men of the things which happen to them, and that it is according to
+nature for things to happen so, and that, if you are delighted with
+what is shown on the stage, you should not be troubled with that which
+takes place on the larger stage. For you see that these things must
+be accomplished thus, and that even they bear them who cry out "O
+Cithaeron." And, indeed, some things are said well by the dramatic
+writers, of which kind is the following especially:- 
+
+Me and my children if the gods neglect, 
+This has its reason too. And again- 
+
+We must not chale and fret at that which happens. And 
+
+Life's harvest reap like the wheat's fruitful ear. And other things
+of the same kind. 
+
+After tragedy the old comedy was introduced, which had a magisterial
+freedom of speech, and by its very plainness of speaking was useful
+in reminding men to beware of insolence; and for this purpose too
+Diogenes used to take from these writers. 
+
+But as to the middle comedy which came next, observe what it was,
+and again, for what object the new comedy was introduced, which gradually
+sunk down into a mere mimic artifice. That some good things are said
+even by these writers, everybody knows: but the whole plan of such
+poetry and dramaturgy, to what end does it look! 
+
+How plain does it appear that there is not another condition of life
+so well suited for philosophising as this in which thou now happenest
+to be. 
+
+A branch cut off from the adjacent branch must of necessity be cut
+off from the whole tree also. So too a man when he is separated from
+another man has fallen off from the whole social community. Now as
+to a branch, another cuts it off, but a man by his own act separates
+himself from his neighbour when he hates him and turns away from him,
+and he does not know that he has at the same time cut himself off
+from the whole social system. Yet he has this privilege certainly
+from Zeus who framed society, for it is in our power to grow again
+to that which is near to us, and be to come a part which helps to
+make up the whole. However, if it often happens, this kind of separation,
+it makes it difficult for that which detaches itself to be brought
+to unity and to be restored to its former condition. Finally, the
+branch, which from the first grew together with the tree, and has
+continued to have one life with it, is not like that which after being
+cut off is then ingrafted, for this is something like what the gardeners
+mean when they say that it grows with the rest of the tree, but that
+it has not the same mind with it. 
+
+As those who try to stand in thy way when thou art proceeding according
+to right reason, will not be able to turn thee aside from thy proper
+action, so neither let them drive thee from thy benevolent feelings
+towards them, but be on thy guard equally in both matters, not only
+in the matter of steady judgement and action, but also in the matter
+of gentleness towards those who try to hinder or otherwise trouble
+thee. For this also is a weakness, to be vexed at them, as well as
+to be diverted from thy course of action and to give way through fear;
+for both are equally deserters from their post, the man who does it
+through fear, and the man who is alienated from him who is by nature
+a kinsman and a friend. 
+
+There is no nature which is inferior to art, for the arts imitate
+the nature of things. But if this is so, that nature which is the
+most perfect and the most comprehensive of all natures, cannot fall
+short of the skill of art. Now all arts do the inferior things for
+the sake of the superior; therefore the universal nature does so too.
+And, indeed, hence is the origin of justice, and in justice the other
+virtues have their foundation: for justice will not be observed, if
+we either care for middle things (things indifferent), or are easily
+deceived and careless and changeable. 
+
+If the things do not come to thee, the pursuits and avoidances of
+which disturb thee, still in a manner thou goest to them. Let then
+thy judgement about them be at rest, and they will remain quiet, and
+thou wilt not be seen either pursuing or avoiding. 
+
+The spherical form of the soul maintains its figure, when it is neither
+extended towards any object, nor contracted inwards, nor dispersed
+nor sinks down, but is illuminated by light, by which it sees the
+truth, the truth of all things and the truth that is in itself.
+
+Suppose any man shall despise me. Let him look to that himself. But
+I will look to this, that I be not discovered doing or saying anything
+deserving of contempt. Shall any man hate me? Let him look to it.
+But I will be mild and benevolent towards every man, and ready to
+show even him his mistake, not reproachfully, nor yet as making a
+display of my endurance, but nobly and honestly, like the great Phocion,
+unless indeed he only assumed it. For the interior parts ought to
+be such, and a man ought to be seen by the gods neither dissatisfied
+with anything nor complaining. For what evil is it to thee, if thou
+art now doing what is agreeable to thy own nature, and art satisfied
+with that which at this moment is suitable to the nature of the universe,
+since thou art a human being placed at thy post in order that what
+is for the common advantage may be done in some way? 
