,between ,heathenism and ,christianity  
,between ,heathenism and ,christianity3 
,being a ,translation of ,seneca's ,de  
,providentia1 and ,plutarch's           
,de ,sera ,numinis ,vindicta1 together  
with ,notes1 ,additional                
,extracts from these writers and ,two   
,essays on ,graeco-,roman ,life in the  
,first ,century after ,christ4          
,,by                     ,,charles ,w4  
,,super1 ,ph4 ,d41 ,,ll4 ,d41           
,ex-,president of the ,ohio ,university1
 and ,professor of ,greek1 ibidem2      
translator                 of ,weil's   
,order of ,words1 and author of a       
,history of the ,german ,language4      
8,he who distrusts the light of reason  
will be the first to follow a      more 
luminous guide2 and if with an ardent   
love for truth he has      sought her in
 vain through the ways of this life1 he 
will but turn      with the more hope to
 that better world where all is simple1 
true1      and everlasting3 for there is
 no parallax at the zenith2 it is only  

near our troubled horizon that objects  
deceive us into vague and      erroneous
 calculations40                         
,,fleming ,h4 ,,revell ,,company        
,chicago1 ,new ,york1 ,toronto          
#ahii          ,copyrighted #ahii1 by   
,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company           
,,preface4      ,it is admitted by      
students of history of every shade of   
belief that the  origin of ,christianity
 and its rapid spread over the ancient  
world is  the most remarkable fact in   
the recorded annals of the human race4  
,when  we remember that it was1 from the
 first1 more or less closely identified 
with the despised religion of the       
despised ,jews2 that largely for this   
reason it had to make its way against a 
united front1 presented by the  learned 
and intelligent in the whole gentile    
world1 while the ,jews  themselves      
almost unanimously repudiated it2 that  
the most efficiently  organized         
government that had existed until then1 
was indifferent or  hostile2 that it set

 before the heathen world a condition of
 society in  which all current economic 
ideas were transformed1 and that it     
demanded  a complete renunciation of its
 time-honored creeds1 we may well ask in
  amazement1 8,how came these things to 
pass80    ,second in order among the    
great facts of ancient history is the   
growth  of the ,roman ,empire4 ,here we 
see a people at first occupying a few   
square miles of territory1 compelled for
 nearly fifteen generations to  exert   
themselves to the utmost to keep their  
enemies at bay1 suddenly  bursting the  
barriers that confined them and in less 
than half this time  bringing under     
their scepter almost the whole of the   
then known world4  ,rome's conquests    
have been exceeded in rapidity1 but they
 have never  been equalled in           
permanence4    ,the triumphs of         
,christianity and those of ,roman arms  
stand in a certain  relation to each    
other1 notwithstanding the fact that the
 latter were  gained with material1 the 

former with spiritual1 weapons4 ,when   
the  conquests of the one were ended1   
the other began4 ,when material forces  
had spent themselves1 men began to turn1
 reluctantly indeed1 to  spiritual      
agencies and undertook to subdue the    
powers of darkness that  had so long    
held sway in the human breast4 ,while   
the arms of ,rome were  engaged in      
overcoming the martial opposition of her
 enemies1 ,greece was  occupied with the
 effort to subjugate the passions of men
 by the weapons  of the intellect4 ,by  
the time ,roman conquests had reached   
their limits  it had been demonstrated  
that ,greece1 too1 could go no farther4 
,but  ,greece did not fail because there
 were no more worlds to conquer3 it was 
because men had learned that her weapons
 were powerless to compass the  end in  
view4 8,he that ruleth his own spirit is
 mightier than he that  taketh a city10 
was the lesson that the best of the     
,greek philosophers  strove to impress  
upon men1 but strove in vain4    ,it    

will always remain a matter of interest 
to study the intellectual  sphere in    
which the old doctrines and the new     
faith conflict4 ,what was  the best that
 ,greek thought had to offer to the     
world1 and for what  reasons did the    
world reject it8    ,in the following   
pages ,i have attempted to put before my
 readers a  solution of some of the     
problems to which this question gives   
rise4 ,no  one will deny that ,seneca   
stood on the threshold of ,christianity1
 while  in the opinion of many he had   
already passed within2 yet all will     
admit  that1 at best1 he fell far short 
of the standard ,christianity sets up   
for its converts4 ,plutarch is not      
claimed by ,christians1 but he          
exemplifies many of their virtues1 and  
commends many of the precepts  they     
endeavored to put in practice4 ,these   
two men best represent the  strong and  
the weak points of characters formed    
under the stimulus of  earnest effort to
 lead upright lives and to discharge    

faithfully their  duties to themselves1 
their fellow men1 and the higher power  
that  controlled their destinies4 ,i    
have selected a typical work from the   
writings of both as a nucleus around    
which to group such reflections and     
facts as seem best fitted to illustrate 
the environment in which they  lived and
 the intellectual inheritance to which  
they had fallen heir1  while ,i have    
allowed each to speak for himself on one
 of the profoundest  problems that has  
ever engaged the serious attention of   
man4    ,surely1 it cannot be a merely  
accidental coincidence that a ,greek at 
,delphi1 a ,roman in his adopted city1 a
 ,jew in ,alexandria1 and another  ,jew 
in ,palestine1 who had been converted to
 ,christianity and had adopted  the     
profession of a traveling evangelist1   
should at the same time1 yet  almost or 
quite independently of each other1      
maintain the doctrine of a  divine      
,providence or preach a gospel that     
recognized it as a fundamental  dogma4  

,the treatise of ,philo1 though no      
longer extant in the original  ,greek1  
is more extensive than the tracts here  
brought together4 ,the  three united in 
a single volume would make a remarkable 
trinity in the  history of human        
thought4 ,the feeling was evidently     
widespread1 both  consciously and       
unconsciously1 that ,god had never      
before been so near to  men1 though but 
a few had learned that the ,word had    
become flesh and  dwelt among them1 full
 of grace and truth4    ,c4 ,w4 ,s4     
,athens1 ,o41 ,thanksgiving ,day1 #ahih4
                                        
,,contents4      ,,preface #e    ,,list 
,,of ,,the ,,principal ,,works ,,used   
,,or ,,consulted ,,on ,,seneca #aj      
,,seneca3 ,,his ,,character ,,and       
,,environment #aa    ,,list ,,of        
,,seneca',s ,,extant ,,works #fj        
,,selections ,,from ,,the ,,writings    
,,of ,,seneca #fc    ,,concerning       
,,providence #gh    ,,notes #ajd        
,,plutarch ,,and ,,the ,,greece ,,of    

,,his ,,age #ajh    ,,list ,,of ,,the   
,,principal ,,works ,,used ,,or         
,,consulted ,,in ,,the ,,study ,,of     
,,plutarch  #afj    ,,concerning ,,the  
,,delay ,,of ,,the ,,deity ,,in         
,,punishing ,,the ,,wicked #afb         
,,notes #bad    ,,appendix4 ,,list ,,of 
,,plutarch',s ,,works #bah              
,,the ,,principal ,,works ,,used ,,or   
,,consulted ,,on ,,seneca4      ,the    
following are the principal works used  
or consulted in preparing the  matter   
relating to ,seneca3        ,oeuvres    
compltes de ,senque4 ,par ,charpentier  
et ,lemaistre4 #d      tomes4 ,paris1   
#ahhe4        ,oeuvres compltes de      
,senque4 ,publies sous la direction de  
,m4      ,nisard4 ,paris1 #ahgg4        
,l4 ,annaeus ,seneca des ,philosophen   
,werke bersetzt von ,pauly und          
,moser4 ,stuttgard1 #ahbh-cb4           
,christliche ,klnge aus den griechischen
 und rmischen ,klassikern4      ,von ,r4
 ,schneider4 ,leipzig1 #ahgg4           
,lucius ,annaeus ,seneca und das        

,christenthum4 ,von ,michael            
,baumgarten4      ,rostock1 #ahie4      
,la ,religion romaine4 ,par ,gaston     
,boissier1 #b tomes4 ,paris4 #ahib4     
,history of the ,romans under the       
,empire4 ,by ,charles ,merivale4 #g     
vols4 ,new ,york1 #ahfc-e4        ,l4   
,annaei ,senecae opera quae supersunt4  
,ed4 ,frid4 ,haase4 ,voll4 ,i1          
,,ii1 ,,iii4 ,lipsiae1 #ahga-fb-ec4     
,the two ,paris editions have the ,latin
 text and the ,french translation on    
the same page4 ,both translations are   
characteristically ,french1 and         
consequently very smooth and agreeable  
to read4 ,but they preserve few of  the 
salient features of the original1 and   
render the thoughts rather  than the    
style of ,seneca4 ,to the translation is
 accorded the place of  honor both in   
type and position4 ,the ,german version 
holds very close to  the text and errs1 
perhaps1 somewhat at the other extreme  
as compared  with the ,french4 ,the work
 of ,baumgarten is thorough and         

painstaking4 ,it  is not endorsing all  
the author's views to say that it is the
 best  recent book on ,seneca and his   
times4                                  
,,seneca3 ,,his ,,character ,,and       
,,environment4      ,lucius ,annaeus    
,seneca1 surnamed the ,philosopher to   
distinguish him from  his father the    
,rhetorician1 was born in ,corduba1#a in
 ,spain1 about #d ,b4  ,c4--authorities 
differ by several years as to the       
precise date4 ,when  quite young he was 
brought to ,rome by his father4 ,he     
devoted himself  with great zeal and    
brilliant success to rhetorical and     
philosophical  studies4 ,in the reign of
 ,claudius he attained the office of    
quaestor and  subsequently rose to the  
rank of senator4 ,in the year #da he was
 banished  to the island of ,corsica on 
a charge that is admitted to have been  
false1 but the nature of which is not   
clearly understood4    ,in this barren  
and inhospitable island he was compelled
 to remain eight  years4 ,he was then   

recalled to ,rome and entrusted with the
 education of  the young ,lucius        
,domitius ,ahenobarbus1 who afterwards  
became emperor of  ,rome1 and notorious 
as the monster ,nero4 ,for five years   
after his  accession to the principate1 
the young emperor treated his former    
teacher with much deference1 consulted  
him on all important matters1 and  seems
 to have been largely guided by his     
advice4 ,he also testified his  regard  
for him by raising him to the rank of   
consul4 ,in course of time1  however1   
the feelings and conduct of the prince  
underwent a change4 ,the  possession of 
unlimited power by a character that was 
both weak and  vain2 the adulation of   
the conscienceless favorites with whom  
he  surrounded himself2 the intrigues or
 cabals to whom the high morality of    
the philosopher was a standing rebuke2  
and the naturally vicious temper  of    
,nero1 all conspired to prepare the way 
for the downfall of ,seneca4  ,when the 
conspiracy of ,calpurnius ,piso against 

the monarch was  discovered1 the charge 
of participation1 or at least of        
criminal  knowledge1 was brought against
 ,seneca1 and he was condemned to die4  
,allowed to choose the means of ending  
his life1 he caused a vein to be  opened
 and thus slowly bled to death4 ,it was 
his destiny to be compelled  to take his
 departure from this world in the way he
 had so often  commended to others2     
indeed it is probable that his          
reiterated encomiums  upon suicide as an
 effectual remedy against the ills of   
this life1 was  not without its         
influence upon his executioners4 ,they  
probably wanted to  give him the        
opportunity to prove by his works the   
sincerity of his  faith4    ,during the 
closing scene he told his disconsolate  
friends that the only  bequest he was   
permitted to leave to them was the      
example of an  honorable life2 and this 
he besought them to keep in faithful    
remembrance4 ,he implored his weeping   
wife to restrain the expression of  her 

grief1 and bade her seek in the         
recollection of the life and virtues  of
 her husband a solace for her loss4     
,it was the fortune of ,seneca not only 
to be well born1 but also to be  well   
brought up and carefully educated4 ,that
 he appreciated the high  worth of his  
mother is evident from the words1 8best 
of mothers10 with  which he addressed   
her in the ,consolation to ,helvia4 ,his
 father1 though  wealthy1 was a man of  
rigid morality1 of temperate habits1 of 
great  industry1 and possessed very     
unusual literary attainments4 ,his older
  brother1 better known as ,junius      
,gallio from the name of the family into
  which he was adopted1 was for some    
time proconsul of ,achaia1 in which     
capacity he is mentioned in the ,acts1  
xviii1 #ab-ag4 ,seneca's younger        
brother was the father of ,lucan1 the   
well-known author of the poem1          
,pharsalia4 ,both his mother and his    
aunt1--he was an especial favorite of   
the latter--were not only women of      

