Gale

Gale is a boy with black hair and black eyes. He likes LEGO, video games, and reading novels. He is friends with Harsha and Marvin, and lots of other people.

### Hobbies

He enjoys Fandom, LEGO, and likes ACapella music.

### Items

He uses a White Chicken as a floating surfboard.

## Physical description

### Galen‘s stupid surviv novel

Prologue; 1984

Dr. Chandler Tallow, Assistant Researcher on Project Hydra, had signed the paper for the contract with The USSR Academy of Sciences and Kuga Heavy Industries, who had completed Bunker 16, "The Chrysanthemum" before being allowed to contribute to the building of Bunker 3 "The Hydra". The Hydra's purpose was to hold the research test subjects in specialized Cyrostatis Chambers provided by The USSR Academy of Sciences while monitoring the performance of the test Survivrs. A side project of the Initiative was to create a video game in which the competing players would have to eliminate the other players via an internet system which was in a testing stage, the main server was in Storm, the Bunker in which Nick and Justin worked. They were programmers and graphic designers, who developed the game. The game was based on the Island, so it contained a lot of inside jokes, like the fact that PARMA liked to hide weapons in weird places, like toilets or in bottles of wine. The reason they built this game was that they wanted not just a video game but a game that would give them money and

I

1992 November

  It had been Chandler's tenth year at PARMA, and he couldn't believe that time flew that fast. He was promoted to the commander of the 25th PBG which were the 50 PBG (PARMA Bunker Guard) troopers situated in and around Bunker 3. They also had prepared for an attack from the Soviets, who were scared that once had scientists work on the Island for a few years until there was an accident they then got Although the wealthy arms dealer Mikhail Nevelskoy was trying to help them circumvent the Kremlin and, in the case of an attack, try to get help from another organization, mysteriously called Eye, owned by his son, Dmitri but that didn't seem to work. It wasn't the best situation for PARMA; the US Navy had placed an order on the development of the Serum while the Soviet government demanded Nevelskoy to explain why he was funding a company to develop a serum that enhances the performance of enemy commandos. But what some of the other researchers were most worried about was the Crimson Ring Club, which was owned and built by Nevolskoy. They were worried that once the Soviets had gotten involved they would have troops stationed in the Club to capture PARMA scientists. (PARMA scientists love bars, pools, and saunas). But surely, Nevelosky wouldn't want Soviets in his Club but he was helpless because he was a Russian and therefore had to listen to his government...or did he?

II

1992 November 30 about 2:00 am

'Миссия Управления?' said the lead Soviet trooper, Roman. 'Yes, we can hear from you, please stand by. We are receiving information from our recon aircraft...' said the voice from Mission Control. 'Copy that' answered the Roman. "About 20 meters to the north is a house that we want you to check out and secure, then we'll work from that," reported Mission Control. 'Copy that' replied Roman, and got to work immediately: 'Misha, Igor flank the left side, Ivan, Oleg, and Denis do the full-on assault on the door, Danyl, prepare to be backup for the others. Go!'

Oleg took the lead of the primary strike team as he loaded his Groza. Ivan and Denis took the flanks, taking out an AK-47 and an AKM respectively. Oleg smashed through the unlocked door and saw two PBG troopers searching through a drawer.

"PARMA!!" Oleg shouted, and Misha and Igor fired a burst into the window, smashing the window into smithereens and punching holes in a chair. The PBG troopers took cover behind a wall while one of the PBG troopers radioed their squad. 'We see five Soviets, asking for support,' he reported through radio. 'Okay, hang on' responded the leader of the PBG troopers' squad. 'So what do we do now?' yelled the first trooper over the sound of Soviet gunfire. 'Run?' shouted the other PBG trooper. 'Okay,' Brendan said, and they nodded in unison and jumped out the window just as the commandos demolished the walls.

III

The heads of the PARMA FSTMS division gathered in the Swine, over a few computer terminals the projector displayed the live footage of Ex.

V

2:21 Local Time

Misha and the other Soviets were ordered to search the house which had been almost decimated by the Soviet gunfire. Misha was given the bathroom to search for. He shot up the toilet for fun with a Beretta M9 they found sitting in a drawer that was sitting next to the doorway. To his surprise, he found a perfectly good AK-47, three magazines of unscathed 7.62 ammunition, and a perfectly clean 2-scope sitting in the wreck of the toilet. 'Hey, come and take a look at what I found in the toilet, Ivan!'. Ivan was raiding the fridge with a PAZ-672 knife. "Poop? Guess somebody's gonna pay you a hundred rubles for that," commented Ivan sarcastically. Ivan pried the fridge door open with his knife and took two frozen sausages and a soda out of the fridge then started walking towards the bathroom. "I found an AK-47, some ammo, and a 2-scope." "What?" asked Ivan who went over to see. Ivan called Roman and Roman radioed Mission Control; 'Mission control, we found nothing but a few revolvers that look like OTs-38 Stechkins in the drawers, and uh, um.. an AK-47 and some ammo with a 2-scope in the toilet."

