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Page 30
5. Labor not unwillingly, nor without regard to the common interest, nor
without due consideration, nor with distraction; nor let studied
ornament set off thy thoughts, and be not either a man of many words, or
busy about too many things. And further, let the deity which is in thee
be the guardian of a living being, manly and of ripe age, and engaged in
matter political, and a Roman, and a ruler, who has taken his post like
a man waiting for the signal which summons him from life, and ready to
go, having need neither of oath nor of any man's testimony. Be cheerful
also, and seek not external help nor the tranquillity which others
give. A man then must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.
6. If thou findest in human life anything better than justice, truth,
temperance, fortitude, and, in a word, anything better than thy own
mind's self-satisfaction in the things which it enables thee to do
according to right reason, and in the condition that is assigned to thee
without thy own choice; if, I say, thou seest anything better than this,
turn to it with all thy soul, and enjoy that which thou hast found to be
the best. But if nothing appears to be better than the Deity which is
planted in thee, which has subjected to itself all thy appetites, and
carefully examines all the impressions, and, as Socrates said, has
detached itself from the persuasions of sense, and has submitted itself
to the gods, and cares for mankind; if thou findest everything else
smaller and of less value than this, give place to nothing else, for if
thou dost once diverge and incline to it, thou wilt no longer without
distraction be able to give the preference to that good thing which is
thy proper possession and thy own; for it is not right that anything of
any other kind, such as praise from the many, or power, or enjoyment of
pleasure, should come into competition with that which is rationally and
politically [or, practically] good. All these things, even though they
may seem to adapt themselves [to the better things] in a small degree,
obtain the superiority all at once, and carry us away. But do thou, I
say, simply and freely choose the better, and hold to it.--But that
which is useful is the better.--Well, then, if it is useful to thee as a
rational being, keep to it; but if it is only useful to thee as an
animal, say so, and maintain thy judgment without arrogance: only take
care that thou makest the inquiry by a sure method.
7. Never value anything as profitable to thyself which shall compel thee
to break thy promise, to lose thy self-respect, to hate any man, to
suspect, to curse, to act the hypocrite, to desire anything which needs
walls and curtains: for he who has preferred to everything else his own
intelligence and daemon and the worship of its excellence, acts no
tragic part, does not groan, will not need either solitude or much
company; and, what is chief of all, he will live without either pursuing
or flying from [death];[A] but whether for a longer or a shorter time he
shall have the soul enclosed in the body, he cares not at all: for even
if he must depart immediately, he will go as readily as if he were going
to do anything else which can be done with decency and order; taking
care of this only all through life, that his thoughts turn not away from
anything which belongs to an intelligent animal and a member of a civil
community.
[A] Comp. ix. 3.
8. In the mind of one who is chastened and purified thou wilt find no
corrupt matter, nor impurity, nor any sore skinned over. Nor is his life
incomplete when fate overtakes him, as one may say of an actor who
leaves the stage before ending and finishing the play. Besides, there is
in him nothing servile, nor affected, nor too closely bound [to other
things], nor yet detached[A] [from other things], nothing worthy of
blame, nothing which seeks a hiding-place.
[A] viii. 34.
9. Reverence the faculty which produces opinion. On this faculty it
entirely depends whether there shall exist in thy ruling part any
opinion inconsistent with nature and the constitution of the rational
animal. And this faculty promises freedom from hasty judgment, and
friendship towards men, and obedience to the gods.
10. Throwing away then all things, hold to these only which are few; and
besides, bear in mind that every man lives only this present time, which
is an indivisible point, and that all the rest of his life is either
past or it is uncertain. Short then is the time which every man lives;
and small the nook of the earth where he lives; and short too the
longest posthumous fame, and even this only continued by a succession of
poor human beings, who will very soon die, and who know not even
themselves, much less him who died long ago.
11. To the aids which have been mentioned let this one still be added:
Make for thyself a definition or description of the thing which is
presented to thee, so as to see distinctly what kind of a thing it is in
its substance, in its nudity, in its complete entirety, and tell thyself
its proper name, and the names of the things of which it has been
compounded, and into which it will be resolved. For nothing is so
productive of elevation of mind as to be able to examine methodically
and truly every object which is presented to thee in life, and always to
look at things so as to see at the same time what kind of universe this
is, and what kind of use everything performs in it, and what value
everything has with reference to the whole, and what with reference to
man, who is a citizen of the highest city, of which all other cities are
like families; what each thing is, and of what it is composed, and how
long it is the nature of this thing to endure which now makes an
impression on me, and what virtue I have need of with respect to it,
such as gentleness, manliness, truth, fidelity, simplicity, contentment,
and the rest. Wherefore, on every occasion a man should say: This comes
from god; and this is according to the apportionment + and spinning of
the thread of destiny, and such-like coincidence and chance; and this is
from one of the same stock, and a kinsman and partner, one who knows
not, however, what is according to his nature. But I know; for this
reason I behave towards him according to the natural law of fellowship
with benevolence and justice. At the same time, however, in things
indifferent[A] I attempt to ascertain the value of each.
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