,,the ,,meditations ,,of ,,the          
,,emperor ,,marcus                      
,,aurelius ,,antoninus                  
,a ,,new ,,rendering ,,based ,,on ,,the 
,,foulis ,,translation ,,of #agdb       
,,by ,,george ,w4 ,,chrystal            
,,warner ,,exhibitioner ,,of ,,balliol  
,,college1 ,,oxford                     
,,edinburgh                             
,,otto ,,schulze  ,,company             
#bj ,,south ,,frederic ,,street         
,,london3 ,s4 ,c4 ,,brown  ,,company    
#dg ,,great ,,russell ,,street1 ,w4,c4  
#aijb                                   
,,marcus ,,aurelius                     
,,antoninus                             
,,book ,i4    #a4 ,i learned from my    
grandfather1 ,verus1 to use good        
manners1 and to  put restraint on anger4
 #b4 ,in the famous memory of my father 
,i had a  pattern of modesty and        
manliness4 #c4 ,of my mother ,i learned 
to be  pious and generous2 to keep      
myself not only from evil deeds1 but    
even  from evil thoughts2 and to live   

with a simplicity which is far from     
customary among the rich4 #d4 ,i owe it 
to my great-grandfather that ,i  did not
 attend public lectures and discussions1
 but had good and able  teachers at     
home2 and ,i owe him also the knowledge 
that for things of  this nature a man   
should count no expense too great4      
#e4 ,my tutor taught me not to favour   
either green or blue at the  chariot    
races1 nor1 in the contests of          
gladiators1 to be a supporter  either of
 light or heavy armed4 ,he taught me    
also to endure labour2  not to need many
 things2 to serve myself without        
troubling others2 not  to intermeddle in
 the affairs of others1 and not easily  
to listen to  slanders against them4    
#f4 ,of ,diognetus ,i had the lesson not
 to busy myself about vain things2  not 
to credit the great professions of such 
as pretend to work  wonders1 or of      
sorcerers about their charms1 and their 
expelling of  ,demons and the like2 not 
to keep quails 7for fighting or         

divination71  nor to run after such     
things2 to suffer freedom of speech in  
others1  and to apply myself heartily to
 philosophy4 ,him also ,i must thank for
  my hearing first ,bacchius1 then      
,tandasis and ,marcianus2 that ,i wrote 
dialogues in my youth1 and took a liking
 to the philosopher's pallet  and skins1
 and to the other things which1 by the  
,grecian discipline1  belong to that    
profession4    #g4 ,to ,rusticus ,i owe 
my first apprehensions that my nature   
needed  reform and cure2 and that ,i did
 not fall into the ambition of the      
common ,sophists1 either by composing   
speculative writings or by  declaiming  
harangues of exhortation in public2     
further1 that ,i never  strove to be    
admired by ostentation of great patience
 in an ascetic  life1 or by display of  
activity and application2 that ,i gave  
over the  study of rhetoric1 poetry1 and
 the graces of language2 and that ,i did
  not pace my house in my senatorial    
robes1 or practise any similar          

affectation4 ,i observed also the       
simplicity of style in his letters1     
particularly in that which he wrote to  
my mother from ,sinuessa4 ,i  learned   
from him to be easily appeased1 and to  
be readily reconciled  with those who   
had displeased me or given cause of     
offence1 so soon as  they inclined to   
make their peace2 to read with care2 not
 to rest  satisfied with a slight and   
superficial knowledge2 nor quickly to   
assent to great talkers4 ,i have him to 
thank that ,i met with the  discourses  
of ,epictetus1 which he furnished me    
from his own library4    #h4 ,from      
,apollonius ,i learned true liberty1 and
 tenacity of purpose2 to  regard nothing
 else1 even in the smallest degree1 but 
reason always2  and always to remain    
unaltered in the agonies of pain1 in the
 losses  of children1 or in long        
diseases4 ,he afforded me a living      
example of  how the same man can1 upon  
occasion1 be most yielding and most     
inflexible4 ,he was patient in          

exposition2 and1 as might well be seen1 
esteemed his fine skill and ability in  
teaching others the principles  of      
philosophy as the least of his          
endowments4 ,it was from him that ,i    
learned how to receive from friends what
 are thought favours without  seeming   
humbled by the giver or insensible to   
the gift4    #i4 ,sextus was my pattern 
of a benign temper1 and his family the  
model  of a household governed by true  
paternal affection1 and a steadfast     
purpose of living according to nature4  
,here ,i could learn to be grave        
without affectation1 to observe         
sagaciously the several dispositions    
and inclinations of my friends1 to      
tolerate the ignorant and those who     
follow current opinions without         
examination4 ,his conversation showed   
how a man may accommodate himself to all
 men and to all companies2 for  though  
companionship with him was sweeter and  
more pleasing than any  sort of         
flattery1 yet he was at the same time   

highly respected and  reverenced4 ,no   
man was ever more happy than he in      
comprehending1  finding out1 and        
arranging in exact order the great      
maxims necessary  for the conduct of    
life4 ,his example taught me to suppress
 even the  least appearance of anger or 
any other passion2 but still1 with all  
this perfect tranquillity1 to possess   
the tenderest and most  affectionate    
heart2 to be apt to approve others yet  
without noise2 to  have much learning   
and little ostentation4    #aj4 ,i      
learned from ,alexander the ,grammarian 
to avoid censuring others1  to refrain  
from flouting them for a barbarism1     
solecism1 or any false  pronunciation4  
,rather was ,i dexterously to pronounce 
the words rightly  in my answer1        
confining approval or objection to the  
matter itself1  and avoiding discussion 
of the expression1 or to use some other 
form  of courteous suggestion4    #aa4  
,fronto made me sensible how much of    
envy1 deceit and hypocrisy  surrounds   

princes2 and that generally those whom  
we account nobly born  have somehow less
 natural affection4    #ab4 ,i learned  
from ,alexander the ,platonist not often
 nor without great  necessity to say1 or
 write to any man in a letter1 that ,i  
am not at  leisure2 nor thus1 under     
pretext of urgent affairs1 to make a    
practice  of excusing myself from the   
duties which1 according to our various  
ties1 we owe to those with whom we live4
    #ac4 ,of ,catulus ,i learned not to 
condemn any friend's expostulation  even
 though it were unjust1 but to try to   
recall him to his former  disposition2  
to stint no praise in speaking of my    
masters1 as is  recounted of ,domitius  
and ,athenodorus2 and to love my        
children with  true affection4    #ad4  
,of ,severus1 my brother1 ,i learned to 
love my kinsmen1 to love  truth1 to love
 justice4 ,through him ,i came to know  
,thrasea1 ,helvidius1  ,cato1 ,dion1 and
 ,brutus4 ,he gave me my first          
conception of a  ,commonwealth founded  

upon equitable laws and administered    
with  equality of right2 and of a       
,monarchy whose chief concern is the    
freedom of its subjects4 ,of him ,i     
learned likewise a constant and         
harmonious devotion to ,philosophy2 to  
be ready to do good1 to be  generous    
with all my heart4 ,he taught me to be  
of good hope and  trustful of the       
affection of my friends4 ,i observed in 
him candour in  declaring what he       
condemned in the conduct of others2 and 
so frank and  open was his behaviour1   
that his friends might easily see       
without the  trouble of conjecture what 
he liked or disliked4    #ae4 ,the      
counsels of ,maximus taught me to       
command myself1 to judge  clearly1 to be
 of good courage in sickness and other  
misfortunes1 to  be moderate1 gentle1   
yet serious in disposition1 and to      
accomplish my  appointed task without   
repining4 ,all men believed that he     
spoke as he  thought2 and whatever he   
did1 they knew it was done with good    

intent4  ,i never found him surprised or
 astonished at anything4 ,he was never  
in  a hurry1 never shrank from his      
purpose1 was never at a loss or         
dejected4 ,he was no facile smiler1 but 
neither was he passionate or            
suspicious4 ,he was ready to do good1 to
 forgive1 and to speak the  truth1 and  
gave the impression of unperverted      
rectitude rather than of  a reformed    
character4 ,no man could ever think     
himself despised by  ,maximus1 and no   
one ever ventured to think himself his  
superior4 ,he  had also a good gift of  
humour4    #af4 ,i learned from my      
father gentleness and undeviating       
constancy in  judgments formed after due
 reflection2 not to be puffed up with   
glory  as men understand it2 to be      
laborious and assiduous4 ,he taught me  
to  give ready hearing to any man who   
offered anything tending to the  common 
good2 to mete out impartial justice to  
every one2 to apprehend  rightly when   
severity and when clemency should be    

used2 to abstain  from all impure lusts2
 and to use humanity towards all men4   
,thus he  left his friends at liberty to
 sup with him or not1 to go abroad with 
him or not1 exactly as they inclined2   
and they found him still the  same if   
some urgent business had prevented them 
from obeying his  commands4 ,i learned  
of him accuracy and patience in council1
 for he  never quitted an enquiry       
satisfied with first impressions4 ,i    
observed  his zeal to retain his friends
 without being fickle or over fond2 his 
contentment in every condition2 his     
cheerfulness2 his forethought  about    
very distant events2 his unostentatious 
attention to the  smallest details2 his 
restraint of all popular applause and   
flattery4 ,ever watchful of the needs of
 the ,empire1 a careful steward  of the 
public revenue1 he was tolerant of the  
censure of others in  affairs of that   
kind4 ,he was neither a superstitious   
worshipper of the  ,gods1 nor an        
ambitious pleaser of men1 nor studious  

of popularity1 but  in all things sober 
and steadfast1 well skilled in what was 
honourable1 never affecting novelties4  
,as to the things which make the  ease  
of life1 and which fortune can supply in
 such abundance1 he used  them without  
pride1 and yet with all freedom3 enjoyed
 them without  affectation when they    
were present1 and when absent he found  
no want  of them4 ,no man could call him
 sophist1 buffoon1 or pedant4 ,he was a 
man of ripe experience1 a full man1 one 
who could not be flattered1  and who    
could govern himself as well as others4 
,i further observed  that he honoured   
all who were true philosophers1 without 
upbraiding  the rest1 and without being 
led astray by any4 ,his manners were    
easy1  his conversation delightful1 but 
not cloying4 ,he took regular but       
moderate care of his body1 neither as   
one over fond of life or of the         
adornment of his person1 nor as one who 
despised these things4 ,thus1  through  
his own care1 he seldom needed any      

medicines1 whether salves  or potions4  
,it was his special merit to yield      
without envy to any who  had acquired   
any special faculty1 as either          
eloquence1 or learning in  the ,law1 in 
ancient customs1 or the like2 and he    
aided such men  strenuously1 so that    
every one of them might be regarded and 
esteemed  for his special excellence4   
,he observed carefully the ancient      
customs  of his forefathers1 and        
preserved1 without appearance of        
affectation1  the ways of his native    
land4 ,he was not fickle and capricious1
 and  loved not change of place or      
employment4 ,after his violent fits of  
headache he would return fresh and      
vigorous to his wonted affairs4 ,of     
secrets he had few1 and these seldom1   
and such only as concerned  public      
matters4 ,he displayed discretion and   
moderation in exhibiting  shows for the 
entertainment of the people1 in his     
public works1 in  largesses and the     
like2 and in all those things he acted  

like one who  regarded only what was    
right and becoming in the things        
themselves1  and not the reputation that
 might follow after4 ,he never bathed at
  unseasonable hours1 had no vanity in  
building1 was never solicitous  either  
about his food or about the make or     
colour of his clothes1 or  about the    
beauty of his servants4 ,his dress came 
from ,lorium--his  villa on the         
coast--and was of ,lanuvian wool for the
 most part4 ,it  is remembered how he   
used the tax-collector at ,tusculum who 
asked his  pardon1 and all his behaviour
 was of a piece with that4 ,he was far  
from being inhuman1 or implacable1 or   
violent2 never doing anything  with such
 keenness that one could say he was     
sweating about it1 in all  things he    
reasoned distinctly1 as one at leisure1 
calmly1 regularly1  resolutely1 and     
consistently4 ,a man might fairly apply 
that to him  which is recorded of       
,socrates3 that he could both abstain   
from and  enjoy these things1 in want   

whereof many show themselves weak1 and1 
in  the possession1 intemperate4 ,to be 
strong in abstinence and temperate  in  
enjoyment1 to be sober in both--these   
are qualities of a man of  perfect and  
invincible soul1 as was shown in the    
sickness of ,maximus4    #ag4 ,to the   
,gods ,i owe it that ,i had good        
grandfathers and parents1 a  good       
sister1 good teachers1 good servants1   
good kinsmen1 and friends1  good almost 
all of them4 ,i have to thank them that 
,i never through  haste and rashness    
offended any of them2 though my temper  
was such as  might have led me to it had
 occasion offered4 ,but by their        
goodness no  such concurrence of        
circumstances happened as could discover
 my  weakness4 ,i am further thankful   
that ,i was not longer brought up with  
my grandfather's concubine1 that ,i     
retained my modesty1 and refrained  even
 longer than need have been from the    
pleasures of love4 ,to the  ,gods it is 
due that ,i lived under the government  

of such a prince and  father as could   
take from me all vain glory1 and        
convince me that it  was not impossible 
for a prince to live in a court without 
guards1  gorgeous robes1 torches1       
statues1 or such pieces of state and    
magnificence2 but that he may reduce    
himself almost to the state of a        
private man1 and yet not become more    
mean or remiss in those public  affairs 
wherein power and authority are         
requisite4 ,i thank the ,gods  that ,i  
have had such a brother as by his       
disposition might stir me to  take care 
of myself1 while at the same time he    
delighted me by his  respect and love4  
,i thank them that my children neither  
wanted good  natural dispositions nor   
were deformed in body4 ,i owe it to     
their good  guidance that ,i made no    
greater progress in rhetoric and poetry1
 and  in other studies which might have 
engrossed my mind had ,i found myself   
successful in them4 ,by the ,gods' grace
 ,i forestalled the wishes of  those by 

whom ,i was brought up1 in promoting    
them to the dignities  they seemed most 
to desire2 and ,i did not put them off  
with the hope  that1 since they were but
 young1 ,i would do it hereafter4 ,i owe
 to the  ,gods that ,i ever knew        
,apollonius1 ,rusticus and ,maximus2    
that ,i have  had occasion often and    
effectually to meditate with myself and 
enquire  what is truly the life         
according to ,nature4 ,and1 as far as   
lies within  the dispensation of the    
,gods to give suggestion1 help1 or      
inspiration1  there is nothing to       
prevent my having already realized that 
life4 ,i  have fallen short of it by my 
own fault1 and because ,i gave no heed  
to  the inward monitions and almost     
direct instructions of the ,gods1 to    
whom be thanks that my body hath so long
 endured the stress of such a  life as  
,i have led4 ,by their goodness ,i never
 had to do with either  ,benedicta or   
,theodotus2 and afterwards1 when ,i fell
 into some foolish  passions1 ,i was    

soon cured4 ,i give thanks that1 having 
often been  displeased with ,rusticus1  
,i never did anything to him which      
afterwards  ,i might have had occasion  
to repent2 that1 though my mother was   
destined to die young1 she lived with me
 all her latter years2 that1  as often  
as ,i inclined to succour any who were  
either poor or had  fallen into some    
distress1 ,i was never answered that    
there was not  ready money enough to do 
it1 and that ,i myself never had need of
 the  like succour from another4 ,i must
 be grateful1 too1 that ,i have such a  
wife1 so obedient1 so loving1 so        
ingenuous2 that ,i had choice of fit    
and able men to whom ,i might commit the
 education of my children4 ,i  have     
received divine aids in dreams2 as in   
particular1 how ,i might  stay my       
spitting of blood and cure my vertigo2  
which good fortune  happily fell to me  
at ,caieta4 ,the ,gods watched over me  
also when ,i  first applied myself to   
philosophy4 ,for ,i fell not into the   

hands of  any ,sophist1 nor sat poring  
over many volumes1 nor devoted myself to
  solving syllogisms1 or star-gazing4   
,that all these things should so        
happily fall out there was great need   
both for the help of fortune and  for   
the aid of the ,gods4      ,,in ,,the   
,,country ,,of ,,the    ,,quadi1 ,,by   
,,the ,,granua4                         
,,end ,,of ,,the ,,first ,,book4        
,,book ,,ii4    #a4 ,say this to        
yourself in the morning3 ,today ,i shall
 have to do with  meddlers1 with the    
ungrateful1 with the insolent1 with the 
crafty1  with the envious and the       
selfish4 ,all these vices have beset    
them1  because they know not what is    
good and what is evil4 ,but ,i have     
considered the nature of the good1 and  
found it beautiful3 ,i have  beheld the 
nature of the bad1 and found it ugly4 ,i
 also understand the  nature of the     
evil-doer1 and know that he is my       
brother1 not because  he shares with me 
the same blood or the same seed1 but    

because he is a  partaker of the same   
mind and of the same portion of         
immortality4 ,i  therefore cannot be    
hurt by any of these1 since none of them
 can  involve me in any baseness4 ,i    
cannot be angry with my brother1 or     
sever myself from him1 for we are made  
by nature for mutual  assistance1 like  
the feet1 the hands1 the eyelids1 the   
upper and lower  rows of teeth4 ,it is  
against nature for men to oppose each   
other2 and  what else is anger and      
aversion8    #b4 ,all that ,i am is     
either flesh1 breath1 or the ruling     
part4 ,cast  your books from you2       
distract yourself no more2 for you have 
not the  right to do so4 ,like one at   
the point of death despise this flesh1  
this corruptible bone and blood1 this   
network texture of nerves1  veins1 and  
arteries4 ,consider1 too1 what breath   
is--mere air1 and  that always changing1
 expelled and inhaled again every       
moment4 ,the  third is the ruling part4 
,as to this1 take heed1 now that you are

 old1  that it remain no longer in      
servitude2 that it be no more dragged   
hither and thither like a puppet by     
every selfish impulse4 ,repine no  more 
at what fate now sends1 nor dread what  
may befall you hereafter4    #c4        
,whatever the ,gods ordain is full of   
wise forethought4 ,the workings  of     
chance are not apart from nature1 and   
not without connexion and  intertexture 
with the designs of ,providence4        
,providence is the source  of all       
things2 and1 besides1 there is          
necessity1 and the utility of  the      
,universe1 of which you are a part4     
,for1 to every part of a being1  that is
 good which springs from the nature of  
the whole and tends to  its             
preservation4 ,now1 the order of ,nature
 is preserved in the changes  of        
elements1 just as it is in the changes  
of things that are  compound4 ,let this 
suffice you1 and be your creed          
unchangeable4 ,put  from you the thirst 
of books1 that you may not die          

murmuring1 but  meekly1 and with true   
and heartfelt gratitude to the ,gods4   
#d4 ,think of your long procrastination1
 and of the many opportunities  given   
you by the ,gods1 but left unused4      
,surely it is high time to  understand  
the ,universe of which you are a part1  
and the ,ruler of that  ,universe1 of   
whom you are an emanation2 that a limit 
is set to your  days1 which1 if you use 
them not for your enlightenment1 will   
depart1  as you yourself will1 and      
return no more4    #e4 ,hourly and      
earnestly strive1 as a ,roman and a man1
 to do what falls  to your hand with    
perfect unaffected dignity1 with        
kindliness1 freedom  and justice1 and   
free your soul from every other         
imagination4 ,this you  will accomplish 
if you perform each action as if it were
 your last1  without wilfulness1 or any 
passionate aversion to what reason      
approves2 without hypocrisy or          
selfishness1 or discontent with the     
decrees of ,providence4 ,you see how few

 things it is necessary to  master in   
order that a man may live a             
smooth-flowing1 ,god-fearing  life4 ,for
 of him that holds to these principles  
the ,gods require no  more4    #f4 ,go  
on1 go on1 ,o my soul1 to affront and   
dishonour thyself6 ,the time  that      
remains to honour thyself will not be   
long4 ,short is the life of  every man2 
and thine is almost spent2 spent1 not   
honouring thyself1  but seeking thy     
happiness in the souls of other men4    
#g4 ,cares from without distract you3   
take leisure1 then1 to add some  good   
thing to your knowledge2 have done with 
vacillation1 and avoid  the other error4
 ,for triflers1 too1 are they who1 by   
their activities1  weary themselves in  
life1 and have no settled aim to which  
they may  direct1 once and for all1     
their every desire and project4    #h4  
,seldom are any found unhappy from not  
observing what is in the  minds of      
others4 ,but such as observe not well   
the stirrings of their  own souls must  

of necessity be unhappy4    #i4         
,remember always what the nature of the 
,universe is1 what your own  nature is1 
and how these are related--the one to   
the other4 ,remember  what part your    
qualities are of the qualities of the   
whole1 and that  no man can prevent you 
from speaking and acting always in      
accordance  with that nature of which   
you are a part4    #aj4 ,in comparing   
crimes together1 as1 according to the   
common idea1  they may be compared1     
,theophrastus makes the true            
philosophical  distinction1 that those  
committed from motives of pleasure are  
more  heinous than those which are due  
to passion4 ,for he who is a prey to    
passion is clearly turned away from     
reason by some spasm and  convulsion    
that takes him unawares4 ,but he who    
sins from desire is  conquered by       
pleasure1 and so seems more incontinent 
and more  effeminate in his vice4       
,justly then1 and in a truly            
philosophical  spirit1 he says that sin1

 for pleasure's sake1 is more wicked    
than sin  which is due to pain4 ,for the
 latter sinner was sinned against1 and  
so  driven to passion by his wrongs1    
while the former set out to sin of  his 
own motion1 and was led into ill-doing  
by his own lust4    #aa4 ,do every deed1
 speak every word1 think every thought  
in the  knowledge that you may end your 
days any moment4 ,to depart from men1   
if there be really ,gods1 is nothing    
terrible4 ,the ,gods could bring no     
evil thing upon you4 ,and if there be no
 ,gods1 or if they have no  regard to   
human affairs1 why should ,i desire to  
live in a world void  of ,gods and      
without ,providence8 ,but ,gods there   
are1 and assuredly they  regard human   
affairs2 and they have put it wholly in 
man's power that  he should not fall    
into what is truly evil4 ,and of other  
things1 had  any been bad1 they would   
have made provision also that man should
 have  the power to avoid them          
altogether4 ,for how can that make a    

man's life  worse which does not corrupt
 the man himself8 ,presiding ,nature    
could  not in ignorance1 or in knowledge
 impotent1 have omitted to prevent or   
rectify these things4 ,she could not    
fail us so completely that1 either  from
 want of power or want of skill1 good   
and evil should happen  promiscuously to
 good men and to bad alike4 ,now death  
and life1 glory  and reproach1 pain and 
pleasure1 riches and poverty--all these 
happen equally to the good and to the   
bad4 ,but1 as they are neither          
honourable nor shameful1 they are       
therefore neither good nor evil4    #ab4
 ,it is the office of our rational power
 to apprehend how swiftly  all things   
vanish2 how the corporeal forms are     
swallowed up in the  material world1 and
 the memory of them in the tide of ages4
 ,such are  all the things of sense1    
especially those which ensnare us with  
pleasure or terrify us with pain1 or    
those things which vanity  trumpets in  
our ears4 ,how mean1 how despicable1 how

 sordid1 how  perishable1 how dead are  
they6 ,what are they whose opinions and 
whose  voices bestow renown8 ,what is it
 to die8 ,your mind can tell you that1  
did a man think of it alone1 and1 by    
close consideration1 strip it of  its   
ghastly trappings1 he would no longer   
deem it anything but a work  of ,nature4
 ,to dread a work of ,nature is a       
childish thing1 and this is1  indeed1   
not only ,nature's work1 but beneficial 
to her4 ,your reason  tells you how man 
reaches ,god1 and through what part1 and
 what is the  state of that part1 when  
he has attained unto him4    #ac4       
,nothing1 says the poet1 is more        
miserable than to range over all        
things1 to spy into the depths of the   
earth1 and search1 by  conjecture1 into 
the souls of those around us1 yet not to
 perceive  that it is enough for a man  
to devote himself to that divinity which
  is within him1 and to pay it genuine  
worship4 ,and this worship  consists in 
keeping it pure from every passion and  

folly1 and from  repining at anything   
done by ,gods or men4 ,the work of the  
,gods is to  be reverenced for its      
excellence4 ,the works of men should be 
dear for  the sake of the bond of       
kinship1 or pitied1 as we must pity them
  sometimes1 for their lack of the      
knowledge of good and evil4 ,and men    
are not less maimed by this defect than 
by their want of power to know  white   
from black4    #ad4 ,though you should  
live three thousand ears or as many     
myriads1 yet  remember that no man loses
 any other life than that which now     
lives1  nor lives any other than that   
which he is now losing4 ,the longest and
  the shortest lives come to one effect4
 ,the present moment is the same  for   
all men1 and their loss1 therefore1 is  
equal1 for it is clear that  what they  
lose in death is but a fleeting instant 
of time4 ,no man can  lose either the   
past or the future1 for how can a man be
 deprived of  what he has not8 ,these   
two things then are to be remembered3   

,first1  that all things recur in       
cycles1 and are the same from           
everlasting1  and that1 therefore1 it   
matters nothing whether a man shall     
contemplate these same things for one   
hundred years1 or for two  hundred1 or  
for an infinite stretch of time3 and1   
secondly1 that he  who lives longest and
 he who dies soonest have an equal loss 
in  death4 ,the present moment is all of
 which either is deprived1 since  that  
is all he has4 ,no man can be robbed of 
that which he has not4    #ae4 ,beyond  
opinion there is nothing4 ,the          
objections to this saying of  ,monimus  
the ,cynic are obvious4 ,but obvious    
also is the utility of what  he said1 if
 one accept his pleasantry as far as    
truth will warrant it4    #af4 ,man's   
soul dishonours itself1 firstly and     
chiefly when it does all  it can to     
become an excrescence1 and as it were an
 abscess on the  ,universe4 ,to fret    
against any particular event is to      
revolt against  the general law of      