VI

2:21 Local Time

  VII

December 1st 6:00 Local Time

As daylight appeared over the horizon for the who-knows millionth time, Dr. Chandler Tallow climbed down from his perch from the top of the entrance of the bunker that stuck up into the ground. The sunrise was a magnificent one, the kind with large amounts of orange and red. Chandler had heard of the saying; "Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning". He wondered if it was going to be a sunny day. "Shoot," he thought to himself, "we are going to be in full sight of Soviet forces- if they come". Chandler went to the "motorcycle parking lot" and zoomed off to Bunker 17 "The Fowl". For some reason, PRAMA gave its employees chicken, potatoes, and chili peppers and they tell you to ship all your other food from a point far, far away.

When Chandler got there, everyone was talking about the presence of Soviet troops and the shortage of ammo; none of which were good. Chandler also noticed that there were more PBG troopers than regular patrolling the island. Chandler sighed, today he would be off duty, which meant that he was to report for research at 7:30 am and work on the Serum until 4:30 in the afternoon. He was almost at the finish of his work on the Serum and would test it on volunteer PBG troopers. He would then command the Survivrs in the 25th.  Chandler descended into the underground cafeteria, the Fowl, and frowned at the breakfast: chicken with potato, sprinkled with chili peppers.

He didn't know why they gave their employees to eat chicken and potatoes and peppers, but he did know that PARMA FSTMS was doing a project called Project SPUD, a project that made in joint association with PI DAW to make a Spud gun which fired insanely fast potatoes at enemies and the Potato Cannon, which fired explosive rounds of a gargantuan version of the spud. The project was directed by Spud Solanum, Head Chief of the FSTMS division. Spud was interested in what PARMA could do if they had a weapon like that. He thought that if PARMA had a powerful weapon like that, they would be able to repel the Soviets.

VIII

IX

10:33

The whole of PARMA's stuff in the air were 6 very very old North American P-51 Mustangs and ten modern B-52s which were converted into transports. The airfield which they operated from was a 650-meter bumpy strip that was marked with some bushes here and there. The ground crew was stationed next to the PARMA Vault Building, which looked like a bank and had an Okami Soda/energy drink Machine for some reason. They fortified it with a British WWII-era Bofor AA gun.

"Hey, ready?" asked a ground crew member.

'Yeah. Hey, what do you think is gonna happen if I meet an F-15 or a MiG?' asked the pilot. 'Dude, Forget it, you're just flying recon missions, if you see an aircraft, radio us and run away like a panicky chicken.'. The ground crews wished him good luck and the pilot took off, wondering what he would find.

  The pilot, Chuck, spiraled above the aerodrome, gazing at the sea next to the island. 'OK, I want you to get to Forest Island. It's 20 kilometers away at about your 5 o'clock,' Chuck heard from the radio, 'Roger that, what do I do when I get there?' he asked.

"Scout the island and see if there are any buildings in there. If you do, take a few pictures and get away as quickly as possible." 'Roger that. Chuck flew low, knowing that he could not fly high enough to evade the would-be attackers. He flew straight toward the island, which would be the home of the future Project Hatchet.

  He flew at about 700 KPH to the island so it took one and a half minutes for him to get there. He flew low, searching for any clearings around the island. He found a lake with a Japanese-style tea house thing on an island. Chuck radioed the ground team at PARMA and took a few pictures. As Chuck continued to fly, he found out that there were lots of trees and for some reason, teahouses everywhere. He also took a sundry of pictures from different angles for analysis by PARMA planners. A figure was walking around the island,

X

1993 November 32 6:32

PBG 25 landed on Forest Island in stormy weather. They were the elite PBG troopers selected out of the greater division of 50 people, they were ordered to scout the teahouses PARMA had discovered the previous day. They were not the first; in the afternoon, on the 31st, PARMA dropped 2 PBG teams into the clearing, along with some flare guns and equipment. The leader was Marvin Abrams. Everyone on the team was equipped with 8 scopes and 2 weapons: an AK-47 as a primary and GLOCK 18C for side exceptions being Jack Edwards' AKM and Marvin's HK416. They trudged on into the forest for about 20 minutes then they ran into the Japanese-Style Teahouse they had been ordered to investigate. Marvin ordered the team to stay in the bushes.