+
+Men despise one another and flatter one another; and men wish to raise
+themselves above one another, and crouch before one another.
+
+How unsound and insincere is he who says, I have determined to deal
+with thee in a fair way.- What art thou doing, man? There is no occasion
+to give this notice. It will soon show itself by acts. The voice ought
+to be plainly written on the forehead. Such as a man's character is,
+he immediately shows it in his eyes, just as he who is beloved forthwith
+reads everything in the eyes of lovers. The man who is honest and
+good ought to be exactly like a man who smells strong, so that the
+bystander as soon as he comes near him must smell whether he choose
+or not. But the affectation of simplicity is like a crooked stick.
+Nothing is more disgraceful than a wolfish friendship (false friendship).
+Avoid this most of all. The good and simple and benevolent show all
+these things in the eyes, and there is no mistaking. 
+
+As to living in the best way, this power is in the soul, if it be
+indifferent to things which are indifferent. And it will be indifferent,
+if it looks on each of these things separately and all together, and
+if it remembers that not one of them produces in us an opinion about
+itself, nor comes to us; but these things remain immovable, and it
+is we ourselves who produce the judgements about them, and, as we
+may say, write them in ourselves, it being in our power not to write
+them, and it being in our power, if perchance these judgements have
+imperceptibly got admission to our minds, to wipe them out; and if
+we remember also that such attention will only be for a short time,
+and then life will be at an end. Besides, what trouble is there at
+all in doing this? For if these things are according to nature, rejoice
+in them, and they will be easy to thee: but if contrary to nature,
+seek what is conformable to thy own nature, and strive towards this,
+even if it bring no reputation; for every man is allowed to seek his
+own good. 
+
+Consider whence each thing is come, and of what it consists, and into
+what it changes, and what kind of a thing it will be when it has changed,
+and that it will sustain no harm. 
+
+If any have offended against thee, consider first: What is my relation
+to men, and that we are made for one another; and in another respect,
+I was made to be set over them, as a ram over the flock or a bull
+over the herd. But examine the matter from first principles, from
+this: If all things are not mere atoms, it is nature which orders
+all things: if this is so, the inferior things exist for the sake
+of the superior, and these for the sake of one another. 
+
+Second, consider what kind of men they are at table, in bed, and so
+forth: and particularly, under what compulsions in respect of opinions
+they are; and as to their acts, consider with what pride they do what
+they do. 
+
+Third, that if men do rightly what they do, we ought not to be displeased;
+but if they do not right, it is plain that they do so involuntarily
+and in ignorance. For as every soul is unwillingly deprived of the
+truth, so also is it unwillingly deprived of the power of behaving
+to each man according to his deserts. Accordingly men are pained when
+they are called unjust, ungrateful, and greedy, and in a word wrong-doers
+to their neighbours. 
+
+Fourth, consider that thou also doest many things wrong, and that
+thou art a man like others; and even if thou dost abstain from certain
+faults, still thou hast the disposition to commit them, though either
+through cowardice, or concern about reputation, or some such mean
+motive, thou dost abstain from such faults. 
+
+Fifth, consider that thou dost not even understand whether men are
+doing wrong or not, for many things are done with a certain reference
+to circumstances. And in short, a man must learn a great deal to enable
+him to pass a correct judgement on another man's acts. 
+
+Sixth, consider when thou art much vexed or grieved, that man's life
+is only a moment, and after a short time we are all laid out dead.
+
+Seventh, that it is not men's acts which disturb us, for those acts
+have their foundation in men's ruling principles, but it is our own
+opinions which disturb us. Take away these opinions then, and resolve
+to dismiss thy judgement about an act as if it were something grievous,
+and thy anger is gone. How then shall I take away these opinions?
+By reflecting that no wrongful act of another brings shame on thee:
+for unless that which is shameful is alone bad, thou also must of
+necessity do many things wrong, and become a robber and everything
+else. 
+
+Eighth, consider how much more pain is brought on us by the anger
+and vexation caused by such acts than by the acts themselves, at which
+we are angry and vexed. 