,nature1 which comprehends the order of 
all events  whatsoever4 ,again it is    
dishonour for the soul when it has      
aversion to  any man1 and opposes him   
with intention to hurt him1 as wrathful 
men  do4 ,thirdly1 it affronts itself   
when conquered by pleasure or pain2     
fourthly1 when it does or says anything 
hypocritically1 feignedly or  falsely2  
fifthly1 when it does not direct to some
 proper end all its  desires and        
actions1 but exerts them inconsiderately
 and without  understanding4 ,for1 even 
the smallest things should be referred  
to the  end1 and the end of rational    
beings is to follow the order and law of
  the venerable state and polity which  
comprehends them all4    #ag4 ,the      
duration of man's life is but an        
instant2 his substance is  fleeting1 his
 senses dull2 the structure of his body 
corruptible2 the  soul but a vortex4 ,we
 cannot reckon with fortune1 or lay our 
account  with fame4 ,in fine1 the life  
of the body is but a river1 and the life

  of the soul a misty dream4 ,existence 
is a warfare1 and a journey in a        
strange land2 and the end of fame is to 
be forgotten4 ,what then avails  to     
guide us8 ,one thing1 and one           
alone--,philosophy4 ,and this consists  
in keeping the divinity within inviolate
 and intact2 victorious over  pain and  
pleasure2 free from temerity1 free from 
falsehood1 free from  hypocrisy2        
independent of what others do or fail to
 do2 submissive to  hap and lot1 which  
come from the same source as we2 and1   
above all1  with equanimity awaiting    
death1 as nothing else than a resolution
 of  the elements of which every being  
compounded4 ,and1 if in their           
successive interchanges no harm befall  
the elements1 why should one  suspect   
any in the change and dissolution of the
 whole8 ,it is natural1  and nothing    
natural can be evil4      ,,at          
,,carnuntum4                            
,,end ,,of ,,the ,,second ,,book4       
,,book ,,iii4    #a4 ,man must consider1

 not only that each day part of his life
 is  spent1 and that less and less      
remains to him1 but also that1 even if  
he live longer1 it is very uncertain    
whether his intelligence will  suffice  
as heretofore for the understanding of  
his affairs1 and for  grasping that     
knowledge which aims at comprehending   
things human and  divine4 ,when dotage  
begins1 breath1 nourishment1 fancy1     
impulse1 and  so forth will not fail    
him4 ,but self-command1 accurate        
appreciation of  duty1 power to         
scrutinize what strikes his senses1 or  
even to decide  whether he should take  
his departure1 all powers1 indeed1 which
 demand  a well-trained understanding1  
must be extinguished in him4 ,let him be
  up and doing then1 not only because   
death comes nearer every day1 but       
because understanding and intelligence  
often leave us before we die4    #b4    
,observe what grace and charm appear    
even in the accidents that  accompany   
,nature's work4 ,thus some parts of a   

loaf crack and burst in  the baking2 and
 this cracking1 though in a manner      
contrary to the  design of the baker1   
looks well and invites the appetite4    
,figs1 too1  gape when at their ripest1 
and in ripe olives the very approach to 
rotting adds a special beauty to the    
fruit4 ,the droop of ears of corn1  the 
bent brows of the lion1 the foam at a   
boar's mouth1 and many other  things1   
are far from comely in themselves1 yet1 
since they accompany  the works of      
,nature1 they make part of her          
adornment1 and rejoice the  beholder4   
,thus1 if a man be sensitive to such    
things1 and have a more  than common    
penetration into the constitution of the
 whole1 scarce  anything connected with 
,nature will fail to give him pleasure1 
as he  comes to understand it4 ,such a  
man will contemplate in the real world  
the fierce jaws of wild beasts with no  
less delight than when  sculptors or    
painters set forth for him their        
presentments4 ,with like  pleasure will 

his chaste eyes behold the maturity and 
grace of old age  in man or woman1 and  
the inviting charms of youth4 ,many such
 things  will strike him1 things not    
credible to the many1 but which come to 
him alone who is truly familiar with the
 works of ,nature and near to  her own  
heart4    #c4 ,hippocrates1 who had     
healed many diseases1 himself fell sick1
 and  died4 ,the ,chaldeans foretold the
 fatal hours of multitudes1 and         
afterwards fate carried themselves away4
 ,alexander1 ,pompey1 and ,gaius        
,caesar1 who so often razed whole       
cities1 and cut off in battle so many   
myriads of horse and foot1 at last      
departed from this life  themselves4    
,heraclitus1 after his many speculations
 on the  conflagration of the world1    
died1 swollen with water and plastered  
with cow-dung4 ,vermin destroyed        
,democritus2 ,socrates was killed by    
vermin of another sort4 ,what of all    
this8 ,you have gone aboard1 made  your 
voyage1 come to harbour4 ,disembark3 if 

into another life1 there  will ,god be  
also2 if into nothingness1 at least you 
will have done  with bearing pain and   
pleasure1 and with your slavery to this 
vessel  so much meaner than its slave4  
,for the soul is intelligence and deity1
  the body dust and corruption4    #d4  
,waste not what remains of life in      
consideration about others1 when  it    
makes not for the common good4 ,be sure 
you are neglecting other  work if you   
busy yourself with what such a one is   
doing and why1 with  what he is saying1 
thinking1 or scheming4 ,all such things 
do but  divert you from the steadfast   
guardianship of your own soul4 ,it      
behoves you1 then1 in every train of    
thought to shun all that is  aimless or 
useless1 and1 above all1 everything     
officious or  malignant4 ,accustom      
yourself so1 and only so1 to think1     
that1 if any  one were suddenly to ask  
you1 ,of what are you thinking-now8 you 
could answer frankly and at once1 ,of so
 and so4 ,then it will plainly  appear  

that you are all simplicity and         
kindliness1 as befits a social  being   
who takes little thought for enjoyment  
or any phantom pleasure2  who spurns    
contentiousness1 envy1 or suspicion2 or 
any passion the  harbouring of which one
 would blush to own4 ,for such a man1   
who has  finally determined to be       
henceforth among the best1 is1 as it    
were1 a  priest and minister of the     
,gods1 using the spirit within him1     
which  preserves a man unspotted from   
pleasure1 unwounded by any pain1        
inaccessible to all insult1 innocent of 
all evil2 a champion in the  noblest of 
all contests--the contest for victory   
over every  passion4 ,he is penetrated  
with justice2 he welcomes with all his  
heart  whatever befalls1 or is appointed
 by ,providence4 ,he troubles not       
often1 or ever without pressing public  
need1 to consider what another  may say1
 or do1 or design4 ,solely intent upon  
his own conduct1 ever  mindful of his   
own concurrent part in the destiny of   

the ,universe1 he  orders his conduct   
well1 persuaded that his part is good4  
,for the lot  appointed to every man is 
part of the law of all things as well as
 a  law for him4 ,he forgets not that   
all rational beings are akin1 and  that 
the love of all mankind is part of the  
nature of man2 also that  we must not   
think as all men think1 but only as     
those who live a life  accordant with   
nature4 ,as for those who live          
otherwise1 he remembers  always how they
 act at home and abroad1 by night and by
 day1 and how  and with whom they are   
found in company4 ,and so he cannot     
esteem the  praise of such1 for they    
enjoy not their own approbation4    #e4 
,in action be neither grudging1 nor     
selfish1 nor ill-advised1 nor           
constrained4 ,let not your thought be   
adorned with overmuch nicety4 ,be  not a
 babbler or a busybody4 ,let the ,god   
within direct you as a manly  being1 as 
an elder1 a statesman1 a ,roman1 and a  
ruler1 standing  prepared like one who  

awaits the recall from life1 in marching
 order2  requiring neither an oath nor  
the testimony of any man4 ,and withal1  
be  cheerful1 and independent of the    
assistance and the peace that comes     
from others2 for1 it is a man's duty to 
stand upright1 self-supporting1  not    
supported4    #f4 ,if in the life of man
 you find anything better than justice1 
truth1  sobriety1 manliness2 and1 in    
sum1 anything better than the           
satisfaction of your soul with itself in
 that wherein it is given to  you to    
follow right reason2 and with fate in   
that which is determined  beyond your   
control2 if1 ,i say1 you find aught     
better than this1 then  turn thereto    
with all your heart1 and enjoy it as the
 best that is to  be found4 ,but if     
nothing seems to you better than the    
divinity seated  within you1 which has  
conquered all your impulses1 which sifts
 all  your thoughts1 which1 as ,socrates
 said1 has detached itself from the     
promptings of sense1 and devoted itself 

to ,god and to the love of  mankind2 if 
you find every other thing small and    
worthless compared  with this1 see that 
you give place to no other which might  
turn1  divert1 or distract you from     
holding in highest esteem the good which
  is especially and properly your own4  
,for it is not permitted to us to       
substitute for that which is good in    
reason or in fact anything not          
agreeable thereto1 such as the praise of
 the many1 power1 riches1 or  the       
pursuit of pleasure4 ,all these things  
may seem admissible for a  moment2 but  
presently they get the upper hand1 and  
lead us astray4 ,but  do you1 ,i say1   
frankly and freely choose the best1 and 
keep to it4 ,the  best is what is for   
your advantage4 ,if now you choose what 
is for your  spiritual advantage1 hold  
it fast2 if what is for your bodily     
advantage1 admit that it is so chosen1  
and keep your choice with all  modesty4 
,only see that you make a sure          
discrimination4    #g4 ,never esteem    

aught of advantage which will oblige you
 to break your  faith1 or to desert your
 honour2 to hate1 to suspect1 or to     
execrate  any man2 to play a part2 or to
 set your mind on anything that needs to
  be hidden by wall or curtain4 ,he who 
to all things prefers the soul1  the    
divinity within him1 and the sacred cult
 of its virtues1 makes no  tragic groan 
or gesture4 ,he needs neither solitude  
nor a crowd of  spectators2 and1 best of
 all1 he will live neither seeking nor  
shunning death4 ,whether the soul shall 
use its surrounding body for a  longer  
or shorter space is to him indifferent4 
,were he to depart this  moment he would
 go as readily as he would do any other 
seemly and  proper action1 holding one  
thing only in life-long avoidance--to   
find  his soul in any case unbefitting  
an intelligent social being4    #h4 ,in 
the soul of the chastened and purified  
man you would find  nothing putrid1     
foul1 or festering4 ,fate does not cut  
off his life  before its proper end2 as 

one would say of an actor who left the  
stage  before his part was ended1 or he 
had reached his appointed exit4 ,there  
remains nothing servile or affected1    
nothing too conventional or too         
seclusive1 nothing that fears censure or
 courts concealment4    #i4 ,hold in    
honour the faculty which forms opinions4
 ,it depends on this  faculty alone that
 no opinion your soul entertains be     
inconsistent  with the nature and       
constitution of the rational being4 ,it 
ensures  that we form no rash judgments1
 that we are kindly to men1 and         
obedient to the ,gods4    #aj4 ,cast    
from you then all other things1         
retaining these few4 ,remember  also    
that every man lives only this present  
moment1 which is a  fleeting instant3   
the rest of time is either spent or     
quite  unknown4 ,short is the time which
 each of us has to live1 and small the  
corner of the earth he has to live in4  
,short is the longest  posthumous fame1 
and this preserved through a succession 

of poor  mortals1 soon themselves to    
die2 men who knew not themselves1 far   
less  those who died long ago4    #aa4  
,to these maxims add this other4        
,accurately define or describe  every   
thing that strikes your imagination1 so 
that you may see and  distinguish what  
it is in naked essence1 and what it is  
in its  entirety2 that you may tell     
yourself the proper name of the thing   
itself1 and the names of the parts of   
which it is compounded1 and into  which 
it will be resolved4 ,nothing makes mind
 greater than the power  to enquire into
 all things that present themselves in  
life2 and1 while  you examine them1 to  
consider at the same time of what       
fashion is the  ,universe1 and what is  
the function in it of these things1 of  
what  importance they are to the whole1 
of what to man who is a citizen of  that
 highest city of which all other cities 
are but households4  ,consider what is  
this thing that now makes an impression 
on you1 of  what it is composed1 and how

 long it is destined to endure4         
,consider  also for what virtue it      
calls2 whether it be gentleness1        
courage1  truthfulness1 fidelity1       
simplicity1 independence1 or any other4 
,say1  therefore1 of each event3 ,this  
comes from ,god3 or ,this comes from    
the conjunction and intertexture of the 
strands of fate1 or from some  chance or
 hazard of that kind3 or ,this comes    
from one of my own  tribe1 from my      
kinsman1 from my friend4 ,he is1 indeed1
 ignorant of  what accords with nature2 
but ,i am not1 and will therefore use   
him  kindly and justly1 according to the
 natural and social law4 ,as to  things 
indifferent1 ,i strive to appraise them 
at their proper value4    #ab4 ,if you  
discharge your present duty with firm   
and zealous1 yet  kindly1 observance of 
the laws of reason2 if you regard no    
by-gains1  but keep pure within you your
 immortal part1 as if obliged to restore
  it at once to him who gave it2 if you 
hold to this with no further  desires or

 aversions1 and be content with the     
natural discharge of  your present task1
 and with the heroic sincerity of all   
you say or  utter1 you will live well4  
,and herein no man can hinder you4      
#ac4 ,as surgeons have ever their knives
 and instruments at hand for the  sudden
 emergencies of their art1 so do you    
keep ready the principles  requisite for
 understanding things divine and human1 
and for doing all  things1 even the     
least important1 in the remembrance of  
the bond  between the two4 ,for in      
neglecting this1 you will scant your    
duty both  to ,gods and men4    #ad4    
,cease your wandering1 for you are not  
like to read again your own  memoirs1 or
 the deeds of the ancient ,greeks and   
,romans1 or those  collections from the 
writings of others that you laid up for 
your old  age4 ,hasten then to your     
proper end4 ,fling away vain hopes1 and1
 if  you have any care for yourself1 fly
 to your own succour while yet you  may4
    #ae4 ,men understand not all that is

 signified by the words--to steal1  to  
sow1 to buy1 to rest1 to see what is to 
be done4 ,for it is not the  bodily eye 
but another sort of sight that must     
discern these things4    #af4 ,we have  
body1 soul1 and intelligence4 ,to the   
body belong the  senses1 to the soul the
 passions1 to the intelligence          
principles4 ,to  be affected by the     
imagery of sense belongs to the beasts  
of the field  no less than to us4 ,to be
 swayed by gusts of passion is common to
 us  with the wild beasts1 with the most
 effeminate wretches1 with ,nero and    
with ,phalaris4 ,moreover1 the          
possession of a mind to guide us to what
  seems fitting is shared by us1 with   
atheists1 with traitors to their        
country1 and with such as shut their    
doors and sin4 ,if1 then1 all the  rest 
is common as we have seen1 there remains
 to the good man this  special          
excellence2 to welcome with pleasure all
 that happens or is  ordained1 not to   
defile the divinity enthroned in his    

breast1 not to  perturb it with a crowd 
of images1 but to preserve it in        
tranquillity1  and obey it as a ,god3 to
 observe truth in all he says1 and      
justice in  his every action4 ,and      
though others may not believe that he   
lives thus  in simplicity1 modesty1 and 
contentment1 he neither takes this      
unbelief amiss from any one1 nor quits  
the road which leads to the  true end of
 life1 at which he ought to arrive pure1
 calm1 ready to  take his departure1 and
 accommodated without compulsion to his 
fate4                            ,,end  
,,of ,,the ,,third ,,book4              
,,book ,,iv4    #a4 ,the power which    
rules within us1 when its state is      
accordant with  nature1 so acts in every
 occurrence as easily to adapt itself to
 all  present or possible situations4   
,it requires no set material to work    
upon1 but1 under proper reservation1    
needs but the incitement to  pursue1 and
 makes matter for its activities out of 
every  opposition4 ,even so a fire      

masters that which is cast upon it1 and 
though a small flame would have been    
extinguished1 your great blaze  quickly 
makes the added fuel its own1 consumes  
it1 and grows mightier  therefrom4      
#b4 ,let no action be done at random1   
nor otherwise than in complete          
accordance with the principles involved4
    #c4 ,men seek retirement in the     
country1 on the sea-coast1 in the       
mountains2 and you too have frequent    
longings for such distractions4  ,yet   
surely this is great folly1 since you   
may retire into yourself at  any hour   
you please4 ,nowhere can a man find any 
retreat more quiet and  more full of    
leisure than in his own soul2 especially
 when there is  that within it on which1
 if he but look1 he is straightway quite
 at  rest4 ,and rest ,i hold to be      
naught else but perfect order in the    
soul4 ,constantly1 therefore1 allow     
yourself this retirement1 and so  renew 
yourself4 ,have also at hand thoughts   
brief and fundamental1  which readily   

may occur2 sufficing to shut out the    
discordant clamour  of the world1 and to
 send you back without fretting at the  
task to  which you return4 ,for at what 
do you fret8 ,at the wickedness of      
mankind4 ,recollect the maxim that all  
reasoning beings are created for  one   
another1 that to bear with them is a    
part of justice1 and that  they cannot  
help their sin4 ,remember how many of   
those who lived in  enmity1 suspicion1  
and hatred1 at daggers drawn1 have been 
stretched  on their funeral pyres1 and  
turned to ashes4 ,remember and cease    
from  your complaints4 ,is it your      
allotted part in the world's destiny    
that  chagrins you8 ,be calm1 and renew 
your knowledge of the alternative1  that
 ,either providence directs the world1  
or there is nothing but  unguided atoms2
 and recollect the many proofs that the 
,universe is as  it were a state4 ,do   
the ills of the body still have power to
 touch  you8 ,reflect that the mind1    
once withdrawn within itself1 once grown

  conscious of its own power1 has no    
concern with the motions1 rough or      
smooth1 of the breathing body4          
,remember1 too1 all that you have heard 
and assented to concerning pain and     
pleasure4 ,are you distracted by  the   
poor thing called fame8 ,think how      
swiftly all things are  forgotten4      
,behold the chaos of eternity which     
besets us on either  side4 ,think how   
empty is the noisy echo of acclamation2 
how fickle and  how scant of judgment   
are they who would seem to praise us1   
and how  narrow the bounds within which 
their praise is confined4 ,all the earth
  is but a point in the ,universe2 how  
small a corner of that little is        
inhabited1 and even there how few are   
they and of how little worth who  are to
 praise us6  ,remember then that there  
ever remains for you  retirement into   
the little field within4 ,and1 above    
all1 be neither  distraught nor         
overstrained4 ,hold fast your freedom3  
consider all  things as a man of        

courage1 as a human being1 as a citizen1
 as a  mortal4 ,readiest among the      
principles to which you look let there  
be  these two3 ,firstly1 things external
 do not touch the soul1 but remain      
powerless without2 and all trouble comes
 from what we think of them  within4    
,secondly1 all things visible change in 
a moment1 and are gone  for ever4       
,recollect all the changes of which you 
have yourself been a  witness4 ,the     
world is a succession of changes3 life  
is but thought4    #d4 ,if mind be      
common to us all1 the reason in virtue  
of which we are  rational is also       
common2 so too is the power which bids  
us do or not  do4 ,therefore we have all
 a common law2 and if so1 we are        
fellow-citizens and members of some     
common polity4 ,the ,universe1 then1    
must in a manner be a state1 for of what
 other common polity can all  mankind be
 said to be members8 ,wherefore it is   
from this common state  that we derive  
our intellectual power1 our reason1 and 

our law2 or  whence do we derive them8  
,for that which is earthy in me is      
derived  from earth1 my moisture from   
some other element1 my breath and what  
is  warm or fiery from their proper     
sources4 ,and therefore1 as nothing can 
arise from nothing or return thereto1 my
 intellectual part has also a  source4  
#e4 ,death1 like birth1 is a mystery of 
nature2 the one a compounding of        
elements1 the other a resolution into   
the same4 ,in neither is there  anything
 shameful or against the nature of the  
rational animal1 or  contrary to the law
 of its constitution4    #f4 ,it is fate
 that such actions should come from such
 men4 ,he who  would have it otherwise  
would have figs without juice4 ,this1   
too1 you  should remember3 that in a    
very short time both you and he must    
die2  and a little after not even the   
name of either shall remain4    #g4     
,suppress the thought2 and the cry ,i am
 hurt6 is gone4 ,suppress ,i  am hurt6  
and you suppress the injury4    #h4     

,what makes not a man worse than he was1
 makes not his life worse1  nor hurts   
him without or within4    #i4 ,the law  
of utility must act so4    #aj4 ,all    
that happens1 happens right3 you will   
find it so if you  observe narrowly4 ,i 
mean not only according to a natural    
order1 but  according to our idea of    
justice1 and1 as it were1 by the action 
of  one who distributes according to    
merit4 ,go on then observing this as    
you have begun1 and whatever you do1 let
 your aim be goodness1  goodness as it  
is rightly understood4 ,hold to this in 
every action4    #aa4 ,think not as your
 insulter judges or wishes you to judge3
 but see  things as they truly are4     
#ab4 ,for two things be ever ready3     
,first1 to do that only which reason1   
the sovereign and legislative faculty1  
suggests for the good of  mankind3      
,secondly1 to change your course on     
meeting any one who can  correct and    
alter your opinion4 ,but let the change 
be made because you  really believe it  

to be in the interest of justice or the 
public good1  or such like1 and not with
 any view to pleasure or glory for      
yourself4    #ac4 ,have you reason8 ,i  
have4 ,why then do you not use it8 ,when
 it  performs its proper office what    
more do you require8    #ad4 ,you exist 
as part of a whole4 ,you will disappear 
again in that  which produced you2 or   
rather you will change and be resumed   
again  into the productive intelligence4
    #ae4 ,many grains of frankincense   
are laid on the same altar4 ,one falls  
soon1 another later4 ,it makes no       
difference4    #af4 ,within ten days1 if
 you return to the observance of moral  
principles and to the cult of reason1   
you will appear a ,god to them  who now 
esteem you a wild beast or an ape4      
#ag4 ,order not your life as though you 
had ten thousand years to  live4 ,fate  
hangs over you4 ,while you live1 while  
yet you may1 be good4    #ah4 ,how much 
he gains in leisure who looks not to    
what his neighbours  say1 or do1 or     

intend2 but considers only how his own  
actions may be  just and holy1 looking  
not1 as ,agathon says1 to the moral     
example of  others1 but running a       
straight course and never turning       
therefrom4    #ai4 ,he who is careful   
and troubled about the fame which is to 
live  after him considers not that each 
one of those who remember him must  very
 soon die himself1 and thereafter also  
the succeeding generation1  until every 
memory of him1 handed on by excited and 
ephemeral  admirers1 dies utterly away4 
,grant that your memory were immortal1  
and  those immortal who retain it2 yet  
what is that to you8 ,i ask not1 what   
is that to the dead8 ,but to the living 
what is the profit in praise1  except it
 be in some convenience that it brings8 
,and you now abandon  what nature has   
put in your power in order to set your  
hopes upon the  report of others4       
#bj4 ,whatever is beautiful at all is   
beautiful in itself4 ,its beauty  ends  
there1 and praise has no part in it4    

,nothing is the better or the  worse for
 being praised2 and this holds also of  
what is beautiful in  the common        
estimation3 of material forms and works 
of art4 ,thus true  beauty needs nothing
 beyond itself1 any more than law1 or   
truth1 or  kindness1 or honour4 ,for    
none of these gets a single grace from  
praise  or one blot from censure4 ,does 
the emerald lose its virtue if one      
praise it not8 ,can one by scanting     
praise depreciate gold1 ivory1 or       
purple1 a lyre or a dagger1 a flower or 
a shrub8    #ba4 ,if our souls survive  
us1 how1 you ask1 has the air contained 
them  from eternity8 ,how1 ,i answer1   
does the earth contain so many bodies   
buried during so long a time8 ,just as  
corpses1 after remaining for a  while in
 the earth1 change1 and are dissipated  
to make room for  others2 so also the   
souls1 liberated into air1 remain for a 
little1  and then are changed1 diffused1
 rekindled1 and resumed into the        
universal productive spirit2 and so give

 way to others who come to  take their  
places4 ,this may serve for an answer1  
on the supposition  that the soul       
survives the body4 ,but we have not     
merely to consider  the number of bodies
 thus buried in the earth4 ,there are   
also all the  living creatures eaten day
 by day by ourselves and other animals4 
,how  great a multitude of them is thus 
consumed1 and as it were buried in  the 
bodies of those who feed upon them4 ,yet
 there is ever space to  contain them1  
owing to the changes into blood1 air1   
and fire4 ,what1  then1 is the key to   
this enquiry8 ,discrimination of matter 
and cause4    #bb4 ,swerve not from your
 path4 ,in every impulse render justice 
its  due1 and in all thinking be sure   
that you understand4    #bc4 ,i am in   
tune with all that is of thy harmony1 ,o
 ,nature4 ,for me  nothing is too early 
and nothing is too late that comes in   
thy good  time4 ,all is fruit to me1 ,o 
,nature1 that thy seasons bring4 ,from  
thee  are all things1 thou comprehendest

 all1 and all returns to thee4 ,the     
poet says1 ,o dear ,city of ,cecrops6   
,shall ,i not say1 ,dear ,city of  ,god6
    #bd4 ,do few things1 says the       
philosopher1 if you would have quiet4   
,this is perhaps a better saying1 ,do   
what is necessary1 do what the  reason  
of the being that is social in its      
nature directs1 and do it in  the spirit
 of that direction4 ,by this you will   
attain the calm that  comes from        
virtuous action1 and that calm also     
which comes from having  few things to  
do4 ,most things you say and do are not 
necessary4 ,have  done with them1 and   
you will be more at leisure and less    
perturbed4 ,on  every occasion1 then1   
ask yourself the question1 ,is this     
thing not  unnecessary8 ,and put away   
not only unnecessary deeds but          
unnecessary  thoughts1 for by so doing  
you will avoid all superfluous actions4 
#be4 ,make trial how the life of a good 
man succeeds with you1 the life  of one 
who is content with the lot appointed   

him by ,providence1 and  satisfied with 
the justice of his own actions and the  
benevolence of  his disposition4    #bf4
 ,you have seen the other state1 make   
trial also of this4 ,avoid  perplexity2 
seek simplicity4 ,has a man sinned8 ,he 
bears his own  sin4 ,has aught befallen 
you8 ,it is well2 for all that befalls  
you is  an ordained part in the weaving 
of the destiny of all things from the   
beginning4 ,in sum1 life is short4 ,make
 the best of the present in  reason and 
in justice4 ,be sober in your           
relaxation4    #bg4 ,the ,universe is   
either an ordered whole or a confusion4 
,but1  although a mixture of phenomena1 
it is certainly an ordered whole4 ,or1  
do you think that there can be order in 
you and confusion in the  ,universe1 and
 that too when all things1 though       
diffused and separated1  are all in     
sympathy1 one with another8    #bh4     
,consider the deformity of these        
characters3 the black or  malicious1 the
 effeminate1 the savage1 the beastly1   

the childish1 the  brutish1 the stupid1 
the false1 the ribald1 the knavish1 the 
tyrannical4    #bi4 ,he is a foreigner1 
and not a citizen of the world1 who     
knows not  what the world contains2 and 
he1 too1 who knows not what happens in  
it4 ,he is a deserter who flies from the
 reason that rules this  polity4 ,he is 
blind1 whose intellectual eye is closed4
 ,he is a beggar1  who needs the gifts  
of others1 and has not from himself all 
that is  necessary for life4 ,he is an  
excrescence on the scheme of things1 who
  withdraws and separates himself from  
the reasoned constitution of the  nature
 in which he shares1 by discontent with 
what befalls4 ,that same  nature which  
produces this event produced thee4 ,he  
is the seditious  citizen who separates 
his particular soul from the one soul of
 all  reasonable beings4    #cj4 ,one   
acts the philosopher without a coat1    
another without books1 a  third         
half-naked4 ,says one1 ,i have not      
bread1 and yet ,i hold to  reason4 ,says

 another1 ,i have not even the spiritual
 food of  instruction1 and yet ,i hold  
to it4    #ca4 ,love the art which you  
have learned1 humble though it be1 and  
in  it find your recreation4 ,and spend 
the remainder of your life as one  who  
with all his heart commits his concerns 
to the ,gods1 and neither  acts the     
tyrant nor the slave to any of mankind4 
#cb4 ,recall1 for example1 the age of   
,vespasian4 ,it is as the spectacle  of 
our own time4 ,you will see men         
marrying1 bringing up children1 sick    
and dying1 warring and feasting1 trading
 and farming4 ,you will see men         
flattering1 obstinate in their own will1
 suspecting1 plotting1 wishing  for the 
death of others1 repining at fortune1   
courting mistresses1  hoarding treasure1
 pursuing consulships and kingdoms4 ,yet
 all that  life is spent and gone4 ,come
 down to ,trajan's days4 ,again all is  
the  same2 and again1 that life1 too1 is
 dead4 ,consider1 likewise1 the  records
 of other times and nations1 and see    

how1 after their fit of  eagerness1 all 
quickly fell1 and were resolved into the
 elements4 ,but  most of all1 remember  
those whom you yourself have known1 men 
who were  distracted about vain things1 
men who neglected the course which      
suited their own nature1 neither holding
 fast to it nor finding their           
contentment there4 ,and1 herein1 forget 
not that care is to be bestowed  on any 
enterprise only in proportion to its    
proper worth4 ,for if you  keep this in 
mind you will not be disheartened from  
over concern with  things of less       
account4    #cc4 ,the familiar phrases  
of old days are now strange and         
obsolete2  and1 likewise1 the names of  
such as were once much celebrated now   
sound strangely in our ears4 ,camillus1 
,caeso1 ,volesus1 ,leonnatus2  after    
them ,scipio and ,cato2 lastly1         
,augustus1 ,hadrian1 and  ,antonine--all
 are forgotten4 ,all things hasten to an
 end1 shall  speedily seem old fables1  
and then be buried in oblivion4 ,this ,i

 say  of those who have shone with the  
brightness of their fame4 ,the rest of  
men1 as soon as they expire1 are unknown
 and forgotten4 ,what1 then1 is  it to  
be remembered for ever8 ,a wholly empty 
thing4 ,for what should we  be zealous8 
,for this alone1 that our souls be just1
 our actions  unselfish1 our speech ever
 sincere1 and our disposition such as   
may  cheerfully embrace whatever        
happens1 seeing it to be inevitable1    
familiar1 and sprung from the same      
source and origin as we ourselves4      
#cd4 ,willingly resign yourself to      
,clotho1 permitting her to spin her     
thread of what yarn she may4    #ce4    
,all things are for a day1 both what    
remembers and what is  remembered4      
#cf4 ,observe continually that all      
things exist in change2 and keep this   
thought ever with you1 that ,nature     
loves nothing more than changing  what  
things now are1 and making others like  
them4 ,for what now is1 is  in a manner 
the seed of what shall be4 ,therefore1  

conceive not that  that alone is seed   
which is cast into the earth or the     
womb1 for that  is the thought of       
ignorance4    #cg4 ,you are presently to
 die1 and yet you have not attained to  
simplicity or calm1 or to disbelief that
 you can be hurt by things  external4   
,you have not learned to be kindly to   
all men1 or to count  just dealing the  
whole of wisdom4    #ch4 ,scan closely  
that which governs men2 see what are    
their cares1 and  what they pursue or   
shun4    #ci4 ,that which is evil for   
you exists not in the soul of another2  
nor  in any change or alteration of the 
body which surrounds you4 ,where1  then1
 is it8 ,it lies in that part of you by 
which you apprehend what  evil is4 ,stay
 the apprehension1 and all is well4 ,and
 though the poor  body to which it is so
 closely bound be cut and burned1 though
 it  suppurate or mortify1 yet let the  
apprehension remain inactive3 that  is1 
let it judge nothing either bad or good 
which can happen equally  to the bad man

 and to the good4 ,for that which       
befalls equally him who  lives in       
accord1 and him who lives in discord    
with ,nature1 can neither  be natural   
nor unnatural4    #dj4 ,ever consider   
this ,universe as one living being1 with
 one material  substance and one spirit4
 ,observe how all things are referred to
 the  one intelligence of this being2   
how all things act on one impulse2 how  
all things are concurrent causes of all 
others2 and how all things are          
connected and intertwined4    #da4 ,thou
 art a poor soul1 saddled with a corpse1
 said ,epictetus4    #db4 ,there is no  
evil for things which subsist in change2
 and there can  be no good for things   
which subsist without it4    #dc4 ,time 
is a river1 a violent torrent of things 
coming into  being4 ,each one1 as soon  
as it has appeared1 is swept away3 it is
  succeeded by another which is swept   
away in its turn4    #dd4 ,all that     
happens is as natural and familiar as a 
rose in spring1  or fruit in summer4    