"神々が私たちを助けてくりますが"(May the gods help us)

  'What the?' asked Edward, one of the PBG troopers. 'Japanese?' answered Liam. 'SHHH!' Marvin whisper shouted. The team of PBG troopers witnessed two figures walk out of the teahouse.

The PBG troopers made sure there were no more people in the teahouse before entering. They stalked into the Teahouse, with their guns raised, ready to fire. There were a chest and 3 pots.

The chest was golden with a pattern of chrysanthemum on it, Marvin recognized the logo from an old The Survivr magazine; it was the Logo of Kuga Heavy Industries. The pots were red with a flower pattern. The PBG troopers opened the chest carefully. Liam scanned the contents and called the PARMA headquarters at Core. They found the following in the Teahouse: a Katana, an HK416, and 3 magazines of 5.63 ammunition in the chest, a vest that looked like a WWI vintage vest in the first pot, an AK-47, and 3 magazines of 7.62 ammunition in the second and 5 bandages in the last.

They reported their findings and Marvin quickly concluded that the teahouse had something to do with KHI.

XI

As Kuga walked with Alaqua towards the Lake, he thought about his plans to control the Island which was at the time, too dangerous to seize by force. KHI had no weapons but a security branch, and that was nothing against PARMA's massive PBG force. Kuga planned to get Alaqua to talk Shishigami into attacking and destroying the PARMA base at the island. "Shishigami," he thought to himself, "is powerful enough to crush, decimate, obliterate, annihilate the whole of the useless 10 PBG teams at the clearing." He thought.

  As they reached the Lake, Kuga spoke: 'Alaqua, you get onto the boat, I'll stay on the shore.' he said 'OK, Kuga' she replied.

  Alaqua got onto the boat with her offerings to Shishigami: a bow and a quiver full of arrows. She put the bag containing the offerings carefully next to her and she picked up the oars. Alaqua gripped the oars and pushed the boat off the shore with ease, for she was strong for a girl her age. Then she started rowing toward the island in the middle.

   XII

The 10 squads of PBG troopers were fed up about cutting down the annoying trees that blocked the view of the pilots that were throwing stuff at them. The23rd, 24th, and were tasked with receiving the numerous airdrops dropped by PARMA aircraft. Among them were a few copies of the magazine The Survivr with a few Okami Sodas. It turned out that PBG troopers on duty get their copies of The Survivr a day early along with a can of Okami Soda. November's issue was about the building of Bunker Five 'The Hatchet' the project went unannounced until the 1st so the PBG troopers were ahead of lots of people in news. Among the bigger pieces were the wood for toilet shacks and the biggest was the roof of the warehouse that would be built next to the Bunker. The other teams had to cut down trees and assemble toilets.

  XIII

December 19th 10:43

The PBG troopers numbered three PBG units on Woods Island: the 22nd, 23th, and 25th. Bunker 5 was completed, and the PARMA Department of Advanced Weaponry had moved in.

"Okay, due to Soviet pressure on the Island, The 25th PBG is going to be moved to the Island. Marvin Abrams is going to lead them and they will be stationed in the east of the Island. This message is to be relayed to Marvin. C Abrams." the voice came out of the radio in the PI DAW's (PARMA Initiative Department of Advanced Weaponry)'s new HQ.

"Copy." Catharine Greene answered.

Catharine walked up the stairs to the ground level. She glanced around and jogged toward a Jeep.

"Hey!," she called, "you know where Marvin Abrams is?"

"Need a ride? I'm also headin' for him. By the way, my name's Jack Edwards."

"Okay, ready to go. "

After about five minutes and lots of

bumps, they arrived at a shack with a gray roof.

"THAT.. the leader of PBG 25 lives THERE?"  Catharine asked, thinking of how small the bed would be.

"He's um.. just working in there, getting ready to load that barrel of oil into this Jeep."

Jack unbuckled and got down from the Jeep. Catharine stayed on the Jeep as she stared at Marvin's talk about some PBG business for a while and was introduced by Jack as a "Charming woman."

She blushed and talked about Marvin having to move his squad to the main island, where his division was needed. He nodded and spoke into his radio about meeting up outside Hatchet and getting on the transports tomorrow morning.

