26. 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. 27. 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 Caprcae 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 himself just, temperate, obedient to the gods, and to do this with all simplicity: for the pride which is proud of its want of pride is the most intolerable of all. 28. To those who ask, Where hast thou seen the gods or how dost thou comprehend that they exist and so worshipest them, I answer, in the first place, they may be seen even with See Epictetus, 11. 8, 9, etc. * μετ' οιήσεως. Οἴησις καὶ τύφος, Epict. 1. 8, 6 the eyes; in the second place neither have I seen even my own soul and yet I honour it. Thus then with respect to the gods, from what I constantly experience of their power, from this I comprehend that they exist and I venerate them. 29. The safety of life is this, to examine everything all through, what it is itself, what is its material, what the formal part; with all thy soul to do justice and to say the truth. What remains except to enjoy life by joining one good thing to another so as not to leave even the smallest intervals between ? 30. There is one light of the sun, though it is interrupted by walls, mountains, and other things infinite. There is one common substance,' though it is distributed among countless bodies which have their several qualities. There is one soul, though it is distributed among infinite natures and individual circumscriptions [or individuals]. There is one intelligent soul, though it seems to be divided. Now in the things which have been mentioned all the other parts, such as those which are air and matter, are without sensation and have no 8 "Seen even with the eyes." It is supposed that this may be explained by the Stoic doctrine, that the universe is a god or living being (IV. 40), and that the celestial bodies are gods (vin. 19). But the emperor may mean that we know that the gods exist, as he afterwards states it, because we see what they do; as we know that man has intellectual powers, because we see what he does, and in no other way do we know it. This passage then will agree with the passage in the Epistle to the Romans (1. v. 20), and with the Epistle to the Colossians (1. v. 15), in which Jesus Christ is named "the image of the invisible god;" and with the passage in the Gospel of St. John (xiv. v. 9). Gataker, whose notes are a wonderful collection of learning, and all of it sound and good, quotes a passage of Calvin which is founded on St. Paul's language (Rom. 1. v. 20): "God by creating the universe [or world, mundum], being himself invisible, has presented himself to our eyes conspicuously in a certain visible form." He also quoter Seneca (De Benef. IV. c. 8): "Quocunque te flexeris, ibi illum videbis occurrentem tibi: nihil ab illo vacat, opus suum ipse implet." Compare also Cicero, De Senectute (c. 22), Xenophon's Cyropaedia (vm. 7), and Mem. Iv. 3; also Epictetus, I. 6, de Providentia. I think that my interpretation of Antoninus is right. ? IV. 10. fellowship and yet even these parts the intelligent principle holds together and the gravitation towards the same. But intellect in a peculiar manner tends to that which is of the same kin, and combines with it, and the feeling for communion is not interrupted. 31. What dost thou wish? to continue to exist? Well, dost thou wish to have sensation? movement? growth? and then again to cease to grow? to use thy speech? to think? What is there of all these things which seems to thee worth desiring? But if it is easy to set little value on all these things, turn to that which remains, which is to follow reason and god. But it is inconsistent with honouring reason and god to be troubled because by death a man will be deprived of the other things. 32. How small a part of the boundless and unfathomable time is assigned to every man? for it is very soon swallowed up in the eternal. And how small a part of the whole substance? and how small a part of the universal soul? and on what a small clod of the whole earth thou creepest? Reflecting on all this consider nothing to be great, except to act as thy nature leads thee, and to endure that which the common nature brings. 33. How does the ruling faculty make use of itself? for all lies in this. But everything else, whether it is in the power of thy will or not, is only lifeless ashes and smoke. 34. This reflection is most adapted to move us to contempt of death, that even those who think pleasure to be a good and pain an evil still have despised it. 35. The man to whom that only is good which comes in due season, and to whom it is the same thing whether he has done more or fewer acts conformable to right reason, and to whom it makes no difference whether he contemplates the world for a longer or a shorter time-for this man neither is death a terrible thing. (III. 7; vi. 23; x. 20; xп. 23.) 36. Man, thou hast been a citizen in this great state [the world]: what difference does it make to thee whether for KL. 16; 1. 11; rv. 29. five years [or three]? for that which is conformable to the laws is just for all. Where is the hardship then, if no tyrant nor yet an unjust judge sends thee away from the state, but nature who brought thee into it? the same as if a praetor whc has employed an actor dismisses him from the stage”—“ But I have not finished the five acts, but only three of them Thou sayest well, but in life the three acts are the whole drama; for what shall be a complete drama is determined by him who was once the cause of its composition, and now of its dissolution: but thou art the cause of neither. Depart thon atisfied, for he also who releases theo is satisfied 207 INDEX OF TERMS. addpopa (indifferentia, Cicero, Seneca, Epp. 32); things indiffvacut, alexpós, (turpis, Cic.), ugly; morally ugly. airla, cause. aitiŵdes, altiov, T6, the formal or formative principle, the cause. ávapopá, reference, relation to a purpose. avvжežαiρéros, unconditionally. ἀπόῤῥοια, efflux. àπрoaípeта, тá, the things which are not in our will or power. áтоμο, (corpora individua, Cic.), atoms. avtápkeia, est quae parvo contenta omne id respuit quod abundat avтáρKηs, sufficient in itself; contented. apopμaí, means, principles. The word has also other significations in yıyvóμeva, rd, things which are produced, come into existence. Saluwv, god, god in man, man's intelligent principle. bideeσis, disposition, affection of the mind. dialpeois, division of things into their parts, dissection, resolution, diaλEKTIK, ars bene disserendi et vera ac falsa dijudicandi (Cic.). Savoia, understanding; sometimes, the mind generally, the whole Soyuara, (decreta, Cic.), principles. δύναμις νοερά, intellectual faculty. ykpáreia, temperance, self-restraint. clões, in divisione formae sunt, quas Graeci elồn vocant; nostri, si qul |