,such are disease and death1 calumny and
 treachery1  and all else which gives   
fools joy or sorrow4    #de4            
,consequents follow antecedents by      
virtue of a special and  necessary      
connexion4 ,this relation is not that   
which exists in a mere  enumeration of  
independent things1 and depends merely  
on some  arbitrary convention4 ,it is a 
rational relationship4 ,and just as     
things now existing are ranged          
harmoniously together1 so those which   
come into existence display no bare     
succession1 but a wonderful  harmony    
with what preceded4    #df4 ,remember   
always the sayings of ,heraclitus3 that 
the death of earth  is to become water1 
the death of water to become air1 and   
the death of  air to become fire2 and so
 conversely4 ,remember in what a case he
 is  who forgets whither the way leads3 
that men are frequently at variance     
with their close and constant companion1
 the reason which rules all3  that men  
count strange that which they meet every

 day3 that we should  neither act nor   
speak as though in slumber1 although    
even in slumber  we seem to act and     
speak2 nor yet like children learning   
from their  parents1 with a mere        
acceptance of everything just as we are 
told it4    #dg4 ,if some ,god were to  
inform you that you must die tomorrow1  
or the  next day at farthest1 you would 
take little concern whether it was to   
be tomorrow or the next day2 that is if 
you were not the most  miserable of     
cowards4 ,for how small is the          
difference8 ,wherefore1  account it of  
no great moment whether you die after   
many years or  tomorrow4    #dh4        
,constantly consider how many physicians
 are dead and gone1 who  frequently     
knitted their brows over their patients2
 how many  astrologers1 who foretold the
 deaths of others with great ostentation
  of their art2 how many philosophers1  
who wrote endlessly on death and        
immortality2 how many warriors1 who slew
 their thousands2 and how many  tyrants1

 who used their power of life and death 
with cruel wantonness1  as though they  
had been immortal4 ,how many whole      
cities1 if ,i may so  speak1 are dead3  
,helice and ,pompeii and ,herculaneum1  
and others past  counting4 ,tell over   
next all those you have known1 one after
 the  other3 think how one buried his   
fellow1 then lay dead himself1 to be    
buried by a third4 ,and all this within 
a little time4 ,in sum1 look  upon human
 things1 and behold how short-lived and 
how vile they are2  mucus yesterday1    
tomorrow ashes or pickled carrion4      
,spend1 then1 the  fleeting remnant of  
your time in a spirit that accords with 
,nature1  and depart contentedly4 ,so   
the olive falls when it is grown ripe1  
blessing the ground from whence it      
sprung1 and thankful to the tree  that  
bore it4    #di4 ,be like a promontory  
against which the waves are always      
breaking4 ,it stands fast1 and stills   
the waters that rage around  it4        
,wretched am ,i1 says one1 that this has

 befallen me4 ,nay1 say  you1 happy am  
,i who1 though this has befallen me1 can
 still remain  without sorrow1 neither  
broken by the present nor dreading the  
future4 ,the like might have befallen   
any one2 but every one would not  have  
endured it unpained4 ,why1 then1 should 
we dwell more on the  misfortune of the 
incident than on the felicity of such   
strength of  mind8 ,can you call that a 
misfortune for a man which is not a     
miscarriage of his nature8  ,and can you
 call anything a miscarriage of  his    
nature which is not contrary to its     
purpose8 ,you have learned its  purpose1
 have you not8  ,then does this accident
 debar you from  justice1 magnanimity1  
prudence1 wisdom1 caution1 truth1       
honour1  freedom1 and all else in the   
possession of which man's nature finds  
its full estate8 ,remember1 therefore1  
for the future1 upon all  occasions of  
sorrow1 to use the maxim3 this thing is 
not misfortune1  but to bear it bravely 
is good fortune4    #ej4 ,it is a vulgar

 meditation1 and yet very effectual for 
enabling us  to despise death1 to       
consider the fate of those who have been
 most  earnestly tenacious of life1 and 
enjoyed it longest4 ,wherein is their   
gain greater than that of those who died
 before their time8 ,they are  all lying
 dead somewhere or other4 ,cadicianus1  
,fabius1 ,julian1  ,lepidus1 and their  
fellows1 saw the corpses of multitudes  
carried to  the grave1 and then         
themselves were carried thither4 ,in    
sum1 how small  was the difference of   
time1 spent painfully amid what         
troubles1 among  what worthless men1 and
 in how mean a carcase6 ,think it not a 
thing of  value4 ,rather look back into 
the eternity that gapes behind1 and     
forward into the other abyss of         
immensity4 ,compared with such          
infinity1 small is the difference       
between a life of three days and one  of
 three ages like ,nestor's4    #ea4 ,run
 ever the short way4 ,the short way is  
the way according to  ,nature4          

,therefore speak and act according to   
the soundest rule2 for  this resolution 
will free you from much toil and        
warring1 and from all  artful management
 and ostentation4                       
,,end ,,of ,,the ,,fourth ,,book4       
,,book ,v4    #a4 ,in the morning1 when 
you find yourself unwilling to rise1    
have this  thought at hand3 ,i arise to 
the proper business of man1 and shall ,i
  repine at setting about that work for 
which ,i was born and brought  into the 
world8 ,am ,i equipped for nothing but  
to lie among the  bed-clothes and keep  
warm8 ,but1 you say1 it is more pleasant
 so4  ,is pleasure1 then1 the object of 
your being1 and not action1 and the     
exercise of your powers8 ,do you not see
 the smallest plants1 the  little       
sparrows1 the ants1 the spiders1 the    
bees1 all doing their  part1 and working
 for order in the ,universe1 as far as  
in them lies8  ,and will you refuse the 
part in this design which is laid on    
man8 ,will  you not pursue the course   

which accords with your own nature8 ,you
 say1  ,i must have rest4 ,assuredly2   
but nature appoints a measure for rest1 
just as for eating and drinking4 ,in    
rest you go beyond these limits1  and   
beyond what is enough2 but in action you
 do not fill the measure1  and remain   
well within your powers4 ,you do not    
love yourself2 if you  did1 you would   
love your nature and its purpose4       
,others1 who love the  art that they    
have made their own1 exhaust themselves 
with labouring  at it unwashed and      
unfed4 ,but you honour your own nature  
less than the  carver honours his       
carving1 less than the dancer honours   
his dancing1  the miser his gold1 or the
 vain man his empty fame4 ,these men1   
when  desire takes them1 count food and 
sleep well lost if they can better      
realize the object of their longings2   
and shall the pursuit of the  common    
good seem less precious in your eyes and
 worthy of a lesser  zeal8    #b4 ,how  
easy it is to thrust away and blot out  

each impression that is  disturbing and 
unfit2 and forthwith to enjoy perfect   
tranquillity4    #c4 ,judge no speech or
 action unworthy of you which is        
consistent with  nature4 ,be not        
dissuaded by any consequent criticism or
 censure from  others2 but1 if the      
speech or action be honourable1 judge   
yourself  worthy to say or do it4 ,those
 who criticize you have their own       
conscience and their own motives4 ,these
 you are not to regard1 but  follow a   
straight course1 guided by your own     
nature and the nature of  the ,universe1
 both of which point the same way4      
#d4 ,i walk the way which is ,nature's1 
until at last ,i shall fall and be  at  
rest2 breathing out my breath into the  
air wherefrom ,i daily drew  it1 falling
 on that earth whence my father drew his
 seed1 my mother  her blood1 and my     
nurse the milk which nourished me2 on   
that earth  which has given me my daily 
food and drink through all these years1 
which sustains my footsteps1 and bears  

with me--her manifold abuser4    #e4    
,men cannot admire you for your         
shrewdness4 ,be it so4 ,but there is    
many another quality of which you cannot
 say1 ,it is not in me4  ,display these2
 they are wholly in your power4 ,be     
sincere1 be  dignified1 be painstaking2 
scorn pleasure1 repine not at fate1 need
  little2 be kind and frank2 love not   
exaggeration and vain talk2 strive      
after greatness4 ,do you not see how    
many virtues you might show1 of  which  
you are yet content to fall short1      
though you have not the  excuse that    
they are absent1 or that you are unfit  
for them8 ,are you  driven by some want 
in your equipment to be querulous1 to be
 miserly1  to be a flatterer1 to        
reproach your body with your own faults1
 to  cringe to others1 to be            
vainglorious1 to have all this          
restlessness in  your soul8 ,no1 by the 
,gods1 you might have escaped these     
vices long  ago4 ,all your fault1 then1 
is that you are somewhat slow and dull  

of  comprehension4 ,this you should     
strive to correct by exercise2 neither  
neglecting your dulness nor taking a    
mean pleasure in it4    #f4 ,some men1  
when they have done you a favour1 are   
very ready to  reckon up the obligation 
they have conferred4 ,others1 again1 are
 not  so forward in their claims1 but   
yet in their minds consider you their   
debtor1 and well know the value of what 
they have done4 ,a third sort  seem to  
be unconscious of their service4 ,they  
are like the vine1 which  produces its  
clusters and is satisfied when it has   
yielded its proper  fruit4 ,the horse   
when he has run his course1 the hound   
when he has  followed the track1 the bee
 when it has made its honey1 and the man
  when he has done good to others1 make 
no noisy boast of it1 but set  out to do
 the same once more1 as the vine in its 
season produces its  new clusters again4
 ,should we1 then1 be among those who in
 a manner  know not what they do8       
,assuredly4 ,but this very thing implies

  intelligence2 for it is a property of 
the unselfish man to perceive  that he  
is acting unselfishly1 and1 surely1 to  
wish his fellow also to  perceive it4   
,true1 but if you misapprehend my       
saying1 you will enter  the ranks of    
those of whom ,i spoke before4 ,they1   
too1 are led astray  by specious        
reasonings4 ,but if you have the will to
 understand what my  principle truly    
means1 fear not that in following it you
 will neglect  the duty of              
unselfishness4    #g4 ,this is a prayer 
of the ,athenians3 ,rain1 rain1 dear    
,zeus1 on the  plains and ploughlands of
 the ,athenians4 ,man should either not 
pray  at all1 or pray after this frank  
and simple fashion4    #h4 ,just as one 
says that ,aesculapius has prescribed a 
course of riding  for some one1 or the  
cold bath1 or walking bare-footed2 so it
 may be  said that the guiding ,mind    
prescribes for a man1 disease1 or       
mutilation1 or losses1 or the like4     
,prescribed1 in the first case1  means  

that such treatment was enjoined on the 
patient as might  coincide with the     
needs of his health3 in the second case 
it means  that each man's fortune is    
appointed to coincide with the purposes 
of  fate4 ,now1 the very word           
coincidence implies something like that 
correspondence of squared stones in a   
wall or pyramid1 which workmen  speak of
 when they fit them together in some    
structure4 ,all things are  united in   
one bond of harmony2 and just as all    
existing bodies go to  make the visible 
world what it is1 so destiny1 as the    
general cause1  is compounded of all    
particular causes4 ,the most            
unphilosophical grasp  my meaning1 for  
they say1 ,fate gave this to so-and-so3 
this was  appointed or prescribed for   
him4 ,let us1 then1 receive the decrees 
of  ,fate as we receive the             
prescriptions of ,aesculapius4 ,he      
prescribes  many things for us1 and some
 of them are harsh medicines4 ,yet we   
obey  him gladly in the hope of health4 

,conceive therefore that1 for ,nature1  
the doing of her work and the fulfilling
 of her purposes are1 as it  were1 her  
health2 and welcome all that happens1   
even should it seem  hard fortune1      
because it tends to the health of the   
,universe1 and to  the prosperity and   
felicity of ,zeus4 ,he would not have   
brought this or  that on any man did it 
not contribute to the good of the whole1
 nor  does any part of ,nature's system 
bring aught to pass which suits not     
with her government4 ,for two reasons1  
then1 you should content  yourself with 
what befalls you4 ,the first is1 that it
 was created and  ordained for you1 and 
was in a manner related to you from the 
beginning1 in the weaving of all        
destinies from the great first  causes4 
,the second is1 that even what happens  
severally to each man  contributes to   
the well-being and prosperity of the    
,mind which governs  all things1 and1   
indeed1 even to its continued existence4
 ,for the  whole is maimed if you break 

in the slightest degree this continuous 
connexion1 whether of parts or causes4  
,and this you are doing your  best to   
break and to destroy whenever you repine
 at fate4    #i4 ,fret not1 neither     
despond nor be disheartened1 if it be   
not always  possible for you to act     
according to your principles of         
perfection4 ,if  you are beaten off1    
return again to the effort1 and content 
yourself  that your conduct is generally
 such as becomes a man4 ,love the good  
to  which you return2 and come back to  
,philosophy1 not as one who comes to  a 
master1 but as one whose eyes ache      
recurs to sponge and egg1 as  another   
has recourse to plasters1 or a third to 
fomentation4 ,and thus  you will make no
 empty show of obeying reason2 but find 
that it gives  you rest4 ,remember that 
,philosophy demands no more than what   
your  nature requires4 ,but you are wont
 to desire other things which accord    
not with your nature4 ,for what1 you    
say1 can be more delightful  than such  

things8 ,is not this the very snare     
which ,pleasure sets for  us8 ,yet      
consider if magnanimity1 frankness1     
simplicity1 kindness1 and  piety be not 
even greater delights4 ,and what is     
sweeter than wisdom  itself1 when you   
are conscious of security and felicity  
in your powers  of apprehension and     
reason8    #aj4 ,the natures of things  
are so covered up from us1 that to many 
philosophers1 and these no mean ones1   
all things seem incomprehensible4  ,the 
,stoics themselves own that it is       
difficult to comprehend anything  with  
certainty4 ,all our assent is           
inconsistent1 for where is the          
consistent man8 ,consider1 too1 the     
objects of our knowledge3 how           
transitory are they1 and how mean6 ,how 
often they are in the  possession of the
 debauchee1 of the harlot1 of the       
robber6  ,review  again the morals of   
your contemporaries3 it is scarcely     
possible to  tolerate the best-mannered 
among them2 not to say that a man can   

scarcely tolerate himself4 ,amid such   
darkness and filth1 in this  perpetual  
flux of substance1 of time1 of motion1  
and of things moved1  ,i can perceive   
nothing worthy of esteem or of desire4  
,on the contrary1  we should comfort    
ourselves as we await our natural       
dissolution1 and  not be vexed at the   
delay1 but find rest in these thoughts3 
first1  that nothing can befall us which
 is not in accord with the nature of    
all things2 second1 that it is always in
 our power not to do anything  against  
the divine spirit within us3 to this no 
force can compel us4    #aa4 ,to what   
end am ,i using my soul8 ,let me examine
 myself as to this  on all occasions1   
and consider what is passing now in that
 part of me  which men call the ruler of
 the rest4 ,let me think1 too1 whose is 
the  soul that ,i have4 ,is it a        
child's8 ,is it a youth's1 a timorous   
woman's1 or a tyrant's2 the soul of a   
tame beast or of a savage one8    #ab4  
,of what value the things are which the 

many account good you may  judge from   
this3 ,if a man has conceived certain   
things1 such as  prudence1 temperance1  
justice1 or courage1 to be good in the  
real  sense1 he cannot1 while he is of  
this mind1 readily listen to the        
traditional gibe about a superabundance 
of good things4 ,it will not  fit the   
case4 ,but when he has in mind things   
which seem good in the  eyes of the     
multitude1 he is perfectly willing to   
hear and accept as  quite appropriate   
the raillery of the comic poet4 ,thus   
even the  ordinary mind perceives the   
difference4 ,for if this were not so1 we
  would not in the first case repudiate 
the jest as offensive1 nor would  we    
salute it as a happy witticism when     
applied to wealth or to the  opulence   
which produces luxury and ostentation4  
,proceed then1 and put  the question    
whether these things are to be valued   
and esteemed good  of which we have such
 an opinion that we may aptly say of    
their  possessor3 ,he has so many       

possessions about him that he has no    
place  wherein to ease himself4    #ac4 
,i consist of a formal and a material   
element4 ,neither of these two  shall   
die and fade into nothingness1 since    
neither came into being out  of nothing4
 ,every part of me1 then1 will be       
transformed and ranged  again in some   
part of the ,universe4 ,that part of the
 ,universe will  itself be transmuted   
into another part1 and so on for all    
time  coming4 ,by some such change as   
this ,i came into being1 likewise my    
progenitors1 and so back from all time  
past4 ,there is no objection to  this   
theory1 even though the world be        
governed by determined cycles of        
revolution4    #ad4 ,reason1 and the art
 of thinking1 are powers which are      
complete in  themselves1 and in their   
special processes4 ,they start from     
their own  internal principle1 and      
proceed to their appointed end4 ,such   
mental  acts are called right1 to       
indicate that the course of thought is  

right  or straight4    #ae4 ,nothing    
should be said to be part of a man which
 is not part of  his human nature4      
,things that are not part of his essence
 cannot be  required of him1 and have no
 part in the promise or the fulfilment  
of  his nature4 ,therefore1 in such     
things lies neither the end of man nor  
the good which crowns that end4         
,moreover1 if anything were really part 
of a man1 it would not be proper for him
 to despise it or revolt  against it1   
nor would he be praiseworthy who made   
himself independent  thereof4 ,if       
non-essential things were indeed good1  
he could be no good  man who stinted    
himself in the use of them2 but1 as we  
see1 the more a  man goes without them1 
and the more he endures the want of     
them1 the  better a man he is4    #af4  
,the character of your most frequent    
impressions will be the  character of   
your mind4 ,the soul takes colour from  
its impressions1  therefore steep it in 
such thoughts as these3--,wherever a man

 can  live1 he can live well4 ,a man can
 live in a court1 therefore he can  live
 well there4 ,again everything works    
towards that for which it was  created1 
and that to which anything works is its 
end2 and in the end  of everything is to
 be found the advantage and the good of 
it4 ,now1  for reasoning beings1        
,society is the highest good1 for it has
 long  since been proved that we were   
brought into the world to be  social4   
,nay1 was it not manifest that the      
inferior kinds were formed  for the     
superior1 and the superior for each     
other8 ,now1 the animate is  superior to
 the inanimate1 and beings that reason  
to those that only  live4    #ag4 ,to   
pursue impossibilities is madness2 and  
it is impossible that  the wicked should
 not act in some such way as this4      
#ah4 ,nothing can befall any man which  
he is not fitted by nature to  bear4    
,the like events befall others1 and     
either through ignorance that  the event
 has happened1 or from ostentation of   

magnanimity1 they stand  firm and unhurt
 by them4 ,strange then that ignorance  
or ostentation  should have more        
strength than wisdom6    #ai4 ,material 
things cannot touch the soul at all1 nor
 have any access  to it3 neither can    
they bend or move it4 ,the soul is bent 
or moved by  itself alone1 and remodels 
all things that present themselves from 
without in accordance with whatever     
judgment it adopts within4    #bj4 ,in  
one respect man is nearest and dearest  
to me2 in so far1 that  is1 as ,i must  
do good to him and bear with him4 ,but  
in so far as some  men obstruct me in my
 natural activities1 man enters the     
class of  things indifferent to me1 no  
less than the sun1 the wind1 or the wild
  beast4 ,by these indeed some special  
action may be impeded1 but no           
interference with my purpose or with my 
inward disposition can come  from them1 
thanks to my exceptive and modifying    
powers4 ,for the mind  can convert and  
change everything that impedes its      

activity into  matter for its action2   
hindrance in its work becomes its real  
help1  and every obstruction makes for  
its progress4    #ba4 ,reverence that   
which is most excellent in the          
,universe1 and the  most excellent is   
that which employs all things and rules 
all4 ,likewise reverence that which is  
most excellent in yourself4 ,it  is of  
the same nature as the former1 for it is
 that which employs all  else that is in
 you1 and that by which your whole life 
is ordered4    #bb4 ,that which harms   
not the city cannot harm the citizen4   
,apply this  rule whenever you have the 
idea that you are hurt4 ,if the state be
 not  hurt by this1 neither am ,i       
harmed1 and if the state be hurt we     
should  not be wrathful with him who    
hurt it4 ,consider where lay his        
oversight4    #bc4 ,consider frequently 
how swiftly things that exist or are    
coming  into existence are swept by and 
carried away4 ,their substance is as a  
river perpetually flowing2 their actions

 are in continual change1 and  their    
causes subject to ten thousand          
alterations4 ,scarcely anything is      
stable1 and the vast eternities of past 
and future in which all things  are     
swallowed up are close upon us on both  
hands4 ,is he not then a  fool who is   
puffed up with success in the things of 
this world1 or is  distracted1 or       
worried1 as if he were in a time of     
trouble likely to  endure for long4     
#bd4 ,keep in mind the universe of being
 in which your part is exceeding  small1
 the universe of time of which a brief  
and fleeting moment is  assigned to you2
 the destiny of things1 and how         
infinitesimal your  share therein4      
#be4 ,does another wrong me8 ,let him   
look to that4 ,his character and his    
actions are his own4 ,so much is in my  
present possession as is  dispensed to  
me by the nature of things1 and ,i act  
as my own nature  now bids me4    #bf4  
,let the leading and ruling part of your
 soul stand unmoved by the  stirrings of

 the flesh1 whether gentle or rude4 ,let
 it not commingle  with them1 but keep  
itself apart1 and confine these passions
 to their  proper bodily parts2 and if  
they rise into the soul by any sympathy 
with the body to which it is united1    
then we must not attempt to  resist the 
sensation1 seeing that it is of our     
nature2 but let not the  soul1 for its  
part1 add thereto the conception that   
the sensation is  good or bad4    #bg4  
,live with the ,gods4 ,and he lives with
 the ,gods who continually  displays to 
them his soul1 living in satisfaction   
with its lot1 and  doing the will of the
 inward spirit1 a portion of his own    
divinity  which ,zeus has given to every
 man for a ruler and a guide4 ,this is  
the  intelligence1 the reason that      
abides in us all4    #bh4 ,are you angry
 with one whose armpits smell or whose  
breath is  foul8  ,what is the use8 ,his
 mouth or his arm-pits are so1 and the  
consequence must follow4 ,but1 you say1 
man is a reasonable being1 and  could by

 attention discern in what he offends4  
,very well1 you too have  reason4 ,use  
your reason to move his2 instruct1      
admonish him4 ,if he  listens1 you will 
cure him1 and there will be no reason   
for anger4 ,you  are neither actor nor  
harlot4    #bi4 ,as you intend to live  
at your going1 so you can live here4    
,but1 if  men do not permit you1 then   
depart from life1 yet so as if no       
misfortune had befallen you4 ,if my     
house be smoky1 ,i go out1 and where  is
 the great matter8 ,so long as no such  
trouble drives me out1 ,i  remain at my 
will1 and no one will prevent me from   
acting as ,i  will4 ,and my will is the 
will of a reasonable and social being4  
#cj4 ,the intelligence of the ,universe 
is social4 ,it has therefore made  the  
inferior orders for the sake of the     
superior2 and has suited the  superior  
beings for one another4 ,you see how it 
hath subordinated1 and  co-ordinated1   
and distributed to each according to its
 merit1 and  engaged the nobler beings  

to a mutual agreement and unanimity4    
#ca4 ,how have you behaved towards the  
,gods1 towards your parents1 your       
brothers1 your wife1 your children1 your
 teachers1 those who reared  you1 your  
friends1 your intimates1 your slaves8   
,can it be said that  you have ever     
acted towards all of them in the spirit 
of the line3--          ,he wrought no  
harshness1 spoke no unkind word8        
,recollect all you have passed through1 
all that you have had strength  to bear4
 ,your life is now a tale that is told1 
and your service is all  discharged4    
,recall the fair sights you have seen1  
the pleasures and  the pains you have   
despised1 the so-called glory that you  
have  foregone1 the unkindly men to whom
 you have shown kindness4    #cb4 ,how  
is it that unskilled and ignorant souls 
disturb the skilful  and intelligent8   
,what1 ,i ask1 is the skilful and       
intelligent soul8 ,it  is that which    
knows the beginning and the end1 and the
 reason which  pervades all being1 and  

by determined cycles rules the ,universe
 for  all time4    #cc4 ,in a little    
space you will be only ashes and dry    
bones and a name1  perhaps not even     
that4 ,a name is but so much empty sound
 and echo1 and  the things which are so 
much prized in life are empty1 mean1 and
  rotten4 ,we are as puppies that snap  
at one another1 as children that        
quarrel1 laugh1 and presently weep      
again4 ,but integrity1 modesty1         
justice1 and truth1          ,up from   
the wide-wayed earth have soared to     
heaven4    ,what then should detain you 
here8 ,things sensible are ever changing
  and unstable4 ,the senses are dull and
 easily deceived4 ,the poor soul  itself
 is a mere exhalation from blood4 ,fame 
in such a world is a  thing of naught4  
,what then8 ,you await calmly extinction
 or  transformation1 whichever it may   
be4 ,and till the fulness of the time   
be come what is to suffice you8 ,what   
else than a life spent in fearing  and  
praising the ,gods1 and in the practice 

of benevolence1 toleration  and         
forbearance towards men8 ,and whatsoever
 lies beyond the bounds of  flesh and   
breath1 remember that it is neither     
yours nor in your power4    #cd4 ,a     
prosperous life may be yours if only you
 can take the right  path1 and keep to  
it in all you think or do4 ,two         
advantages are common  to ,gods1 to men1
 and to every rational soul4 ,in the    
first place1  nothing external to       
themselves has power to hinder them4 ,in
 the  second1 their happiness lies in   
having mind and conduct disposed to     
justice1 and in the power to make that  
the end of all desire4    #ce4 ,if the  
fault be not my sin1 nor a consequence  
of it1 if there be  no damage to the    
common good1 why am ,i perturbed about  
it8 ,wherein is  the harm to the common 
good8    #cf4 ,be not incautiously      
carried away by sentiment1 but aid him  
that  needs it according to your power  
and his desert4 ,if his need be of the  
things which are indifferent1 think not 

that he is harmed thereby1 for  so to   
think is an evil habit4 ,but as1 in the 
,comedy1 the old man begs  to have his  
fosterchild's top for a keepsake1 though
 he knows well  that it is a top and    
nothing more1 so should you act also in 
the  affairs of life4    ,you mount the 
rostra and cry aloud1 ,o man1 have you  
forgotten what is  the real value of    
what you seek8 ,no1 but the many are    
keen in their  pursuit of it4 ,are you  
then to be a fool because they are8     
,in whatever case ,i had been left ,i   
could have made my fortune3 for  what is
 it to make a fortune but to confer good
 things upon one's  self2 and true good 
things are a worthy frame of mind1      
worthy  impulses1 worthy actions4       
,,end ,,of ,,the ,,fifth ,,book4        
,,book ,,vi4    #a4 ,the substance of   
the ,universe is docile and pliable4    
,the mind which  governs it has in      
itself no source of evil-doing4 ,it has 
no malice3 it  does no ill1 and nothing 
is hurt by it4 ,by its guidance all     

things  come to be1 and fulfil their    
being4    #b4 ,act the part which is    
worthy of you1 regarding not whether you
 be  stiff with cold or comfortably     
warm2 whether you be drowsy or          
refreshed with sleep2 whether you be in 
good report or bad2 whether  you be     
dying or upon some other business4 ,for 
death also is one piece  of the business
 of life1 and1 here as elsewhere1 it is 
enough to do  well what comes to our    
hand4    #c4 ,look within4 ,let not the 
proper quality or value of anything     
escape  you4    #d4 ,all that exists    
will very speedily change2 by           
rarefaction1 if all  substance be one2  
otherwise by dispersion4    #e4 ,the    
guiding mind knows what its own         
condition is1 how1 and upon  what matter
 its work is done4    #f4 ,the best     
revenge is not to copy him that wronged 
you4    #g4 ,find your sole delight and 
recreation in proceeding from one       
unselfish action to another1 with ,god  
ever in mind4    #h4 ,the ruling part of