They drove back to the Bunker while Marvin started rambling about his awesome troops and of his division getting the first Survivrs that PARMA had manufactured.

He hoped that she would get attracted to him because he had an intense crush on Katharine.

December 20th

Dr. Greene, Dr. Richards, Dr. Chandler Tallow, and 5 PBG troopers walked into the Bunker, examining the computer terminals and power boxes. Now Dr. Greene was a very intelligent professor who was working for PARMA. He once worked for KHI and grew to know Kuga having growing ambitions. Chandler walked into the left side, noticing the small, square black metal block sitting in the corner. 'What's that?' Chandler asked Kuga and a Japanese girl, whom Kuga introduced as Alaqua. 'Emergency provisions. Nothing. Go open it if you want.' Kuga shrugged. Chandler nodded and carried on. One of the PBG troopers got bored and leaned against the wall at the end, knocking on the wall. Suddenly, he heard something. He knocked again. It was hollow. 'Kuga. What the matter with this?' He asked.

'Hideout. Useful if you get trapped in the bunker. Get in, and when the enemy comes, they come in and find nothing.' he answered. Greene gave Chandler a "Look". 'If you want to go in, get in. We can fix it later.' Kuga found a stone hammer and smashed the wall into smithereens. Richards gave Greene and Chandler a look that meant "suspicious".As Kuga led them into the room, he took out the stone hammer and threw the hammer at PBG #1, who collapsed. Chandler took out his AN-94 and fired a burst. The remaining 4 PBG troopers took out their M9s for self-defense while Alaqua brandished an AWM-S and sniped two PBG troopers down with amazing accuracy. But the M9 was known for its spread and high firing speed. Alaqua, having a sniper rifle, was no match after they were locked in short-range combat. The remaining two PBG troopers were proved to be even worse in combat than PARMA scientists the remaining troopers injured Alaqua as the scientists fled but they were also killed as they fled. Kuga took out his M9, given to him by PARMA. And had time to fire 14 rounds of the 9mm ammo. 13 of the bullets hit Dr. Greene and he was killed. Chandler and Richards fled the bunker, meeting up with the B-52 which had come to pick up the 20 M9s for the PARMA Food Science, Terraformation, and Molecular Synthesis Division (FSTMS) for its employees' self-defense. The B-52 radioed PARMA fighter command and called for an urgent P-51 Mustang to scout the area. The two scientists caught the airdrop the B-52 dropped: a PKP Pecheneg. The PKP was the newest weapon in the PARMA arsenal. It had 200 bullets in the magazine already, courtesy of the B-52 crew. They got in their car while Kuga ran out of the Bunker with an AWM-S in his hand. Kuga shot at the tan Jeep as Dr. Tallow fired back. The first .308 Subsonic bullet hit the Jeep in the backlights, the lights shattered, spraying the plastic everywhere. The second failed to hit anything. The third hit a poor squirrel who happened to be collecting nuts.

Back in the Bunker, Alaqua ,"Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo..."

XV

December 21 1:10

Kuga got on the boat which he would row to the Crysanthemum. He couldn't believe how the PARMA investigation team had found other bunkers on the Island. He rowed for about thirty minutes and reached the Island. He pushed the boat away gently towards the sea because he could not afford to risk the boat being discovered by a PARMA patrol. After he watched the boat drift away he walked ashore quietly to avoid any PARMA patrols hearing him. His destination, the Crysanthemum, was about 90 meters away from the place he had landed.

  Kuga walked into the Bunker with the M9 he had found in a crate by the shore. Then he quietly entered the code which opened the door to the Second Room, whose door was hidden behind the television. He walked into the second room to see Shimizu, who he had hired to work for KHI. Shimizu said hello to him as she opened the vault door. Behind which the Machine which was able to change the Island's weather was located. He waited while the door opened for obvious reasons, to not kill anybody around the door: the door was thick and heavy to avoid explosions from destroying the door.

  They went into the Third Room and prepared the machine for use.

A few minutes later, the Machine was prepped up for work. The Machine started revving up for work and all was well - at least for the first few hours. At about 3:20, Shimizu said to Kuga, 'EMFs exceeding maximum safe exposure. Recommend evacuating the chamber immediately' Kuga, who was confident to finish the process responded by telling Shimizu to release the wheel lock: 'Negative. Proceeding with the final induction sequence. Release wheel lock under my mark.' he ordered. 'Kuga-Sama! This is too dangerous—'

'Release it, Shimizu-Kun!' Shimizu sighed but obeyed: 'Wheel lock released.'