exalted character1 but they had         
acquired an intellectual culture that   
was very uncommon for their sex in      
their day4    ,our authorities for a    
life of ,seneca and for an estimate of  
his  character are fairly ample and have
 been variously interpreted4 ,nothing   
can be gained by taking up the          
controversy anew4 ,to some of his       
contemporaries even1 he was more or less
 of an enigma4 ,others1 again1  regarded
 him as a time-server1 a hypocrite1 a   
man whose professions were  belied by   
his actions4 ,still others1--and they   
are largely in the  majority--are more  
lenient in their judgment2 though they  
cannot  exculpate him from              
inconsistencies1 they excuse them by    
pointing to the  extremely difficult    
position in which he was placed during  
the greater  part of his life4 ,he has  
strong partisans who are attracted and  
charmed  by the sublime sentiments      
scattered so profusely through his      
writings2  his enemies1 in forming their

 opinions1 lay the chief stress on what 
they regard as the inexcusable deeds of 
his life4 ,it is too late to add        
anything to the evidence either pro or  
contra4 ,all that it is proposed  to do 
in this essay is to place before the    
reader a picture of the man1  mainly    
from his own writings1 as the chief     
exponent of the highest  philosophy     
reached by the ancient world before this
 philosophy was  supplanted by the new  
religion that was destined to take its  
place in  the thought of mankind4       
,seneca was next to ,cicero1 or rather  
along with  ,cicero1 the most           
distinguished ,roman philosopher2 but as
 a philosopher  he has received the far 
greater share of attention4 ,both were  
,romans at  heart2 both were earnestly  
engaged in the search for the supreme   
good2  both were guilty of conduct      
inconsistent with their professions2    
both  tried and tried in vain to combine
 a life devoted to reflection with  with
 an active career in the service of the 

state2 and both failed4 ,but  ,seneca   
not only had a higher ideal than        
,cicero2 he also came nearer  attaining 
it4 ,he was less vain1 less hungry for  
public honors and  applause1 and        
attached less importance to mere outward
 display4 ,as a  thinker ,seneca has    
more originality than ,cicero1 is less  
dependent upon  books1 knows better the 
motives that underlie human conduct4    
,both were  essentially ,roman in their 
views of life1 and it is only by keeping
 this  in mind that we are able to      
explain1 if not to excuse1 the lack of  
harmony between what they said and what 
they did2 between what they  preached   
and what they practised4    ,like that  
of ,cicero1 ,seneca's was no adamantine 
soul1 no unyielding  barrier against    
which the vices of his time beat in     
vain4 ,he had the  ,roman liking for    
what is practical4 ,he tried to be a    
statesman and was  somewhat of a        
courtier when to be a courtier and an   
upright man was  impossible4 ,he was no 

,socrates to whom virtue1 the           
fundamentally and  intrinsically right1 
was more important than anything else1  
than all  else1 even abstention from the
 political turmoil of his time4    ,when
 a long and acrimonious strife is       
carried on over a man it is  evidence   
that he is no ordinary person4 ,this has
 been the fate of ,seneca  in an eminent
 degree4 ,during the ,middle ,ages1 and 
even after their  close1 a great deal of
 attention was paid to his reputed      
correspondence  with ,st4 ,paul4 ,the   
,national ,library in ,paris contains   
more than sixty  ,,mss4 of this         
pseudo-correspondence4 ,that he was     
claimed as a ,christian  need surprise  
no one4 ,the poet ,virgil shared a      
similar fate2 yet there  is far less in 
the writings of ,virgil to mark him a   
,christian1 or rather  as a writer who  
was in a sense divinely inspired1 than  
there is in  ,seneca to stamp him as a  
man who had accepted the new faith4 ,the
 rise  and persistence of such a        

literature is not an anomaly in the     
history of  thought4 ,it is not out of  
harmony with the spirit of an age when  
the  church was supreme in everything2  
when all questions were viewed from  the
 theological standpoint1 and when every 
means were employed to gain  support for
 the existing ecclesiastical            
organization4 ,it was honestly  believed
 that the practice or profession of a   
high morality1 except  under the        
sanction and guidance of the church1 was
 impossible4 ,it was  taken as a matter 
of course1 that a good man1 one who     
eloquently  preached righteousness1 who 
seemed to be conscious of a struggle    
within  himself between the flesh#b and 
the spirit1 must have been enlightened  
from on high4 ,given the internal       
evidence of ,seneca's own writings1 it  
was not difficult to supply the         
complementary external testimony4       
,this all-embracing and all-absorbing   
power of the church lasted about a      
thousand years and ended with the       

,reformation1 though it had begun to    
decline some two centuries earlier4 ,for
 this condition of things the  ,roman   
empire had prepared the way4 ,it was the
 prototype to which1 in  part           
unconsciously and in part consciously1  
ecclesiastical authority was  made to   
conform4 ,notwithstanding the fact that 
the ,gospel was first  widely proclaimed
 in ,greek lands and the body of its    
doctrine formulated  in the ,greek      
tongue1 when the church began to aspire 
to universal  dominion it naturally     
assumed the garb of ,roman secular      
authority4 ,the  ,eastern ,empire was   
regarded as an offshoot from1 rather    
than as a  continuation of1 the empire  
that had so long ruled the world from   
the  great city on the banks of the     
,tiber4 ,the natural consequence was    
that  the ,latin language in time       
supplanted the ,greek1 and              
ecclesiastical  thought flowed in the   
channels worn by the political thought  
that had  preceded it4 ,the struggle in 

later times for the supremacy of the    
state  as against the church was merely 
the effort to return to a condition of  
things that had existed before the      
establishment of the church4 ,the       
,greeks were not less patriotic than the
 ,romans4 ,the state occupied just  as  
prominent a place in their minds as it  
did in the minds of the  ,romans4 ,but  
it was their misfortune to appear upon  
the scene of history1  broken up into a 
large number of small polities of nearly
 equal  strength1 and the ,greek mind   
never got beyond the particularism thus 
inherited4 ,it was their fundamental    
concept of government4 ,rome            
represented a more advanced type of     
political development than ,greece1  and
 if it had been permitted to work out   
its own salvation without  external     
interference1--for the city at its worst
 was hardly more corrupt  than many a   
modern capital--it might be in existence
 to-day4 ,the ,roman  empire endured so 
long because it was upheld by the       

patriotism of its  citizens4 ,this was  
often narrowly selfish1 and frequently  
grossly unjust  to foreigners1 but it   
was effectual in maintaining the        
supremacy of ,rome  against all attempts
 from within or without to subvert it4  
,the ,romans  that were drawn toward    
philosophy pursued it in a half-hearted 
manner  because the state occupied the  
first place in their minds4 ,to serve   
the  state was the ultimate goal of     
their ambition4 ,the emperors1 even the 
most corrupt1 still represented the     
government and as such received the     
homage of good men4 ,if we keep this    
fact in mind we shall be able to        
understand the bravery and devotion to  
duty of many of the officers and  even  
soldiers in the imperial forces4 ,more  
or less out of reach of the             
contaminating influences that were so   
powerful in the capital1 they  performed
 the services expected of them as became
 ,romans4    ,long1 long afterward1 and 
when ,rome was nominally a ,christian   

city1 a  ,german monk left its walls as 
he was returning to his northern home1 a
  far less zealous churchman than he had
 entered it4 ,strange coincidence6  ,the
 city that had become the head of a     
spiritual empire was no less  corrupt   
and corrupting than it had been as the  
head of a temporal  empire4 ,more than  
sixteen centuries of experience1 some of
 it of the  bitterest kind1 had wrought 
no perceptible change4 ,the ,christian  
followed in the footsteps of the        
heathen4    ,for us who have been       
brought up in the belief that morality  
and right  and justice have a claim to  
our services for their own sake1 without
  accessory support and under all       
circumstances1 the devotion of the      
,roman  to his government1 even the most
 unworthy1 is not easy to understand4   
,rome owed her greatness more to the    
bravery of her citizens in war than  to 
any other cause4 ,to this virtue they   
always accorded the foremost  place1 and
 to those who displayed it1 the highest 

honors the state could  bestow4    ,but 
,seneca was a man of peace4 ,this fact  
had without doubt something to  do in   
producing the unfavorable estimate some 
of his contemporaries  formed of him4   
,tacitus1 too1 was not a military man2  
yet he looks with a  certain disdain    
upon those who devoted themselves to the
 arts of peace  rather than to the      
profession of arms4 ,he regards with    
less favor the  man who has wisely      
administered a province than him who had
 extended the  boundaries of the empire4
    ,we naturally incline to the opinion
 that no man who respected himself      
could accept service under such a ruler 
as ,nero1 or ,caligula1 or  ,domitian1  
unless it were in the hope that he might
 mitigate a ferocious  temper or avert  
calamity from personal friends4 ,and    
yet1 many tyrants  since the dissolution
 of the ,roman empire have been served  
by honorable  men2 and they have usually
 requited their services in the same    
way1 with  exile1 or confiscation of    

goods1 or an ignominious death4    ,the 
readiness with which many of the best   
,romans resorted to  self-destruction as
 a release from misfortune strikes us   
with surprise4  ,suicide is often       
mentioned in the writings of ,seneca1   
and always with  approval4 ,it is not   
hard to understand this attitude of mind
 if we  recollect the relation the      
,roman regarded as existing between     
himself  and the state4 ,the government 
was in a sense a part of himself1 and an
  essential part4 ,to the ,greek there  
was still something worth living for    
after the loss of country and           
citizenship4 ,he could devote himself to
  literature1 or philosophy1 or to some 
more ignoble means of gaining a         
livelihood4 ,to the ,roman such a thing 
was well-nigh impossible1  especially if
 he was a member of one of the ruling   
families4 ,exile1  exclusion from       
service in the state1 was to him the end
 of every thing4  ,many ,romans of whom 
one would have expected better things   

are  inconsolable so long as they are   
compelled to live away from the capital 
with no certain prospect of return4     
,need we wonder that to many others     
life was no longer worth living1 and    
that they freely put an end to it  with 
their own hand4 ,often the best men     
sought surcease of sorrow in  this      
unnatural way4 ,those in whom the moral 
sense was weak1 plunged  recklessly into
 debauchery and sensual gratification4  
,literature1 too1  was corrupted to     
minister to their corrupt tastes4 ,we   
know little of the  life of the average 
,roman citizen2 but there is sufficient 
evidence  within reach of the modern    
reader to prove that the ruling class   
had few  redeeming traits4 ,the downward
 tendency is plainly discernible in the 
last days of the ,republic4 ,julius and 
,augustus ,csar were men of  depraved   
appetites and low morals4 ,their talents
 as military captains  and              
administrators1 their patronage of      
letters1 and their tastes as  literary  

men1 have somewhat put their moral      
delinquencies into the  background4     
,there is no doubt that the example of  
these and such men1  accelerated the    
evil propensities to which the ,roman   
people were only  too prone4 ,when the  
lowest depth of moral degradation was   
reached1 as in  the declining years of  
,seneca1 crime and debauchery held high 
carnival  in the imperial household4    
,there was no wickedness so flagrant1 no
  species of immorality so bestial1 no  
deed so horrible1 that men shrank  from 
it4 ,for1 had they not more than once   
the example of the prince  himself8 ,it 
is sometimes charitably said that ,nero 
was insane4 ,there are  men who think it
 too degrading to human nature to hold  
it responsible  for his crimes and      
indecencies4 ,yet ,nero's excesses were 
the natural  results of unlimited power 
in irresponsible hands1 when the hands  
were  servants of a heart that was      
thoroughly corrupt1 and a character that
  was weak1 and vain as it was weak4    