+
+Ninth, consider that a good disposition is invincible, if it be genuine,
+and not an affected smile and acting a part. For what will the most
+violent man do to thee, if thou continuest to be of a kind disposition
+towards him, and if, as opportunity offers, thou gently admonishest
+him and calmly correctest his errors at the very time when he is trying
+to do thee harm, saying, Not so, my child: we are constituted by nature
+for something else: I shall certainly not be injured, but thou art
+injuring thyself, my child.- And show him with gentle tact and by
+general principles that this is so, and that even bees do not do as
+he does, nor any animals which are formed by nature to be gregarious.
+And thou must do this neither with any double meaning nor in the way
+of reproach, but affectionately and without any rancour in thy soul;
+and not as if thou wert lecturing him, nor yet that any bystander
+may admire, but either when he is alone, and if others are present...
+
+Remember these nine rules, as if thou hadst received them as a gift
+from the Muses, and begin at last to be a man while thou livest. But
+thou must equally avoid flattering men and being veied at them, for
+both are unsocial and lead to harm. And let this truth be present
+to thee in the excitement of anger, that to be moved by passion is
+not manly, but that mildness and gentleness, as they are more agreeable
+to human nature, so also are they more manly; and he who possesses
+these qualities possesses strength, nerves and courage, and not the
+man who is subject to fits of passion and discontent. For in the same
+degree in which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion,
+in the same degree also is it nearer to strength: and as the sense
+of pain is a characteristic of weakness, so also is anger. For he
+who yields to pain and he who yields to anger, both are wounded and
+both submit. 
+
+But if thou wilt, receive also a tenth present from the leader of
+the Muses (Apollo), and it is this- that to expect bad men not to
+do wrong is madness, for he who expects this desires an impossibility.
+But to allow men to behave so to others, and to expect them not to
+do thee any wrong, is irrational and tyrannical. 
+
+There are four principal aberrations of the superior faculty against
+which thou shouldst be constantly on thy guard, and when thou hast
+detected them, thou shouldst wipe them out and say on each occasion
+thus: this thought is not necessary: this tends to destroy social
+union: this which thou art going to say comes not from the real thoughts;
+for thou shouldst consider it among the most absurd of things for
+a man not to speak from his real thoughts. But the fourth is when
+thou shalt reproach thyself for anything, for this is an evidence
+of the diviner part within thee being overpowered and yielding to
+the less honourable and to the perishable part, the body, and to its
+gross pleasures. 
+
+Thy aerial part and all the fiery parts which are mingled in thee,
+though by nature they have an upward tendency, still in obedience
+to the disposition of the universe they are overpowered here in the
+compound mass (the body). And also the whole of the earthy part in
+thee and the watery, though their tendency is downward, still are
+raised up and occupy a position which is not their natural one. In
+this manner then the elemental parts obey the universal, for when
+they have been fixed in any place perforce they remain there until
+again the universal shall sound the signal for dissolution. Is it
+not then strange that thy intelligent part only should be disobedient
+and discontented with its own place? And yet no force is imposed on
+it, but only those things which are conformable to its nature: still
+it does not submit, but is carried in the opposite direction. For
+the movement towards injustice and intemperance and to anger and grief
+and fear is nothing else than the act of one who deviates from nature.
+And also when the ruling faculty is discontented with anything that
+happens, then too it deserts its post: for it is constituted for piety
+and reverence towards the gods no less than for justice. For these
+qualities also are comprehended under the generic term of contentment
+with the constitution of things, and indeed they are prior to acts
+of justice. 
+
+He who has not one and always the same object in life, cannot be one
+and the same all through his life. But what I have said is not enough,
+unless this also is added, what this object ought to be. For as there
+is not the same opinion about all the things which in some way or
+other are considered by the majority to be good, but only about some
+certain things, that is, things which concern the common interest;
+so also ought we to propose to ourselves an object which shall be
+of a common kind (social) and political. For he who directs all his
+own efforts to this object, will make all his acts alike, and thus
+will always be the same. 
+
+Think of the country mouse and of the town mouse, and of the alarm
+and trepidation of the town mouse. 
+
+Socrates used to call the opinions of the many by the name of Lamiae,
+bugbears to frighten children. 
+
+The Lacedaemonians at their public spectacles used to set seats in
+the shade for strangers, but themselves sat down anywhere.
+
+Socrates excused himself to Perdiccas for not going to him, saying,
+It is because I would not perish by the worst of all ends, that is,
+I would not receive a favour and then be unable to return it.
+
+In the writings of the Ephesians there was this precept, constantly
+to think of some one of the men of former times who practised virtue.