'Initiating wheel sequence.' Shimizu pressed the three buttons in the combination that would start the final stage. Shimizu heard the whirring sound inside the Machine getting louder. Kuga the door to the  Machine room slammed 'I can feel... pressure approach. Are you reading this? Can you... see it? Ah, in front of me...... It is...' The Machine completed its final step. 'Beautiful' Kuga said as the Machine stopped and he saw the power meter on the computer rise.

Suddenly, he heard the vault door slam as a few dozen PBG troopers charged into the Bunker. They slammed the door and waited for Kuga to die of thirst. Kuga gathered all of the supplies into the Machine room and turned the Desert Wheel, another machine made by KHI. The Desert Wheel would turn the Island into a wasteland... or so it might. This was the goal of KHI: to control the Island's power; but now that PARMA had discovered their goal, he had no choice but to evacuate and leave the problems of the Island to PARMA. To prevent PARMA from trying to crack open the "Final Seal" to the Machine Room, he left a recording: 'You who have reached this forsaken place. Listen well. No power exists that will break the final seal. No key to this lock. What lies behind is not meant for mortal eyes."

  The place might as well turn into a "forsaken place"

Part Two: Incursion Rising

Prologue

December 29th 10:40

Bunker 13 "The Eye"

'This is Dr. Chandler Tallow. We sealed the Eye but I fear we have not seen the last' Dr. Richards was listening to the PARMA scientist gives him instructions via a computer terminal, one of the many in The Eye. Richards pressed the "Respond " button and started to respond "O-" he started to say but the PBG troopers' leader slammed the mic shut stabbed him in the back and Richards collapsed: "Richards? Wh- What are you... No! NO!! DR.RICHARDS!!!!" Chandler screamed into the microphone.

I

January 20th

The Soviet troops, Roman, Misha, Igor, Ivan, Oleg, Denis, and Danyl trudged on in the frequently patrolled PARMA territory. The first thing they saw in the dim morning light was a giant red house's silhouette in the sunrise. They were ordered to sneak up to the window and check on the inhabitants of the house. Oleg was picked for the task because he was the best at melee combat and was the smallest of the Soviet squad.

He walked over to the house with a Machete and an M9 found in the house they had raided a few days ago. The inhabitants of the house were none, and the lights were off. Oleg gave the "Congregation" signal. Ivan broke off from the main team and headed toward the house. They entered the house quietly and heard some sounds from upstairs. "So, these are our latest test subjects and they are here to um... guard your place 'cause your mansion is rather conspicuous out here and the first thing the Soviets will see when they get on the island is your mansion is," "Yes I know but- Shhh." a heavily accented voice said.

"ROMAN!!" Oleg shouted at the top of his lungs and turned his M9 from safe to fire. 'Shoot!!' I need a better weapon!' shouted Oleg as a squad of PARMA troopers enhanced with the very Serum they were fighting for ran down the stairs, spraying death towards the Soviets. Oleg caught the AK-47 Igor gave to him and ducked behind a door to reload. Roman sprinted into the Mansion with a Machete in his hand, knocking a PARMA test subject down. Roman replaced his Machete with a Super 90 and ducked behind a wall, popping his head out to fire once in a while. The other Soviet troops streamed into the mansion, sending PARMA test subjects flying, but they seemed to be invincible, kicking asses and sending bullets through peoples' heads.

After a few footprints on his immaculate uniform trousers, he gave up on patting the dust off his ass every two seconds.

"Retreat!" he yelled, and the remaining Soviet troops ran out of the Mansion, firing at the pursuing Survivrs and running for their lives at the same time.

"Shit!" Marvin yelled as an oil barrel exploded. He had his head buried in his helmet while bullets whizzed over the rocks he and Katharine were hiding behind. He peeked out and a bullet from Roman's Super 90.

### Galen‘s Stupid surviv short story

Tallow stood up and picked up his bloodstained Kukri from the ground. The distant sounds of gunfire were becoming less and less audible as more soldiers fell. His AN-94 was on his back while he held a USAS-12 he found in an airdrop from Bunker 15, the Meteor. He staggered toward to battlefield. A bullet whizzed from the top of his head, almost punching a hole in his helmet. He raised his USAS-12 and pulled the trigger. The Frag-12 shell launched itself at the Soviet Leader. The blast and the sharpened lacerated Roman's flesh, making him wince in pain. He took out a few bandages and bandaged his wounds.