,the same things have often been        
repeated within the last eighteen       
hundred years2 but never was vice so    
rampant and so unblushing1 on such a    
large scale1 as it was in ,rome in  the 
days of ,seneca4    ,we must not        
believe1 however1 that there was no     
decency1 no regard for  morality1 no    
love of culture1 to be found in the     
,roman empire even in  its worst estate4
 ,there were always groups and coteries 
of noble men and  women who kept        
themselves free from the prevailing     
corruption4 ,there was  always a saving 
remnant that remained uncontaminated4   
,quintillian was  the center of such a  
group1 and what he was in ,rome1        
,plutarch was in  another part of the   
empire1 for they were almost exactly    
contemporaries4  ,the belief in ,god1 in
 the immortality of the human soul1 and 
in man's  personal responsibility to a  
higher power1 kept some1 perhaps many1  
who  were not directly under the        
degrading influence of the court1 or who

 had  the moral strength to resist it1  
from deviating very far from the path   
of rectitude4 ,there were slaves of whom
 better things could be said than  of   
their masters4 ,but what were these     
among so many8    ,seneca and other     
writers of his time frequently express  
contempt for  those men who professed to
 be philosophers1 and whose lives       
brought only  disgrace upon the fair    
name of philosophy4 ,he does not seem to
 be aware  that1 in a measure at least1 
he is recording an unfavorable verdict  
upon  himself4 ,does he think that his  
abstemiousness1 his untiring industry1  
his devotion to study ought to cover his
 shortcomings8 ,it looks so4 ,he        
commends solitude1 yet always remained  
in the noonday of publicity4 ,he        
inveighs against riches1 yet was the    
possessor of vast estates1 and was  not 
above lending money at usurious rates of
 interest4 ,he teaches men to  bear with
 fortitude the inevitable ills of life1 
and ends by commending  suicide as a    

final resort4 ,compared with ,socrates1 
to cite but a single  name1 ,seneca was 
a very unworthy exponent of practical   
philosophy4 ,the  former took philosophy
 seriously1 so seriously that he not    
only wanted  to live for it but was     
willing to die for it4 ,he kept aloof   
from  politics because he felt that a   
public career would interfere with a    
duty he owed to a higher power4 ,he1    
too1 believed in a ,providence1 but     
with him this belief amounted to a      
conviction4 ,all his reported words  and
 deeds testify to this1 while ,seneca   
acts and writes as if trying to         
convince himself quite as much as       
others4 ,socrates had an abiding faith  
in a personal ,god who not only watched 
over his life1 but cared for him  in    
death4 ,duty was to him a thing of such 
supreme importance that he  never       
hesitated to perform it1 no matter what 
the consequences to  himself might be4  
,socrates taught nothing he did not     
himself practice2  ,seneca1 much4       

,socrates feared neither ,god nor man2  
,seneca was afraid of  both4 ,socrates  
expected nothing of others that he did  
not exact of  himself2 ,seneca sets up a
 higher standard of morals than he1     
under all  circumstances1 attained4 ,his
 precepts are better than his practice4 
,his  fatal mistake lay in trying to do 
two things that have always been found  
incompatible3 to be a successful        
politician and an upright man4 ,there   
were others besides ,socrates1 before   
the days of ,seneca1 in whose life  and 
character philosophy had had more       
consistent exponents and faithful       
devotees than in him4 ,but when they    
found that philosophy and a career  in  
the service of the state were           
incompatible and reciprocally           
exclusive1 they unhesitatingly gave up  
the latter4 ,seneca can always  admire  
high ideals1 but he cannot always       
imitate them4 ,he is fascinated  when he
 gazes on the lofty heights to which    
virtue had sometimes  attained1 and he  

often makes heroic efforts to follow    
after2 but he is  only now and then     
successful4 ,it is no wonder1 then1 that
 ,socrates had  even in his lifetime    
many ardent admirers and enthusiastic   
disciples  that remained true to his    
memory1 while ,seneca had none4         
,canon ,farrar is mistaken when he calls
 ,seneca a 8seeker after ,god40 ,god    
was in no man's thoughts oftener than in
 his4 ,nor has any uninspired  writer   
given utterance to a larger number of   
noble sentiments and lofty  precepts    
than he4 ,it is easy to extract from his
 writings a complete  code of morals1 a 
breviary of human conduct1 that would   
differ but  little from that contained  
in the ,new ,testament4 ,he is a        
conspicuous  example of the heathen of  
whom ,paul says1 they are without       
excuse4 ,but  while ,seneca is not a    
seeker after ,god he can with justice be
 called a  seeker after ,christ4 ,he is 
an earnest inquirer after the peace that
  passeth understanding2 after that     

serene confidence that sustained the    
greatest and the least of the ,apostles1
 and the noble army of martyrs no  less4
 ,he lacks that ,christian enthusiasm   
that comes only through faith  in a     
living ,christ and in ,his atonement4   
,seneca now and then caught a glimpse of
 that universal kingdom which the       
company of believers expected would one 
day be established upon the  earth4 ,he 
says1 8,no one can lead a happy life who
 thinks only of himself  and turns      
everything to his own use4 ,if you would
 live for yourself1 you  must live for  
others4 ,this bond of fellowship must be
 diligently and  sacredly guarded1--the 
bond that unites us all to all and shows
 to us  that there is a right common to 
all nations which ought to be the more  
sacredly cherished because it leads to  
that intimate friendship of which  we   
were speaking40    ,it is hard to see   
how he could write the following        
striking passage  without thinking of   
himself2 for1 though guiltless of some  

of the vices  he condemns1 there are    
others of which he cannot be acquitted4 
,after  defining philosophy as nothing  
else than the right way of living1 or   
the  science of living honorably1 or the
 art of passing a good life1 and        
denouncing the fraudulent professors of 
it1 he proceeds3 8,many of the          
philosophers are of this description1   
eloquent to their own  condemnation2 for
 if you hear them arguing against       
avarice1 against lust  and ambition1 you
 would think they were making a public  
disclosure of  their own character1 so  
entirely do the censures which they     
utter in  public flow back upon         
themselves2 so that it is right to      
regard them in  no other light than as  
physicians whose advertisements contain 
medicine1  but their medicine-chests1   
poison4 ,some are not ashamed of their  
vices2  but they invent defenses for    
their own baseness1 so that they may    
even  appear to sin with honor40    ,to 
the same effect is the testimony of     

,nepos3 8,so far am ,i from thinking    
that philosophy is the teacher of life  
and the completer of happiness1  that ,i
 consider that none have greater need of
 teachers of living than  many who are  
engaged in the discussion of this       
subject4 ,for ,i see that a  great part 
of those who give most elaborate        
precepts in their school  respecting    
modesty and self-restraint1 live at the 
same time in the  unrestrained desires  
of all lusts40    ,both ,seneca and     
,plutarch are firmly convinced that man 
is the arbiter of  his own happiness2   
but the former found great difficulty in
 making a  practical application of the 
doctrine to his own case4               
,notwithstanding  the sorry spectacle   
presented to the world by many professed
  philosophers1 neither lost faith in   
philosophy4 ,it was the court of last   
resort4 ,for the man to whom philosophy 
will not bring happiness there is  no   
happiness in this world4 ,to the        
importance and benign influence of  this

 culture of mind1 ,seneca reverts again 
and again4 ,he contends that  8,he who  
frequents the school of a philosopher   
ought every day to carry  away with him 
something that will be to his profit3 he
 ought to return  home a wiser man4 ,and
 he will so return1 for such is the     
power of  philosophy that it not only   
benefits those who devote themselves to 
it1  but even those who talk about it40 
8,you must change yourself1 not your    
abode4 ,you may cross the sea1 or as our
 ,virgil says1 #8,lands and cities  may 
vanish from sight1 yet wherever you go  
your vices will follow you4'  ,when a   
certain person made the same complaint  
to ,socrates that you make1  he         
answered1 #8,why are you surprised that 
your travels do you no good1  when you  
take yourself with you everywhere8' ,if 
we could look into the  mind of a good  
man1 what a beautiful vision1 what      
purity1 we should  behold beaming forth 
from its placid depths6 ,here justice1  
there  fortitude2 here self-control1    

there prudence4 ,besides these1         
sobriety1  continence1 frankness and    
kindliness1 and 7who would believe it87 
humaneness1 that rare trait in man1 shed
 their luster over him40    ,though     
,seneca's life was full of              
contradictions and inconsistencies when 
measured by the standard of his own     
writings1 it would be unjust to  charge 
him with hypocrisy4 ,he was1 within     
certain limits1 a man of  moods2 a man  
in whose mind conflicting desires were  
continually striving  for the mastery4  
,it seems to have been a hard matter for
 him to attain  settled convictions on a
 number of important questions4 ,even   
the  immortality of the soul1 a subject 
upon which he has much to say1 and      
which to ,plutarch is an incontestable  
dogma1 is to ,seneca hardly more  than a
 hope4 ,his mind matured early and there
 is almost no evidence of  development  
or change of views or of style in his   
writings4 ,he was such  a man as nature 
made him1 and he was on the whole pretty

 well satisfied  with the product4      
,though he now and then seems to be     
conscious of a  certain lack of         
constancy1 and on the point of          
confessing his sins1 he  generally ends 
by excusing them or by trying to show   
that they are  venial4 ,yet the fact    
that he at times acknowledges a kind of 
moral  weakness is perhaps the chief    
reason why ,seneca has been so often    
claimed as a ,christian1 while no such  
claim has ever been made for  ,plutarch 
who sees no defects either in himself or
 his doctrine4    ,the chief problem of 
philosophy has at all times been1 how to
 make the  judgment supreme in all      
matters that present themselves before  
the mind  and how to make the will carry
 out the decisions of the critical      
faculty4 ,when the poet says1 8,video   
meliora proboque1 ,deteriora sequor10   
he is thinking of this irrepressible    
conflict4 ,paul himself was not a       
stranger to it1 for he exclaims in a    
moment of self-abasement when  writing  

to ,seneca's fellow citizens1 8,the good
 which ,i would1 ,i do not2  but the    
evil which ,i would not1 that ,i        
practice40 ,he1 too1 finds within       
himself a 8law10 a fact of human        
experience1 that the flesh wars against 
the spirit2 that the appetencies are    
hard to reconcile with the  judgment4   
,seneca's own writings furnish abundant 
evidence that many who  professed to be 
philosophers used their intellects      
solely1 or chiefly1  in devising means  
for gratifying their desires4 ,to men of
 his way of  thinking the ,epicureans   
were a constant object of attack2 yet   
the  ,epicureans were generally         
consistent from their point of view and 
in  accordance with the postulates of   
their system4 ,the all-important        
question with every man who is in the   
habit of giving an account to  himself  
of his life is how to get the most out  
of it1--how to formulate a  system of   
complete living4 ,if the individual is  
the goal1 considered  solely from the   

standpoint of his earthly life1 it is   
evident that he  will act differently in
 the same circumstances from him whose  
aim is the  good of society considered  
as an undying entity1 or the happiness  
of the  individual regarded as an       
immortal soul4 ,the disagreements of    
philosophers have always hinged on these
 fundamental problems and it is  strange
 that so little note has been made of   
them4 ,it is too often taken  for       
granted that the mere use of the        
reasoning faculties1 that is1           
philosophy per se1 and without reference
 to the highest good1 is able  to make  
men as nearly perfect as they can become
 in this life1 both as  individuals and 
as members of the community4 ,it was the
 conviction that  philosophy had run its
 course2 that it was 8played out10--to  
use a phrase  more expressive than      
elegant--that made so many of the best  
men1 in the  first ,christian centuries1
 turn from it and seek refuge in        
,christianity4  ,they had become weary  

of the ceaseless and acrimonious        
discussions of  the different           
philosophical schools4 ,disgusted with  
contradictions and  inconsistencies1    
they turned to the ,gospel as offering a
 solution of  problems at which so many 
acute thinkers had labored for centuries
 in  vain4    ,it has often been        
remarked that the ,roman world had grown
 old4 ,every  experiment had been tried1
 every theory had been suggested that   
might  lead to complete living2 all had 
ended in failure and disappointment for 
those who had the good of their fellow  
men at heart4 ,he who would  perform a  
successful experiment in physics or     
chemistry must see to it  that all the  
necessary conditions have been provided4
 ,if this is not  done1 no amount of    
care in manipulation will bring about   
the desired  result4 ,the mere presence 
of the proper ingredients1 however pure1
 will  not insure success4 ,so in       
society1 the existence and vitality of  
social  forces will avail the reformer  