 you is that which rouses and steers    
itself1  making itself what it wishes to
 be1 and making all that happens take   
such appearance as it will4    #i4 ,all 
things are accomplished according to the
 will of universal  nature4 ,there is no
 other nature to influence them which   
either  comprehends the former from     
without1 or is contained within it1 or  
exists externally1 and independent of   
it4    #aj4 ,the ,universe is either a  
confusion ravelled and unravelled again1
  or else a unity compact of order and  
forethought4 ,if it be the former1  why 
should ,i wish to linger amid this      
aimless chaos and confusion1 or  have   
any further care than how to become     
earth again8 ,nay1 why am ,i  disturbed 
at all8 ,dissolution will overtake me1  
do what ,i please4 ,but1  if the latter 
be the case1 ,i adore the ,ruler of all 
things1 ,i stand  firm1 and put my trust
 in him4    #aa4 ,whenever your         
situation forces trouble upon you1      
return quickly to  yourself1 and        

interrupt the rhythm of life no longer  
than you are  compelled4 ,your grasp of 
the harmony will grow surer by continual
  recurrence to it4    #ab4 ,had you at 
one time both a step-mother and a       
mother1 you would  respect the former1  
yet you would be more constantly in your
 mother's  company4 ,your court and your
 philosophy are step-mother and mother  
to  you4 ,return then frequently to your
 true mother1 and recreate yourself     
with her4 ,her consolation can make the 
court seem bearable to you1 and  you to 
it4    #ac4 ,keep these thoughts for    
meats and eatables3 ,this that is before
 me  is the dead carcase of a fish1 a   
fowl1 a hog4 ,this ,falernian is but a  
little grape juice4 ,think of your      
purple robes as sheep's wool stained  in
 the blood of a shell-fish4 ,such       
conceptions1 which touch reality so     
near1 and set forth the sum and         
substance of these objects1 are         
powerful indeed to display to us their  
despicable value4 ,in this  spirit we   

should act throughout life2 and when    
things of great  apparent worth present 
themselves1 we should strip them naked1 
view  their meanness1 and cast aside the
 glowing description which makes  them  
seem so glorious4 ,vanity is a great    
sophist1 and most imposes on  us when we
 believe ourselves to be busy about the 
noblest  ends4 ,remember the saying of  
,crates about ,xenocrates himself4      
#ad4 ,most objects of vulgar admiration 
may be referred to certain  general     
classes4 ,there are1 first1 those which 
hold together by  cohesion or by some   
organic unity1 such as stone1 timber1   
figs1 vines  or olives4 ,the things     
which men1 a shade more reasonable1     
admire are  referred to the class which 
possesses animal life such as is seen in
  flocks and herds4 ,when man's taste is
 still more cultured his  admiration    
turns to things which can show a        
rational intelligence4 ,but  he admires 
this intelligence not as a universal    
principle1 but only so  far as he finds 

it expressed in art or industry1 or1    
indeed1 sometimes  merely so far as it  
is exhibited by his retinue of artist   
slaves4 ,but  he who values rational    
intelligence as a universal thing1 and  
as a  social force1 will care nothing   
for these other objects of  admiration4 
,he will1 above all things1 strive to   
preserve his own mind  in all its       
rational and social instincts and       
activities2 and to this  end he will    
co-operate with any of his kind4    #ae4
 ,some things hasten into being4 ,some  
hasten to be no more4 ,even as  a thing 
is born some part of it is already dead4
 ,flux and change are  constantly       
renewing the world1 just as the unbroken
 flow of time ever  presents to us some 
new portion of eternity4 ,in this vast  
river1 on  whose bosom there is no      
tarrying1 what is there among the things
 that  sweep by us that is worth the    
prizing8 ,it is as if a man grew fond of
  one among a passing flight of         
sparrows1 when already it had vanished  

from his sight4 ,our life itself is much
 like a vapour of the blood or  a       
drawing in of air4 ,our momentary       
actions of inhalation and  exhalation   
are one in kind with that whole power of
 breathing which1  yesterday or the day 
before1 we received at birth1 and which 
we must  restore again to the source    
from whence we drew it4    #af4 ,it is a
 small privilege to transpire like      
plants1 or even to  breathe as cattle or
 wild beasts do4 ,to feel the           
impressions of sense1  to be swayed like
 puppets by passion1 to herd together   
and to live by  bread2 all this is no   
great thing4 ,there is nothing here     
superior to  our power of discharging   
our superfluous food4 ,what1 then1 is of
  value8 ,to be received with clapping  
of hands8 ,no4 ,neither1 therefore1  is 
the applause of tongues more valuable1  
for the praises of the  multitude are   
naught but the idle clapping of tongues4
 ,dismiss the  vanity called fame1 and  
what remains to be prized8 ,this1 ,i    

think3 in  all things to act1 or to     
restrain yourself from action1 as best  
suits  the particular structure of your 
nature4 ,this is the end of all arts    
and studies1 for every art aims at      
making what it produces well  adapted to
 the work for which it was designed4    
,the gardener1 the  vine-dresser1 the   
horse-breaker1 the dog-trainer all try  
for this2 and  what else is the aim of  
all education and teaching8 ,here1 then1
 is  what you may truly value3 this well
 won1 you will seek for nothing  more4  
,will you1 then1 cease valuing the      
multitude of other things8 ,if  you do  
not1 you will never attain to freedom1  
self-sufficiency1 or  tranquillity4 ,you
 cannot escape envying1 suspecting1 and 
striving  against those who have the    
power to deprive you of your cherished  
objects1 nor plotting against men who   
are in possession of that on  which you 
set your heart4 ,the man who lacks any  
of these things must1  of necessity1 be 
distracted1 and be for ever complaining 

against the  ,gods4 ,but reverence and  
respect for your own intelligence will  
bring  you to agreement with yourself1  
into concord with mankind1 and into     
harmony with the ,gods1 whom you will   
praise for all their good gifts  and    
guidance4    #ag4 ,upward1 downward1    
round and round run the courses of the  
elements4 ,but the course of virtue is  
like none of these2 it follows a        
diviner path1 well-directed in a way    
that is hard for us to  understand4     
#ah4 ,strange are the ways of men6 ,they
 can speak no good word of the          
contemporaries with whom they live2 yet 
they count it a great thing to  gain the
 praises of a posterity whom they never 
saw nor shall see4 ,as  well might we   
grieve because we cannot hear the       
praises of our  ancestors4    #ai4 ,if a
 thing seems to you very difficult to   
accomplish1 conclude not  that it is    
beyond human power4 ,but1 if you see    
that anything is within  man's power1   
and part of his proper work1 conclude   

that you also may  attain to it4    #bj4
 ,in the gymnasium1 if some one         
scratches us with his nails1 or in a    
sudden onset bruises our head1 we       
express no resentment2 we are not       
offended2 nor do we suspect him for the 
future as one who is plotting  against  
us4 ,we are on our guard against him1 it
 is true1 but not as  against an enemy  
or a suspected person4 ,in all good     
humour we simply  keep out of his way4  
,let us thus behave in other affairs of 
life1 and  overlook the many injuries   
which are done to us1 as it were1 by our
  antagonists in the gymnasium of the   
world4 ,as ,i said1 we may keep out  of 
their way1 but without suspicion or     
hatred4    #ba4 ,if any one can convince
 or shew me that ,i am wrong in thought 
or  deed1 ,i will gladly change4 ,it is 
truth that ,i seek2 and truth never  yet
 hurt any man4 ,what does hurt is       
persistence in error or in  ignorance4  
#bb4 ,i do my duty1 and for the rest am 
not distracted by anything which  is    

inanimate or irrational1 or which has   
lost or ignores the proper  way4    #bc4
 ,use the brute creation1 and also all  
material things1 in the  spirit of      
magnanimity and freedom which becomes   
him who has reason in  using that which 
has it not4 ,towards men1 who have      
reason1 act in a  social spirit4 ,in    
every business call the ,gods to aid    
thee1 nor  trouble how long this        
business shall endure2 three hours spent
 therein  may suffice you4    #bd4      
,alexander of ,macedon and his muleteer1
 when they died1 were in a  like        
condition4 ,they were either alike      
resumed into the seminal source  of all 
things1 or alike dispersed among the    
atoms4    #be4 ,consider all the many   
things1 both physical and spiritual1    
that  are adoing within each of us at   
the very same instant of time2 and you  
will wonder the less at the far greater 
multitudes of things1 even all  that is1
 which exist together in the one-and-all
 which we call the  ,universe4    #bf4  

,should some one ask you how the name   
,antoninus is written1 would  you not   
carefully pronounce to him each one of  
the letters8 ,should he  then begin an  
angry dispute about it1 would you also  
grow angry1 and  not rather mildly count
 over the several letters to him8 ,thus 
in life  remember that each duty is made
 up of a number of elements4 ,we should 
observe all these calmly2 and1 without  
anger at those who are angry  with us1  
we should set about accomplishing the   
task which lies before  us4    #bg4 ,is 
it not cruel to restrain men from       
pursuing what appears to be  their own  
advantage8 ,and yet1 in a manner1 you   
deny them this liberty  when you shew   
anger at their errors4 ,men are         
assuredly attracted to  what seems to be
 their own advantage4 ,yes1 you say1 but
 it is not  their advantage4 ,instruct  
them1 then1 and make this evident to    
them1  but without anger4    #bh4 ,death
 is the cessation of the sensual        
impressions1 of the impulses  of the    

passions1 of the questionings of reason1
 and of the servitude  to the flesh4    
#bi4 ,it is shame and dishonour that1 in
 any man's life1 the soul should  faint 
from its duty while the body still holds
 out4    #cj4 ,see to it that you fall  
not into ,caesarism3 avoid that stain1  
for  it may come to you4 ,guard your    
simplicity1 your goodness1 your         
sincerity1 your dignity1 your reticence1
 your love of justice1 your  piety1 your
 kindliness1 your affection for your    
kin1 and your  constancy to your duty4  
,endeavour earnestly to continue such as
  philosophy would make you4 ,reverence 
the ,gods1 and help mankind4 ,life  is  
short1 and the one fruit of it in this  
world is a pure mind and  unselfish     
conduct4 ,be in all things the disciple 
of ,antonine4 ,imitate  his resolute    
constancy to rational action1 his level 
equability1 his  godliness1 his serenity
 of countenance1 his sweetness of       
temper1 his  contempt of vainglory1 his 
keen attempts to comprehend things4     

,remember  how he never quitted any     
subject till he had thoroughly examined 
it  and understood it1 and how he bore  
with those who blamed him unjustly1     
without making any angry retort3 how he 
was never in a hurry2 how he            
discouraged calumny2 how closely he     
scanned the manners and actions of  men2
 how cautious he was in reproaching any 
man2 how free from fear1  suspicion1 or 
sophistry2 how little contented him in  
the matter of  house1 furniture1 dress1 
food1 servants2 how patient he was of   
labour1  and how slow to anger4 ,so     
abstemious was his life that he could   
hold  out until evening without         
relieving himself1 except at the usual  
hour4 ,what a firm and loyal friend he  
was2 how patient of frank  opposition to
 his opinions2 how glad if any one could
 set him right6  ,how religious he was1 
and yet how free from superstition6     
,follow in  his steps that your last    
hour may find you with a conscience as  
easy  as his4    #ca4 ,sober yourself1  

recall your senses4 ,shake sleep from   
you1 and know  that it was a dream that 
troubled you2 and1 now that you are     
broad  awake again1 regard the waking   
world as you did the dream4    #cb4 ,i  
am made up of a frail body and a soul4  
,to the body all things  are            
indifferent1 because it cannot          
distinguish them2 and to the mind  all  
things are indifferent also which arise 
not from its own  activities4 ,all these
 are indeed in its own power1 but it is 
concerned  with only such of them as are
 present4 ,its past and future          
activities  are indifferent to it now4  
#cc4 ,no toil for hand or foot is       
against ,nature1 so long as it is       
proper for hand or foot to do4 ,no more1
 then1 is toil contrary to the  nature  
of man1 as man1 so long as he is doing  
work appointed for man  to do2 and if it
 be not contrary to his nature it cannot
 be evil for  him4    #cd4 ,how many are
 the pleasures that have been enjoyed by
 robbers1  rakes1 parricides1 and       

tyrants6    #ce4 ,do you not see how    
common artificers1 though they may      
humour the  public to a certain extent1 
cling to the rules of their art1 and    
cannot endure to depart from them8 ,is  
it not grievous1 then1 that the         
architect and the physician should shew 
greater respect for the rules  of their 
several professions1 than man shews for 
his own reason1 which  he possesses in  
common with the ,gods8    #cf4 ,asia and
 ,europe are mere corners of the        
,universe3 the whole sea is  but a drop1
 ,athos a clod4 ,all the present is but 
an instant in  eternity4 ,all things are
 small1 changeable1 and fleeting4       
,everything  proceeds from the universal
 intelligence1 either directly or as a  
consequence4 ,thus1 the jaws of lions1  
poisons1 all evil things such as  thorns
 or mire1 are the consequences of the   
grand and the  beautiful4 ,do not1 then1
 imagine that they are foreign to that  
which  you revere1 but consider well the
 source of all things4    #cg4 ,he who  

has seen the present has seen all that  
either has been from  all eternity1 or  
will be to all eternity1 for all things 
are alike in  kind and form4    #ch4    
,consider frequently the connexion of   
all things in the ,universe1  and their 
relation to each other4 ,all things are 
in a manner  intermingled with one      
another1 and are1 therefore1 mutually   
friendly4 ,for one thing comes in due   
order after another1 by virtue of  local
 movements1 and of the harmony and unity
 of the whole4    #ci4 ,adapt yourself  
to the things which your destiny has    
given you3  love those with whom it is  
your lot to live1 and love them with    
sincere affection4    #dj4 ,a tool1 an  
instrument1 a utensil1 is in good case  
when it is fit  for its proper work3 yet
 its maker remains not by it4 ,but      
within the  organisms of ,nature there  
remains and resides the power which made
  them4 ,you ought1 therefore1 to       
reverence this power the more1          
believing that if you act in deference  

to its will1 all will happen to  you in 
reason2 for so in reason the ,universe  
ranges all4    #da4 ,whenever we imagine
 that anything which lies not in our    
power is  good or evil for us1 if the   
evil befall us or if we miss the good1  
we  inevitably blame the ,gods1 and hate
 the men who are1 or whom we  suspect to
 be1 the cause of our disaster or our   
loss4 ,our solicitude  about such things
 leads to much injustice2 but if we     
judge only the  things that are in our  
power to be good or evil1 there is no   
reason  left for accusing the ,gods or  
for hating men4    #db4 ,we are all     
co-operating in one great work1 some    
with knowledge and  understanding1      
others ignorantly and without design4   
,it is in this  sense1 ,i think1 that   
,heraclitus says that men are working   
even while  they sleep1 working together
 in all that is being done in the       
,universe4 ,each works in a different   
way2 and even those contribute          
abundantly who murmur and try to oppose 

and to frustrate the course of  nature4 
,the world has need even of such as     
these4 ,it remains then for  you to make
 sure which is the class in which you   
rank yourself4 ,the  presiding mind will
 assuredly use you to good purpose one  
way or  other2 and will enlist you among
 its labourers and fellow-workers4 ,but 
see to it that the part that falls to   
you lie not in the vulgar comic  passage
 of the play1 of which ,chrysippus has  
spoken4    #dc4 ,does the sun pretend to
 perform the work of the rain1 or       
,aesculapius that of ,ceres8 ,what of   
the several stars8 ,are they not        
different1 yet all jointly working for  
the same end8    #dd4 ,if the ,gods took
 counsel about me and what should befall
 me1  doubtless then-counsel was good4  
,it is difficult to imagine ,gods       
wanting in forethought1 and what could  
move them to do me wilful harm8  ,what  
advantage would thence accrue1 either to
 themselves or to the  ,universe which  
is their special care8 ,if they have not

 taken counsel  about me in particular1 
they certainly have done so about the   
common  interest of the ,universe1 and  
,i therefore should accept cheerfully   
and  contentedly the fate which is the  
outcome of their ordinance4 ,if1        
indeed1 they take no counsel about      
anything 7which it were impious to      
believe71 then let us quit our          
sacrifices1 our prayers1 and our oaths1 
and all acts of devotion which we now   
perform as if they lived and  moved     
amongst us4 ,but1 granting that the     
,gods take no thought for my  affairs1  
,i may still deliberate about myself4   
,it is my business to  consider my own  
interest4 ,now1 each man's interest is  
that which  agrees with the structure of
 his nature1 and my nature is rational  
and  social4 ,as ,antoninus1 my city and
 my country is ,rome2 as a human being  
it is the world4 ,that alone1 then1     
which profits these two cities can      
profit me4    #de4 ,all that happens to 
the individual is of profit to the      

whole4 ,this  would suffice4 ,but if you
 consider closely you will see that it  
is  also a general truth that all that  
happens to one man is of profit to  the 
rest of mankind4 ,profit here should be 
taken in a somewhat  general sense1 as  
referring to things indifferent4    #df4
 ,in the amphitheatre and other such    
resorts the same or similar  spectacles1
 continually presented1 cloy at last4   
,it is even so in all  our experience of
 life4 ,all things1 first and last1 are 
alike1 and  like derived4 ,when shall   
the end be8    #dg4 ,think continually  
of all the men that are dead and gone1  
men of  every sort and condition1 of all
 manner of pursuits1 and of every       
nation4 ,return back to ,philistion1    
,phoebus1 and ,origanion4 ,pass down  to
 other generations of the dead4 ,we must
 all change our habitation  and go to   
that place whither so many great        
orators1 so many venerable              
philosophers1 ,heraclitus1 ,pythagoras1 
,socrates1 and so many heroes  have gone

 before1 and so many generals and       
princes have followed4 ,add  to these   
,eudoxus1 ,hipparchus1 ,archimedes1 and 
other keen1 great1  laborious1 cunning  
and arrogant spirits2 yea1 such as have 
wittily  derided this fading mortal life
 which is but for a day1 as did         
,menippus and his brethren4 ,consider   
that all these are long since in  their 
graves4 ,and wherein here is the harm   
for them2 or even for men  whose names  
are not remembered8 ,the one precious   
thing in life is to  spend it in a      
steady course of truth and justice1 with
 kindliness even  for the false and the 
unjust4    #dh4 ,when you would cheer   
your heart1 consider the several        
excellencies  of those that live around 
you4 ,consider the activity of one1 the 
modesty of another1 the generosity of a 
third1 and the other virtues  of the    
rest4 ,nothing rejoices the heart so    
much as instances1 the more  the better1
 of goodness manifested in the          
characters of those around  us4 ,let us1

 therefore1 have such instances ever    
present for  reflection4    #di4 ,are   
you grieved that you weigh only these   
few pounds1 and not  three hundred8 ,if 
not1 is there greater reason to sorrow  
if you live  only so many years and no  
longer8 ,you are satisfied with your    
allotted  quantity of matter2 content   
yourself then likewise with the span of 
time appointed you4    #ej4 ,try to     
persuade men to agree with you2 but     
whether they agree or  not1 pursue the  
course you have marked out when the     
principles of  justice point that way4  
,should one oppose you by force1 act    
with  resignation1 and shew not that you
 are hurt1 use the obstruction for  the 
exercise of some other virtue1 and      
remember that your purpose  involved the
 reservation that you were not to aim at
 impossibilities4  ,what1 after all1 was
 your aim8 ,to make some good effort    
such as  this4 ,well1 then1 you have    
succeeded1 even though your first       
purpose  be not accomplished4    #ea4   

,the vain-glorious man places his       
happiness in the action of  others4 ,the
 sensualist finds it in his own         
sensations4 ,the wise man  realizes it  
in his own work4    #eb4 ,you have it in
 your power to form no opinion about    
this or that1  and so to have peace of  
mind4 ,things material have no power to 
form  our opinions for us4    #ec4      
,accustom yourself to attend closely to 
what is said by others1 and  as far as  
possible to penetrate into the mind of  
the speaker4    #ed4 ,what profits not  
the swarm profits not the bee4    #ee4  
,if the sailors revile their pilot1 or  
the sick their physician1  whom will    
they follow or obey8 ,and how will the  
one secure safety to  the crew1 or the  
other health to the patients8    #ef4   
,how many who entered the world with me 
are already departed6    #eg4 ,to the   
jaundiced1 honey seems bitter2 and water
 is a thing of  dread to those bitten by
 mad dogs4 ,to boys a ball is a glorious
  thing4 ,why1 then1 am ,i angry8 ,has  

error in the mind less power than a     
little bile in the jaundiced1 or a      
little poison in him who is bitten8     
#eh4 ,no man can prevent you from living
 according to the plan of your  nature2 
and nothing can befall you which is     
contrary to the plan of  the nature of  
the ,universe4    #ei4 ,consider what   
men are2 whom they seek to please2 what 
they expect  to gain1 and how they go   
about to compass their ends4 ,think how 
soon  eternity will shroud all things1  
and how much is already shrouded4       
,,end ,,of ,,the ,,sixth ,,book4        
,,book ,,vii4    #a4 ,what is vice8 ,it 
is what you have often seen4 ,in every  
instance of  it keep in mind that you   
have often seen the like before4 ,search
 up  and down2 you will find sameness   
everywhere4 ,among the events which     
fill the history of ancient1 middle1 and
 present ages2 among the  things of     
which our cities and our households are 
full to-day1 nothing  is new1 all is    
familiar and fleeting4    #b4 ,how can  

the great principles of life become dead
 if the impressions  which correspond to
 them be not extinguished8 ,these       
impressions you  may still rekindle4 ,i 
can always form the proper opinion of   
this or  that2 and1 if so1 why am ,i    
disturbed8 ,what is external to my mind 
is  of no consequence to it4 ,learn     
this1 and you stand upright2 you can    
always renew your life4 ,see things     
again as once you saw them1 and  your   
life is made new again4    #c4 ,your    
vain concern for shows1 for stage plays1
 for flocks and herds1  your little     
combats1 are as bones cast for the      
contention of puppies1  as baits dropped
 into a fishpond1 as the toil of ants   
and the burdens  that they bear1 as the 
scampering of frightened mice1 or the   
antics of  puppets jerked by wires4 ,it 
is then your duty amid all this to stand
  firm1 kindly and not proud1 yet to    
understand that a man's worth is  just  
the worth of that which he pursues4     
#d4 ,in conversation we should give good

 heed to what is said1 and in  every    
enterprise we should attend to what is  
done4 ,in the latter case1  at once look
 to the end in view1 and1 in the former1
 note the meaning  intended4    #e4 ,is 
my understanding sufficient for this    
business or not8 ,if it be  sufficient1 
,i use it for the work in hand as an    
instrument given to me  by nature4 ,if  
it be not sufficient1 ,i either give    
place to one better  fitted for the     
achievement1 or1 if for some reason this
 be not a  proper course1 ,i do it as   
best ,i can1 taking the aid of those    
who1 by  directing my mind1 can         
accomplish something fit and serviceable
 for  the common good4 ,for all that ,i 
do1 whether by myself or with the help  
of others1 should be directed solely    
towards what is fit and useful  for the 
public service4    #f4 ,how many of     
those who were once so mightily         
acclaimed are delivered  up to oblivion6
 ,and how many of those who acclaimed   
them are dead and  gone this many a day6

    #g4 ,be not ashamed of taking       
assistance4 ,it is laid upon you to do  
your  part1 as on a soldier when the    
wall is stormed4 ,what1 then1 if you are
  lame1 and cannot scale the battlements
 alone1 but can with another's  help8   
#h4 ,be not troubled about the future4  
,you will come to it1 if need be1  with 
the same power to reason1 as you use    
upon your present business4    #i4 ,all 
things are twined together1 in one      
sacred bond4 ,scarce is there  one thing
 quite foreign to another4 ,they are all
 ranged together1 and  leagued to form  
the same ordered whole4 ,the ,universe1 
compact of all  things1 is one2 through 
all things runs one divinity2 being is  
one2  and law1 which is the reason      
common to all intelligent creatures2 and
  truth is one as well1 that is if there
 be but one sort of perfection  possible
 to all beings which are of the same    
nature and partake of the  same rational
 power4    #aj4 ,everything material is 
soon engulfed in the matter of the      

whole1  and every active cause is       
swiftly resumed into the ,universal     
reason4 ,the memory of all things is    
quickly buried in eternity4    #aa4 ,in 
the reasoning being to act according to 
nature is to act  according to reason4  
#ab4 ,be upright either by nature or by 
correction4    #ac4 ,in an organic unity
 bodily members play the same part as   
reasoning  beings among separate        
existences1 since both are fitted for   
one joint  operation4 ,this thought will
 come home to you the more vividly if   
you  say often to yourself3 ,i am a     
member of the mighty organism which is  
made up of reasoning beings4 ,if1       
instead of a member1 you say that  you  
are merely a part1 you have not as yet  
attained to a heartfelt  love of        
mankind4 ,as yet you love not well-doing
 for its own sake  alone1 and you still 
perform your bare duty1 with no thought 
that you  are your own benefactor by the
 deed4    #ad4 ,from the world without  
let what will affect whatever parts are 

subject to such affection4 ,let the part
 which suffers complain1 if it  will1 of
 the suffering4 ,but ,i1 if ,i admit not
 that the hap is evil1  remain          
uninjured4 ,not to admit it is surely in
 my power4    #ae4 ,let any one say or  
do what he pleases1 ,i must be a good   
man4 ,it is  just as gold1 or emeralds1 
or purple might say continually3 ,let   
men  do or say what they please1 ,i must
 be an emerald1 and retain my  lustre4  
#af4 ,the soul which rules you vexes not
 itself4 ,it does not1 for  example1    
awake its own fears or arouse its own   
desires4 ,if another can  raise grief or
 terror in it1 let him do so4 ,by its   
own impressions it  will not be led into
 such emotions4    ,let the body take   
thought1 if it can1 for itself1 lest it 
suffer  anything1 and complain when it  
suffers4 ,the soul1 by means of which we
  experience fear and sorrow1 and by    
means of which1 indeed1 we receive  any 
impression of these1 will admit no      
suffering4 ,you cannot force it  to any 

such opinion4    ,the ruling part is1 in
 itself1 free from all dependence1      
unless it  makes itself dependent4      
,similarly1 it may be free from all     
disturbance  and obstruction1 if it does
 not disturb and obstruct itself4       
#ag4 ,to have good fortune is to have a 
good spirit1 or a good  mind4 ,what do  
you here1 ,imagination8 ,be gone1 ,i    
say1 even as you  came4 ,i have no need 
for you4 ,you came1 you say1 after your 
ancient  fashion3 ,i am not angry with  
you1 only1 be gone6    #ah4 ,do you     
dread change8 ,what can come without it8
 ,what can be pleasanter  or more proper
 to universal nature8 ,can you heat your
 bath unless wood  undergoes a change8  
,can you be fed unless a change is      
wrought upon  your food8 ,can any useful
 thing be done without changes8 ,do you 
not  see1 then1 that this change also   
which is working in you is even such  as
 these1 and alike necessary to the      
nature of the ,universe8    #ai4        
,through the substance of the ,universe1

 as through a torrent1 all  bodies are  
borne4 ,they are all of the same nature1
 and fellow-workers  with the whole1    
even as our several members are         
fellow-workers with  one another4 ,how  
many a ,chrysippus1 how many a          
,socrates1 how many an  ,epictetus hath 
the course of ages swallowed up6 ,let   
this thought be  with you about every   
man1 and upon all occasions4    #bj4    
,for this alone ,i am concerned2 that ,i
 do nothing that suits not  the nature  
of man1 nothing as man's nature would   
not have it1 nothing  that it wishes not
 yet4    #ba4 ,the time is at hand when 
you shall forget all things1 and when   
all  shall forget you4    #bb4 ,it is   
man's special business to love even     
those who err2 and to  this love you    
attain1 if it is borne in upon you that 
even these  sinners are your kin1 and   
that they offend through ignorance and  
against their will4 ,remember also that 
in a little while both you and  they    
must die3 remember before all things    

that they have not harmed  you1 for they
 have not made your soul worse than it  
was before4    #bc4 ,presiding nature   
from the universal substance1 as from   
wax1 now  forms a horse1 now breaks it  
up again1 making of its matter a tree1  
afterwards a man1 and again something   
different4 ,each of these shapes        
subsists but for a little4 ,yet there is
 nothing dreadful for the chest  in     
being taken to pieces1 any more than    
there formerly was in being  put        
together4    #bd4 ,a wrathful look is   
completely against nature4 ,when the    
countenance  is often thus deformed1 its
 beauty dies1 in the end is quenched for
  ever1 and cannot be revived again4    
,seek to comprehend from this very  fact
 that it is against reason4 ,and if the 
sense of moral evil be gone  as well1   
why should a man wish to remain alive8  
#be4 ,in a little space ,nature1 the    
supreme and universal ruler1 will       
change all things that you behold2 out  
of their substance she will  make other 

things1 and others again out of the     
substance of these1 so  that the        
,universe may be ever new4    #bf4      
,whenever someone offends you1 consider 
straightway how he has  erred in his    
conceptions of good or evil4 ,when you  
see where his error  lies you will pity 
him1 and be neither surprised nor angry4
 ,indeed you  yourself perhaps still    
wrongly count good the same things as he
 does1  or things just like them4 ,your 
duty then is to forgive4 ,and1 if you   
cease from these false ideas of good and
 bad1 you will find it the  easier to   
grant indulgence to him who is still    
mistaken4    #bg4 ,dwell not on what you
 lack so much as on what you have       
already4 ,select the best of what you   
have1 and consider how  passionately you
 would have longed for it had it not    
been yours4 ,yet  be watchful1 lest by  
this joy in what you have you accustom  
yourself  to value it too highly2 so    
that1 if it should fail1 you would be   
distressed4    #bh4 ,retire within      

yourself4 ,the reasoning power that     
rules you  naturally finds contentment  
with itself in just dealing1 and in the 
calm which such dealing brings4    #bi4 
,blot out imagination4 ,check the brutal
 impulses of the  passions4 ,confine    
your energies to the present time4      
,observe clearly  all that happens      
either to yourself or to another4       
,divide and analyse  all objects into   
cause and matter4 ,take thought for your
 last  hour4 ,let another's sin remain  
where the guilt lies4    #cj4 ,apply    
your mind to what is said4 ,penetrate   
all happenings and the  causes thereof4 
#ca4 ,rejoice yourself with simplicity1 
modesty1 and indifference to all  things
 that lie between good and bad4 ,love   
mankind1 and obey ,god4 ,all  things1   
says someone1 go by law and order4 ,but 
what if there be  naught beyond the     
atoms8 ,even if that be so1 suffice it  
to remember  that all things1 save very 
few1 are swayed by law4    #cb4         
,concerning death3 ,if the ,universe be 

a concourse of atoms1 death  is a       
scattering of these2 if it be an ordered
 unity1 death is an  extinction or a    
translation to another state4    #cc4   
,concerning pain3 ,pain which cannot be 
borne brings us  deliverance4 ,pain that
 lasts musts needs be bearable4 ,the    
mind can  abstract itself from the body1
 and the soul takes no hurt4 ,as to the 
parts which suffer by pain1 let them1 if
 they can1 make their own  protest4     
#cd4 ,concerning glory3 ,consider the   
understanding of men1 what they  shun1  
and what they pursue4 ,and reflect that1
 as heaps of sand are  driven one upon  
another1 and the later drifts bury and  
hide those that  went before1 so1 too1  
in life the former ages are soon buried 
by the  next4    #ce4 ,this from ,plato3
 ',to the man who has true grandeur of  
mind1 and  who contemplates all time and
 all being1 can human life appear a     
great  matter8' ',impossible1' says the 
other4 ',can then such a one count death
  a thing of dread8' ',no1 indeed4'     