A few PARMA aircraft screamed across the battlefield, dropping Iron Bombs that blasted Misha's arm off. He attempted to heal the wound with his Med Kit, but he did not manage to get away from Tallow's USAS-12, which was striking horror at the Soviets. A Frag-12 blew his face to bits, not giving him time to even think about his family. Tallow felt bad about killing the Soviets in such a cruel way but he had no choice.

As the PBG troopers fell, Tallow was given a PKP Pecheneg and injected a "Lone Survivr fluid" which was reserved for emergencies his skin was hardened, which softened attacks. His bullets also spread out more and were turned into Splinter Rounds. He was spraying the Soviets down when another ten or so fresh Soviet troops joined the fray. He retreated into the Egg Bunker, where other PARMA scientists were waiting.

### Galen‘s stupid essay 1

In the Ninth Epistle of Seneca's Epistulae Morales, the Greek Philosopher Epicurus is talked about. Epicurus says the wise man is self-sufficient. Lucilius, Seneca's friend, wants to know if Seneca agrees with Epicurus.

My opinion is that a wise man is self-sufficient but still wants friends.

The first reason why a wise man would want a friend is that other men can benefit from the wise man. If a wise man never goes out and lives a self-sufficient life by himself, nobody will benefit from him. If Seneca had never written to Lucilius, Lucilius would have never benefited from Seneca's wisdom. The wise man would give his wisdom and knowledge to his friend n order that he is helpful. Seneca says a wise man would have a friend not because he would be benefited, but to benefit others. I agree, but I think you can also benefit from others when possible. After all, however wise a human is, he can still improve. This leads to my next point, a wise man's wisdom is limited.

A wise man is not omniscient. He cannot know everything. If he were a mathematics expert, he might not be good at sports. He cannot be an expert at everything. Hence man, not god. If you are a man you will still need daily resources, just like any other man. He is still subject to starvation or death. When others want to kill him, he will have friends to protect him. A friend will help a wise man gain more knowledge and help him when he is in need. So the friendship is benefiting the wise man.

But a wise man will not go out to the market and arbitrarily find a man and befriend him. He will search for a friend that will corrupt him. He will not want a friend that will only drink and feast. Those friends will not do any good. But if a wise man has so high standards in friendship, where will he find such good friends?

He will befriend other wise men, also looking for friends.

If Phidias had one of his statues destroyed, he could just sculpt another one right away. In sculpting, Phidias is wise. But in friendship, the wise man is wise. But the wise man would also want more friends. Because not only having a friend is fun but also because making friends, the process is fun. Similar to the way an artist likes to paint better than having a painted picture. Because while you are making friends, you will also learn other things.

But even though a wise man wants friends, he will not be dependent on them. Since a wise man has a lot of knowledge and can do a lot of things by himself, he will still be okay by himself, since he can think by himself and take pleasure in that. But it will not be as pleasurable as if he had a friend to talk to. They could share their ideas about life and philosophy. They could talk about everything.

But a wise man would still be content with himself. He can still converse with himself. Just like if a wise man lost a limb or eye through war or disease, he would still take as much pleasure in what he has left. (Si illi manum aut morbus aut hostis exiciderit, si quis oculos casus excussserit reliquiae illi satisfacient) He can still see if he cannot walk. He can go hiking and listen to bird calls if he can't see. This is truly enjoying life.

So a wise man would want friends. But at the same time, he would not be fully relying on his friends. There are benefits to having friends, but as Hecato says, I can show you a potion, better than any witch's herbs: if you would be loved, love. (si vis amari ama,) Having a friend is to mainly give, not take. Seneca thinks that a wise man will want a friend for the purpose of helping others.

I think both points are right. You can take and give at the same time. Because your friend is a wise man, and he is here to help you just like yourself. If you refuse his help, his effort will be wasted. So accept his help. It will be a win-win for both. Wise men exist to benefit the world with their wisdom. The world needs many wise men that can help each other since one wise man cannot change the world. If one wise man were to change the world, the corrupt people would try to kill the wise men. But if there were more wise men, they would together move the bad people. Then the world would be a Utopia.

A wise is self-sufficient and therefore does not need friends: this means that a wise man is all-knowing or he does not need to know everything. Because however omniscient a human is, his brainpower is still limited. He cannot know about everything. But he does not need a friend: he can take as much pleasure with what he has himself. But of course, he wants knowledge.