in no wise unless he knows how to put a 
motive force into men's minds and hearts
 that will induce them to aid  him in   
bringing about the changes he proposes4 
,some good men have been  made so by a  
noble system of philosophy1 to the      
practical  exemplification of which they
 have devoted their lives4 ,both ,greece
 and  ,rome furnished not a few such4   
,on the other hand there have been many 
bad men who were made so by following   
the tenets of a vicious  philosophy4    
,there are two reasons why ,seneca has1 
for more than eighteen hundred  years1  
engaged the attention of thinking men4  
,no doubt the most  important is his    
extraordinary ability4 ,the world will  
not willingly  forget the words of a    
great man1 nor suffer his life to pass  
into  oblivion4 ,it clings to thoughts  
and deeds that are worthy to survive4   
,seneca not only had something to say   
that men wanted to hear1 but he  knew   
how to say it in such a way that they   
were glad to listen4 ,great as  has been

 the evil in the world at all times it  
has never lacked many men  who felt that
 they were made for something better    
than the daily  concerns that occupied  
their time and labor4 ,in their better  
moments  they found pleasure in         
listening to the voices that spoke to   
them of  something more abiding than the
 fleeting affairs of this transitory    
life4    ,seneca1 too1 was intensely    
human4 ,he frequently furnishes evidence
 of  extraordinary mental strength while
 now and then he sinks down in sheer    
exhaustion4 ,his mind ranges freely     
along the whole scale of mental         
experiences2 and though he dwell1       
longest on the higher parts1 he does    
not always do so4 ,the record of such an
 experience has an attraction for  many 
men4 ,they see in it a counterpart of   
their own struggles1 and are  rarely    
without hope that its triumphs may be an
 earnest of their own4    ,the scholar  
in politics is a character of whom we   
hear a good deal1 but  as a matter of   

fact1 scholarship1 in the true sense of 
the word1 and  successful politics1 as  
the world understands success1 are a    
combination  that has rarely been made4 
,again1 an ecclesiastical statesman1    
strictly  speaking1 is an equally rare  
phenomenon and has been since the days  
of  the supremacy of the ,romish church4
 ,the greater the success of the        
ecclesiastic in statecraft1 the farther 
he departed from the  prescriptions of  
the church1 or at least of the ,gospel4 
,how often has  the experience of       
,wolsey been anticipated or repeated2   
and many men1  both laics and priests1  
have felt the truth of ,shakespeare's   
thoughts1  if they have not expressed   
them in his words3                      
8,had ,i but served my ,god with half   
the zeal                  ,i served my  
king1 he would not in mine age          
,have left me naked to mine enemies40   
,we still hope to find a place for the  
scholar in politics1 but we have  given 
up the search so far as the ecclesiastic

 is concerned4 ,yet in  ,seneca we have 
a man who had mastered all the knowledge
 of his time2 who  was by no means an   
unsuccessful preacher of righteousness1 
and who1  nevertheless1 was a successful
 courtier and statesman during part of  
his  life4 ,he might have been both to  
the ending of his days in peace1 had it 
not been his fate to serve one of the   
worst rulers that ever lived4 ,the      
secret of his undying fame then is his  
ability and his whilom position  at the 
court that ruled the greatest empire of 
the world4 ,it is probable  that the    
cause of his exile1 at an age when he   
had as yet not written  very much1 so   
far as we know1 was his prominence in a 
way that was  distasteful to the emperor
 ,claudius4 ,while there was nothing in 
his past  life or present conduct to    
justify putting him to death1 his       
removal  from ,rome seemed desirable to 
the reigning monarch and his most       
influential advisers4 ,but even in exile
 ,seneca was not a man calmly to  permit

 his enemies to forget him2 nor would   
his friends suffer him to be  forgotten4
    ,notwithstanding his sudden         
elevation to a position of great        
importance  in the empire1 he seems     
never to have lost sight of the fact    
that he was  standing on the edge of a  
precipice from which he might be thrust 
at any  moment1 and that he still had   
need of all the consolation his         
philosophy  could afford4 ,boissier     
rightly says1 8,though praetor and      
consul he  remained not the less a sage 
who gives instruction to his age2 while 
he  was governing the ,romans he        
preached virtue to them40 ,and he might 
have  added1 8to himself10 for it is    
evident from many passages in his works 
that he had himself in view no less than
 others4 ,he strove to fortify  his own 
soul against temptations by giving      
expression to the tenets of  his        
philosophy1 just as men find relief in  
sorrow by recording the  thoughts that  
pass through their minds4 ,we may be    

certain1 too1 that to  his              
contemporaries his speech often sounded 
bolder and freer than to us  with our   
inadequate knowledge of the inner life  
of the ,roman  court-circle1 and        
accustomed as we are to the freedom of  
criticism to  which all our public      
characters1 not excepting sovereigns1   
are subject4  ,they doubtless saw in    
many of his pithy sayings1 allusions1   
whether  always intentional or not1 does
 not matter1 to occurrences to which we 
no longer have the key4 ,and we may be  
sure that he was not without an         
abundance of enemies and detractors4 ,a 
few of these have left themselves  on   
record for us4 ,there were1 doubtless1  
also many persons who were wont  to     
sneer at the man who professed to find  
the highest good in a  contemplative    
life2 in devotion to an ideal that      
differed so widely from  the reality in 
which he lived2 and who could yet       
maintain his influence  at a court of   
which little that was good could be     

said4 ,every society  contains a certain
 number of members who regard all who   
endeavor to lead  a better life than    
they themselves do1 or whose ideals are 
higher than  their own1 as offering a   
sort of personal challenge or directing 
a  rebuke at them which they must needs 
resent4 ,seneca was himself  conscious  
that his life and professions were      
sometimes irreconcilable4  ,he says3    
8,to the student who professes his wish 
and hope to rise to a  loftier grade of 
virtue1 ,i would answer that this is my 
wish also1 but ,i  dare not hope it4 ,i 
am preoccupied with vices4 ,all ,i      
require of myself  is1 not to be equal  
to the best1 but only to be better than 
the bad40    ,on the much-debated       
question of ,seneca's responsibility for
 the vices of  ,nero1 ,merivale is      
probably right in saying that he must   
soon have become  aware that it was     
impossible to make even a reasonably    
virtuous man out  of his pupil4 ,under  
such circumstances it was natural for   

him to  conclude that the best thing to 
be done was to allow the youth to       
indulge in private vices in order to    
keep him from injuring others4 ,the     
morality he impressed upon ,nero1 the   
modern writer sums up in these  words3  
8,be courteous and moderate2 shun       
cruelty and rapine2 abstain from  blood2
 compensate yourself with the pleasures 
of youth without  compunction2 amuse    
yourself1 but hurt no man40 ,this       
principle was a  dangerous one1 as we   
now know2 but it is easy to be wise     
after the  event4 ,a philosopher ought  
to have known that it is never safe to  
make a  compromise with vice4 ,our      
philosopher did not know it1 or1 knowing
 it1  was willing to take the risk4     
,it is doubtless some of his detractors 
that he has in mind in his  defense of  
riches4 ,he can see no harm in large    
possessions when they  have been        
honestly1 or at least lawfully1 acquired
 and are properly  used4 ,it may help us
 to understand his attitude in this     

matter if we  compare it with that of   
some of the ministers of our own day1   
and with  some of the ecclesiastical    
dignitaries of the past4 ,seneca's      
philosophy  did not come to him as a    
divine command4 ,it was the fruit of his
 own  cogitation in the search for the  
supreme good4 ,but there are men in our 
day1 as there have always been1 who are 
not only members of the church  but     
preachers of the ,gospel1 who are both  
rich themselves and apologists  of the  
rich4 ,yet they profess to be followers 
of the ,son of ,god2 of ,him  who taught
 that it is exceedingly difficult for a 
rich man to enter the  kingdom of       
heaven4 ,seneca did not profess to seek 
this kingdom4 ,his  search was after the
 kingdom of earthly felicity1 and he    
could not see  why riches should be an  
obstacle to his entering it4    ,seneca 
was a good exemplar of the truth of a   
saying quoted by ,xenophon  in his      
,memorabilia of ,socrates to the effect 
that even an upright man is  sometimes  

good1 sometimes bad4 ,his writings      
convey the impression that  their author
 is always under stress4 ,the           
philosophical composure of  which he has
 much to say1 is an aspiration and a    
hope1 not a fruition4  ,when he speaks  
of the passions he sees them in their   
intensity4 ,he seems  to regard all men 
as either very good or very bad1 and    
finds the latter  class to include the  
great body of mankind4 ,he fails to     
realize that the  majority belong to    
neither extreme4 ,the theater on which  
he saw the game  of life played probably
 never had its counterpart in the world4
 ,he  stands at one extreme and         
,plutarch at the other1 just as the     
social  circle in which each moved and  
knew best is the antipode of the other4 
,both looked too intently and           
exclusively upon the merely external4   
,though ,plutarch judges the average man
 more correctly1 neither possessed      
sufficient penetration of intellect to  
fathom all the passions that  dominate  

or agitate the soul4 ,plutarch was most 
familiar with the man  who is concerned 
with the ordinary affairs of life2      
,seneca knew best the  corrupt crowd    
that sought to ingratiate itself into   
the favor of those  who controlled the  
destinies of all about them1 and1 in a  
measure1 of  the entire world4 ,both    
were much in the public eye1 but the    
public was a  widely different one4     
,plutarch sought to make an impression  
by the arts  of persuasion alone2       
,seneca1 by all the arts that are within
 the power  of a resourceful intellect4 
,how much he was in the public eye is   
evident  from the statement of ,tacitus 
that his last words were written down   
and  at once made public4 ,his friends  
no less than his enemies desired this3  
his enemies1 because they were eagerly  
watching for a final opportunity  to    
prove that this famous preacher of an   
exalted philosophy would1 after  all1   
prove to be nothing more than a maker of
 fine phrases when the  crucial test    

came2 his friends1 in order to furnish  
indubitable evidence  that he had been  
true to his teachings to the end4    ,it
 is a noteworthy fact that should always
 be kept in mind in the study  of the   
writings of the ancients1 and the career
 of their statesmen1 that  there existed
 no universal conscience to which men   
could appeal4 ,even  the separate states
 were without any considerable party    
among their  citizens who shared the    
conviction that there exist eternal     
principles  of justice that demand the  
recognition of rights for all living    
beings1  for slaves as well as for      
brutes1 whether they are in position to 
enforce these rights or not4 ,there was 
an interminable struggle of class  with 
class1 each striving to wrest from the  
other the privileges they  withheld as  
long as they could1 and finally granted 
only so far as they  could no longer be 
withheld4 ,the political economy of the 
ancients did  not concern itself with   
making the public burdens bear as       

lightly as  possible on each member of  
the body politic1 and compelling even   
the  most refractory to contribute their
 share2 the problem was almost          
invariably how to raise the largest     
amount of public revenue4 ,only a       
part1--often but a small part1          
especially under the later              
republic--found  its way into the       
imperial fisc4 ,most of it flowed into  
the coffers of  the farmers of the      
revenue1 and for this reason their      
representatives1  the publicans or      
tax-gatherers1 were so thoroughly       
detested4 ,their  relation to the       
citizens was entirely different from the
 modern officers  of the government who 
perform the same functions4 ,every      
privilege or  alleviation granted by the
 governing class was usually wrung from 
it by  force or threats on the part of  
the subject4 ,generally speaking1 the   
empire was more lenient than the        
republic because the emperors needed    
the support of the mass of their        