+
+The Pythagoreans bid us in the morning look to the heavens that we
+may be reminded of those bodies which continually do the same things
+and in the same manner perform their work, and also be reminded of
+their purity and nudity. For there is no veil over a star.
+
+Consider what a man Socrates was when he dressed himself in a skin,
+after Xanthippe had taken his cloak and gone out, and what Socrates
+said to his friends who were ashamed of him and drew back from him
+when they saw him dressed thus. 
+
+Neither in writing nor in reading wilt thou be able to lay down rules
+for others before thou shalt have first learned to obey rules thyself.
+Much more is this so in life. 
+
+A slave thou art: free speech is not for thee. 
+And my heart laughed within. 
+And virtue they will curse, speaking harsh words. 
+To look for the fig in winter is a madman's act: such is he who looks
+for his child when it is no longer allowed. 
+
+When a man kisses his child, said Epictetus, he should whisper to
+himself, "To-morrow perchance thou wilt die."- But those are words
+of bad omen.- "No word is a word of bad omen," said Epictetus, "which
+expresses any work of nature; or if it is so, it is also a word of
+bad omen to speak of the ears of corn being reaped." 
+
+The unripe grape, the ripe bunch, the dried grape, all are changes,
+not into nothing, but into something which exists not yet.
+
+No man can rob us of our free will. 
+Epictetus also said, A man must discover an art (or rules) with respect
+to giving his assent; and in respect to his movements he must be careful
+that they be made with regard to circumstances, that they be consistent
+with social interests, that they have regard to the value of the object;
+and as to sensual desire, he should altogether keep away from it;
+and as to avoidance (aversion) he should not show it with respect
+to any of the things which are not in our power. 
+
+The dispute then, he said, is not about any common matter, but about
+being mad or not. 
+
+Socrates used to say, What do you want? Souls of rational men or irrational?-
+Souls of rational men.- Of what rational men? Sound or unsound?- Sound.-
+Why then do you not seek for them?- Because we have them.- Why then
+do you fight and quarrel? 
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BOOK TWELVE
+
+All those things at which thou wishest to arrive by a circuitous
+road, thou canst have now, if thou dost not refuse them to thyself.
+And this means, if thou wilt take no notice of all the past, and trust
+the future to providence, and direct the present only conformably
+to piety and justice. Conformably to piety, that thou mayest be content
+with the lot which is assigned to thee, for nature designed it for
+thee and thee for it. Conformably to justice, that thou mayest always
+speak the truth freely and without disguise, and do the things which
+are agreeable to law and according to the worth of each. And let neither
+another man's wickedness hinder thee, nor opinion nor voice, nor yet
+the sensations of the poor flesh which has grown about thee; for the
+passive part will look to this. If then, whatever the time may be
+when thou shalt be near to thy departure, neglecting everything else
+thou shalt respect only thy ruling faculty and the divinity within
+thee, and if thou shalt be afraid not because thou must some time
+cease to live, but if thou shalt fear never to have begun to live
+according to nature- then thou wilt be a man worthy of the universe
+which has produced thee, and thou wilt cease to be a stranger in thy
+native land, and to wonder at things which happen daily as if they
+were something unexpected, and to be dependent on this or that.
+
+God sees the minds (ruling principles) of all men bared of the material
+vesture and rind and impurities. For with his intellectual part alone
+he touches the intelligence only which has flowed and been derived
+from himself into these bodies. And if thou also usest thyself to
+do this, thou wilt rid thyself of thy much trouble. For he who regards
+not the poor flesh which envelops him, surely will not trouble himself
+by looking after raiment and dwelling and fame and such like externals
+and show. 
+
+The things are three of which thou art composed, a little body, a
+little breath (life), intelligence. Of these the first two are thine,
+so far as it is thy duty to take care of them; but the third alone
+is properly thine. Therefore if thou shalt separate from thyself,
+that is, from thy understanding, whatever others do or say, and whatever
+thou hast done or said thyself, and whatever future things trouble
+thee because they may happen, and whatever in the body which envelops
+thee or in the breath (life), which is by nature associated with the
+body, is attached to thee independent of thy will, and whatever the
+external circumfluent vortex whirls round, so that the intellectual
+power exempt from the things of fate can live pure and free by itself,
+doing what is just and accepting what happens and saying the truth:
+if thou wilt separate, I say, from this ruling faculty the things
+which are attached to it by the impressions of sense, and the things
+of time to come and of time that is past, and wilt make thyself like
+Empedocles' sphere, 
+
+All round, and in its joyous rest reposing; and if thou shalt strive
+to live only what is really thy life, that is, the present- then thou
+wilt be able to pass that portion of life which remains for thee up
+to the time of thy death, free from perturbations, nobly, and obedient
+to thy own daemon (to the god that is within thee). 