A wise man can have a friend or not, but he has very high standards in the friendship he will not have bad friends that corrupt him（損友）or bad friends(酒肉朋友）are meaningless. But not only because the wise man keeps away from those who are not worth befriending. He also *wants* friends. Of course, even though he, a wise man, knows everything to the limits, a man's brain is still not good enough to remember everything. But Seneca values wisdom more than strength or the physical fortes.

(intro)

To put it another way, a wise man can live by himself but still wants friends. This is right. The same is with the body: Seneca says that even if a wise man has lost an eye or broke a leg through war, disease or he will still be satisfied with what he has left. (Si illi manum aut morbus aut hostis exciderit, si quis oculos casus excusserit reliqiae illi suae satisfacient)

Another thing that Seneca talks about in this Epistle is Phidias, a sculptor.

But not only is it about the wise man, but it is also about the friend of the wise man; he will be benefited from the wise man's friendship.

To have a friend is to give, not to only benefit from him. Hecato says: I can show you a magic potion， If you would like to be loved, love.

### Galen’s stupid essay 2

In Petrarch's Secrets, a fictional dialogue between Petrarch and St. Augustine, poetry and quotes from various authors, such as Virgil, Cicero, and other anonymous authors, is used in the colloquial, often by St. Augustine to accuse and remind Petrarch of his apathy for studies, avarice, and other wrongdoings; and also by Petrarch to defend himself and to rebuke St. Augustine's accusations.  He would have used St. Augustine's mouth because he would care more about St. Augustine's - his favorite thinker's scolding than his own scolding. But if he wrote for the outside world, as St. Augustine had with his Confessions, he could have used St. Augustine's mouth to gain other people's trust, since Petrarch might not have been as famous and reputable as St. Augustine.

The reason why Petrarch would use other people's words and not his own is beacause the names of authors and poets like Virgil, Horace, and Cicero will give and the reader a first impression of the book before they even open the book and read what is inside. Quoting reputable and highly regarded authors makes an opinion more credible and genuine to whoever is listening, just like the author giving a better first impression which is the difference between a student saying to a class of chaotic students without a teacher to tell them to calm down: "I say you shall calm down!" and "The teacher is coming!!!" surely, his fellow students will respond to the latter more. Petrarch might have used St. Augustine's to gain others' trust since he may not have been as famous and reputable in his time: using St. Augustine's mouth would have been more effective. Authors of a quote or statement can make a difference. For example, the book Cosmos by Carl Sagan has the author's name the same size as the title on the spine of the book, because Carl Sagan is a famous astronomer and science writer. But in some reference books, in which the author(s) is not important, the name of the author(s) appears in small letters, or only on the inside. Famous authors can catch peoples' eyeballs when walking through aisles in the library or the bookstore, while unfamiliar names mean less or nothing. There has been a martial arts novelist who was very popular called 金庸, and some authors who wanted to sell themselves out as 金庸 named themself 全庸, and, 金庸新著, which looks like 金庸. The authors of a book can change plenty of things. If a person was an admirer of Virgil and you quoted a phrase of Virgil's that supported one of your opinions, he would have more likely been able to have accepted your opinion.

St. Augustine and Petrarch quote parts of other poets' works which state opinions that are similar to their own. For example: when Petrarch is talking about his idea of the Aura Mediocritas (中庸之道)，he quotes part of Horace's Ad Licinium, which is also about the Aura Mediocritas. (auream quisquis mediocritatem, dilligit tutus caret obsoleti, sordibus tecti caret invidenda, sobrius aula Line 1011) and (saepius ventis agitatur ingens, pinus; exelsae graviore casu decidunt turres feriuntque summas fulgura montes  (Line 1015) and also when he laments his unsatisfactory fortune to St. Augustine, he quotes another phrase of Horace: Quid credis, amice precari? Sit mihi quod nunc est, etiam minus, et mihi vivam qoud superest aevi, siquid superesse volunt di. (Line 046).

The "fictional" characters in the book： St. Augustine and Petrarch, also use poetry to defend and attack each others' statements. St. Augustine even used Petrarch's poetry to scold him for decorating himself for corporeal pleasures, and not realizing that his own body, which he is so fond of, is a prison for his soul. (Odimus et laqueos et vincula nota timemus liberantis onus: quod nunc sumus Line 311) and also when discussing whether bustling cities are good for poets. (Silva placet Musis, urbs est inimica poetis Line 1137) But not all poetry is used for attacking and defending each other's viewpoints: St. Augustine also tells Petrarch to keep in mind sentences that remind himself about his sins and wrongdoings, but he says in the book that when you are reading a book, you will find some useful sentences and you force yourself to memorize the sentence but, when you leave the book to do something else, you will forget it all very easily.