subjects against the turbulent and      
avaricious nobility4 ,the spirit of     
altruism that is such a powerful  force 
in our day is of very modern growth4 ,it
 was introduced into the  world by      
,christianity1 but its development was  
not rapid4 ,sociology as a  scientific  
term is but little older than the       
present generation2 nor  does the study 
of political economy as a science extend
 far into the  last century4 ,that      
remarkable people1 the ,jews1 have from 
time  immemorial recognized the claims  
of a brother in the faith1 upon every   
other1 for aid and sympathy4 ,their     
voluntary contributions for the         
maintenance of the temple at ,jerusalem 
and its ritual1 no matter how  widely   
scattered they might be1 is the earliest
 indication of a spirit  of altruism1   
the recognition of an obligation that   
was coextensive with  the faith4 ,the   
,jews1 however1 made but a faint        
impression upon the  thought of         
antiquity4 ,this is evident from the way

 they are treated by  ,greek writers    
without exception4 ,they were perhaps   
never more numerous  or more influential
 than during the last two or three      
centuries ,b4 ,c4  and the first century
 after ,christ1 until the destruction of
 ,jerusalem4  ,yet ,plutarch1 who was   
the most widely read man of his time1   
and who  might easily have obtained his 
knowledge of their doctrines almost at  
first hand from the ,septuagint1 does   
not show in a single line that he  ever 
thought this knowledge worth the        
trouble4 ,when he mentions the ,jews  it
 is only to disparage them1 and to      
betray the grossest ignorance of  their 
religion and their nationality4 ,the    
same is true of ,seneca and the  other  
,roman writers4 ,tacitus1 who professes 
to give an account of their  origin and 
of some of the tenets of their religion1
 shamefully  misrepresents both1 while  
he holds the people up to the scorn of  
his  countrymen4 ,so little are the most
 intelligent men often aware of the     

occult forces at work in the world1 and 
so ready are they to pour  contempt upon
 everything that does not accord with   
their preconceived  opinions6    ,the   
early ,christians1 as is well known1    
were reluctant to believe that  the new 
doctrines were intended for ,gentiles as
 well as ,jews4 ,both the  ,new         
,testament and some of the church       
fathers testify to this fact4  ,merivale
 makes it clear that ,tertullian        
believed that ,christianity must        
always1 to some extent1 stand apart from
 the ordinary march of events1  and that
 the true faith could only be held by a 
chosen few4 ,he does not  intend his    
words to be understood in their         
spiritual significance1 that  many are  
called but few chosen1 and he makes this
 plain by adding that  the ,roman       
emperors might themselves have been     
,christians1 if governments  could      
become ,christian2 in other words       
8mankind in general were equally        
incapable of moral renovation and       

spiritual conversion40    ,though       
,seneca was1 during almost his whole    
life in the public eye and  lived amid  
the toil and turbulence of the busiest  
city in the world1 he  professed a      
distaste for crowds4 ,he tries to       
dissuade those who value  their peace of
 mind1 but especially those who are     
truly devoted to  philosophy1 from      
seeking popular applause4 ,he loves to  
be the center of  a circle of choice    
spirits1 to associate on intimate terms 
with men of  like aims and tastes with  
his own4 ,it is almost exclusively      
against the  vices of the rich and the  
great that he declaims4 ,only in 8good  
society0  is he at home2 in fact he     
seems to know no other1 has nothing in  
common  with any other4 ,he is          
profoundly ignorant1 with ,plutarch1 of 
the fact  that society cannot be        
reformed from the top or from within4   
,yet the  refinements of luxury are     
hateful to him1 and from boyhood to the 
end of  his days he lived a frugal life4

    ,how easy it is for ,seneca to talk1
 to express himself in words whether    
with tongue or pen1 becomes evident not 
only from a glance at the  subjects upon
 which he writes1 some of which are of  
the same tenor with  those discussed by 
his equally fluent predecessor1 ,cicero1
 but from his  own direct testimony4 ,at
 the beginning of the ,fifth ,book on   
,benefits he  tells his readers that he 
has virtually exhausted the subject4    
,yet he  runs on through three more     
,books1 apparently for no other reason  
than  because he finds pleasure in      
discussing every question that has the  
remotest connection with the main theme4
 ,the result is that the portion  which 
he considers irrelevant is almost as    
long as the treatise proper4    ,i have 
once or twice in the present essay1     
touched upon the most  prominent feature
 of the ,roman character1 but the       
phenomenon is so  important1 contributes
 so much to a proper estimate of the    
career of  ,seneca1 and goes so far     

toward reconciling the apparent or real 
inconsistencies between his life and his
 doctrines1 between his words  and his  
deeds1 that it is necessary to dwell    
upon the point at greater  length4 ,the 
,romans were1 above everything else1 men
 of the world2 men  who laid the        
greatest possible stress on practical   
activity in the  service of the state2  
men who were wholly out of their sphere 
when this  outlet for their energies was
 closed to them4 ,greece gave birth to  
many  individuals who lived entirely1 or
 at least chiefly1 in the realm of      
their thoughts2 or as ,jean ,paul says  
of the ,germans1 the air was their      
domain4 ,the precincts of abstract      
speculation lay in a region never       
entered by a ,roman4 ,a few trod the    
outer courts under the guidance of      
,greeks1 but not one ever penetrated    
farther4 ,the ,romans had no  literature
 of their own1 no music1 no pictorial or
 plastic arts1 no  architecture4 ,though
 so long under the intellectual tutelage

 of ,greece1  their taste was not       
refined1 nor was a genuine love of      
culture inherent  in the nation4 ,it saw
 no use for these things because they   
were not  practical2 could not be       
employed in the service of the          
government4 ,the  occasional efforts of 
the emperors and of some of the leading 
families  to elevate the national taste 
produced but meager results4 ,such being
  the case1 what was there for the      
average ,roman to do when he had become 
rich1 or had no public duty to perform1 
and wanted to 8have a good  time08      
,there is abundant evidence within our  
reach to enable us to  answer this      
question4 ,he plunged headlong into     
debaucheries so shameful  that the      
modern pen shrinks from describing them1
 and the mind from  contemplating them4 
,fortunes were sometimes spent on a     
single banquet4  ,the ,roman baths      
ministered equally to luxury and        
licentiousness4 ,in  short1 it seems as 
if all the ingenuity of the empire had  

at times been  exerted to the utmost to 
devise new methods of sensual           
gratification4    ,but he could not     
indulge incessantly in bacchanalian     
orgies2 the jaded  body needed some     
relaxative that could be found neither  
in sleep nor in  such business that     
could not be delegated to a subordinate4
 ,there he  regaled himself with the    
sight of blood4 ,the huge structures    
erected for  the gladiatorial combats   
testify to the ,roman passion for these 
cruel  sports4 ,every living creature   
that could be induced to fight was      
exhibited in the arena where men and    
women took equal delight in the  bloody 
spectacle4 ,lecky1 in his ,history of   
,european ,morals1 sets forth  in       
graphic colors the pomp and circumstance
 with which these horrible  exhibitions 
were given4 ,i cannot do better than to 
transcribe his words3  8,the            
gladiatorial games form1 indeed1 the one
 feature of ,roman society  which to a  
modern mind is almost inconceivable in  

its atrocity4 ,that not  only men1 but  
women1 in an advanced period of         
civilization--men and women  who not    
only professed1 but very frequently     
acted upon1 a high code of              
morals--should have made the carnage of 
men their habitual amusement2  that all 
this should have continued for          
centuries1 with scarcely a  protest1 is 
one of the most startling facts in moral
 history4 ,it is1  however1 perfectly   
normal1 and in no degree inconsistent   
with the  doctrine of natural moral     
perceptions1 while it opens out fields  
of  ethical enquiry of a very deep1     
though painful interest40    8,the mere 
desire for novelty impelled the people  
to every excess or  refinement of       
barbarity4 ,the simple combat became at 
last insipid1 and  every variety of     
atrocity was devised to stimulate the   
flagging  interest4 ,at one time a bear 
and a bull1 chained together1 rolled in 
fierce contest along the sand2 at       
another1 criminals dressed in the  skins

 of wild beasts1 were thrown to bulls1  
which were maddened by  red-hot irons1  
or by darts tipped with burning pitch4  
,four hundred bears  were killed in a   
single day under ,caligula2 three       
hundred on another day  under ,claudius4
 ,under ,nero1 four hundred tigers      
fought with bulls and  elephants2 four  
hundred bears and three hundred lions   
were slaughtered  by his soldiers4 ,in a
 single day1 at the dedication of the   
,colosseum by  ,titus1 five thousand    
animals perished4 ,under ,trajan1 the   
games continued  for one hundred and    
twenty-three successive days4 ,lions1   
tigers1  elephants1 rhinoceroses1       
hippopotami1 giraffes1 bulls1 stags1    
even  crocodiles and serpents1 were     
employed to give novelty to the         
spectacle4  ,nor was any form of human  
suffering wanting4 ,the first ,gordian1 
when  edile1 gave twelve spectacles1 in 
each of which from one hundred and      
fifty to five hundred pair of gladiators
 appeared4 ,eight hundred pair  fought  

at the triumph of ,aurelian4 ,ten       
thousand men fought during the  games of
 ,trajan4 ,nero illumined his gardens   
during the night by  ,christians burning
 in their pitchy shirts4 ,under         
,domitian1 an army of  feeble dwarfs was
 compelled to fight1 and more than once 
female  gladiators descended to perish  
in the arena40    8,so intense was the  
craving for blood1 that a prince was    
less unpopular  if he neglected the     
distribution of corn than if he         
neglected the games2  and ,nero himself1
 on account of his munificence in this  
respect1 was  probably the sovereign who
 was most beloved by the ,roman         
multitude40    8,it is well for us to   
look steadily on such facts as these4   
,they display  more vividly than any    
mere philosophical disquisition the     
abyss of  depravity into which it is    
possible for human nature to sink4 ,they
  furnish us with striking proofs of the
 reality of the moral progress we  have 
attained1 and they enable us in some    

degree to estimate the  regenerating    
influence that ,christianity has        
exercised in the world4 ,for  the       
destruction of the gladiatorial games is
 all its work4 ,philosophers1  indeed1  
might deplore them1 gentle natures might
 shrink from their  contagion1 but to   
the multitude they possessed a          
fascination which  nothing but the new  
religion could overcome40    ,how deeply
 the virulent poison of inhumanity and  
the insatiable thirst  for blood had    
infected the ,roman people is further   
evident1 not only  from the means       
employed to make these sanguinary       
spectacles as  fascinating as possible1 
but also from the impress they made upon
 the  current phraseology4 ,lecky says  
further3 8,no pageant has ever combined 
more powerful elements of attraction4   
,the magnificent circus1 the  gorgeous  
dresses of the assembled court1 the     
contagion of a passionate  enthusiasm   
thrilling almost visibly through the    
mighty throng1 the  breathless silence  

of expectation1 the wild cheers bursting
  simultaneously from eighty thousand   
tongues1 and echoing to the  fartherest 
outskirts of the city1 the rapid        
alternations of the fray1  the deeds of 
splendid courage that were manifested1  
were all well fitted  to entrance the   
imagination4 ,the crimes and servitude  
of the gladiator  were for a time       
forgotten in the blaze of glory that    
surrounded him4  ,representing to the   
highest degree that courage which the   
,romans deemed  the first of virtues1   
the cynosure of countless eyes1 the     
chief object  of conversation in the    
metropolis of the universe1 destined1 if
  victorious1 to be immortalized in the 
mosaic and the sculpture1 he not        
unfrequently rose to heroic grandeur4444
 ,beautiful eyes1 trembling with        
passion1 looked down upon the fight1 and
 the noblest ladies of ,rome1  even the 
empress herself1 had been known to crave
 the victor's love4 ,we  read of        
gladiators lamenting that the games     

occurred so seldom1  complaining        
bitterly if they were not permitted to  
descend into the  arena1 scorning to    
fight except with the most powerful     
antagonists1  laughing aloud at their   
wounds when dressed1 and at last1 when  
prostrate  in the dust1 calmly turning  
their throats to the sword of the       
conqueror4  ,the enthusiasm that        
gathered round them was so intense that 
special laws  were found necessary1 and 
were sometime insufficient1 to prevent  
patricians from enlisting in their      
ranks1 while the tranquil courage  with 
which they never failed to die1 supplied
 the philosopher with his  most striking
 examples4 ,the severe continence that  
was required before  the combat1        
contrasting vividly with the            
licentiousness of ,roman life1  had even
 invested them with something of a moral
 dignity2 and it is a  singularly       
suggestive fact1 that1 of all pagan     
characters1 the gladiator  was selected 
by the fathers as the closest           