#cf4 ,it is a saying of ,antisthenes1   
that it is the part of a king to do     
good and reap reproach4    #cg4 ,it is a
 shameful thing that the countenance    
should obey the mind1  should compose   
and order itself as the mind bids it1   
while the mind  cannot compose and order
 itself as it wills4    #ch4 ,vain is   
all anger at external things      ,for  
they regard it nothing4--    #ci4 ,give 
joy to us and to the immortal ,gods4    
#dj4 ,for life is1 like the laden ear1  
cut down2      ,and some must fall and  
some unreaped remain4    #da4 ,me and my
 children1 if the ,gods neglect1        
,it is for some good reason4    #db4    
,for ,i keep right and justice on my    
side4    #dc4 ,weep not with them1 and  
still these throbs of woe4    #dd4 ,from
 ,plato3--,i would make him this just   
answer1 ',you are  mistaken1 my friend1 
to think that a man of any worth should 
count the  chances of living and dying4 
,should he not rather1 in all he does1  
consider simply whether he is acting    

justly or unjustly1 whether he is       
playing the part of a good man or a     
bad8'    #de4 ,he says again3--,in      
truth1 ,athenians1 the matter stands    
thus3  ,wheresoever a man has chosen his
 stand1 judging it the fittest for  him1
 or wheresoever he is stationed by his  
commander1 there1 ,i think1  he should  
stay at all hazards1 making no account  
of death1 or any  other evil but        
dishonour4    #df4 ,again3--,consider1  
my friend1 whether the truly noble and  
the  truly good be not something quite  
apart from saving and being  saved4 ,the
 man who is a man indeed should not set 
his heart on living  through a few more 
years of life1 nor should he make that  
the end of  his desire4 ,rather he      
should commit the matter to the will of 
,god2  assenting to the maxim which even
 women use1 that 'no man can elude  his 
destiny1' and studying in addition how  
he may spend the life that  remains to  
him for the best4    #dg4 ,contemplate  
the courses of the stars1 as one should 

do that  revolves along with them4      
,consider also without ceasing the      
changes of  elements1 one into another4 
,speculations upon such things cleanse  
away  the filth of this earthly life4   
#dh4 ,it is a good thought of ,plato's1 
that when we discourse of men we  should
 look down1 as from a high place1 on all
 things earthly2 on  herds and armies2  
on husbandry and marriage2 on partings1 
births1 and  deaths2 on the tumults of  
the courts of justice2 on the desert    
places  of the earth2 on the varied     
spectacle of savage nations2 on feasting
  and lamentation2 on traffic2 on the   
medley of all things1 and the  order    
which emerges from their contrariety4   
#di4 ,consider the past1 and the        
revolutions of so many ,empires2 and    
thence you may foresee what shall happen
 hereafter4 ,it will be ever  the same  
in all things2 nor can events leave the 
rhythm in which they  are now moving4   
,wherefore it is much the same to view  
human life for  forty1 as for a myriad  

of years4 ,what more is there to see8   
#ej4 ,to earth returns whatever sprang  
from earth1      ,but what's of heavenly
 seed remounts to heaven4    ,this      
imports either the loosing of a knot of 
atoms1 or a similar  dispersion of      
immutable elements4    #ea4 ,by meats   
and drinks1 and charms and magic arts   
,death's course they would divert1 and  
thus escape4      4  4  4  4  4  4  4   
,the gale that blows from ,god we must  
endure1      ,toiling1 but not          
repining44444    #eb4 ,he is a better   
wrestler than you1 but not more         
public-spirited1  more modest1 or better
 prepared for the accidents of fate2 not
 more  gentle toward the short-comings  
of his neighbours4    #ec4 ,wherever we 
can act conformably to the reason which 
is common to  ,gods and men1 there we   
have nothing to dread4 ,where we can    
profit by  prosperous activity which    
proceeds in agreement with the          
constitution  of our nature1 we need    
suspect no harm4    #ed4 ,in all places1

 and at all times you may devoutly      
accept your  present fortune1 and deal  
in justice with your present company4   
,you  may take pains to understand all  
arising imaginations1 that none may     
steal upon you before you comprehend    
them4    #ee4 ,pry not into the souls of
 others2 but rather look straight to the
  goal whither nature is leading you2   
whither the nature of the ,universe  by 
external events1 and whither your own   
nature by the tendency of  your own     
action4 ,each being must perform the    
part for which it was  created4 ,now all
 other beings are created for the sake  
of those among  them which have reason2 
as all lower things exist for the sake  
of  things superior to them2 and        
reasoning beings were created for one   
another4 ,the leading principle in man's
 nature1 then1 is the social  spirit2   
and the second is victory over the      
solicitations of the  body4 ,for it is  
proper to the workings of reason to set 
bounds to  themselves1 and never to be  

overpowered by the calls of sense or by 
the stirrings of passion1 both of which 
are animal in their  nature4 ,the       
intellect claims to reign over these1   
and never to be  subjected to them2 and 
rightly1 because it is equipped to      
command and  use all the lower powers4  
,the third element in the constitution  
of a  reasoning being is caution against
 rashness and error4 ,let the soul go   
forth straight upon her way in the      
possession of these principles1 and  she
 stands seized of her full estate4      
#ef4 ,consider yourself as dead1 your   
life as finished and past4 ,live  what  
yet remains according to ,nature's laws1
 as an overplus granted to  you beyond  
your hope4    #eg4 ,love that only which
 is your hap1 which comes upon you as   
your  part in ,fate's great spinning4   
,what1 indeed1 can fit you better8      
#eh4 ,upon every accident keep in view  
those to whom the like has  happened4   
,they stormed at the event1 wondered and
 complained4 ,but now  where are they8  

,they are gone for ever4 ,why should you
 act the like  part8 ,leave these       
unnatural commotions to fickle men who  
change and  are changed4 ,yourself take 
thought how you may make good use of    
such  events4 ,good use for them there  
is2 they will make matter for good      
actions4 ,let it be your sole effort and
 desire to gain your own  approval in   
every action2 and remember that the     
material objects of  both that effort   
and of that desire are things           
indifferent4    #ei4 ,look inward4      
,within is the fountain of ,good4 ,dig  
constantly and it  will ever well forth4
    #fj4 ,keep the body steady1 without 
irregularity1 whether in its motions  or
 in its postures4 ,for1 as the soul     
shews itself in the countenance  by a   
wise and graceful air1 it should require
 the same expressive  power of the whole
 body4 ,but all this must be practised  
without  affectation4    #fa4 ,the art  
of ,life is more like that of the       
wrestler than of the  dancer2 for the   

wrestler must always be ready on his    
guard1 and stand  firm against the      
sudden1 unforeseen efforts of his       
adversary4    #fb4 ,consider constantly 
what manner of men they are whose       
approbation  you desire1 and what may be
 the character of their souls4 ,then you
  will neither accuse such as err       
unwillingly1 nor need their             
commendation when you look into the     
springs of their opinions and  their    
desires4    #fc4 ,every soul1 says      
,plato1 parts unwillingly with truth4   
,you may  say the same of justice1      
temperance1 good-nature1 and every      
virtue4 ,it  is most necessary to keep  
this ever in mind2 for1 if you do1 you  
will  be more kindly towards all men4   
#fd4 ,in all pain keep in mind that     
there is no baseness in it1 that it     
cannot harm the soul which guides you1  
nor destroy that soul as a  reasoning or
 as a social force4 ,in most pain you   
may find help in the  saying of         
,epicurus1 that pain is neither         

unbearable nor everlasting1  if you bear
 in mind its narrow limits1 and allow no
 additions from  your imagination4      
,remember also that we are fretted1     
though we see it  not1 by many things   
which are of the same nature as pain1   
things such  as drowsiness1 excessive   
heat1 want of appetite4 ,when any of    
these  things annoy you1 say to yourself
 that you are giving in to pain4    #fe4
 ,look to it that you feel not towards  
the most inhuman of mankind1  as they   
feel towards their fellows4    #ff4     
,whence do we conclude that ,telauges   
had not a brighter genius than          
,socrates8 ',tis not enough that        
,socrates died more gloriously or argued
  more acutely with the sophists2 or    
that he kept watch more patiently       
through a frosty night2 or because1 when
 ordered to arrest the  innocent        
,salaminian1 he judged it more noble to 
disobey2 or because of  any stately airs
 and graces he assumed in public1 in    
which we may very  justly refuse to     

believe4 ,but1 assuming all this true1  
when we  consider ,socrates1 we must ask
 what manner of soul he had4 ,could he  
find contentment in acting with justice 
towards men1 and with piety  towards the
 ,gods1 neither vainly provoked by the  
vices of others1 nor  servilely         
flattering them in their ignorance2     
counting nothing strange  that the      
,ruler of the ,universe appointed1 not  
sinking under anything  as intolerable1 
and never yielding up his soul in       
surrender to the  passions of the flesh4
    #fg4 ,nature has not so blended the 
soul with the body that it cannot  fix  
its own bounds1 and execute its own     
office by itself4 ,it is very  possible 
to be a ,god among men1 and yet be      
recognised by  none4 ,remember that     
always1 and this as well1 that the      
happiness of  life lies in very few     
things4 ,and though you despair of      
becoming great  in ,logic or in         
,science1 you need not despair of       
becoming a free man1  full of modesty   

and unselfishness1 and of obedience unto
 ,god4    #fh4 ,it is in your power to  
live superior to all violence1 and in   
the  greatest calm of mind1 were all men
 to rail against you as they  pleased2  
and though wild beasts were to tear     
asunder the wretched  members of this   
fleshly mass which has grown with your  
growth4 ,what is  to hinder the soul    
amid all this from preserving itself in 
all  tranquillity1 in just judgments    
about surrounding things1 and in ready  
use of whatever is cast in its way8     
,judgment may say to accident3--  ,your 
real nature is this or that1 though you 
appear otherwise in the  eyes of men4   
,use may say to circumstance3--,i was   
looking for  you4 ,to me all that is    
present is ever matter for rational and 
social  virtue1 in sum1 for that art    
which is proper both to man and ,god4   
,all  that befalls is fit and familiar  
for the purposes of ,god or  man4       
,nothing is either new or intractable1  
but everything is well  known and fit to

 work upon4    #fi4 ,it is the          
perfection of morals to spend each day  
as if it were the  last of life1 without
 excitement1 without sloth1 and without 
hypocrisy4    #gj4 ,the ,gods1 who are  
immortal1 are not vexed that in a long  
eternity  they must ever bear with the  
wickedness and the multitude of         
sinners4 ,nay1 they even lavish on them 
all manner of loving care4 ,but  you1   
who are presently to cease from being1  
can1 forsooth1 endure no  more1 though  
you are one of the sinners yourself6    
#ga4 ,it is ridiculous that you flee not
 from the vice that is in  yourself1 as 
you have it in your power to do2 but are
 still striving  to flee from the vice  
in others1 which you can never do4      
#gb4 ,whatever the rational and social  
faculty finds fit neither for  rational 
nor for social ends1 it justly ranks as 
inferior to itself4    #gc4 ,when you   
have done a kind action1 another has    
benefited4 ,why do  you1 like the fools1
 require some third thing in addition--a

  reputation for benevolence or a return
 for it4    #gd4 ,no man wearies of what
 brings him gain1 and your gain lies in 
acting according to nature4 ,be not     
weary1 therefore1 of gaining by the  act
 which gives others gain4    #ge4       
,nature set about making an ordered     
universe2 and now1 either all  that is  
follows a law of necessary consequence  
and connexion1 or we  must admit that   
there is least rationality in the things
 which are  most excellent1 and which   
appear to be most special objects for   
the  impulses of the universal mind4    
,remembrance of this will give you      
calmness on many an occasion4           
,,end ,,of ,,the ,,seventh ,,book4      
,,book ,,viii4    #a4 ,for repressing   
vain glory1 it serves to remember that  
it is no  longer in your power to make  
your whole life1 even from your youth   
onwards1 a life worthy of a philosopher4
 ,it is known to many1 and you  yourself
 know also1 how far you are from wisdom4
 ,confusion is upon  you1 and it now can

 be no easy matter for you to gain the  
reputation  of a philosopher4 ,the      
conditions of your life are against it4 
,now  therefore1 as you see how the     
matter truly lies1 put from you all     
thoughts of reputation among men2 and   
let it suffice you to live so  long as  
your nature wills1 though that be but   
the scanty remnant of a  life4 ,study1  
therefore1 the will of your nature1 and 
be solicitous  about nothing else4 ,you 
have made many efforts and wandered     
much1 but  you have nowhere found       
happiness2 not in syllogisms1 not in    
riches1  not in fame or pleasure1 not in
 anything4 ,where1 then1 is it8 ,in     
acting that part which human nature     
requires4 ,how can you act that  part8  
,by holding principles as the source of 
your desires and  actions4 ,what        
principles8 ,the principles of good and 
evil3 ,that  nothing is good for a man  
which does not make him just1 temperate1
  courageous1 and free2 and that nothing
 can be evil which tends not to  make   

him the contrary of all these4    #b4   
,upon every action ask yourself1 what is
 the effect of this for me8  ,shall ,i  
never repent of it8 ,i shall presently  
be dead1 and all these  things gone4    
,what more should ,i desire if my       
present action is  becoming to an       
intelligent and a social being1 subject 
to the same law  with ,gods8    #c4     
,alexander1 ,caesar1 ,pompey1 what were 
they compared with ,diogenes1           
,heraclitus1 ,socrates8 ,these knew the 
nature of things1 their causes  and     
their matter1 and the minds within them 
were at one4 ,as to the  former1 how    
many things they schemed for1 and to how
 many were they  enslaved6    #d4 ,men  
will go their ways none the less1 though
 you burst in protest4    #e4 ,before   
all things1 be not perturbed4           
,everything comes to pass as  directed  
by universal ,nature1 and in a little   
time you will be  departed and gone1    
like ,hadrianus and ,augustus4 ,then1   
scan closely the  nature of what has    

befallen1 remembering that it is your   
duty to be a  good man4 ,do             
unflinchingly whatever man's nature     
requires1 and speak  as seems most just1
 yet in kindliness1 modesty1 and        
sincerity4    #f4 ,it is ,nature's work 
to transfer what is now here into       
another  place1 to change things1 to    
carry them hence1 and set them          
elsewhere4 ,all is change1 yet is there 
no need to fear innovation1 for  all    
obey the laws of custom1 and in equal   
measure all things are  apportioned4    
#g4 ,for every nature it is sufficient  
that it goes on its way1 and  prospers4 
,the rational nature prospers while it  
assents to no false or  uncertain       
opinion1 while it directs its impulses  
to unselfish ends  alone1 while it aims 
its desires and aversions only at the   
things  within its power1 and while it  
welcomes with contentment all that      
universal ,nature ordains4 ,the nature  
of each of us is part of  universal     
,nature1 as the leaf is part of the     

tree2 the leaf1 indeed1  is part of an  
insensible and unreasoning system which 
can be  obstructed in its workings2 but 
human nature is part of that universal  
system which cannot be impeded1 and     
which is intelligent and  just4 ,hence  
is meted out1 suitably to all1 our      
proper portions of  time1 of matter1 of 
active principle1 of powers1 and of     
events4 ,yet  look not to find that each
 several thing corresponds exactly with 
any  other4 ,consider rather the whole  
nature and circumstances of the one1    
and compare them with the whole of the  
other4    #h4 ,you lack leisure for     
reading2 but leisure to repress all     
insolence  you do not lack4 ,you have   
leisure to keep yourself superior to    
pleasure and pain and vain glory1 to    
restrain all anger against the          
ungrateful1 nay1 even to lavish loving  
care upon them4    #i4 ,let no man any  
more hear you railing on the life of the
 court2 nay1  revile it not to your own 
hearing4    #aj4 ,repentance is a       

self-reproving1 because we have         
neglected  something useful4 ,whatever  
is good must be useful in some sort1 and
  worthy of the care of a good and      
honourable man4 ,now1 such a man could  
never repent of neglecting some         
opportunity of pleasure4 ,pleasure1     
then1 is neither useful nor good4       
#aa4 ,of each thing ask3 ,what is this  
in itself and by its constitution8      
,what is its substance or matter8 ,what 
is its cause8 ,what is its  business in 
the ,universe8 ,how long shall it       
endure8    #ab4 ,when you are reluctant 
to be roused from sleep1 remember that  
it  accords with your constitution and  
with human nature to perform social     
actions4 ,sleep is common to us with the
 brutes4 ,now1 whatever accords  with   
the nature of each species must be most 
proper1 most fitting1 and  most         
delightful to it4    #ac4 ,constantly1  
and1 if possible1 on every occasion1    
apply to your  imaginations the methods 
of ,physics1 ,ethics1 and ,dialectic4   

#ad4 ,whomsoever you meet1 say          
straightway to yourself3--,what are this
  man's principles of good and evil8    
,for if he holds this or that  doctrine 
concerning pleasure and pain1 and the   
causes thereof1  concerning glory and   
infamy1 death and life1 it will seem to 
me  neither strange nor wondrous that   
this or that should be his  conduct4 ,i 
shall bear in mind that he has no choice
 but to act so4    #ae4 ,remember that1 
as 'tis folly to be surprised that a    
fig-tree bears  figs1 so is it equal    
folly to be surprised that the ,universe
 produces  those things of which it was 
ever fruitful4 ,it is folly in a        
physician  to be surprised that a man   
has fallen into a fever2 or in a pilot  
that  the wind has turned against him4  
#af4 ,remember that to change your      
course1 and to follow any man who can   
set you right is no compromise of your  
freedom4 ,the act is your own1          
performed on your own impulse and       
judgment1 and according to your own     

understanding4    #ag4 ,if the doing of 
this be in your own power1 why do it    
thus8 ,if it  be in another's1 whom do  
you accuse8 ,the atoms or the ,gods8 ,to
 accuse  either is a piece of madness4  
,therefore accuse no one4 ,set right1 if
  you can1 the cause of error2 if you   
cannot1 correct the result at  least4   
,if even that be impossible1 what       
purpose can your accusations  serve8    
,nothing should be done without a       
purpose4    #ah4 ,that which dies falls 
not out of the ,universe4 ,if then it   
stays  here1 here too it suffers a      
change1 and is resolved into those      
elements of which the world1 and you    
too1 consist4 ,these also are  changed1 
and murmur not4    #ai4 ,the horse1 the 
vine--all things are formed for some    
purpose4 ,where  is the wonder8 ,even   
the sun saith1 ,i was formed for a      
certain work2  and similarly the other  
,gods4 ,for what end are you formed8    
,for  pleasure8  ,look if your soul can 
endure this thought4    #bj4 ,nature has

 an aim in all things1 in the end and   
surcease of them  no less than in their 
beginning and continuance4 ,it is even  
as a man  casting a ball4 ,where1 then1 
is the good for the ball in its rising2 
where the harm in dropping2 where even  
is the harm when it has fallen  down8   
,where is the bubble's good while it    
holds together1 where is the  evil when 
it is broken8 ,so it is with the lamp   
which now burns and  anon goes out4     
#ba4 ,turn out the inner side of this   
body1 and view it as it is4 ,what  shall
 it become when it grows old1 or sickly1
 or decayed8 ,the praiser  and the      
praised1 the rememberer and the         
remembered are of short  continuance1   
and that in a mere corner of this narrow
 region1 where1  narrow though it be1   
men cannot live in concord1 no1 not even
 with  themselves4 ,and yet the whole   
world is but a point4    #bb4 ,attend   
well to what is before you1 whether it  
be a principle1 an  act1 or a word4     
,this your suffering is well merited1   

for you would  rather become good       
to-morrow than be good to-day4    #bc4  
,am ,i doing aught8 ,let me do it in a  
spirit of service to  mankind4 ,does    
aught befall me8 ,i accept it and refer 
it to the ,gods1  the universal source  
from which come all things in the chain 
of  consequence4    #bd4 ,the           
accompaniments of bathing3 oil1 sweat1  
filth1 foul water--how  nauseous are    
they all6 ,even so is every part of     
life1 and everything  that meets us4    
#be4 ,lucilla buried ,verus1 and soon   
followed him to the grave4 ,secunda  saw
 the death of ,maximus1 and soon herself
 died4 ,epitynchanus buried  ,diotimus1 
and then ,epitynchanus was buried4      
,antoninus mourned  ,faustina1 and      
thereafter ,antoninus was mourned4      
,celer buried ,hadrian1  and then ,celer
 was buried4 ,all go the same way4 ,the 
cunning men who  foretold the fates of  
others1 or who swelled with pride--where
 are  they now8 ,where are these keen   
wits1 ,charax1 and ,demetrius the       

,platonist1 and ,eudaemon1 and their    
like8 ,all were for a day1 and are  long
 dead and gone2 some scarce remembered  
even for a little after  death2 some    
turned to fables2 some faded even from  
the memory of  tales4 ,wherefore        
remember this3 either the poor mixture  
which is you1  must be dispersed1 or the
 faint breath of life must be quenched1 
or  removed and brought into another    
place4    #bf4 ,the joy of man is to do 
his proper business4 ,and his proper    
business is to be kindly to his fellows1
 to rise above the stirrings  of sense1 
to be critical of every plausible       
imagination1 and to  contemplate        
universal ,nature and all her           
consequences4    #bg4 ,we have all of us
 three relations3 the first to the      
manifold  occasions of our state2 the   
second to the supreme divine cause from 
which proceed all things unto all men2  
the third to those with whom we  live4  
#bh4 ,pain is either an evil to the     
body2 and then let the body so  declare 

it2 or an evil to the soul4 ,but the    
soul can maintain her own  serenity and 
calm2 and refuse to conceive pain as an 
evil4 ,all  judgment1 intention1 desire 
and aversion are within the soul1 to    
which  no evil can ascend4    #bi4 ,blot
 out false imaginations1 and say often  
to yourself3--,it is  now in my power to
 preserve my soul free from all         
wickedness1 all  lust1 all confusion or 
disturbance4 ,and then1 as ,i truly     
discern the  nature of things1 ,i can   
use them all in due proportion4 ,be ever
  mindful of this power which ,nature   
has given you4    #cj4 ,speak1 whether  
in the ,senate or elsewhere1 with       
dignity rather  than elegance2 and let  
your words ever be sound and virtuous4  
#ca4 ,the court of ,augustus1 his wife1 
his daughter1 his descendants and  his  
ancestors2 his sister1 and ,agrippa2 his
 kinsmen1 familiars and  friends2       
,areius and ,maecenas2 his physicians   
and his flamens--death  has them all4   
,think next of the death of a whole     

house1 such as  ,pompey's1 and of what  
we meet sometimes inscribed on tombs3   
,he was the  last of his race4 ,last of 
all1 consider the solicitude of the     
ancestors of such men to leave a        
succession of their own  posterity4     
,yet1 at the end1 one must come the     
last1 and with him dies  all that house4
    #cb4 ,order your life in its single 
acts1 so that if each1 as far as may    
be1 attains its end1 it will suffice4   
,in this no one can hinder  you4 ,but1  
you say1 may not something external     
withstand me8--,nothing  can keep you   
from justice1 temperance1 and           
wisdom4--,yet1 perhaps  some other      
activity of mine may be                 
obstructed4--,true1 but by  yielding to 
this impediment1 and by turning with    
calmness to that  which is in your      
power1 you may happen on another course 
of action  equally suited to the ordered
 life of which we are speaking4    #cc4 
,receive the gifts of fortune without   
pride2 and part with them  without      

reluctance4    #cd4 ,you have seen a    
hand1 a foot1 or a head1 cut off from   
the rest of  the body1 and lying dead at
 a distance from it4 ,even such as these
  does he make himself1 so far as he    
can1 who repines at what befalls1  who  
severs himself from his fellow-men1 or  
who does any selfish  deed4 ,are you    
cast forth from the natural unity8      
,nature made you to be  a part of the   
whole1 but you have cut yourself off    
from it4 ,yet here  there is the        
glorious provision that you may re-unite
 yourself if you  will4 ,in no other    
case has ,god granted the privilege of  
re-union to a  separated or severed     
part4 ,yet behold the goodness and      
bounty with  which ,god hath honoured   
mankind4 ,he first puts it in their     
power not  to be severed from this      
unity2 and then1 even when they are thus
  severed1 he suffers them to return    
once more1 to take their places as      
parts of the whole1 and to grow one with
 it again4    #ce4 ,universal ,nature1  

as she has imparted to each rational    
being  almost all its faculties and     
powers1 has given to us this one in     
particular among them4 ,as ,nature      
converts to her use1 ranges in  destined
 order1 and makes part of herself all   
that withstands or  opposes her2 so each
 rational being can make every          
impediment in his  way a proper matter  
for himself to act upon1 and can use it 
for his  guiding purpose1 whatever it   
may be4    #cf4 ,do not confound        
yourself by considering the whole of    
life1 and by  dwelling upon the         
multitude and greatness of the pains and
 troubles to  which you may probably be 
exposed4 ,as each presents itself ask   
yourself3 ,is there anything intolerable
 and insufferable in this8 ,you  will be
 ashamed to own it4 ,and then recollect 
that it is neither the  past nor the    
future that can oppress you1 but always 
the present  only4 ,and the ills of the 
present will be much diminished if you  
restrict it within its own proper       

