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to have the intelligence that guides to the things which appear suitable |
belongs also to those who do not believe in the gods, and who betray |
their country, and do their impure deeds when they have shut the doors. |
If then everything else is common to all that I have mentioned, there |
remains that which is peculiar to the good man, to be pleased and |
content with what happens, and with the thread which is spun for him; |
and not to defile the divinity which is planted in his breast, nor |
disturb it by a crowd of images, but to preserve it tranquil, following |
it obediently as a god, neither saying anything contrary to the truth, |
nor doing anything contrary to justice. And if all men refuse to believe |
that he lives a simple, modest, and contented life, he is neither |
angry with any of them, nor does he deviate from the way which leads |
to the end of life, to which a man ought to come pure, tranquil, ready |
to depart, and without any compulsion perfectly reconciled to his |
lot. |
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BOOK FOUR |
That which rules within, when it is according to nature, is so affected |
with respect to the events which happen, that it always easily adapts |
itself to that which is and is presented to it. For it requires no |
definite material, but it moves towards its purpose, under certain |
conditions however; and it makes a material for itself out of that |
which opposes it, as fire lays hold of what falls into it, by which |
a small light would have been extinguished: but when the fire is strong, |
it soon appropriates to itself the matter which is heaped on it, and |
consumes it, and rises higher by means of this very material. |
Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according |
to the perfect principles of art. |
Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, sea-shores, |
and mountains; and thou too art wont to desire such things very much. |
But this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men, for |
it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself. |
For nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does |
a man retire than into his own soul, particularly when he has within |
him such thoughts that by looking into them he is immediately in perfect |
tranquility; and I affirm that tranquility is nothing else than the |
good ordering of the mind. Constantly then give to thyself this retreat, |
and renew thyself; and let thy principles be brief and fundamental, |
which, as soon as thou shalt recur to them, will be sufficient to |
cleanse the soul completely, and to send thee back free from all discontent |
with the things to which thou returnest. For with what art thou discontented? |
With the badness of men? Recall to thy mind this conclusion, that |
rational animals exist for one another, and that to endure is a part |
of justice, and that men do wrong involuntarily; and consider how |
many already, after mutual enmity, suspicion, hatred, and fighting, |
have been stretched dead, reduced to ashes; and be quiet at last.- |
But perhaps thou art dissatisfied with that which is assigned to thee |
out of the universe.- Recall to thy recollection this alternative; |
either there is providence or atoms, fortuitous concurrence of things; |
or remember the arguments by which it has been proved that the world |
is a kind of political community, and be quiet at last.- But perhaps |
corporeal things will still fasten upon thee.- Consider then further |
that the mind mingles not with the breath, whether moving gently or |
violently, when it has once drawn itself apart and discovered its |
own power, and think also of all that thou hast heard and assented |
to about pain and pleasure, and be quiet at last.- But perhaps the |
desire of the thing called fame will torment thee.- See how soon everything |
is forgotten, and look at the chaos of infinite time on each side |
of the present, and the emptiness of applause, and the changeableness |
and want of judgement in those who pretend to give praise, and the |
narrowness of the space within which it is circumscribed, and be quiet |
at last. For the whole earth is a point, and how small a nook in it |
is this thy dwelling, and how few are there in it, and what kind of |
people are they who will praise thee. |
This then remains: Remember to retire into this little territory of |
thy own, and above all do not distract or strain thyself, but be free, |
and look at things as a man, as a human being, as a citizen, as a |
mortal. But among the things readiest to thy hand to which thou shalt |
turn, let there be these, which are two. One is that things do not |
touch the soul, for they are external and remain immovable; but our |
perturbations come only from the opinion which is within. The other |
is that all these things, which thou seest, change immediately and |
will no longer be; and constantly bear in mind how many of these changes |
thou hast already witnessed. The universe is transformation: life |
is opinion. |
If our intellectual part is common, the reason also, in respect of |
which we are rational beings, is common: if this is so, common also |
is the reason which commands us what to do, and what not to do; if |
this is so, there is a common law also; if this is so, we are fellow-citizens; |
if this is so, we are members of some political community; if this |
is so, the world is in a manner a state. For of what other common |
political community will any one say that the whole human race are |
members? And from thence, from this common political community comes |
also our very intellectual faculty and reasoning faculty and our capacity |
for law; or whence do they come? For as my earthly part is a portion |
given to me from certain earth, and that which is watery from another |
element, and that which is hot and fiery from some peculiar source |
(for nothing comes out of that which is nothing, as nothing also returns |
to non-existence), so also the intellectual part comes from some source. |
Death is such as generation is, a mystery of nature; a composition |
out of the same elements, and a decomposition into the same; and altogether |
not a thing of which any man should be ashamed, for it is not contrary |