+
+I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more
+than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion
+of himself than on the opinion of others. If then a god or a wise
+teacher should present himself to a man and bid him to think of nothing
+and to design nothing which he would not express as soon as he conceived
+it, he could not endure it even for a single day. So much more respect
+have we to what our neighbours shall think of us than to what we shall
+think of ourselves. 
+
+How can it be that the gods after having arranged all things well
+and benevolently for mankind, have overlooked this alone, that some
+men and very good men, and men who, as we may say, have had most communion
+with the divinity, and through pious acts and religious observances
+have been most intimate with the divinity, when they have once died
+should never exist again, but should be completely extinguished?
+
+But if this is so, be assured that if it ought to have been otherwise,
+the gods would have done it. For if it were just, it would also be
+possible; and if it were according to nature, nature would have had
+it so. But because it is not so, if in fact it is not so, be thou
+convinced that it ought not to have been so:- for thou seest even
+of thyself that in this inquiry thou art disputing with the diety;
+and we should not thus dispute with the gods, unless they were most
+excellent and most just;- but if this is so, they would not have allowed
+anything in the ordering of the universe to be neglected unjustly
+and irrationally. 
+
+Practise thyself even in the things which thou despairest of accomplishing.
+For even the left hand, which is ineffectual for all other things
+for want of practice, holds the bridle more vigorously than the right
+hand; for it has been practised in this. 
+
+Consider in what condition both in body and soul a man should be when
+he is overtaken by death; and consider the shortness of life, the
+boundless abyss of time past and future, the feebleness of all matter.
+
+Contemplate the formative principles (forms) of things bare of their
+coverings; the purposes of actions; consider what pain is, what pleasure
+is, and death, and fame; who is to himself the cause of his uneasiness;
+how no man is hindered by another; that everything is opinion.
+
+In the application of thy principles thou must be like the pancratiast,
+not like the gladiator; for the gladiator lets fall the sword which
+he uses and is killed; but the other always has his hand, and needs
+to do nothing else than use it. 
+
+See what things are in themselves, dividing them into matter, form
+and purpose. 
+
+What a power man has to do nothing except what God will approve, and
+to accept all that God may give him. 
+
+With respect to that which happens conformably to nature, we ought
+to blame neither gods, for they do nothing wrong either voluntarily
+or involuntarily, nor men, for they do nothing wrong except involuntarily.
+Consequently we should blame nobody. 
+
+How ridiculous and what a stranger he is who is surprised at anything
+which happens in life. 
+
+Either there is a fatal necessity and invincible order, or a kind
+Providence, or a confusion without a purpose and without a director
+(Book IV). If then there is an invincible necessity, why dost thou
+resist? But if there is a Providence which allows itself to be propitiated,
+make thyself worthy of the help of the divinity. But if there is a
+confusion without governor, be content that in such a tempest thou
+hast in thyself a certain ruling intelligence. And even if the tempest
+carry thee away, let it carry away the poor flesh, the poor breath,
+everything else; for the intelligence at least it will not carry away.
+
+Does the light of the lamp shine without losing its splendour until
+it is extinguished; and shall the truth which is in thee and justice
+and temperance be extinguished before thy death? 
+
+When a man has presented the appearance of having done wrong, say,
+How then do I know if this is a wrongful act? And even if he has done
+wrong, how do I know that he has not condemned himself? and so this
+is like tearing his own face. Consider that he, who would not have
+the bad man do wrong, is like the man who would not have the fig-tree
+to bear juice in the figs and infants to cry and the horse to neigh,
+and whatever else must of necessity be. For what must a man do who
+has such a character? If then thou art irritable, cure this man's
+disposition. 
+
+If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it.
+For let thy efforts be- 
+
+In everything always observe what the thing is which produces for
+thee an appearance, and resolve it by dividing it into the formal,
+the material, the purpose, and the time within which it must end.
+
+Perceive at last that thou hast in thee something better and more
+divine than the things which cause the various affects, and as it
+were pull thee by the strings. What is there now in my mind? Is it
+fear, or suspicion, or desire, or anything of the kind? 