approximation to a ,christian  model4   
,st4 ,augustine tells us how one of his 
friends1 being drawn to the  spectacle1 
endeavored by closing his eyes to guard 
against a fascination  that he knew to  
be sinful4 ,a sudden cry caused him to  
break his  resolution1 and he never     
could withdraw his gaze again40    ,the 
,roman people clung with amazing        
tenacity to this gruesome sport4  ,nero 
instituted1 in a private way1 games     
after the ,grecian model1 and  ,hadrian 
made a similar effort on a larger scale2
 but the public took  little interest in
 them while sturdy ,romans protested    
against these  ,hellenic corruptions4   
,i have dwelt somewhat at length on this
 singular institution1 both  because it 
was peculiar to ancient ,rome and       
because1 above everything  else1 it     
throws light on the character of its    
populace4 ,it is true that  men of      
kindly natures like ,virgil and ,cicero 
condemned these atrocious  pastimes1 or 
at least took no pleasure in them1 but  

their influence  produced no effect on  
public opinion4 ,nothing that ,seneca   
has written is  more to his credit than 
the vigorous language he employs in     
denunciation  of the gladiatorial       
combats4    ,a life devoted to study and
 speculation was to a ,roman citizen    
impossible4 ,cicero1 who did more than  
any of his countrymen to  naturalize    
,greek philosophy on ,roman soil through
 the medium of the  ,latin language1 was
 a practical statesman4 ,when forced to 
retire from  the service of the state he
 longed to return to its labors1        
notwithstanding the dangers to be       
incurred4 ,livy and ,virgil devoted     
their lives almost exclusively to the   
glorification of the past in  extolling 
the heroes by whose toil1 endurance1 and
 self-sacrifice1 the  ,rome of their day
 had become what it was4 ,though in a   
sense living in  retirement1 their      
thoughts were none the less upon the    
state2 their time  and talents not the  
less devoted to its service4 ,to a      

,roman the state  embodied almost       
everything worth living for2 asceticism 
was impossible  for him4 ,even when not 
actively engaged in public affairs he   
found  pleasure in observing1 at close  
range1 the machinery of government in   
action4 ,he longed to live and move in  
the strife and turmoil of the  capital4 
,we need not wonder that ,ovid1 in      
exile1 was ready to submit  with        
cheerful alacrity to any moral          
indignity1 and to humiliate himself  in 
the dust before his emperor1 would he   
but permit him to return to the  city   
which his spirit had never left4        
,seneca's conduct1 when in  banishment1 
was even less to his credit than that of
 ,ovid1 inasmuch as  he professed to be 
governed by far higher principles4 ,he  
thought he was  a philosopher1 yet when 
compelled to live in ,corsica where he  
had all  his time to devote to study and
 meditation1 he was wretched in the     
extreme2 belittled himself by the most  
degrading exhibition of  servility2 did 

not scruple to stoop to the most        
shameful falsehoods and  the most       
disgusting flattery in order to bring   
about his recall4 ,his  encomium on     
solitude1 and his aversion to crowds1 if
 they are anything  more than mere      
theory1 are the result of larger        
experience and of deeper  insight into  
the human heart4 ,yet it is hardly open 
to doubt that he  could have gone into  
voluntary retirement at any period of   
his life1  except perhaps near its      
close4    ,it has been said of the      
emperor ,marcus ,aurelius1 that his mind
 was more  ,greek than ,roman4 ,while it
 is true that he loved philosophy1 and  
studied  it daily1 he did so in the     
belief that in this way he could the    
better  prepare his mind and heart to   
perform the duties which his exalted    
station imposed upon him4 ,he seems     
never to have seriously entertained  the
 thought that it was in his power at all
 times to lay down his  official burdens
 in order to follow his natural         

inclinations4 ,his  highest ideal of    
virtue was to cultivate and strengthen  
his sense of  duty2 but this duty was   
primarily political4    ,there is little
 doubt that the conspicuous place       
occupied by the state  in the mind of   
every ,roman citizen prepared the way   
for the deification  of the emperors1 a 
form of adulation that in the course of 
time wrought  untold mischief1 and led  
to the most abject servility on the part
 of men  of whom one would have expected
 better things4 ,baumgarten devotes many
  pages to a discussion of this curious 
feature of ,roman politics4 ,in the     
nature of the case this deification had 
no regard whatever to the  personal     
character of the sovereign4 ,it elevated
 him to the skies1  solely as the       
personification of the largest possible 
power entrusted to  a mortal4 ,when in  
the course of time all the functions of 
the government  were concentrated in the
 hands of a single individual1 it was   
natural  that he should become an object

 of worship1 at least in a sense1 even  
during his lifetime1 and as a matter of 
course placed among the gods at  his    
death4 ,we shall find this transition   
easy if we consider further the         
character of the gods of antiquity4     
,they were not distinguished from       
mortals by higher attributes1 but only  
by the possession of greater  power4 ,a 
god1 in the popular estimation1 was not 
necessarily any better  than a man--he  
was only stronger4 ,his good-will was to
 be gained and his  ill-will averted by 
precisely the same means that were      
employed in the  case of men4 ,the      
,roman gods were1 in a far larger       
measure than those of  the ,greeks1     
personifications of abstract qualities4 
,there was thus a  wide scope for       
projecting into their character the     
salient traits of the  worshiper4       
,the gods1 then1 being an abstraction1  
and the state being the mightiest       
visible representation of human power1  
it required no great effort of  the     

imagination to regard its head as       
divine1 in the sense which the  ,romans 
attached to the term4 ,the unthinking   
multitude naturally fell in  with the   
ideas of their leaders1 and even the    
better class of men rarely  protested   
because they considered the ceremony of 
little moment1 or  because protests     
would have been unavailing4             
,strangely1 too1 the belief in fate1 in 
an inevitable destiny1 did much  to     
paralize the free action of many of the 
bravest men4 ,the fate of the  republic1
 the destiny of the ,roman people1      
regarded as an immutable law  of nature1
 the utter insignificance of the        
individual either expressed  or implied1
 are ideas that figure prominently in   
the literature of  ancient ,rome4 ,it   
has been truly said that ,rome attained 
its greatness  without great men4       
,almost from its remotest beginnings it 
was like an  organism in which each     
separate cell1 though incapable of life 
by  itself1 performs its function as    

part of a whole and contributes to its  
life and growth4 ,in this case the cell1
 as we may designate each  individual   
moral entity1 though conscious in a     
sense of a life apart1  was powerless to
 modify the whole organism4    ,to what 
extent the ,roman emperors took their   
apotheosis seriously we  have scant     
means of knowing4 ,it is well           
established that a few of them  regarded
 it as a huge joke4 ,but it is beyond   
question that on the great  mass of the 
people it had a most deleterious effect4
 ,how could it be  otherwise1 when some 
of them reached the lowest depths of    
degradation to  which human nature could
 sink8 ,when the monarch in his official
 capacity  was recognized not only as   
the political and military head of the  
government but also its divine head1 it 
is easy to imagine what the  effect of  
such a recognition must be upon the     
average ,roman1 in  contracting his     
spiritual outlook4 ,as long as the gods 
were mere  abstract qualities1 or even  

to some extent personal beings like     
those of  the ,greeks1 there was a sort 
of indistinctness in which they were    
veiled  that did not invite imitation4  
,but a deified emperor was1 or had been1
 a  creature of flesh and blood2 no     
matter what he might do1 there would be 
many ready to tread in his footsteps1 so
 far as they could4 ,the  pernicious    
influence of the ancient mythology      
engaged the attention of  thoughtful men
 from the remotest times4 ,how much     
worse1 then1 would this  influence be   
when the vilest that tradition reported 
of the gods was  actually done by men in
 flesh and blood4 8,like priest1 like   
people10 is  a true saying even when    
both priest and people are pagans4      
,aside from the restraints of religion1 
there is1 in modern times1 in all       
civilized countries1 a certain          
restraining influence exercised by      
public  opinion that keeps the rich1 who
 are inclined to a lax personal         
morality1 within reasonable bounds4 ,but

 so far as we can discover1 the         
inhibitive force of public opinion in   
,rome upon the individual in the  matter
 of ethics was very slight1 especially  
under the empire4 ,it is  plain then    
where a debauched public sentiment      
placed no check upon any  form of vice  
from without1 and but few individuals   
yielded to moral  restraints from       
within1 the condition of society was    
such that it could  hardly have been    
worse4    ,we are sometimes inclined to 
wonder that so few protests were made by
  enlightened ,romans against the       
deification of the emperors4 ,the       
explanation may be found in the         
prevailing rationalism of the age4 ,to  
the majority of those men one religion  
was just as good as another1 and  all   
religions were but forms of             
superstition4 ,the persecutions directed
  against the early ,christians were    
urged on the general ground that the    
failure to follow the multitude was a   
mark of treason against the  government1

 and for this reason the best men were  
naturally the  instigators4 ,to perform 
the religious functions enjoined by the 
state  was regarded as a mark of        
loyalty2 to refuse1 the badge of        
disloyalty4  ,it is not necessary to go 
back to ancient ,rome and to heathen    
religions  to find parallels for        
treating the externals of worship as    
matters of  indifference1 or for        
requiring the subject1 under penalties1 
to conform  to the creed of the         
sovereign4    ,when we come to speak of 
the relation of ,seneca to              
,christianity1 but  especially of his   
conversion by ,st4 ,paul1 a thesis      
laboriously defended  by more than one  
modern writer1 we cannot do better than 
to transcribe a  passage from ,merivale 
setting forth clearly the courses that  
led men  into a very natural error4     
,after calling attention to the fact    
that both  ,seneca and ,paul were moral 
reformers1 he proceeds3 8,there is so   
much in  their principles1 so much even 

in their language1 which agrees         
together1  so that one has been thought1
 though it must be allowed without      
adequate  reason1 to have borrowed      
directly from the other4 ,but the       
philosopher1  be it remembered1         
discoursed to a large and not           
inattentive audience1  and surely the   
soil was not all unfruitful on which    
this seed was  scattered1 when he       
proclaimed that ,god dwells not in      
temples of wood or  stone1 nor wants the
 ministration of human hands2 that ,he  
has no delight  in the blood of victims2
 that ,he is near to all ,his creatures2
 that ,his  spirit resides in men's     
hearts2 that all men are truly ,his     
offspring2  that we are members of one  
body1 which is ,god or nature2 that men 
must  believe in ,god before they can   
approach ,him2 that the true service of 
,god is to be like unto ,him2 that all  
men have sinned1 and none performed  all
 the works of the law2 that ,god is no  
respecter of nations1 ranks1 or         

conditions1 but all1 barbarian and      
,roman1 bond and free1 are alike under  
,his all-seeing providence4 ,st4 ,paul  
enjoined submission and obedience  even 
to the tyranny of ,nero1 and ,seneca    
fosters no ideas subversive of          
political subjection4 ,endurance is the 
paramount virtue of the ,stoic4 ,to     
forms of government the wise man was    
wholly indifferent2 they were among  the
 external circumstances above which his 
spirit soared in serene                 
self-contemplation4 ,we trace in ,seneca
 no yearning for a restoration of       
political freedom1 nor does he ever     
point to the senate1 after the  manner  
of the patriots of the day1 as a        
legitimate check to the  autocracy of   
the despot4 ,the only mode1 in his view1
 of tempering  tyranny is to educate the
 tyrant himself in virtue4 ,his was the 
self-denial of the ,christians1 but     
without their anticipated  compensation4
 ,it seems impossible to doubt that in  
his highest flights  of rhetoric--and no