bounds1 and take your soul to task  if  
it cannot bear up even against this one 
thing4    #cg4 ,does ,panthea or        
,pergamus now sit mourning at the tomb  
of ,verus1 or  ,chabrias or ,diotimus at
 the tomb of ,hadrian8 ,absurd6 ,and if 
they were  still mourning could their   
masters be sensible of it8 ,or if they  
were  sensible of it1 would it give them
 any pleasure8 ,or if they were  pleased
 with it1 could the mourners live for   
ever8 ,was it not fate  that they should
 grow old men and women1 and then die8  
,what1 then1  would become of the       
illustrious dead when these faithful    
souls were  gone8 ,and all this toil for
 a vile body1 naught but blood and      
corruption6    #ch4 ,if you have keen   
sight1 says the philosopher1 use it in  
discretion  and in wisdom4    #ci4 ,in  
the constitution of the rational being  
,i discern no virtue made  to restrain  
justice2 but ,i see continence made to  
restrain sensual  pleasure4    #dj4     
,take away your opinion about the things

 that seem to give you  pain1 and you   
stand yourself upon the surest ground4  
,what is that  self8--,it is reason4--,i
 am not reason1 you say4--,so be it2    
then  let not reason pain itself1 but   
leave any part of you which suffers to  
its own opinions of the pain4    #da4   
,obstruction of any sense is an evil for
 the animal nature2 so is  the          
obstruction of any of its impulses4     
,there are other kinds of  obstruction  
which are evil for the nature of plants4
 ,for the rational  nature in like      
manner1 therefore1 obstruction of the   
understanding is  evil4 ,apply all this 
to yourself4 ,do pain and pleasure      
affect you8 ,let  the senses look to it4
 ,does anything hinder your designs8 ,if
 you have  designed without the proper  
reservations1 that in itself is an evil 
for you as a reasoning being4 ,if you   
designed under the general  reservation1
 you are neither hurt nor hindered4 ,no 
man can hinder the  proper work of the  
mind4 ,nor fire1 nor sword1 nor tyrant1 

nor calumny  can reach it1 nor any other
 thing1 when it is become even as a     
sphere1  complete and perfect within    
itself4    #db4 ,i have no right to vex 
myself who never yet willingly vexed any
  one4    #dc4 ,each man has his own    
pleasure4 ,mine lies in having my ruling
 part  sound2 without aversion to any   
man1 or to any hap that may befall      
mankind4 ,yet let me look on all things 
with kindly eyes4 ,let me accept  and   
use them all according to their worth4  
#dd4 ,see that you secure the benefit of
 the present time4 ,they who  pursue a  
fame which is to live after them reflect
 not that posterity  will be men even as
 are those who vex them now1 and that   
they too will  be mortal4 ,and          
afterwards1 what shall signify to you   
the clatter of  their voices1 or the    
opinions they shall entertain about you8
    #de4 ,take me up and cast me where  
you will2 ,i shall have my own  divinity
 within me serene1 that is1 satisfied   
while its every state  and action is    

according to the law of its proper      
constitution4    ,is any event of such  
account that my soul should suffer for  
it or be  the worse2 that my soul should
 become abject and prostrate as a mean  
suppliant1 or should be affrighted8     
,shall you find anything that is  worth 
all this8    #df4 ,nothing can befall a 
man which is not human fortune4 ,nothing
 can  happen to an ox1 to a vine1 or to 
a stone which is not the natural        
destiny of their species4 ,if1 then1    
that alone can befall anything  which is
 usual and natural1 what cause is there 
for indignation8  ,universal ,nature    
hath brought nothing upon you which you 
cannot bear4    #dg4 ,when you are      
grieved about anything external it is   
not the thing  itself which afflicts    
you1 but your judgment about it4 ,this  
judgment  it is in your power to efface4
 ,if you are grieved about anything in  
your own disposition1 who can prevent   
you from correcting your  principles of 
life8 ,if you are grieved because you do

 not set about  some work which seems to
 you sound and virtuous1 go about it    
effectually rather than grieve that it  
is undone4--,but some superior  force   
withstands4--,then grieve not1 for the  
fault of the omission  lies not in      
you4--,but life is not worth living with
 this undone4--  ,quit life then1 in the
 same kindly spirit as though you had   
done it1  and with goodwill even to     
those who withstand you4    #dh4        
,remember that the governing part       
becomes invincible when1  collected into
 itself1 it is satisfied in refusing to 
do what it would  not1 even when its    
resistance is unreasonable4 ,what then  
will it be  when1 after due deliberation
 it has fixed its judgment according to 
reason8 ,the soul1 thus free from       
passions1 is a strong fort2 nor can a   
man find any stronger to which he can   
fly and become henceforth  invincible4  
,the man who has not discerned this is  
ignorant4 ,he who has  discerned and    
flies not thither is miserable4    #di4 

,pronounce no more to yourself than what
 appearances directly  declare4 ,it is  
told you that so-and-so has spoken ill  
of you4 ,this  alone is told you1 and   
not that you are hurt by it4 ,i see my  
child is  sick2 this only ,i see4 ,i do 
not see that he is in danger4 ,dwell    
thus  upon first appearances2 add       
nothing to them from within1 and no harm
  befalls you3 or rather add the        
recognition that all is part of the     
world's lot4    #ej4 ,is the gourd      
bitter8 ,put it from you4 ,are there    
thorns in the way8  ,walk aside4 ,that  
is enough4 ,do not add1 ,why were such  
things brought  into the world8 ,the    
naturalist would laugh at you1 just as  
would a  carpenter or a shoemaker1 if   
you began fault-finding because you saw 
shavings and parings from their work    
strewn about the workshop4 ,these       
craftsmen have places where they can    
throw away this rubbish1 but  universal 
,nature has no such place outside her   
sphere4 ,yet the wonder  of her art is  

that1 having confined herself within    
certain bounds1 she  transforms into    
herself all things within her scope     
which seem to be  corrupting1 or waxing 
old and useless2 and out of them she    
makes other  new forms2 so that she     
neither needs matter from without nor a 
place  where to cast out her refuse4    
,she is satisfied with her own space1   
her  own material1 and her own art4     
#ea4 ,be not languid in action1 nor     
confused in conversation1 nor vague  in 
your opinions4 ,let there be no sudden  
contractions or  forth-sallyings of your
 soul4 ,in your life be not             
over-hurried4    ,men slay you1 cut you 
to pieces1 pursue you with curses4 ,what
 has this  to do with your soul         
remaining pure1 prudent1 temperate1 and 
just8  ,what if some one1 standing by a 
clear sweet fountain1 should reproach   
it8 ,it would not cease to send forth   
its refreshing waters4 ,should he  throw
 into it mud or dung1 it will speedily  
scatter them and wash them  away1 and be

 in nowise stained thereby4 ,how then   
shall you get this  perpetual living    
fount within you8 ,if you reserve       
yourself unto  liberty every hour you   
live1 in a spirit of calmness1          
simplicity1 and  modesty4    #eb4 ,he   
who knows not what the ,universe is     
knows not what is his place  therein4   
,he who knows not for what end it was   
created1 knows not  himself and knows   
not the world4 ,he who is deficient in  
either of  these parts of knowledge     
cannot even say for what end he himself 
was  created4 ,what sort of man then    
does he appear to you who pursues the   
applause or dreads the anger of those   
who know neither where nor what  they   
are8    #ec4 ,do you wish to be praised 
by a man who curses himself thrice      
within an hour8 ,can you desire to      
please one who is not pleased with      
himself8  ,can he be pleased with       
himself who repents of almost           
everything he does8    #ed4 ,no longer  
be content to breathe in harmony with   

the air which  surrounds you2 but set   
about feeling in sympathy with the      
intelligence  which embraces all things4
 ,for the power of that intelligence is 
no  less diffused1 and no less pervasive
 for all who can draw it in1 than  is   
the virtue of the air for him who can   
breathe it4    #ee4 ,there is no        
universal wickedness to hurt the world2 
and the  particular wickedness of any   
individual hurts not another4 ,it hurts 
himself alone1 and even he has this     
gracious privilege that1 as soon  as he 
desires it1 he may be free from it      
altogether4    #ef4 ,to my will the will
 of another is as indifferent as his    
poor  breath and flesh4 ,and how much   
soever we were formed for the sake of   
each other1 yet the governing part of   
each of us has its own proper  power2   
otherwise the vice of another might     
become my own misery4 ,god  thought fit 
that this should not be2 lest it should 
be in another's  power to make me       
unhappy4    #eg4 ,the sun seems to us   

diffused everywhere1 pervasive of all   
things1  yet never exhausted4 ,this     
diffusion is a sort of extension1 and   
hence  the ,greek word for rays is      
thought to be derived4 ,you may observe 
the  nature of a ray if you see it      
entering through some small hole into a 
darkened chamber4 ,its direction is     
straight2 and it is reflected  around   
when it falls upon any solid body1 which
 shuts it off from the  air beyond4     
,there it stands and does not slip or   
fall4 ,now1 such  should be the flow and
 diffusion of the understanding2 never  
exhausted1 always extending2 not        
violently or furiously dashing  against 
the obstacles that meet it1 nor falling 
aside1 but resting  there and           
illuminating whatever will receive it4  
,that which will not  transmit the light
 does but deprive itself of radiance4   
#eh4 ,he who dreads death dreads either 
the extinction of all sense or  the     
experience of a new one4 ,if all sense  
be extinguished1 there can  be no sense 

of evil4 ,if a different sort of sense  
be acquired you  become a different     
creature1 and do not cease to live4     
#ei4 ,men were created the one for the  
other4 ,teach them better then1 or  bear
 with them4    #fj4 ,mind moves in one  
way1 and an arrow in another4 ,the mind1
 when  cautiously proceeding1 or when   
casting round in deliberation about     
what to pursue1 is nevertheless carried 
onward straight toward its  proper mark4
    #fa4 ,penetrate into the governing  
part of others2 and also allow others   
to enter into your own4                 
,,end ,,of ,,the ,,eighth ,,book4       
,,book ,,ix4    #a4 ,he who does        
injustice commits impiety4 ,for since   
universal ,nature  has formed the       
rational animals for one another2 each  
to be useful to  the other according to 
his merit1 and never hurtful2 he who    
transgresses this her will is clearly   
guilty of impiety against the  most     
ancient and venerable of the ,gods4     
,he who lies sins against the same      

divinity4 ,for the nature of the  whole 
is the nature of all things which exist2
 and things which exist  are akin to all
 that has come to be4 ,nature1 indeed1  
is called truth1  and is the first cause
 of all truths4 ,he1 then1 that lies    
willingly is  guilty of impiety1 in so  
far as by deceiving he works injury3 and
 he  also who lies unwillingly1 in so   
far as he is out of tune with  universal
 ,nature1 and in so far as he works     
disorder in the ,universe  by fighting  
against its design4 ,he is at war with  
,nature who sets  himself against the   
truth4 ,he has neglected the means with 
which  ,nature furnished him1 and cannot
 now distinguish false from true4       
,he1 too1 who pursues pleasure as good1 
and shuns pain as evil1 is  guilty of   
impiety4 ,such a one must needs         
frequently blame the common  nature for 
unseemly awards of fortune to bad and to
 good men4 ,for the  bad often enjoy    
pleasures and possess the means to      
attain them1 and  the good often meet   

with pain and with what causes pain4    
,again1 he who  dreads pain must        
sometimes dread a thing which will make 
part of the  world order1 and this is   
impious4 ,and he who pursues pleasure   
will not  abstain from injustice1 and   
this is clear impiety4 ,in those things 
to  which the common nature is          
indifferent 7for she had not made both1 
were she not indifferent to either71 he 
who would follow ,nature ought1  in this
 also1 to be of like mind with her1 and 
shew the like  indifference4 ,and       
whoever is not indifferent to pain and  
pleasure1  life and death1 glory and    
ignominy1 all of which universal ,nature
 uses  indifferently1 is clearly        
impious4 ,by ,nature using them         
indifferently1  ,i mean that they befall
 indifferently all beings which exist1  
and  ensue upon others in the great     
chain of consequence which began in the 
primal impulse of ,providence4          
,providence1 in pursuance of this       
impulse1 and starting from a definite   

beginning1 set about this fair          
structure of the universe when she had  
conceived the plan of all that  was to  
be1 and appointed the distinct powers   
which were to produce the  several      
substances1 changes1 and successions4   
#b4 ,it were the more desirable lot to  
depart from among men1  unacquainted    
with falsehood1 hypocrisy1 luxury1 or   
vanity4 ,the next  choice were to expire
 when cloyed with these vices4 ,have you
 then  chosen rather to abide in evil2  
or has experience not yet persuaded  you
 to fly from amidst the plague8 ,for a  
corruption of the mind is far  more a   
plague than any pestilential distemper  
or change in the  surrounding air we    
breathe4 ,the one is pestilence to      
animals as  animals3 but the other to   
men as men4    #c4 ,despise not death2  
but receive it well content1 as one of  
the  things which ,nature wills4 ,for   
even as it is to be young1 to be old1   
to grow up1 to be full grown2 even as it
 is to breed teeth1 and beard1  and to  

grow grey1 to beget1 to go with child1  
to be delivered2 and to  undergo all the
 effects of nature which life's seasons 
bring2 such is  it also to be dissolved 
in death4 ,it becomes not therefore a   
man of  wisdom to be careless1 or       
impatient1 or ostentatiously            
contemptuous  about death2 he should    
rather await its coming as one of the   
operations of nature4 ,even as now you  
await the season when the child  of your
 wife's body shall issue into the light1
 await the hour when  your soul shall   
fall out of these its teguments4 ,if you
 wish for the  common sort of comfort1  
here is a thought which goes to the     
heart4 ,you  will be completely resigned
 to death if you consider the things you
  are about to leave1 and the morals of 
that confused crowd from which  your    
soul is to be disengaged4 ,it is far    
from right to be offended  with them4   
,it is even your duty to have a tender  
care for them1 and to  bear with them   
mildly4 ,yet remember that the parting1 

when it comes1  will not be with men who
 think as you think4 ,for the only thing
 which1  if it might be1 could hold you 
back and detain you in life1 would be   
to live with those who had reached the  
same principles of life as  you4 ,but1  
as it is1 you1 seeing how great is the  
fatigue and toil  arising from the      
jarring courses of those who live       
together1 may cry3  ,haste1 death6  lest
 ,i1 too1 should forget myself4    #d4  
,the sinner sins against himself4 ,the  
wrong-doer wrongs himself by  making    
himself evil4    #e4 ,men are often     
unjust by omissions as well as by       
actions4    #f4 ,be satisfied with your 
present opinion1 if certain2 with your  
present course of action1 if social2    
with your present mood1 if well  pleased
 with all that comes upon you from      
without4    #g4 ,wipe out impression2   
stay impulse2 quench desire2 and keep   
the  governing part master of itself4   
#h4 ,the soul distributed among the     
irrational animals is one4 ,rational    

beings1 on the other hand1 partake of   
one reasoning intelligence4 ,even  so1  
there is one earth to all things earthy2
 and1 for all of us who  are endowed    
with sight and breath1 there is one     
light by which to see1  one air to      
breathe4    #i4 ,all things that share a
 common quality are strongly drawn to   
that  which is of their own kind4 ,the  
earthy tends towards the earth2 fluids  
flow together1 aerial bodies likewise2  
and naught but force prevents  their    
confluence4 ,fire rises upward on       
account of the elemental fire2  and it  
is so ready to join in kindling with all
 the fire that is here  that any matter 
pretty dry is easily set on fire1       
because that which  hinders its kindling
 is the weaker element in its           
composition4 ,thus  also1 then1 whatever
 partakes of the common intellectual    
nature  hastens in like manner1 or even 
more markedly1 towards that which is    
akin to it4 ,for the more it excels     
other natures1 the stronger is its      

tendency to mix with and adhere to its  
kind4 ,accordingly1 among  irrational   
creatures we find swarms of bees1 herds 
of cattle1 nurture  of the young1 and   
love1 of a sort4 ,for even in animals   
there is a  soul2 and in the more noble 
natures a mutual attraction is found to 
be  at work1 such as does not exist in  
plants1 or stones1 or wood4 ,among  the 
rational animals1 again1 there are      
societies and friendships1  families and
 assemblies2 and1 in war1 treaties and  
truces4 ,among  beings still more       
excellent1 there subsists1 though they  
be placed far  asunder1 a certain kind  
of union1 as among the stars4 ,thus     
ascent in  the scale can produce a      
sympathy even in things that are widely 
distant4 ,but mark what happens among   
us4 ,it is only intellectual  beings who
 forget the social concern for one      
another1 and the mutual  tendency to    
union4 ,here alone the social confluence
 is not seen4 ,yet  are they environed  
and held by it1 though they strive to   

escape2 and  nature always prevails4    
,observe and you will see my meaning3   
for  sooner may one find some earthy    
thing which joins with nothing earthy1  
than a man severed and separate from all
 men4    #aj4 ,man1 ,god1 and the       
,universe1 all bear fruit2 and each in  
their own  season4 ,custom indeed has   
appropriated the expression to vines and
 the  like2 but that is nothing4 ,reason
 has its fruit both for all men and  for
 itself1 and produces just such other   
things as reason itself is4    #aa4 ,if 
you can1 teach men better4 ,if not1     
remember that the virtue of  charity was
 given you to be used in such a case4   
,nay1 the ,gods are  patient with them1 
and even aid them in their pursuit of   
some things  such as health1 wealth1 and
 glory1 so gracious are they6 ,you may  
be so  too4 ,who hinders you8    #ab4   
,bear toil and pain1 not as if wretched 
under it1 nor as courting  pity or      
admiration4 ,wish for one thing only2   
always to act or to  refrain as social  

wisdom requires4    #ac4 ,to-day ,i have
 escaped from all trouble2 or rather ,i 
have cast out  all trouble from me4 ,for
 it was not without but within1 in my   
own  opinions4    #ad4 ,all things are1 
in our experience1 common2 in their     
continuance  but for a day2 and in their
 matter sordid4 ,all things now are as  
they  were in the times of those we have
 buried4    #ae4 ,things stand without1 
by themselves1 neither knowing or       
declaring  aught to us concerning       
themselves4 ,what is it then that       
pronounces  upon them8 ,the ruling part4
    #af4 ,it is not in passive feeling1 
but in action1 that the good and  evil  
of the rational animal formed for       
society consists4 ,similarly his  virtue
 or his vice lies not in feeling but in 
action4    #ag4 ,to the stone thrown up 
it is no evil to fall2 no good to rise4 
#ah4 ,penetrate the souls of men1 and   
you will see what judges you fear1  and 
how they sit in judgment on themselves4 
#ai4 ,all things are in change4 ,you    

yourself are under continual            
transmutation1 and1 in some sort1       
corruption4 ,so is the whole  universe4 
#bj4 ,another's sin you must leave with 
himself4    #ba4 ,the ceasing of any    
action1 the extinction of any keen      
desire1 or  of any opinion1 is as it    
were a death to them4 ,this is no evil4 
,think  again of the ages of your life2 
childhood1 youth1 manhood1 old  age4    
,each change of these was a death4 ,is  
there anything to dread  here8 ,think   
now of your life as it was1 first under 
your grandfather1  then under your      
mother1 then under your father2 and1 as 
you find there  many other alterations1 
changes1 and endings1 ask yourself3 ,is 
there  anything to dread here8 ,thus    
neither is there anything to dread in   
the  cessation1 ending1 and change of   
your whole life4    #bb4 ,make swift    
appeal to your own ruling part1 to that 
of the  ,universe1 and to his who has   
offended you4 ,to your own1 that you may
  make it a mind disposed to justice2 to

 that of the ,universe1 that you  may   
remember of what you are a part2 and to 
his1 that you may know  whether he has  
acted in ignorance or by design1 and    
that you may also  reflect that he is   
your kinsman4    #bc4 ,you yourself are 
a part of a social system necessary to  
complete  the whole4 ,accordingly1 let  
your every action be a similar part of  
the  social life4 ,and if any action has
 not its reference1 either immediate  or
 distant1 to the common good as its end1
 this action disorders your  life and   
frustrates its unity4 ,it is sedition   
like that of the man  who1 in a         
commonwealth1 does all in his power to  
sever himself from  the general harmony 
and concord4    #bd4 ,children's        
quarrels6 ,child's play6 ,poor spirits  
carrying about  dead corpses6 ,such is  
our life4 ,the ',masque of the ,dead' is
  intelligible by comparison4    #be4   
,go to the quality of the cause2        
abstract it from the material1 and      
contemplate it by itself4 ,determine    

then the time3 how long1 at  furthest1  
this thing1 of this peculiar quality1   
can naturally subsist4    #bf4 ,you have
 endured innumerable sufferings by not  
being satisfied  with your own ruling   
part when it does the things which it   
was formed  to do4 ,enough then of that4
    #bg4 ,when another reproaches or    
hates you1 or utters anything to that   
purpose2 go to his soul2 enter in there2
 and look what manner of man  he is4    
,you will see that you need not trouble 
yourself to make him  think well or ill 
of you4 ,yet you should be kindly       
towards such men1  for they are by      
nature your friends3 and the ,gods1 too1
 aid them in  all ways2 by dreams1 by   
oracles1 and even in the things about   
which  they are most eager4    #bh4 ,the
 course of things in the world is ever  
the same2 a continual  rotation2 up and 
down1 from age to age4 ,either the      
,universal ,mind  exerts itself in every
 particular event1 in which case you    
must accept  what comes immediately from

 it3 or it has exerted itself once and  
for  all1 and1 as a result1 all things  
go on for ever1 in a necessary chain  of
 consequence3 or again atoms and        
indivisible particles are the  origin of
 all things4 ,in fine1 if there be a    
,god1 all is well2 and if  there be only
 chance1 you at least need not act by   
chance4    ,the earth will presently    
cover us all2 and then this earth will  
itself  be changed into other forms1 and
 these again into others1 and so on     
without end4 ,and1 if any one considers 
how swiftly those changes and           
transmutations roll on1 like one wave   
upon another1 he will despise  all      
things mortal4    #bi4 ,the universal   
cause is like a winter torrent4 ,it     
sweeps all along  with it4 ,how very    
little worth are those poor creatures   
who pretend to  understand affairs of   
state1 and imagine they unite in        
themselves the  statesman and the       
philosopher6 ,the frothy fools6 ,do you1
 ,o man6 that  which ,nature now        

requires of you4 ,set about it if you   
have the means2  and look not around you
 to see if any be taking notice1 neither
 hope  to realize ,plato's ,republic4   
,be satisfied if the smallest thing go  
well4 ,consider even such an event as no
 small matter4 ,for who can  change the 
opinions of men8 ,and without change of 
opinion what is  their state but a      
slavery1 under which they groan1 while  
they pretend  to obey8 ,come now2 speak 
of ,alexander1 ,philip1 and ,demetrius  
of  ,phalerum4 ,they know best whether  
they understood what the common  nature 
required of them1 and whether they      
trained themselves  accordingly4 ,but1  
if they designed only to play the tragic
 hero1 no  one has condemned me to do   
the like4 ,the work of philosophy is    
simple  and modest4 ,lead me not astray 
in pursuit of a vainglorious            
stateliness4    #cj4 ,look down1 as from
 some eminence1 upon the innumerable    
herds1 the  countless solemn festivals1 
the voyaging of every sort1 in tempests 

and in calms2 the different states of   
those who come into life1 enter  upon   
life's associations1 and leave it in the
 end4 ,consider1 too1 the  life which   
others have lived formerly1 the life    
they will live after  you1 and the life 
that barbarous peoples are now living4  
,how many of  these know not even your  
name2 how many will quickly forget it2  
how  many are there who perhaps praise  
you now1 but will shortly blame  you4   
,reflect1 then1 that neither is         
surviving fame a thing of value2  nor   
present glory2 nor anything at all4     
#ca4 ,let nothing due to a cause outside
 yourself disturb your calm4 ,in  the   
workings of the active principle within 
you let there be justice3  that is a    
bent of will and a course of action     
which have social good  as their one    
end1 and so are suited to your nature4  
#cb4 ,you can suppress many of the      
superfluous troubles which beset you1   
for they lie wholly in your own opinion4
 ,by this you will give ample  room and 

ease to your life4 ,you may compass this
 end by comprehending  the whole        
,universe in your judgment2 by          
contemplating eternity2 and by          
reflecting on the swift changes of      
individual things1 thinking how  short  
is the time from their birth to their   
dissolution1 how immense  the space of  
ages before that birth1 how equally     
infinite the eternity  which shall      
succeed that dissolution4    #cc4 ,all  
things that you see will quickly perish2
 and those who behold  them perishing   
are very soon themselves to die4 ,and he
 who dies oldest  will be in like case  
with him who dies before his time4      
#cd4 ,what manner of souls have these   
men8 ,what is the end of their          
striving2 and on what accounts do they  
love and honour8 ,imagine their  souls  
naked before you4 ,when they fancy that 
their censures hurt1 or  their praises  
profit us1 how great is their           
self-conceit6    #ce4 ,loss is naught   
but change2 in change is the joy of     

universal  ,nature1 and by her all      
things are ordered well4 ,from the      
beginning of  ages they have been shaped
 alike1 and to all eternity they will be
 the  same4 ,how then can you say that  
all things have been1 and ever will be  
evil2 that among so many ,gods there has
 been found no power to  rectify2 but   
that the ,universe is condemned to      
endure the burden of  never-ending ill8 
#cf4 ,how corrupt is the material       
substance of every thing1 water1 dust1  
bones1 and foulness6 ,again2 marble is  
but the concrete humour of the  earth1  
gold and silver its heavy dregs4 ,our   
garments are but hair1 the  purple dye  
blood4 ,all else is of a like nature4   
,breath1 too1 is just  the same1 ever   
changing from this to that4    #cg4     
,enough of this wretched life3 enough of
 repining and apish  trifling4 ,why are 
you disturbed8 ,are any of these        
troubles new8 ,what  excites you so8 ,is
 it the cause8    ,then view it well4   
,is it the matter8 ,view it also well4  