+
+First, do nothing inconsiderately, nor without a purpose. Second,
+make thy acts refer to nothing else than to a social end.
+
+Consider that before long thou wilt be nobody and nowhere, nor will
+any of the things exist which thou now seest, nor any of those who
+are now living. For all things are formed by nature to change and
+be turned and to perish in order that other things in continuous succession
+may exist. 
+
+Consider that everything is opinion, and opinion is in thy power.
+Take away then, when thou choosest, thy opinion, and like a mariner,
+who has doubled the promontory, thou wilt find calm, everything stable,
+and a waveless bay. 
+
+Any one activity whatever it may be, when it has ceased at its proper
+time, suffers no evil because it has ceased; nor he who has done this
+act, does he suffer any evil for this reason that the act has ceased.
+In like manner then the whole which consists of all the acts, which
+is our life, if it cease at its proper time, suffers no evil for this
+reason that it has ceased; nor he who has terminated this series at
+the proper time, has he been ill dealt with. But the proper time and
+the limit nature fixes, sometimes as in old age the peculiar nature
+of man, but always the universal nature, by the change of whose parts
+the whole universe continues ever young and perfect. And everything
+which is useful to the universal is always good and in season. Therefore
+the termination of life for every man is no evil, because neither
+is it shameful, since it is both independent of the will and not opposed
+to the general interest, but it is good, since it is seasonable and
+profitable to and congruent with the universal. For thus too he is
+moved by the deity who is moved in the same manner with the deity
+and moved towards the same things in his mind. 
+
+These three principles thou must have in readiness. In the things
+which thou doest do nothing either inconsiderately or otherwise than
+as justice herself would act; but with respect to what may happen
+to thee from without, consider that it happens either by chance or
+according to Providence, and thou must neither blame chance nor accuse
+Providence. Second, consider what every being is from the seed to
+the time of its receiving a soul, and from the reception of a soul
+to the giving back of the same, and of what things every being is
+compounded and into what things it is resolved. Third, if thou shouldst
+suddenly be raised up above the earth, and shouldst look down on human
+things, and observe the variety of them how great it is, and at the
+same time also shouldst see at a glance how great is the number of
+beings who dwell around in the air and the aether, consider that as
+often as thou shouldst be raised up, thou wouldst see the same things,
+sameness of form and shortness of duration. Are these things to be
+proud of? 
+
+Cast away opinion: thou art saved. Who then hinders thee from casting
+it away? 
+
+When thou art troubled about anything, thou hast forgotten this, that
+all things happen according to the universal nature; and forgotten
+this, that a man's wrongful act is nothing to thee; and further thou
+hast forgotten this, that everything which happens, always happened
+so and will happen so, and now happens so everywhere; forgotten this
+too, how close is the kinship between a man and the whole human race,
+for it is a community, not of a little blood or seed, but of intelligence.
+And thou hast forgotten this too, that every man's intelligence is
+a god, and is an efflux of the deity; and forgotten this, that nothing
+is a man's own, but that his child and his body and his very soul
+came from the deity; forgotten this, that everything is opinion; and
+lastly thou hast forgotten that every man lives the present time only,
+and loses only this. 
+
+Constantly bring to thy recollection those who have complained greatly
+about anything, those who have been most conspicuous by the greatest
+fame or misfortunes or enmities or fortunes of any kind: then think
+where are they all now? Smoke and ash and a tale, or not even a tale.
+And let there be present to thy mind also everything of this sort,
+how Fabius Catullinus lived in the country, and Lucius Lupus in his
+gardens, and Stertinius at Baiae, and Tiberius at Capreae and Velius
+Rufus (or Rufus at Velia); and in fine think of the eager pursuit
+of anything conjoined with pride; and how worthless everything is
+after which men violently strain; and how much more philosophical
+it is for a man in the opportunities presented to him to show
+
+THE END
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Copyright statement:
+The Internet Classics Archive by Daniel C. Stevenson, Web Atomics.
+World Wide Web presentation is copyright (C) 1994-2000, Daniel
+C. Stevenson, Web Atomics.
+All rights reserved under international and pan-American copyright
+conventions, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part
+in any form. Direct permission requests to [email protected].
+Translation of "The Deeds of the Divine Augustus" by Augustus is
+copyright (C) Thomas Bushnell, BSG.