 man ever recommended the unattainable  
with a finer  grace--,seneca must have  
felt that he was laboring to build up a 
house  without foundations2 that his    
system1 as ,caius said of his style1 was
  sand without lime4 ,he was surely not 
unconscious of the inconsistency of  his
 own position1 as a public man and a    
minister1 with the theories to  which he
 had wedded himself2 and of the         
impossibility of preserving in  it the  
purity of his character as a philosopher
 or a man4 ,he was aware  that in the   
existing state of society at ,rome1     
wealth was necessary to  men high in    
station2 wealth alone could retain      
influence1 and a poor  minister became  
at once contemptible4 ,both ,cicero and 
,seneca were men of  many weaknesses1   
and we remark them the more because both
 were  pretenders to unusual strength of
 character3 but while ,cicero lapsed    
into political errors1 ,seneca cannot be
 absolved of actual crime4              
,nevertheless1 if we may compare the    

greatest masters of ,roman wisdom       
together1 the ,stoic will appear1 ,i    
think1 the more earnest of the two1  the
 more anxious to do his duty for its own
 sake1 the more sensible of  the claims 
of mankind upon him for such precepts of
 virtuous living as  he had to give4 ,in
 an age of unbelief and compromise1 he  
taught that  ,truth was positive and    
,virtue objective4 ,he conceived1 what  
never  entered ,cicero's mind1 the idea 
of improving his fellow creatures2 he   
had1 what ,cicero had not1 a heart for  
conversion to ,christianity40           
,notwithstanding the many points of     
contact between the doctrines of the    
,new ,testament and the teachings of    
,seneca1 no competent judge now holds   
that he was a ,christian4 ,the wonder is
 that there should ever have  arisen any
 serious controversy on the subject4    
,the very fact that  ,seneca's faith    
underwent no change from first to last  
ought to be  decisive4 ,he did not pass 
through the experience of conversion2 he

 shows  no vicissitudes of intellectual 
or moral growth2 he never wavered in his
  faith in philosophy1 and in the power 
of man to attain the supreme good  by   
mere force of will4 ,yet ,seneca is1 to 
the ,christian1 unquestionably1  the    
most interesting personality that       
heathen antiquity has produced4  ,his   
philosophy and his morality show1 in a  
striking way1 that a man may  approach  
very close to the boundary line of      
,christianity without  crossing it2     
without even knowing what is before him4
 ,the best thought  of the age clearly  
proves that ,greek philosophy had1 in a 
sense1  prepared a few noble minds for  
the reception of the ethical and        
altruistic precepts of the ,gospel2 but 
it was in no sense the harbinger  of its
 spiritual doctrines4    ,it remains yet
 to consider briefly an institution     
which1 while not  peculiar to ,rome1    
was1 nevertheless1 here characterized by
 some features  that were unique in     
their influences for evil4 ,slavery     

rested like a  horrible incubus upon the
 ancient world1 though few persons seem 
to have  been aware of it4 ,it placed a 
curse upon labor and almost prevented   
the  development of the mechanic arts4  
,it seriously impeded the growth of the 
moral sentiments by the hindrances it   
placed in the way of free  discussion1  
and by the opportunities it afforded the
 basely inclined for  the gratification 
of carnal lusts4 ,it placed a large part
 of the  population virtually beyond the
 range of human sympathy by branding the
  expression of such sympathy as a      
symptom of treason4 ,while it did these 
things everywhere1 in ,rome it made a   
people that were naturally coarse  and  
brutal still more so1 by placing within 
the easy reach of every  slave-owner    
helpless objects upon which he could    
vent his rage1 and  whose services he   
could exploit in the most unfeeling     
manner4 ,a lurid  light is thrown on the
 barbarity of the ,romans toward their  
slaves by an  occurrence that took place

 in the later years of ,seneca4 ,a plain
  statement of the facts is more        
impressive than many pages of theory4 ,a
  prefect of the city1 ,pedanius        
,secundus by name1 was murdered by one  
of  his slaves and the criminal could   
not be apprehended4 ,according to law1  
all the bondmen of the murdered man1    
four hundred in number1 were to be  put 
to death4 ,the populace1 to their honor 
be it said1 more humane than  the       
senators1 raised a tumult of protest    
against the execution of the  sentence4 
,their sympathy availed nothing2 the    
unhappy victims were led  away to die4  
,one of the senators even proposed a    
decree that all the  freedmen belonging 
to the household of the late prefect    
should be  transported beyond the       
confines of ,italy4 ,but the emperor1   
and that  emperor was ,nero1 more humane
 than the optimates1 alleged that the   
laws  were already severe enough1 and   
that it would be cruel to add to their  
severity by fresh enactments4 ,the      

decree of expulsion was not passed4     
,yet ,tacitus1 from whom this narrative 
is taken1 a writer who never tires  of  
lamenting the degeneracy of his age1 has
 not a word of compassion for  the      
unfortunate sufferers1 nor a syllable of
 condemnation for an  atrocious law4    
,still it must be said that some of the 
,roman philosophers1 especially  ,cicero
 and ,seneca1 lay stress in their       
writings1 upon the universal            
brotherhood of man4 ,they have much to  
say about the intrinsic worth of  the   
human soul4 ,while these ideas are      
largely borrowed from the ,greeks1  or  
at least suggested by ,greek            
philosophers1 the ,romans are singularly
  eloquent in proclaiming them4 ,but    
slavery is never attacked by name4 ,it  
is doubtful whether a passage can be    
found in any ,greek or ,roman writer    
explicitly asserting that it is wrong   
for one man to hold another in  bondage4
 ,this may be due to the conviction that
 such a doctrine would be  extremely    

dangerous among a large servile         
population1 even if the  government     
allowed entire freedom of speech4 ,the  
,new ,testament is almost  silent about 
slavery4 ,its authors did not wish to   
give utterance to any  views that could 
be used by their enemies as the basis   
for a charge of  disaffection with the  
8powers that be40    ,again1 slavery in 
some form was universal4 ,servitude was 
held to be the  proper condition of a   
large part of the human race4 ,no man   
who lived  during the existence of the  
,roman empire would have ventured to    
predict  the ultimate downfall of       
slavery4 ,it is interesting to note in  
this  connection that ,basil ,hall1     
writing as late as #ahbh1 while         
admitting  everything that could be     
alleged on the evils of slavery1 thought
 that  to do away with it seemed 8so    
completely beyond the reach of any human
  exertions that ,i consider the        
abolition of slavery as one of the most 
profitless of all possible subjects of  

discussion40    ,on the supposition1    
then1 that slavery must continue        
indefinitely1 if it  could ever be      
abolished1 it was the duty of the       
philanthropist to do  what he could to  
ameliorate the condition of the servile 
class by  educating their masters in the
 principles of a humane philosophy1     
rather  than to incur the risk of making
 it worse by the suggestion of          
emancipation4 ,if the good man is kind  
to his beast1 he cannot fail to  treat  
kindly his bondman4 ,it does not seem   
inconsistent with the general  tenor of 
,seneca's writings to assume that he    
thought the best way to  mitigate the   
condition of the slaves was to          
indoctrinate their owners  with a       
philosophy that would accord to them    
kind treatment1 rather than  to seek to 
bring about their liberation4           
,besides1 the slaves themselves were not
 often conscious of their  unfortunate  
legal status4 ,the best they desired for
 themselves was that  they might fall   

into the hands of a good master4 ,that  
such men were not  altogether wanting1  
even among the ,romans1 is evident from 
the many  instances of rare devotion    
shown by their slaves4    ,it is one of 
the surprising things in the history of 
mankind that the  progress of the       
anti-slavery sentiment was so rapid when
 the cause of  the slave had obtained a 
hearing before the bar of public        
conscience4  ,slavery had existed from  
time immemorial4 ,the wrongs it         
condoned1 the  evils entailed upon its  
victims1 attracted but little attention 
until  the close of the last century4   
,within less than a hundred years after 
the agitation had begun there was not a 
slave recognized as such by law  in     
,christendom4 ,the contemplation of this
 fact may well teach political  prophets
 to be careful in their predictions as  
to what will or will not  happen in the 
future4                      99       99
       99       99       99    ,in the  
foregoing essay ,i have1 for the most   

part omitted such  biographical data as 
may be found in any encyclopedia1 and   
have confined  myself chiefly to a study
 of the society in which ,seneca moved1 
and to a  consideration of some of the  
leading characteristics of the age in   
which  he lived4 ,every man should be   
judged by his times1 for no man is      
uninfluenced by them4 ,it is only men of
 the strongest character that  rise far 
above the manners and thoughts of their 
contemporaries4 ,seneca  was not one of 
these4 ,though endowed with a           
penetrating intellect and  strong moral 
convictions he sometimes yielded to     
temptations against the  protest of his 
better judgment4 ,he compelled his      
intellect to sanction  or at least to   
excuse conduct that he felt to be       
unworthy of the  philosophy he professed
 and taught4 ,yet after making all due  
allowance  for his shortcomings1 ,i am  
persuaded that one cannot long study his
  writings and his career without       
reaching the conviction that among the  

great men of ,rome none towered above   
him in moral grandeur and but few       
surpassed him in intellectual stature4  
,if ,i may be allowed to express a      
personal opinion ,i do not hesitate to  
affirm that in the first thousand  years
 of its history no more interesting and 
attractive character lived  and died in 
the ,city of the ,seven ,hills than the 
philosopher ,seneca4    ,footnote #a3   
,it is a noteworthy fact that many of   
,rome's great men were ,spaniards1      
while many others were not natives of   
the city4 ,among the former were    the 
emperors ,trajan1 ,hadrian1 ,antoninus  
and ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,the two         
,senecas1 ,lucan1 ,martial and          
,quintillian were also ,spaniards4      
,vespasian    was born at ,reate2 ,livy1
 in ,padua2 ,horace1 at ,venusia2       
,virgil1 in    ,mantua2 ,cicero1 at     
,arpinum2 the emperor ,claudius1 at     
,lugdunum2 the two    ,plinys1 at       
,comum1 etc4    ,footnote #b3           
,seneca is generally regarded as the    

first ,roman writer who used    caro1   
flesh1 as distinct from1 and opposed to1
 spirit4          ,the following is a   
list of ,seneca's extant works3         
,de ,providentia1 7,on ,providence74    
,de ,constantia ,sapientis1 7,on the    
,constancy of the ,sage74        ,de    
,ira1 7,on ,anger74        ,de ,vita    
beata1 7,on a happy life74        ,de   
,otio1 7,on ,leisure74        ,de       
,tranquillitate ,animi1 7,on ,peace of  
,mind74        ,de ,brevitate ,vitae1   
7,on the ,shortness of ,life74          
,de ,beneficiis1 7,on ,beneficence74    
,de ,clementia1 7,on ,clemency74        
,ad ,marciam de ,consolatione1 7,a      
,letter of ,condolence to ,marcia74     
,ad ,polybium de ,consolatione1 7,a     
,letter of ,condolence to ,polybius74   
,ad ,helviam matrem de ,consolatione4   
7,a ,letter of ,condolence to his       
mother ,helvia74                        
,apocolocynthosis1 7,pumpkinfication1 as
 it may be translated by a      parody  
on ,deification2 or we may call it      