,besides these  there is nothing4       
,wherefore at last act with more        
simplicity and  goodness towards the    
,gods4 ,whether you look on this        
spectacle for a  hundred years or for   
three it is the same4    #ch4 ,if he has
 done wrong1 the evil is with him3 and  
perhaps1 too1 he  has not done wrong4   
#ci4 ,either all things proceed from one
 source of intelligence and come        
together in one body1 in which case the 
part must not complain of what  comes   
about for the benefit of the whole2 or  
all is atoms1 and there  is nothing else
 but confused mixture and dissipation4  
,why then are you  disturbed8 ,say to   
your soul3 ,thou art dead3 thou art     
rotten3 thou  hast turned beast1 joined 
the herd1 and dost feed along with them4
    #dj4 ,either the ,gods have power or
 they have none4 ,if they have no       
power1 why do you pray8 ,if they have   
power1 why do you not choose to  pray to
 them for power neither to fear1 nor to 
desire1 nor to be  grieved over any of  

these external things1 rather than for  
their  presence or their absence8       
,surely1 if the ,gods can aid man at    
all1  they can aid him in this4 ,but    
perhaps you will say the ,gods have put 
this in my own power4 ,then is it not   
better to use that which is in  your own
 power and preserve your liberty1 than  
to set your heart on  what is beyond    
your power and become an abject slave8  
,and who has told  you that the ,gods   
aid us not in these things also which   
are in our  power8 ,begin to pray about 
them and you will see4 ,one man prays3  
,may  ,i possess that woman6 ,do you    
pray3 ,may ,i have no wish to possess   
her6 ,another prays3 ,may ,i be         
delivered from so and so6 ,pray you3    
,may ,i not need to be delivered from   
him6 ,a third cries3 ,may ,i not  lose  
my child6  ,let your prayer be3 ,may ,i 
not fear to lose him6 ,in  fine1 turn   
your prayers this way1 and observe what 
comes of it4    #da4 ,epicurus says3 ,in
 my sickness my conversations were not  

about the  diseases of this poor body2  
nor did ,i speak of any such things to  
those who came to me4 ,i continued to   
discourse as before on the  principles  
of natural ,philosophy1 and was chiefly 
intent on the  problem of how the mind1 
though it partakes in the violent       
commotions  of the flesh1 might remain  
undisturbed and keep guard on its own   
proper excellence4 ,i permitted not the 
physicians1 he continues1 to  magnify   
their office1 and vaunt themselves as if
 they were  doing-something of great    
moment1 but my life continued pleasant  
and  happy4 ,what he did then1 in       
sickness1 do you also if ye fall ill1 or
  suffer any other misfortune4 ,never to
 depart from your philosophy  whatever  
befalls you1 never to join in the folly 
of the vulgar and the  ignorant1 is a   
maxim common to all the schools4 ,give  
your mind only to  the business now in  
hand and to the means whereby it is to  
be  accomplished4    #db4 ,when you are 
offended by the shamelessness of any    

man1 straightway  ask yourself3 ,can the
 world exist without shameless men8 ,it 
cannot4 ,therefore do not demand what is
 impossible4 ,your enemy also is  one of
 these shameless people who must needs  
be in the universe4 ,have  the same     
question also at hand when you are      
shocked at craft1 or  perfidy1 or any   
other sin4 ,for while you remember that 
it is  impossible that the class should 
not exist1 you will be more  charitable 
to each particular individual4 ,it is   
useful also to have  this reflection    
ready3 ,what virtue has nature given to 
man wherewith  to combat this fault8    
,against unreason she has given meekness
 as an  antidote2 against another       
weakness another power4 ,you are also at
 full  liberty to set right one who has 
wandered2 now every wrong-doer is       
missing his proper aim and has gone     
astray4 ,and then1 in what are you      
injured8 ,you will find that none of    
those at whom you are exasperated  have 
done anything whereby your intellectual 

part was like to be the  worse4 ,now    
anything which can really harm or hurt  
you has its  subsistence there1 and     
there alone4 ,and wherein is it strange 
or evil  that the man untaught acts     
after his kind8 ,look if you ought not  
rather to blame yourself for not having 
laid your account with his  being guilty
 of such faults4 ,your reason gave you  
the means to  conclude that it was      
probable that he would do this wrong2   
you forgot1  and yet wonder that he has 
done it4 ,but above all1 when you are   
blaming any one for faithlessness or    
ingratitude1 turn to  yourself4 ,the    
fault lies manifestly with you1 if you  
trusted that a  man of such a           
disposition could keep faith2 or if1    
when you granted  the favour1 you did   
not grant it without ulterior views1 and
 on the  principle that the complete and
 immediate reward of your action lay in 
the doing of it4 ,what would you more1  
when you have done a man a  kindness8   
,is it not enough for you that you have 

acted in this  according to your nature8
 ,do you ask a reward for it8 ,it is as 
if the  eye were to ask a reward for    
seeing1 or the feet for walking4 ,for   
just  as these parts are formed for a   
certain purpose1 which when they  fulfil
 according to their proper structure1   
they attain their proper  end2 so man1  
formed by nature to do kindness to his  
fellows1 whenever  he acts kindly1 or in
 any other way works for the common     
good1 has  fulfilled the purpose of his 
creation1 and has possession of what is 
his own4                                
,,end ,,of ,,the ,,ninth ,,book4        
,,book ,x4    #a4 ,wilt thou ever1 ,o my
 soul1 be good and single1 and one1 and 
naked1  more open to view than the body 
which surrounds thee8 ,wilt thou ever   
taste of the loving and satisfied       
temper8 ,wilt thou ever be full and     
without wants1 setting thy heart on     
nothing1 animate or inanimate1 for  the 
enjoyment of pleasure2 not desiring time
 for longer enjoyment2 nor  place1 nor  

country1 nor fine climate1 nor congenial
 company8 ,wilt thou  be satisfied with 
thy present state1 and well pleased with
 every  present circumstance8 ,wilt thou
 persuade thyself that all things are   
thine2 that all is well with thee2 that 
all comes to thee from the  ,gods2 and  
that what is best for thee is what they 
are pleased to give1  now and           
henceforth1 for the preservation of that
 perfected being1  which is good1 just1 
and beautiful2 which generates1         
combines1  embraces1 and includes all   
fleeting things that dissolve to bring  
forth others like themselves8 ,wilt thou
 never be able to live a fellow  citizen
 with ,gods and men1 approving them and 
by them approved8    #b4 ,in so far as  
you are governed by nature only1 observe
 carefully  what nature demands2 then do
 that freely1 if thereby your nature as 
a  living being be not made worse4 ,next
 you must consider what the nature  of a
 living being demands1 and allow        
yourself everything of this kind  by    

which your nature as a rational being is
 not made worse4 ,now it is  plain that 
what is rational is also social4        
,therefore follow these  rules and      
trouble no further4    #c4 ,whatever    
happens1 ,nature has either formed you  
able to bear it or  unable4 ,if able1   
then bear it as ,nature has made you    
able1 and fret  not4 ,if unable1 yet do 
not fret1 for when the trial has        
consumed you  it too will pass away4    
,remember1 however1 that ,nature has    
made you  able to bear whatever it is in
 the power of your own opinion to make  
endurable or tolerable1 if only you     
conceive it profitable or fit to  be    
borne4    #d4 ,if a man is going wrong1 
instruct him kindly1 and shew him his   
mistake4 ,if you are unable to do this1 
blame yourself or none4    #e4 ,whatever
 happens to you was prearranged for you 
from all eternity2  and the             
concatenation of causes had from        
eternity interwoven your  existence with
 this contingency4    #f4 ,whether all  

be atoms1 or there be a universal ,law  
of ,nature1 let it  be laid down first  
that ,i am a part of the whole which is 
governed by  ,nature2 secondly1 that ,i 
am associated with other parts like     
myself4 ,mindful of this1 since ,i am a 
part1 ,i shall not be  dissatisfied with
 anything appointed me by the whole4    
,for nothing is  hurtful to the part    
which is profitable to the whole1 since 
the whole  contains nothing unprofitable
 to itself4 ,all natural systems have   
this  law in common1 and the system of  
the ,universe has another law besides2  
namely that it cannot be forced by any  
external cause to produce  anything     
hurtful to itself4 ,if therefore ,i     
remember that ,i am part of  such a     
whole1 ,i shall be satisfied with all   
that flows therefrom4 ,and1  inasmuch as
 ,i am associated with parts like       
myself1 ,i will do nothing  unsocial2   
but rather draw to my kind1 turn my     
every endeavour to the  public good1 and
 shun the contrary4 ,in such a course my

 life must  needs run well1 just as you 
would hold that the life of a citizen   
runs  well when he passes on from one   
public-spirited action to another1 and  
throws himself heartily into every task 
appointed him by the ,state4    #g4 ,the
 parts of the whole1 ,i mean the parts  
which are contained in the  ,universe1  
must necessarily perish2 perish1 let us 
say1 meaning  change4 ,now1 if it be a  
necessary evil for the parts to perish1 
it  could not be well for the whole that
 its parts should tend to change  and be
 constructed to perish in various ways4 
,did ,nature then set out  to injure her
 own constituent parts1 making them so  
that they are  liable to evil and of    
necessity fall into it2 or did it escape
 her  notice that this comes to pass8   
,both suppositions are incredible4 ,and 
if1 dropping the notion of ,nature1 one 
were merely to put it that  things are  
constituted so1 then how ridiculous at  
the same time to say  that the parts of 
the ,universe are constituted so as to  

change1 and  also to wonder and fret at 
change or dissolution1 as if it were    
something against the course of ,nature2
 especially as everything is  dissolved 
into the elements out of which it arose4
 ,for there is either  a scattering of  
the elements of which a thing was       
constructed1 or a  conversion of these1 
of the solid into earth1 of the         
spiritual into  air4 ,so that these     
constituents are resumed into the system
 of the  ,universe1 which either        
undergoes periodical conflagration1 or  
is  renewed by never-ending changes4    
,and do not imagine that you had all    
your earthy and aerial matter from your 
birth4 ,for the whole of this  was an   
accession of yesterday or the day       
before1 from your food and  from the air
 you breathed4 ,it is this accession    
which changes1 and not  what your mother
 bore4 ,and granting that this recent   
accession may  incline you more to what 
is individual in your constitution2 yet1
 ,i  think1 it alters nothing of what   

has just been said4    #h4 ,having taken
 to yourself these titles3 good1 modest1
 true1 prudent1  even-tempered and      
magnanimous1 look to it that you change 
them not2  and1 if you should come to   
lose them1 seek them straightway again4 
,and  remember that prudence means for  
you reasoned observation of all  things1
 and careful attention2 even temper1    
cheerful acceptance of the  lot         
appointed by universal ,nature2         
magnanimity1 the exaltation of the      
thinking part above any pleasant or     
painful commotions of the flesh1  above 
vain-glory1 above death and all such    
things4 ,if you steadfastly  maintain   
yourself in these titles1 with no       
hankering after hearing  them given to  
you by others1 you will be a new man1   
and a new life  will open for you4 ,for 
to continue as you have been till now1  
in the  same life of distraction and    
defilement1 would mark you as a man     
devoid of sense1 who clings to life like
 the half-eaten  beast-fighters1 who1   

though covered with wounds and gore1 do 
yet  appeal to be reserved until        
tomorrow1 to be cast again in their     
wretchedness to the claws and fangs that
 lacerated them before4 ,take  your     
stand then on these few titles2 and if  
you are able to abide in  them1 abide1  
as one removed to the ,islands of the   
,blest4 ,but if you  perceive that you  
are falling away1 and cannot prevail2   
have the  courage to retire into some   
corner where you may hope to prevail1 or
  else depart from life altogether1 not 
in anger but in all simplicity1         
freedom1 and modesty1 having done at    
least one thing in life well1 by  so    
leaving it4 ,now it will greatly help   
you to be mindful of your  titles1 if   
you recollect that the ,gods desire not 
adulation1 but that  reasoning beings   
should grow in likeness to themselves2  
and further  that a fig tree is set to  
bear figs1 a dog to hunt1 a bee to      
gather  honey1 and a man to do a man's  
work4    #i4 ,mimes1 war1 panic1 sloth1 

servility1 will wipe out the sacred     
maxims which you have gathered by       
observing ,nature and stored in your    
mind4 ,you ought to look and act in     
every case so that not only shall  the  
task before you be accomplished1 but    
also your theoretic faculty  exercised1 
and the self-confidence which springs   
from special  knowledge preserved       
without ostentation or affected         
concealment4 ,will  you ever attain to  
simplicity2 to dignity2 to a perfect    
discrimination  in every case as to what
 a thing really is1 what its true place 
in the  ,universe1 what the time it may 
endure1 what its composition1 to whom   
it may belong1 and who can give and take
 it away8    #aj4 ,the spider exults    
when he has captured a fly2 one man     
because he  has taken a little hare1    
another because he has netted an        
anchovy1  another because he has hunted 
down a wild boar or a bear2 and another 
because he has conquered the            
,sarmatians4 ,but are they not brigands 

all1 if you look to their principles4   
#aa4 ,acquire a method of perceiving how
 all things change into one  another4   
,pursue this branch of ,philosophy and  
continually exercise  yourself therein4 
,there is nothing so proper as this for 
cultivating  greatness of mind4 ,he who 
does so has already put off the body2   
and1  having realized how soon he must  
depart from among men and leave all     
earthly things behind him1 he resigns   
himself entirely to justice in  all his 
own actions1 and to the law of the      
,universe in everything else  which     
happens4 ,as for what any one may say or
 think of him or do  against him1 he    
gives it not a thought1 but contents    
himself with  these two things3 to do   
justly what he has in hand1 and to love 
the  lot appointed for him4 ,such a man 
has thrown off all hurry and bustle2    
and has no other will but this1 to keep 
the straight path according to  the law1
 and to follow ,god whose path is ever  
straight4    #ab4 ,what need for        

suspicion when it is open for you to    
consider what  ought to be done8 ,if you
 see your way1 proceed in it calmly1    
inflexibly4 ,if you do not see it1 pause
 and consult the best  advisers4 ,if any
 other obstacle arise1 proceed with     
prudent caution1  according to the means
 you have2 keeping always close to what 
appears  just4 ,that is the best to     
which you can attain3 and failure in    
that is  the only proper miscarriage4   
,he who in everything follows reason is 
always at leisure1 yet ever ready for   
action1 always cheerful1 yet  composed4 
#ac4 ,as soon as you awake ask yourself3
 ,will it be of consequence to  you if  
what is just and good be done by some   
other man8 ,it will  not4 ,have you     
forgotten what manner of men in bed and 
at table are  those who make such       
display in praise and blame of others2  
what they  do1 what they shun and what  
they pursue2 how they steal and how they
  rob1 not with hands and feet but with 
their most precious part1  whereby1 if a

 man will1 he may gain faith1 modesty1  
truth1 law1 a good  directing spirit8   
#ad4 ,to ,nature1 which gives and again 
resumes all things1 the                 
well-instructed1 modest man will say3   
,give what thou wilt2 take again  what  
thou wilt4 ,and this he says1 not with  
ostentation1 but out of  pure obedience 
and good will to ,nature4    #ae4 ,what 
remains to you of this life is little4  
,live as on a  mountain4 ,for it makes  
no difference whether we live here or   
there1  provided we live like citizens  
everywhere in the world4 ,let men see   
and know you as a man indeed1 living    
according to ,nature4 ,if they  cannot  
endure you1 let them slay you4 ,it is   
better so than to live as  they live4   
#af4 ,discourse no more of what a good  
man should be2 but be one4    #ag4      
,constantly imagine all time and all    
existence2 and think that  every        
individual thing is in substance a fig  
seed1 and in time the  turn of an auger4
    #ah4 ,consider each of the things   

around you as already dissolving1 in a  
state of change1 and as it were         
corrupting and being dissipated1 or  as1
 one and all1 formed by ,nature to die4 
#ai4 ,what sort of men are they when    
they are eating1 sleeping1  procreating1
 easing nature1 and the like8 ,then see 
them lording it  over their fellows1    
puffed up with pride1 angry1 or issuing 
judgments  from on high6 ,to how many   
were they slaves but lately1 and why6   
,and in  what case will they shortly be8
    #bj4 ,that is for the advantage of  
every man which is brought by  universal
 ,nature2 and for his advantage at the  
very time at which she  brings it4      
#ba4 ,earth loves the rain2 and the     
majestic ,ether loves4 ,the  ,universe  
loves to bring about whatever is coming 
to be4 ,i then will  say to the         
,universe3 ,what thou lovest ,i love4   
,is it not a common  saying that1       
so-and-so loves to happen8    #bb4      
,either you are living here your        
accustomed life2 or you are going       

abroad1 and that at your own will3 or   
you are dying1 and your public  office  
is discharged4 ,now1 besides these there
 is nothing4 ,be  therefore of good     
courage4    #bc4 ,keep this ever clear  
before you3 that a country retreat is   
just  like any other place4 ,all things 
here go the same as on a mountain  top1 
or on the sea beach1 or where you will4 
,you may always find that  life of the  
wise man who1 in ,platonic phrase1 makes
 the city wall  serve him for a         
shepherd's fold on the mountains4       
#bd4 ,what is my soul to me8 ,what am ,i
 making of it1 and to what purpose  am  
,i now using it8 ,is it void of         
understanding8 ,is it loosened and  rent
 from the great community8 ,is it glued 
to1 and mingled with1 the  flesh so as  
to follow each fleshly motion8    #be4  
,whoever flies from his master is a     
runaway4 ,our master is the law1  and   
the law-breaker is a runaway2 and so is 
he also who through grief1  or anger1 or
 fear will not acquiesce in something   

that has happened1  is happening1 or    
will happen1 in the course of things    
predestined by  the all-ruling power    
which is the law1 laying down for every 
man what  is proper for him4 ,he then   
who is afraid or grieved or angry1 is a 
runaway4    #bf4 ,he who has cast seed  
into the womb departs2 another cause    
takes  and works upon it and completes  
the child4 ,how wonderful the result    
from such a beginning6 ,the child1      
again1 takes food down its throat2      
another cause takes and transforms it   
into sensation1 motion1 in a  word into 
life and strength and other things1 how 
many and surprising6  ,consider then    
these things happening in such hidden   
ways1 and view the  power which produces
 them just as we perceive the           
gravitation and  levitation of bodies2  
not indeed with our eyes1 yet none the  
less  clearly4    #bg4 ,continually     
reflect that all that is happening now  
happened  exactly in the same way       
before2 and reflect that the like will  

happen  again4 ,place before your eyes  
all that you have ever known from your  
own experience or from ancient history2 
dramas and scenes1 all  similar2 such as
 the whole court of ,hadrianus1 the     
whole court of  ,antoninus1 the whole   
court of ,philip1 of ,alexander1 of     
,croesus4 ,all  these were similar1 only
 the actors different4    #bh4 ,imagine 
every one who is grieved or storms about
 anything  whatever1 to be like the pig 
in a sacrifice1 which kicks and screams 
under the knife4 ,such1 too1 is he who1 
on his couch1 deplores in  silence1 by  
himself1 that we are all tied to our    
fate4 ,reflect also  that only to a     
rational being is it given to submit to 
what happens  willingly2 the bare       
submission is a necessity upon all4     
#bi4 ,look attentively on each          
particular thing you do1 and ask        
yourself  if death be a terror because  
it deprives you of this4    #cj4 ,when  
you are offended at any one's fault1    
turn at once to yourself  and consider  

of what similar fault you yourself are  
guilty2 such as  esteeming for good     
things1 money1 pleasure1 a little glory1
 or the  like4 ,by fixing your attention
 on this you will speedily forget your  
anger1 especially if it occur to you    
that he acts under compulsion and       
cannot do otherwise2 else1 if it be in  
your power1 relieve him from  the       
compulsion4    #ca4 ,when you have seen 
,satyrio the ,socratic1 think of        
,eutyches or  ,hymen2 when you have seen
 ,euphrates1 think of ,eutychio or      
,silvanus4 ,when ,alciphron comes before
 you1 think of ,tropaeophorus2 and  when
 ,xenophon think of ,crito or ,severus4 
,when you look upon yourself  think of  
any of the ,caesars1 and with every man 
likewise4 ,then let  this occur to you3 
,where1 now1 are these8 ,nowhere2 or who
 can tell8  ,for thus you will see all  
human things to be smoke and            
nothingness2  especially if you call to 
mind that what has once been changed    
will  never exist again through all the 

infinity of time4 ,why then this        
concern8 ,and why does it not suffice   
you to live out your short span  in well
 ordered wise8 ,what material1 what a   
subject for ,philosophy you  are        
shunning6 ,for what are all earthly     
things but exercises for the  rational  
power1 when it has viewed all things    
that occur in life  accurately and in   
their natural order8 ,abide then until  
you have  assimilated all these things1 
as a strong stomach assimilates every   
variety of food1 as a bright fire turns 
whatever you throw upon it  into flame  
and radiance4    #cb4 ,let no man have  
it in his power to say with truth of you
 that you  are not a man of simplicity1 
candour1 and goodness4 ,but let him     
prove  to be mistaken who holds any such
 opinion of you4 ,this is quite in  your
 power2 for who shall hinder you from   
being good and  single-hearted8  ,only  
do you determine to live no longer if   
you cannot  be such a man2 for neither  
does reason require1 in that case1 that 

you  should4    #cc4 ,in the present    
matter what is the soundest that can be 
done or  said8  ,for1 whatever that may 
be1 you are at liberty to do or say  it4
 ,make no excuses as if hindered4 ,you  
will never cease from groaning  until   
your disposition is such that what      
luxury is to men of pleasure1  that to  
you is doing what is suitable to the    
constitution of man on  every occasion  
that is thrown or falls in your way4    
,you should regard  as enjoyment        
everything which you are at liberty to  
do in accordance  with your own proper  
nature2 and this liberty you have       
everywhere4 ,now  to the cylinder it is 
not given to move everywhere with its   
proper  motion2 nor to water1 nor to    
fire1 nor to any other thing that is    
governed by a natural law only1 or by a 
soul irrational2 for there are  many    
circumstances which constrain and stop  
them4 ,but intelligent  reason can      
pursue through every obstacle the course
 for which it was  created1 and which it

 wills to follow4 ,set before your eyes 
this ease  with which reason makes its  
way through all obstacles1 as fire goes 
upwards1 a stone downwards1 or a        
cylinder down a slope1 and seek for     
nothing further4 ,the rest of man's     
difficulties are merely of the  body1   
the lifeless part of him2 or else they  
are such as cannot crush1  or in any way
 injure him save through opinion1 or the
 surrender of  reason itself3 otherwise 
he who suffered by them would himself   
straightway become evil4 ,in the case of
 all other organisms1 when  mishap      
befalls1 the sufferer is thereby        
rendered worse4 ,but in this  respect it
 may be said that a man becomes better  
and more praiseworthy  by rightly using 
his circumstances4 ,in fine1 remember   
that nothing  which hurts not the city  
hurts the man who is by nature a        
citizen2 nor  does that hurt the city   
which hurts not the law4 ,now1 none of  
the  things called misfortunes can hurt 
the law4 ,accordingly1 what hurts  not  

the law can hurt neither city nor       
citizen4    #cd4 ,to the man who is     
penetrated with true principles1 the    
shortest1 the  most common hint is a    
sufficient memorial to keep him free of 
sorrow  and fear4 ,such as3--           
,some leaves the winds blow down3 the   
fruitful wood        ,breeds more       
meanwhile1 which in springtide appear4  
,of men thus ends one race1 while one is
 born4    ,your children are leaves2    
leaves1 too1 the creatures who          
confidently  cry aloud and deal out     
eulogy1 or1 it may be1 curses2 or who   
carp and  jeer in secret4 ,leaves1      
likewise1 are they who transmit our fame
 to  posterity4 ,all these in springtide
 appear2 then the wind shakes them      
down1 and the forest grows more to take 
their places4 ,shortness of  life is    
common to all things1 yet you shun and  
pursue them1 as though  they were to    
have no ending4 ,but a little and you   
will fall asleep2  and anon others shall
 mourn for him who carried your bier4   

#ce4 ,the healthy eye ought to look on  
everything visible1 and not to  say1 ,i 
want green1 like an eye that is         
diseased4 ,sound hearing or  sense of   
smell ought to be ready for all that can
 be heard or smelt2  and the healthy    
stomach should be equally disposed for  
all sorts of  food1 as a mill for all   
that it was built to grind4 ,so also the
  healthy mind should be ready for all  
things that happen4 ,that mind  which   
says1 ,let my children be spared1 and   
let men applaud my every  action1 is as 
an eye which begs for green1 or as teeth
 which require  soft food4    #cf4      
,there is no man so happily fated but   
that when he is dying some  bystander   
will rejoice at the doom which is coming
 upon him4 ,were he a  virtuous and wise
 man2 will not some one at the last say 
within  himself3 ,at last ,i shall      
breathe freely1 unoppressed by this     
pedagogue4 ,he was not indeed hard on   
any of us2 but ,i always felt that  he  
tacitly condemned us8 ,this they would  

say of a good man4 ,but1 in  my own     
case1 how many more reasons are there   
why a multitude would  rejoice to be rid
 of me8 ,you will reflect on this when  
dying1 and  depart with the less regret 
when you consider3 ,i am leaving a life 
from which my very partners1 for whom ,i
 toiled1 and prayed1 and  planned1 are  
wishing me to begone2 hoping1 it may be1
 to gain some  additional advantage from
 my departure4 ,why then should one     
strive  for a longer sojourn here8 ,yet 
let not your parting with them be less  
pleasant on this account4 ,preserve your
 own character1 remain to them          
friendly1 benevolent1 gracious4 ,on the 
other hand1 depart from your            
fellow-men1 not as if torn away2 but let
 your going be like that of  one who    
dies an easy death1 whose soul is gently
 released from the  body4 ,nature knit  
and cemented you to your fellows1 but   
now she parts  you from them4 ,i part1  
then1 as from relations1 not reluctant1 
but  unconstrained4 ,for death1 too1 is 

a thing accordant with nature4    #cg4  
,accustom yourself as much as possible1 
when any one takes any  action1 to      
consider only3 ,to what end is he       
working8 ,but begin at  home2 and       
examine yourself first of all4    #ch4  
,remember that the mover of the puppet  
strings is the hidden  principle within4
 ,it is that which is eloquence2 that   
which is life2  that1 if ,i may say so1 
which is the man4 ,never1 in your       
imagination1  confound that principle   
with the surrounding earthen vessel and 
the  little organs that are kneaded on  
to it4 ,excepting that they grow upon   
us1 they are like the carpenter's axe2  
since1 without the moving and           
restraining principle1 none of these    
parts in itself is of any greater       
service than the shuttle to the weaver1 
the pen to the writer1 or the  whip to  
the charioteer4                         
,,end ,,of ,,the ,,tenth ,,book4        
,,book ,,xi4    #a4 ,these are the      
characteristics of the rational soul3   

,it beholds  itself2 it regulates itself
 in every part2 it fashions itself as it
  wills2 the fruit it bears itself      
enjoys1 whereas the products of  plants 
and of the lower animals are enjoyed by 
others4 ,it reaches its  individual end1
 wheresoever the close of life may      
overtake it4 ,in a  dance or an actor's 
part any interruption spoils the        
completeness of  the whole action4 ,not 
so with the rational soul4 ,at whatever 
point in  its action1 or wheresoever it 
is overtaken by death1 it makes its part
  complete and all-sufficient2 so that  
it can say1 ,i have received what  is   
mine4 ,also it ranges through the whole 
universe1 and the void  around it1 and  
discerns its plan4 ,it stretches forth  
into limitless  eternity1 and grasps the
 periodical regeneration of all things1 
seeing  and comprehending that those who
 come after us will see nothing new1    
and that those that went before saw no  
more than we have seen4 ,nay1 a  man of 
forty1 of any tolerable understanding1  

has1 because of the  uniformity of      
things1 seen1 in a manner1 all that has 
been or will  be4 ,characteristic of the
 rational soul also are3--,love to all  
around  us1 truth1 modesty2 and respect 
for itself above all other things1      
which is characteristic also of the     
general law4 ,thus there is no          
discordance between right reason and the
 reason of justice4    #b4 ,you will    
think little of a pleasing song1 a      
dance1 or a gymnastic  display1 if you  
analyse the melody into its separate    
notes1 and ask  yourself regarding each1
 ,does this impress me8 ,you will blush 
to own  it2 and so also if you analyse  
the dance into its single motions and   
postures1 and if you similarly treat the
 gymnastic display4 ,in general  then1  
except as regards virtue and virtuous   
action1 remember to recur  to the       
constituent parts of things1 and by     
dissecting to despise them2  and        
transfer this practice to life as a     
whole4    #c4 ,how happy is the soul    

that stands ready to part from the body 
when  it must1 and either to be         
extinguished or to be scattered1 or to  
survive6  ,but let this readiness arise 
from individual judgment1 not  from mere
 obstinacy1 as with the ,christians1 but
 deliberately1 with  dignity1 and with  
no affected air of tragedy2 so that     
others may be  led to a like            
disposition4    #d4 ,have ,i done       
anything for the common good8 ,is not   
this itself my  advantage8 ,let this    
thought be ever with you1 and desist    
not4    #e4 ,what is your art8 ,well    
doing4 ,and how else can this come than 
from  sound general principles regarding
 ,nature as a whole1 and the            
constitution of man in particular8      
#f4 ,first of all1 tragedy was          
introduced to remind us that certain    
events happen1 and are fated to happen  
as they do2 and to teach us  that what  
entertains us on the stage should not   
grieve us on the  greater stage of the  
world4 ,you see that such things must be

  accomplished2 and that even they bore 
them who cried aloud1 ,o  ,cithaeron6   
,our dramatic poets have said some      
excellent things2  especially the       
following3--        ,me and my children1
 if the ,gods neglect1      ,it is for  
some good reason--    and again1        
,vain is all anger at external things2  
and1        ,to reap our life like ears 
of ripened corn--    and the like4      
,and after tragedy came the ,old        
,comedy1 using a schoolmaster's freedom 
of speech1 and employing plain language 
with great profit to inculcate  the duty
 of humility4 ,to this end ,diogenes    
used a method much the  same4 ,next     
consider the nature of the ,middle      
,comedy2 and lastly for  what purpose   
the ,new was introduced1 which gradually
 degenerated into  the mere ingenuity of
 artificial mimicry4 ,it is well known  
that some  useful things were said by   
the ,new ,comic ,writers2 but what      
useful end  had they in view in all     
their accumulated poetry and playmaking8

