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anything injurious, approach their poor souls, penetrate within, and

see what kind of men they are. Thou wilt discover that there is no

reason to take any trouble that these men may have this or that opinion

about thee. However thou must be well disposed towards them, for by

nature they are friends. And the gods too aid them in all ways, by

dreams, by signs, towards the attainment of those things on which

they set a value.

The periodic movements of the universe are the same, up and down from

age to age. And either the universal intelligence puts itself in motion

for every separate effect, and if this is so, be thou content with

that which is the result of its activity; or it puts itself in motion

once, and everything else comes by way of sequence in a manner; or

indivisible elements are the origin of all things.- In a word, if

there is a god, all is well; and if chance rules, do not thou also

be governed by it.

Soon will the earth cover us all: then the earth, too, will change,

and the things also which result from change will continue to change

for ever, and these again for ever. For if a man reflects on the changes

and transformations which follow one another like wave after wave

and their rapidity, he will despise everything which is perishable.

The universal cause is like a winter torrent: it carries everything

along with it. But how worthless are all these poor people who are

engaged in matters political, and, as they suppose, are playing the

philosopher! All drivellers. Well then, man: do what nature now requires.

Set thyself in motion, if it is in thy power, and do not look about

thee to see if any one will observe it; nor yet expect Plato's Republic:

but be content if the smallest thing goes on well, and consider such

an event to be no small matter. For who can change men's opinions?

And without a change of opinions what else is there than the slavery

of men who groan while they pretend to obey? Come now and tell me

of Alexander and Philip and Demetrius of Phalerum. They themselves

shall judge whether they discovered what the common nature required,

and trained themselves accordingly. But if they acted like tragedy

heroes, no one has condemned me to imitate them. Simple and modest

is the work of philosophy. Draw me not aside to indolence and pride.

Look down from above on the countless herds of men and their countless

solemnities, and the infinitely varied voyagings in storms and calms,

and the differences among those who are born, who live together, and

die. And consider, too, the life lived by others in olden time, and

the life of those who will live after thee, and the life now lived

among barbarous nations, and how many know not even thy name, and

how many will soon forget it, and how they who perhaps now are praising

thee will very soon blame thee, and that neither a posthumous name

is of any value, nor reputation, nor anything else.

Let there be freedom from perturbations with respect to the things

which come from the external cause; and let there be justice in the

things done by virtue of the internal cause, that is, let there be

movement and action terminating in this, in social acts, for this

is according to thy nature.

Thou canst remove out of the way many useless things among those which

disturb thee, for they lie entirely in thy opinion; and thou wilt

then gain for thyself ample space by comprehending the whole universe

in thy mind, and by contemplating the eternity of time, and observing

the rapid change of every several thing, how short is the time from

birth to dissolution, and the illimitable time before birth as well

as the equally boundless time after dissolution.

All that thou seest will quickly perish, and those who have been spectators

of its dissolution will very soon perish too. And he who dies at the

extremest old age will be brought into the same condition with him

who died prematurely.

What are these men's leading principles, and about what kind of things

are they busy, and for what kind of reasons do they love and honour?

Imagine that thou seest their poor souls laid bare. When they think

that they do harm by their blame or good by their praise, what an

idea!

Loss is nothing else than change. But the universal nature delights

in change, and in obedience to her all things are now done well, and

from eternity have been done in like form, and will be such to time

without end. What, then, dost thou say? That all things have been

and all things always will be bad, and that no power has ever been

found in so many gods to rectify these things, but the world has been

condemned to be found in never ceasing evil?

The rottenness of the matter which is the foundation of everything!

Water, dust, bones, filth: or again, marble rocks, the callosities

of the earth; and gold and silver, the sediments; and garments, only

bits of hair; and purple dye, blood; and everything else is of the

same kind. And that which is of the nature of breath is also another

thing of the same kind, changing from this to that.