That was a point St. Augustine could make against eloquence: no matter how good a quote is, it is not very useful because you will forget it before you can use it.

But even though you might forget poetry, poetry (文言文) is still easier to remember than prose (白话文). For example, if you want to remind yourself that fighting is not as effective as persuasion, you would say: the pen is mightier than the sword to remind yourself, but saying "it is easier to persuade somebody than coerce him through force." is not as effective, beacause it is harder to say and remember, like when St. Augustine is scolding Petrarch for caring about corporeal beauty: "doesn't the story of Narcissus scare you?" (Neque te Narcissi teruit fabula? Line 237) If a person hasn't heard of the story of Narcissus, he would have no idea about what St. Augustine was saying. But the story of Narcissus is so well known that St. Augustine doesn't need to explain the whole story. It is the same case with the saying about the pen and sword: poetry can be used for reminders and makes things easier to remember even though prose could also explain it. Petrarch and St. Augustine both quote poetry they think are interesting and worthy to be remembered, like when Petrarch describes controlling emotions as Aeolus controlling the winds, (Hic vasto Aeolus antro luctantes ventos tempestatesque sonoras imperio premit, et vinclis ac carcere frenat. Illi indignantes magno cum murmure montis circum claustra fremunt; summa sedet Aeolus arce sceptra tenens. Line 1197)

St. Augustine also uses poetry to give Petrarch advice, such as when he reminds Petrarch to keep his emotions in control and that his emotions would control him if he did not keep them in check, (Line 642 ira furor brevis est, animum rege; qui, nisi paret, imperat; hunc vinclis, hunc tu compensce cathena), when St. Augustine reminds Petrarch to be content with what he has already had with Virgil's poetry, (Line 421 Regnum equabat opes animo, seraque revertens nocte domum, dapibus mensas onerabat inemptis) and when St. Augustine scolds Petrarch for worrying about temporal things, also with Virgil's poetry. (atque inopis metuens formicae senecte. Line 463) Also,  I noticed that not all of the quoted phrases' authors are noted: some quotes are just common sayings, which are not attributed to a particular author but are still well-known sayings. I think that maybe not all of the quotes are actual poetry since some phrases Petrarch used might only have been common sayings and idioms at his time: he just says: "remember the saying of the satirist" (Line 246 Line 353 Line 395 and Line 466), or "keep in mind the saying of the philosopher", and "the comic poet" is right in saying" (Line 354): instead of saying the name of the author, he just says a vague term: "satirist, or "philosopher" or "comic poet". This saying might be well known and therefore need no explaining. Between scholars like Petrarch and St. Augustine, many quotes do not need to be explained or elaborated. They all know what each other means when they say something from a piece of literature: Petrarch can just say: "do you remember what dangers Virgil made his hero endure during the sack of Troy?" and St. Augustine knew what Petrarch was talking about and he was able to recite the whole of the paragraph concerning Aeneas' tribulations. (Line 773 Quis cladem illius noctis, quis funera fando explicet aut possit lacrimis equare labores? Urbs antiqua ruit multos dominata per annos; plurima perque vias sternuntur inertia passim corpora, perque domos et religiosa domorum limina; nec soli penas dant sanguine Teucri; quondam etiam victis redit in precordia virtus, victoresque candunt Danai, crudelis ubique luctus, ubique pavor et plurima mortis imago.)

I have also made a connection to 庄子, where 颜回 proposed using poetry to convince others：颜回 wanted to go to another kingdom to persuade a ruthless and unvirtuous king to not be so cruel and make the lives of the peasants better. 孔子 rejected his proposal，and 颜回 proposed using enthusiasm to move the king, 孔子 also rejected this proposal, and then 颜回 said that he could pretend to be corrupted by him then turn him good. Then he said that he could use a piece of old poetry from long ago and say that it wasn't his idea persuading the king, and hope he could get away with it. 孔子 also rejected. （成而上比者，与古为徒，其言虽教谪之实也，古之有也，非吾有也  《庄子 - 人间世第四》）

Maybe Petrarch avoided some controversy by using poetry from other authors, but I think this is probably not practical because 孔子 rejected the idea. If the king did not understand the truth, they probably wouldn't care about who's idea it was in the first place.

In conclusion, Petrarch used poetry to supplement his arguments and points and used the mouths of other reputable poets and authors to gain the trust of others.