    #g4 ,how manifest it is that no     
other course of life was more adapted to
  the practice of philosophy than that  
which now is yours4    #h4 ,a branch cut
 off from its adjacent branch must      
necessarily be  severed from the whole  
tree4 ,even so a man1 parted from any   
fellow-man1 has fallen away from the    
whole social community4 ,now a  branch  
is cut off by some external agency2 but 
a man by his own action  separates      
himself from his neighbour--by hatred   
and aversion1 unaware  that he has thus 
torn himself away from the universal    
polity4 ,yet  there is always given us  
the good gift of ,zeus1 who founded the 
great  community1 whereby it is in our  
power to be reingrafted on our kind1    
and to become once more1 natural parts  
completing the whole4 ,yet the  frequent
 happening of such separations1 makes   
the reunion and  restoration of the     
separated member more and more          
difficult4 ,and in  general a branch    
which has grown from the first upon a   

tree1 and  remained a living part of it1
 is not like one which has been cut and 
reingrafted2 as the gardeners would say1
 they are of the same growth  but of    
different persuasion4    #i4 ,as those  
who oppose you in the path of right     
reason have no power  to divert you from
 sane action1 so let them not turn you  
away from  amenity towards themselves4  
,be watchful alike to persist in stable 
judgment and action1 and in meekness    
towards those who would hinder or       
otherwise molest you4 ,it is equally    
weak to grow angry with them or to      
desist from action and submit to defeat4
 ,both are equally deserters--  he who  
runs away1 and he who refuses to stand  
by friend and kinsman4    #aj4 ,nature  
cannot be inferior to ,art4 ,the ,arts  
are but imitations of  ,nature4 ,if this
 be so1 that ,nature which is the most  
perfect and  comprehensive of all cannot
 be inferior to the best artistic       
skill4 ,now all ,arts use inferior      
material for higher purposes2 so also   

then does universal ,nature4 ,hence the 
origin of justice1 from which  again the
 other virtues spring4 ,justice cannot  
be preserved if we are  solicitous about
 things indifferent1 if we are easily   
deceived1 rash1  and changeable4    #aa4
 ,if those things1 the pursuit and      
avoidance of which trouble you1  come   
not to you2 but1 as it happens1 you go  
to them2 then let your  judgment be at  
peace concerning them1 they will remain 
motionless1 and  you will no more be    
seen pursuing or avoiding them4    #ab4 
,the sphere of the soul attains to      
perfect shape when it neither  expands  
to what is without1 nor contracts upon  
what is within2 neither  wrinkles nor   
collapses1 but shines with a radiance   
whereby it discerns  the truth of all   
things1 both without itself and within4 
#ac4 ,does any man contemn me8 ,let him 
look to that4 ,and let me look to  it   
that ,i be found doing or saying nothing
 worthy of his  contempt4 ,does any one 
hate me8 ,that is his affair4 ,i shall  

be kind  and good-natured to every one1 
and ready to shew his mistake to him    
that hates me2 not in order to upbraid  
him1 or to make a show of my  patience1 
but from genuine goodness1 like         
,phocion1 if he indeed was  sincere4    
,your inward character should be such   
that the ,gods may see  you neither     
angry nor repining at anything4 ,what   
evil is it for you  now to act according
 to your nature1 and to accept now what 
is  seasonable to the nature of the     
,universe2 you1 a man appointed to do   
some service for the common good8       
#ad4 ,although they despise1 yet they   
flatter one another4 ,although they     
desire to overtop1 yet they cringe to   
one another4    #ae4 ,how rotten and    
insincere is his profession who says1 ,i
 mean to  deal straightforwardly with   
you4 ,what are you doing1 man8 ,there is
 no  need for such a preface4 ,it will  
appear of itself4 ,such a profession    
should be written clearly on your       
forehead4 ,a man's character should     

shine forth clearly from his eyes2 as   
the beloved sees that he is so  in the  
glances of those that love him4 ,the    
straightforward1 good man  should be    
like one of rank odour who can be       
recognised by the passer  by as soon as 
he approaches1 whether he will or no4   
,the ostentation of  straightforwardness
 is the knife under the cloak4 ,nothing 
is baser  than wolf-friendship4 ,shun it
 above all things4 ,the good1           
straightforward1 kindly man bears all   
these qualities in his eyes1 and  is not
 to be mistaken4    #af4 ,to live the   
best life is within the power of the    
soul1 if it be  indifferent to          
indifferent things4 ,and it will be     
indifferent if it  looks on all such    
things1 severally and wholly1 with      
discrimination2  mindful that not one of
 them can impose upon us an opinion     
concerning  itself1 or can come of      
itself to us4 ,things stand motionless  
without2  and it is we that form        
opinions about them within1 and1 as it  

were1  write these opinions upon our    
hearts4 ,we may avoid so writing them2  
or1 if one has crept in unawares1 we may
 instantly blot it out4 ',tis  but for a
 short time that we shall need this     
vigilance1 and then life  will cease4   
,for the rest1 why should we hold this  
to be difficult8 ,if  it be according to
 ,nature1 rejoice in it1 and it will    
become easy for  you4 ,if it be contrary
 to ,nature1 search out what suits your 
nature1  and follow it diligently1 even 
though it be attended with no glory2    
for every man will be forgiven for      
seeking his own proper good4    #ag4    
,consider whence each thing came1 of    
what it was compounded1 into  what it   
will be changed1 how it will be with it 
when changed1 and that  it will suffer  
no evil4    #ah4 ,as to those who offend
 me1 let me consider3    ,first1 how ,i 
am related to mankind2 that we are      
formed1 the one for  the other2 and     
that1 in another respect1 ,i was set    
over them as the  ram over the flock1   

and the bull over the herd4 ,consider   
yet more  deeply1 thus3--,there is      
either an empire of atoms1 or an        
intelligent  ,nature governing the      
whole4 ,if the latter1 the inferior     
beings are  created for the superior1   
and the superior for each other4        
,secondly3 ,consider what manner of men 
they are at table1 in bed1 or           
elsewhere2 and especially by what       
principles they hold themselves  bound1 
and with what arrogance they entertain  
them4    ,thirdly3 ,if they act rightly1
 we ought not to take it amiss2 and1 if 
not rightly1 manifestly they do so      
without intention and in  ignorance4    
,for no soul is willingly deprived of   
truth1 or of the  faculty of treating   
every man as he deserves4 ,accordingly  
men are  grieved to be called unjust1   
ungrateful1 greedy1 and1 in short1      
sinners against their neighbours4       
,fourthly3 ,you yourself do often sin1  
and are no better than  another4 ,and1  
if you abstain from certain sins1 still 

you have the  disposition to commit     
them1 even if through cowardice1 fear   
for your  character1 or other meanness1 
you hold back4    ,fifthly3 ,you cannot 
even be perfectly sure that wrong has   
been done1  for many things admit of    
justification4 ,and1 generally speaking1
 a man  must have learned much before he
 can pronounce surely upon the conduct  
of others4    ,sixthly3 ,when you are   
vexed or worried overmuch1 remember that
 man's  life is but for a moment1 and   
that in a little we shall all be laid to
  rest4    ,seventhly3 ,it is not the   
acts of others that disturb us4 ,their  
actions  reside in their own souls4 ,our
 own opinions alone disturb us4 ,away   
with them then2 will that you entertain 
no thought of calamity  befallen you1   
and the anger is gone4 ,but how remove  
them8  ,by  reasoning that there is no  
dishonour2 for1 if you hold not that    
dishonour alone is evil1 verily you must
 fall into many crimes1 you  may become 
a robber1 or any sort of villain4       

,eighthly3 ,how much worse evils we     
suffer from anger and grief about       
certain things than from the things     
themselves about which these  passions  
arise4    ,ninthly3 ,meekness is        
invincible if it be genuine1 without    
simper or  hypocrisy4 ,for what can the 
most insolent of men do to you1 if you  
persist in civility towards him2 and1 if
 occasion offers1 admonish him  gently  
and deliberately1 shew him the better   
way at the very moment  that he is      
endeavouring to harm you8 ,nay1 my son2 
we were born for  something better4 ,no 
hurt can come to me2 it is yourself you 
hurt1 my  son4 ,and point out to him    
delicately1 and as a general principle1 
how  the matter stands2 that bees and   
other gregarious animals do not act     
like him4 ,but this must be done without
 irony or reproach1 rather with         
loving-kindness and no bitterness of    
spirit2 not as though you were  reading 
him a lesson1 or seeking admiration from
 any bystander1 but as  if you designed 

your remarks for him alone1 though      
others may be  present4    ,remember    
these nine precepts as gifts received   
from the ,muses2 and  begin now to be   
human for the rest of your life4 ,beware
 equally of  being angry with men and of
 flattering them4 ,both are unsocial and
  lead to mischief4 ,in all anger       
recollect that wrath is not becoming to 
a man2 but that meekness and gentleness1
 as they are more human1 are  also more 
manly4 ,strength and nerves and courage 
are the portion of  the meek and gentle 
man2 and not of the irascible and       
impatient4 ,for  the nearer a man       
attains to freedom from passion1 the    
nearer he comes  to strength4 ,a weak   
man in grief is like a weak man in      
anger4 ,both are  hurt1 and both give   
way4    ,if you want a tenth gift1 from 
the ,leader of the ,muses1 take this3-- 
,to expect the wicked not to sin is     
madness4 ,it is to expect an            
impossibility4 ,but to allow them to    
injure others1 and to forbid them  to   

injure you1 is foolish and tyrannical4  
#ai4 ,there are four states of the soul 
against which you must  continually and 
especially be upon your guard2 and      
which1 when  detected1 should be        
effaced1 by remarking thus of each4     
,this thought  is unnecessary4 ,this    
tends to social dissolution4 ,you could 
not say  this from your heart2 and to   
speak otherwise than from the heart you 
must regard as the most absurd conduct4 
,and1 fourthly1 whatever  causes        
self-reproach is an overpowering or     
subjection of the diviner  part within  
you to the less honourable and mortal   
part1 the body1 and  to its grosser     
tendencies4    #bj4 ,the serial and     
igneous parts of which you are          
compounded1 although  they naturally    
tend upwards1 nevertheless obey the     
general law of the  ,universe1 and are  
retained here in composition4 ,the      
earthy and humid  parts of you1 though  
they naturally tend downwards1 are      
nevertheless  supported and remain where

 they are1 although not in their natural
  situation4 ,thus the elements1        
wheresoever placed by the superior      
power1 obey the whole2 waiting till the 
signal shall sound again for  their     
dissolution4 ,is it not grievous that   
the intellectual part alone  should be  
disobedient1 and fret at its function8  
,yet is no violence  done to it1 nothing
 imposed contrary to its nature4 ,still 
it is  impatient1 and tends to          
opposition4 ,for all its tendencies     
towards  injustice1 debauchery1 wrath1  
sorrows1 and fears are so many          
departures from ,nature4 ,and1 when the 
soul frets at any particular  event1 it 
is deserting its appointed station4 ,it 
is formed for  holiness and piety toward
 ,god1 no less than for justice4 ,these 
last  are branches of social goodness   
even more venerable than the practice   
of justice4    #ba4 ,he whose aim in    
life is not always one and the same     
cannot himself  be one and the same     
through his whole life4 ,but singleness 

of aim is  not sufficient1 unless you   
consider also what that aim ought to    
be4 ,for1 as there is not agreement of  
opinion regarding all those  things     
which are reckoned good by the majority1
 but only as regards  some of them such 
as are of public utility2 so your aim   
should be  social and political4 ,for he
 alone who directs all his personal aims
  to such an end can reach a uniform    
course of conduct1 and thus be ever  the
 same man4    #bb4 ,remember the country
 mouse and the town mouse2 and how the  
latter  feared and trembled4    #bc4    
,socrates called the maxims of the      
vulgar hobgoblins1 bogies to  frighten  
children4    #bd4 ,the ,spartans at     
their public shows set seats for        
strangers in the  shade1 but sat        
themselves where they found room4       
#be4 ,socrates made this excuse for not 
going to ,perdiccas upon his            
invitation3 ,lest ,i should come to the 
worst of all ends1 by receiving  favours
 which ,i could not return4    #bf4 ,in 

the writings of the ,ephesians there is 
a precept1 frequently to  call to       
remembrance some of those who cultivated
 virtue of old4    #bg4 ,the            
,pythagoreans recommended that we should
 look at the heavens in  the morning1 to
 put us in mind of beings that go on    
doing their proper  work uniformly and  
continuously2 and of their order1 purity
 and naked  simplicity2 for there is no 
veil upon a star4    #bh4 ,think of     
,socrates clad in a skin1 when          
,xanthippe had taken his  cloak and gone
 out2 and what he said to his friends1  
who were ashamed1  and would have left  
him when they saw him dressed in such an
  extraordinary fashion4    #bi4 ,in    
writing and reading you must be led     
before you can lead4 ,much  more is this
 so in life4    #cj4 ,yourself a slave1 
your speech cannot be free4    #ca4 ,and
 my heart laughed within me4    #cb4    
,virtue herself they blame with harshest
 words4    #cc4 ,to look for figs in    
winter is madness2 and so it is to long 

for a  child that may no longer be      
yours4    #cd4 ,epictetus said that1    
when you kiss your child1 you should    
whisper  within yourself3 ,to-morrow    
perhaps he may die4 ,ill-omened words6  
say you4 ,the words have no evil omen1  
says he1 but simply indicate  an act of 
,nature4 ,is it of evil omen to say the 
corn is reaped8    #ce4 ,the green      
grape1 the ripe cluster1 the dried grape
 are all  changes1 not into nothing1 but
 into that which is not at present4     
#cf4 ,no man can rob you of your liberty
 of action2 as has been said by         
,epictetus4    #cg4 ,he tells us also   
that we must find out the true art of   
assenting2  and in treating of our      
impulses he says that we must be        
vigilant in  restraining them1 that they
 may act with proper reservation1 with  
public spirit1 with due sense of        
proportion2 also that we should  refrain
 utterly from sensual passion2 and not  
be restive in matters  where we have no 
control4    #ch4 ,the contention is not 

about any chance matter1 said he1 but as
 to  whether we are insane or sane4     
#ci4 ,what do you desire8 says          
,socrates4 ,to have the souls of        
rational  beings or of irrational8      
,rational4 ,rational of what kind1      
virtuous or  vicious8 ,virtuous4 ,why   
then do you not seek after such souls8  
,because  we have them already4 ,why    
then do you fight and stand at variance8
                          ,,end ,,of    
,,the ,,eleventh ,,book4                
,,book ,,xii4    #a4 ,all that you      
desire to compass by devious means is   
yours already1  if you will but freely  
take it4 ,that is to say1 if you will   
leave  behind you all that is past1     
commit the future to ,providence1 and   
regulate the present in piety and       
justice4 ,in piety that you may love    
your appointed lot2 for ,nature gave it 
to you and you to it4 ,in  justice1 that
 you may speak the truth with-out       
constraint or guile2  that you may do   
what is lawful and proper2 that you may 

not be  hindered by the wickedness of   
others1 or by their opinion1 or their   
talk1 or by any sensation of this poor  
surrounding body1 for the part          
concerned may look to that4 ,if then1   
now that you are near your exit1        
setting behind you all other things1 you
 will hold alone in reverence  your     
ruling part1 the spirit divine within   
you2 if you will cease to  dread the end
 of life1 but rather fear to miss the   
beginning of life  according to ,nature1
 you will be a man1 worthy of the       
ordered ,universe  that produced you2   
you will cease to be a stranger in your 
own  country1 gaping in wonder at every 
daily happening1 caught up by this      
trifle or by that4    #b4 ,god beholds  
all souls bare and stripped of these    
corporeal vessels1  husk1 and refuse4   
,by his intelligence alone he touches   
that only which  has been instilled by  
him and has emanated from himself4 ,if  
you would  but inure yourself to do the 
like1 you would be eased of many a      

torment4 ,for he who regards not the    
surrounding flesh will not waste  his   
leisure in thinking about vesture1      
house1 or fame1 or other mere  external 
furniture or accoutrement4    #c4 ,three
 parts there are of which you are       
compact2 body1 soul1  intelligence4 ,of 
these the two first are yours in so far 
as they must  have your care2 the third 
only is properly your own4 ,and if you  
will  cast away from yourself1 that is  
from your mind1 all that others do or   
say1 all that you yourself have done or 
said1 all your fears for the  future1   
all the uncontrollable accompaniments of
 the body that  envelops you and of its 
congenital soul1 and all that is whirled
 in  the besieging vortex that races    
without1 so that your intellectual      
power1 made pure1 and set above the     
accidents of fate1 may live its  own    
life in freedom1 just1 resigned1        
veracious2 if1 ,i repeat1 you cast  out 
from your soul all comes of excessive   
attachment either to the  past or to the

 future1 then you will become in the    
words of  ,empedocles1        ,a        
faultless sphere rejoiced in endless    
rest4    ,you will study to live the    
only life there is to live1 to wit the  
present2 and you will be able1 till     
death shall come1 to spend what  remains
 of life in noble tranquillity1 at peace
 with the spirit  within4    #d4 ,i have
 wondered often how it comes that1 while
 every man loves  himself beyond all    
others1 yet he holds his own opinion of 
himself in  less esteem than the opinion
 of others4 ,yet1 if a ,god or some wise
  teacher came and ordered a man to     
conceive and design nothing which he    
would not utter the moment it occurred  
to him1 he would not abide the  ordeal  
for a single day4 ,thus we stand in     
greater awe of our  neighbours' opinion 
of us than we do of our own4    #e4 ,how
 can it be that the ,gods1 who have     
ordered all things well for  man's      
advantage1 overlooked one thing only1 to
 wit that some of the  best of mankind1 

who have held the closest relations with
 things  divine1 and by pious works and 
holy ministry become intimate with the  
,divinity1 once dead1 should arise no   
more1 but be altogether  extinguished8  
,if this be truly so1 be well assured   
that1 if it ought  to have been         
otherwise they would have made it       
otherwise4 ,had it been  right it would 
have been practicable2 and had it been  
according to  ,nature1 ,nature would    
have effected it4 ,from its not being   
so1 if it  really be not so1 be         
persuaded that it ought not to have     
been4 ,you see  that1 in debating this  
matter1 you are pleading a point of     
justice  with the ,gods4 ,now we would  
not thus plead with the ,gods were they 
not  perfectly good and just4 ,and1 if  
they are so1 they have left nothing     
unjustly and unreasonably neglected in  
their administration4    #f4 ,essay even
 tasks that you despair of executing4   
,the left hand1  which in other things  
is of little value for want of use1 yet 

holds  the bridle more firmly than the  
right1 for in this it has practice4     
#g4 ,consider how death ought to find   
you1 both as to body and as to  soul4   
,think of the shortness of life1 of the 
eternities before and  after1 and of the
 infirmity of all material things4      
#h4 ,contemplate the fundamental causes 
stripped of disguises4 ,think  what pain
 is1 what pleasure is1 what death1 and  
what fame4 ,consider  how many are      
themselves the causes of all the        
disquiet that they  suffer2 how no man  
may be hindered by another2 how all is  
matter of  opinion4    #i4 ,in the use  
of principles we should be like the     
pugilist rather than  the swordsman4    
,for when the latter drops the sword    
which he uses he is  undone4 ,but the   
former has his hand always by him and   
needs but to  wield it4    #aj4         
,consider well the nature of things1    
distinguishing between matter1  cause1  
and purpose4    #aa4 ,what a glorious   
power is given to man1 never to do any  

action of  which ,god will not approve1 
and to welcome whatever ,god appoints   
for  him6    #ab4 ,as to what happens in
 the course of nature1 the ,gods are not
 to be  blamed4 ,they never do wrong1   
willingly or unwillingly4 ,neither are  
men  to be blamed1 for they do no wrong 
willingly4 ,there is therefore none  to 
blame4    #ac4 ,how ridiculous1 and how 
like a foreigner1 is he who is surprised
  at anything which happens in life6    
#ad4 ,there is either a fatal necessity1
 an unalterable order1 or a  placable   
,providence1 or a blind confusion       
without a governor4 ,if there  be an    
unalterable necessity1 why strive       
against it8 ,if there be a  ,providence 
admitting of propitiation1 make yourself
 worthy of the  divine aid4 ,if there be
 an ungoverned confusion1 be comforted2 
seeing  that in this tempest you have   
within yourself a guiding  intelligence4
 ,and1 if the wave should carry you     
away1 let it carry  away the carcase and
 the animal life1 for the intellectual  

part of you  it will not carry away4    
#ae4 ,if the light of a lamp shine and  
lose not its radiance until it be       
extinguished1 shall truth1 justice1 and 
temperance be extinguished in  you      
before your own extinction4    #af4     
,when you have the impression that a man
 has sinned1 say to  yourself3 ,how do  
,i know that this is sin8 ,and1 if he   
has sinned1  consider that he stands    
self-condemned3 and thus1 as it were1   
has torn  his own face4    ,he that     
would wish the wicked not to sin is like
 one who would have  the fig tree not   
have juice in its figs1 would have      
infants not cry1  horses not neigh1 and 
other inevitable things not happen4     
,what shall  the wicked man do1 having a
 wicked disposition8 ,if you are so     
keen1  cure it4    #ag4 ,if a thing be  
not becoming1 do it not2 if not true1   
say it not4    #ah4 ,endeavour always to
 see in everything what it is that      
causes your  impression2 and unfold it  
by distinguishing the cause1 the matter1

 the  relation to other things1 and the 
period within which it must cease to    
exist4    #ai4 ,perceive at last that   
there is within you something better and
  more divine than the immediate cause  
of your sensations of pleasure  and     
pain2 something1 in short1 beyond the   
strings which move the  puppet4 ,what is
 now my thought8 ,is it fear8           
,suspicion8 ,lust8 ,or any  such        
passion8    #bj4 ,in the first place1   
let nothing be done at random or without
 an  object4 ,in the second let your    
object never be other than the common   
good4    #ba4 ,yet a little1 and you    
shall be no more2 nor shall any of these
  things remain which you now behold1   
nor any of those who are now  living4   
,it is the nature of all things to      
change1 to turn1 and to  corrupt2 in    
order that other things may1 in their   
course1 spring out  of them4    #bb4    
,reflect that everything is matter of   
opinion2 and opinion rests  with        
yourself1 suppress then your opinion1   

what time you will1 and  like one who   
has doubled the cape and reached the    
bay1 you will have  calm and stillness  
everywhere1 never a wave4    #bc4 ,any  
one natural operation1 ending at its    
proper time1 suffers no  ill by ceasing1
 nor does the agent therein suffer any  
ill by its thus  ceasing4 ,in like      
manner1 as to the whole series of       
actions which is  life1 if it ends in   
its season it suffers no ill by ceasing1
 nor is he  who thus completes his      
series1 in any evil case4 ,the season   
and the  term are assigned by ,nature2  
sometimes even by your own nature1 as in
  old age2 but always by the nature of  
the whole1 by the interchange of  whose 
parts the ,universe still remains fresh 
and in its bloom4 ,now1  that is always 
good and seasonable which is            
advantageous to the nature  of the      
whole4 ,wherefore the ceasing of life   
cannot be evil to the  individual4      
,there is no turpitude in it1 since it  
is beyond our power1  and contains      

nothing contrary to the common          
advantage4 ,nay1 it is  good1 since it  
is seasonable and advantageous to the   
whole1 and1  congruent with the order of
 the ,universe4 ,thus1 too1 he is led by
 ,god  who goes the same way with ,god1 
and that by like inclination4    #bd4   
,have these three thoughts always at    
hand3 ,first1 as to your  action1 do    
nothing inconsiderately1 or otherwise   
than justice herself  would have acted4 
,as for external events1 they either    
happen by chance  or by providence2 now1
 no man should quarrel with chance or   
censure  providence4 ,second1 examine   
what each thing is1 from its seed to its
  quickening2 and from its quickening to
 its death2 of what materials it  is    
composed1 and into what it will be      
resolved4 ,third1 reflect that  could   
you be raised on high1 and from thence  
behold all human affairs1  you would    
discern their great variety1 conscious  
at the same time of  the crowds of      
serial and etherial inhabitants around  

us2 but were you  so raised ever so     
often1 you would always see the same    
things1 all  uniform and of brief       
duration4 ,can we set our pride on such 
matters8    #be4 ,cast away opinion1 and
 you are saved4 ,who then hinders you   
from  casting it away8    #bf4 ,when you
 fret at anything1 you have forgotten   
that all happens in  accordance with the
 nature of the ,universe1 and that the  
wrong done  was another's4 ,this1 too1  
that whatever happens has happened1 and 
will  happen1 and is now happening      
everywhere4 ,you have also forgotten how
  great is the bond between any man and 
all the human race1 a bond not  of blood
 and seed1 but of common intelligence4  
,you have forgotten that  the           
intelligence of every man is divine1 and
 an efflux from ,god2 also  that no man 
is proprietor of anything3 his children1
 his body1 his  very life are given of  
,god4 ,you have forgotten1 too1 that    
everything is  matter of opinion2 and   
that it is the present moment only that 

one can  live or lose4    #bg4 ,bring to
 frequent recollection those who have   
grieved about  anything overmuch1 those 
who have been pre-eminent in the extreme
 of  glory or misfortune1 in feuds or   
other circumstances of fate4 ,then  stop
 and ask1 ,where are they all now8      
,smoke and ashes1 and an old  tale2 or  
perhaps not even a tale4 ,pass them all 
in review3 ,fabius  ,catullinus in the  
country1 ,lucius ,lupus in his gardens1 
,stertinius at  ,baiae1 ,tiberius at    
,capreae1 ,velius ,rufus1 and1 in fine1 
all eminence  attended with the high    
regard of men4 ,how cheap is all that is
 so  eagerly pursued8 ,and how much     
better does it become a philosopher to  
show himself1 in the part of the        
material world allotted to him1 just1   
temperate1 and obedient to the ,gods2   
and this with simplicity2 for  most     
intolerable of all is the pride of false
 humility4    #bh4 ,to those who ask1   
,where have you seen the ,gods1 and how 
assured  yourself of their existence1   

that you worship them8 make this reply3 
,first1 they are visible1 even to the   
eye4 ,again1 my own soul ,i cannot  see1
 and yet ,i reverence it4 ,thus1 too1 as
 regards the ,gods1 ,i  continually feel
 their power2 and so ,i know that they  
exist1 and ,i  worship them4    #bi4    
,the safety of life is to see the whole 
nature of everything1 and  to discern   
the matter and the form of its          
constitution2 also to do  justice with  
all your heart1 and to speak the truth4 
,what remains but  to enjoy life1 adding
 one good to an another1 so as not to   
lose the  smallest interval8    #cj4    
,there is but one light of the sun1     
although it be scattered upon  walls and
 hills1 and a myriad other objects4     
,there is but one common  substance1    
although it be divided among ten        
thousand bodies having as  many         
different qualities4  ,there is but one 
soul1 though it be  distributed among   
countless different natures and         
individual  forms4 ,there is but one    

intelligent spirit1 though it may seem  
to be  divided4 ,the other parts of     
these individuals of which we have      
spoken1  such as breath and matter1 are 
void of perception and of mutual        
affection2 yet even they are held       
together by the intelligent spirit  and 
gravitate together4 ,but intelligence   
has a special tendency to its  kind1 and
 unites therewith1 and the community of 
feeling is not  broken4    #ca4 ,what do
 you desire8 ,to live on8 ,or is it to  
feel or to desire8 ,to  grow and to     
decay again8 ,to speak or think8 ,which 
of all these seems  worthy to be        
desired8 ,and1 if each and all of them  
is despicable1  proceed to the last that
 remains1 to follow reason and ,god4    
,now1 it is  repugnant to reverence for 
reason and for ,god to grieve at the    
loss by  death of these other despicable
 things4    #cb4 ,how small a part of   
the boundless immensity of the ages is  
allotted to each of us1 and presently   
that will vanish in eternity6  ,how     

little is ours of the universal         
substance2 how little of the  universal 
spirit6  ,on what a little clod of the  
whole earth do we  creep6 ,considering  
all this1 reckon nothing great except to
 act as  your nature leads you1 and to  
endure what universal ,nature brings to 
pass4    #cc4 ,how is it with your      
ruling part8 ,on this all depends4 ,all 
other  things1 within or without our    
control1 are but corpses1 dust1 and     
smoke4    #cd4 ,this most of all must   
rouse you to despise death3 ,that even  
those  who held pleasure to be good and 
pain to be evil nevertheless despised   
it4    #ce4 ,to him who holds that alone
 to be good which comes in proper       
season1 who cares not whether he has    
acted oftener or less often  according  
to right reason2 to whom it makes no    
difference whether he  behold the       
universe for a longer time or a         
shorter--for this man  death also has no
 terror4    #cf4 ,you have lived1 ,o    
man1 as a citizen of this great city2 of

 what  consequence to you whether for   
five years or for three8 ,what comes by 
law is fair to all4 ,where then is the  
calamity1 if you are sent out of  the   
city1 by no tyrant or unjust judge1 but 
,nature herself who at  first introduced
 you1 just as the praetor who engaged   
the actor again  dismisses him from the 
stage8 ,but1 say you1 ,i have not spoken
 my  five acts1 but only three4 ,true1  
but in life three acts make up the      
play4 ,for he sets the end who was      
responsible for its composition at  the 
first1 and for its present dissolution4 
,you are responsible for  neither4      
,depart then graciously2 for he who     
dismisses you is gracious4              
,,the ,,end4