,pumpkinosis to correspond      with    
,apotheosis74        ,epistolae ,morales
 ad ,lucilium1 7,letters to ,lucilius on
 the ,conduct      of ,life74           
,quaestiones ,naturales1 7,questions    
relating to ,physical ,phenomena74      
,this is the only work of the kind      
belonging to ,latin literature4         
,during the ,middle ,ages it was much   
used as a text-book4    ,in the         
,charpentier-,lemaistre edition the     
letters to ,lucilius fill the  first    
volume and a little more than half of   
the second4 ,the first ,book  on        
,beneficence is in the third volume2 the
 remainder with the ,problems  in       
,physics fill the fourth and last4 ,the 
smaller treatises occupy the  rest of   
the four volumes4 ,a number of          
,tragedies with ,greek titles are  also 
attributed to our ,seneca1 probably with
 justice4        ,note3--,to translate  
,seneca adequately is not an easy task4 
,while his      meaning is usually      
plain1 the modern reader is not in all  

cases      certain that he clearly      
apprehends the exact signification of   
his      words when taken separately4   
,he is thus in danger of reading into   
them ideas that savor more of modern    
theology than the author                
intended1--a common fault of            
interpreters4 ,it has been demonstrated 
that ,seneca knew nothing of the        
,gospels directly1 yet he has often     
been claimed as a ,christian4           
,evidently1 then1 there must be a good  
deal in his writings that can be used to
 support such a claim4      ,attention  
has already been called to his use of   
caro4 ,he seems      also to be the     
first ,roman who uses ,providentia to   
designate an      intelligent guide and 
guardian of the affairs of the world4   
,there      are other terms to which he 
gives a signification not found in the  
profane writers of ancient ,rome4       
,but the chief obstacle the translator  
has to contend against is his           
diction4 ,this is highly rhetorical and 

very difficult to transfer      into    
another language1 unless the translator 
has at command all the      resources of
 his mother tongue4 ,such a wealth of   
resources1 ,i do not      hesitate to   
confess1 is not within my reach4 ,if a  
translation is to      make the same    
impression on the reader or hearer that 
is made by the      original1 it is as  
important to preserve the peculiarities 
of a      writer's style as to render   
accurately the meaning of the separate  
words4 ,while ,i flatter myself that ,i 
have been fairly successful in      the 
interpretation of ,seneca's words1 ,i am
 not equally sanguine as      to his    
diction4 ,i believe1 however1 that ,i   
have in no case strayed      very far   
afield and that the reading of the      
following pages will      convey not    
only a fairly correct idea of what      
,seneca thought on many      important  
problems1 but also of the manner in     
which he expressed      himself4 ,i hope
 at some future time1 if life and health

 are      vouchsafed to me1 to prepare a
 complete translation of ,seneca's      
moral writings4           ,,selections  
,,from ,,the ,,writings ,,of ,,seneca1  
,,to ,,which ,,passages ,,more ,,or     
,,less                   ,,closely      
,,akin ,,occur ,,in ,,the ,,scriptures4 
,,from ,,the ,,letters ,,to ,,lucilius4 
,a holy spirit dwells within us1 the    
observer and keeper of the evil and  the
 good2 it treats us just as it is       
treated by us4    ,if you do what is    
right1 let all men know it2 if what is  
wrong1 does it  matter that no one knows
 it1 since you know it yourself8 ,o what
 a  wretched man you are if you         
disregard such a witness6    ,the human 
mind has come down from the spirit that 
dwells on high4    ,fortune exempts many
 from punishment2 from fear1 no one4    
,it is natural for those who have done  
wrong to be afraid4    ,the light is    
irksome to a bad conscience4    ,the    
guilty have sometimes the good fortune  
not to be found out2 never  the         

certainty of it4    ,good precepts1 if  
you often reflect upon them1 will profit
 you equally  with good examples4    ,if
 thou wouldst gain the favor of the     
gods1 be good4    ,he adequately        
worships the gods who imitates them4    
,it suffices ,god that he be worshiped  
and loved2 love cannot be mixed  with   
fear4    ,what thou hast learned1       
confirm by doing4    ,a great and holy  
spirit1 it is true1 holds converse with 
us1 but it  cleaves to its origin4      
,let the young reverence and look up to 
their teachers4    ,how wisely you live 
is an important matter3 not1 how long4  
,it is not a good thing to live2 it is1 
to live wisely4    ,he who would live   
for himself must live for others4    ,he
 who has much covets more4    ,no one is
 worthy of ,god save him who contemns   
riches4    ,dare to contemn riches and  
thus to make thyself worthy of ,god4    
,the shortest road to riches is to      
contemn riches4    ,not he who has      
little but he who covets more is poor4  

,thin is the texture of a lie2 it is    
easily seen through if closely          
examined4    ,the praise is not in the  
deed but in the way it is done4    ,to  
be master of one's self is the greatest 
mastery4    ,one cause of the evils of  
our time is that we live after the      
example of  others4 ,we are not guided  
by reason but led astray by custom4     
,money never made anybody rich4    ,why 
did ,god create the world8 ,he is good2 
a good being feels no aversion  to      
anything that is good4 ,therefore ,he   
made the world as good as  possible4    
,quoted from ,plato4    ,some of our    
time is filched from us1 some is stolen 
outright1 some  passes unnoticed4 ,but  
most reprehensible of all things is to  
lose it by  mere negligence2 and if you 
will note carefully1 men spend a great  
part  of life in doing evil1 the        
greatest part in doing nothing the whole
 of  it doing something else than they  
ought4 ,whom will you name that places  
any value on time8 ,who prizes a day8   

,who realizes that he is dying  daily8  
,for we err when we regard death as     
something in the future2 a  great part  
of it has already passed2 the portion of
 our life that is  behind us1 death     
holds4 ,do1 therefore1 ,lucilius1 what  
you write that you  are doing1 husband  
every hour2 you will be less dependent  
upon to-morrow  if you seize to-day4    
,everything else belongs to others1 time
 only is  ours4    ,there is a great    
difference between not wanting to sin   
and not knowing  how4    ,if thou       
wouldst get rid of thy vices keep out of
 bad company4    ,he worships ,god who  
knows ,him4    ,no one commits wrongs   
for himself alone2 he communicates them 
to others  and is in turn led astray by 
others4    ,our minds are dazzled when  
they look upon truth4    ,no virtue     
remains hidden1 and it suffers no damage
 by having been  hidden4    ,nature has 
given to all the fundamental principles 
and seeds of virtue4    ,nature does not
 make us virtuous2 it is an art to      

become good4    ,if what you are doing  
is right1 all men may know it4    ,the  
reward of all the virtues is in the     
virtues themselves4 ,the  recompense of 
a good deed is to have done it4         
,virtue alone brings lasting and sure   
happiness4    ,he errs who thinks the   
gods intentionally inflict injuries on  
any one2  they cannot do so2 they can   
neither receive nor do injury4    ,so   
live with men as if ,god saw thee2 so   
talk with ,god as if men heard  thee4   
,god has no need of ministering         
servants3 ,he ,himself ministers to men2
 is  present everywhere and in          
everything4    ,the gods extend a       
helping hand to those who would rise4   
,do you wonder  that man goes to the    
gods8 ,god comes to men1 and what is    
more1 ,he comes  into men4 ,no mind is  
good without ,god4    ,all men1 if they 
are traced to their first origin1 are   
from the gods4    ,every day1 every     
hour1 reminds us of our nothingness and1
 by some fresh  admonition1 warns those 

of their frailty who are prone to forget
 it4    ,give heed to each day as if it 
were your whole life4 ,nothing will so  
much enable you to exercise control over
 yourself in all things as to  think    
often of the uncertainty and brevity of 
life4    ,you will grant that the       
greatest piety toward the gods is a     
characteristic of a good man2 and so    
whatever may befall him he will  bear   
with equanimity1 for he will know that  
it has happened in harmony  with that   
divine law by which all things are      
governed4    ,no one is strong enough to
 rise by his own strength2 every man    
needs  some one to extend a hand1 some  
one to lead him4    ,so let us live1 so 
let us talk1 that our destiny may find  
us prepared  and ready to follow it4    
,great is the soul that has yielded     
itself to  ,god2 on the other hand1 that
 one is cowardly and degenerate that    
resists1 that finds fault with the order
 of the world1 and is more ready  to set
 the the gods right than itself4    ,we 

ought to have before our minds some one 
whom we revere2 some one  whose         
influence makes even our most secret    
thoughts holier4    ,long is a way by   
precepts2 short and effectual1 by       
examples4    ,weaker minds1 however1    
have need of some one to go before who  
shall say1  8,this avoid1 this do40     
,the community of which we form a part  
is very much like an arch built of      
stone2 it would at once fall down if one
 did not support another4    ,we are    
members of an immense body4 ,nature     
begat us as kinsmen1 since it  formed us
 of the same elements and for the same  
end4    ,what is it that draws us in one
 direction when we would go in another1 
that urges us on when we want to resist1
 that strives against our  desires and  
does not permit us to do what we        
purpose8    ,if thou wishest to be      
loved1 love6    ,no one is free that is 
the slave of his body4    ,we ought to  
live in this thought3 ,i was not born   
for a corner only2 my  country is this  

entire world4    ,the beginning of      
salvation is the knowledge of sin4      
,quoted from  ,epicurus4    ,philosophy 
sheds its light upon all men4    ,it is 
so difficult for us to get well because 
we do not know that we are  sick4    ,it
 is the strongest evidence that our mind
 is directed toward its own  improvement
 when we see faults that we had not     
before observed4    ,it is an infirmity 
of mind not to be able to bear riches4  
,to live right is in the power of       
everybody4    ,the acknowledgement of a 
fault is the beginning of a better life4
    ,he who does not admit his proneness
 to do wrong has no desire to be        
corrected4 ,you must recognize your     
errors before you can correct them4     
,the ancients held the first requisite  
of repentance to be an examination  of  
one's self1 especially since without    
this1 life would not be worth  living4  
,there is no vice without some excuse4  
,you ask me what you should particularly
 avoid4 7,i answer17 a crowd4 ,you      

cannot with safety to yourself mingle in
 a large company4 ,i must verily        
confess my own weakness4 ,i never bring 
back the same character that ,i  took   
with me2 something which ,i had         
banished1 returns2 something else  that 
,i had quieted1 is aroused4444 ,but     
nothing is so damaging to a good        
character as to spend much time at      
public spectacles1 for with the         
pleasure we receive vices the more      
easily creep in unawares4    ,it is a   
large part of goodness to desire to     
become good4    ,there is a certain     
fitness in the feeling of sorrow2 this  
the sage ought  to heed1 and just as in 
everything else so in grief there is a  
proper  mean4    ,what fate did not give
 it did not take away4    ,to obey ,god 
is liberty4    ,no one is out of the    
reach of the temptation of vice unless  
he has  banished it wholly from his     
breast2 and no one has banished it      
wholly  until he has put wisdom in its  
stead4    ,great is the praise if man is

 helpful to man4 ,we admonish you to    
extend  a hand to the shipwrecked2 to   
point out the way to the lost2 to share 
your bread with the hungry4    ,no one  
ever renders a service to another       
without also rendering a  service to    
himself4    ,often what is given is a   
small matter2 what follows from it1 a   
great  one4    ,when we reason upon the 
immortality of the soul1 we do not      
regard as of  little weight the         
universal belief of men who either fear 
or revere the  gods of the lower world4 
,that day which thou dreadest as if it  
were thy last is the day of the  birth  
into eternity4    ,a time will come that
 shall unite us and bring us into each  
other's  company4    ,then shall our    
soul have reason to rejoice because1    
freed from this  darkness in which it is
 involved1 it shall see the light1 no   
longer with  feeble vision1 but in all  
the brightness of day1 and it will have 
returned to its own heaven since it will
 again occupy the place which  belongs  

to it by right of birth4 ,its origin    
calls it on high4    ,let another begin 
a quarrel1 but let reconciliation begin 
with thee4    ,what else is nature than 
,god and the divine reason that         
permeates the  whole world and all its  
parts4 ,whithersoever thou turnest thou 
wilt see  ,him before thee2 there is no 
place where ,he is not2 ,he ,himself    
fills all  ,his work4    ,every crime is
 committed before the deed is done4     
,the human mind has come down from the  
spirit that dwells on high4    ,believe 
me1 the creator of this vast universe1  
whoever he may have been1  whether it   
was a god1 master of everything1 whether
 it was an  incorporeal intelligence    
able to bring forth the most brilliant  
marvels1  whether it was a divine spirit
 diffused with equal energy in the      
smallest and the largest things1 whether
 it was destiny and an immutable        
concatenation of causes linked together3
 this sovereign potentate did  not wish 
to leave us dependent upon any one else 

even in the smallest  matters4    ,stars
 shall impinge upon stars and all matter
 that now delights us with  its         
beautiful order will burn in one huge   
conflagration4    ,how often he who     
refuses pardon to others begs it for    
himself6    ,it is base to say one thing
 and mean another2 it is baser to write 
one  thing and mean another4    ,a wise 
man will pardon an injury1 though it be 
great1 and if he can do  it without     
breach of piety and fidelity1 that is1  
if the whole injury  pertains to        
himself4    ,as far as thou canst1      
accuse thyself1 try thyself1 discharge  
the office1  first of a prosecutor1 then
 of a judge1 lastly of an intercessor4  
,we can never quarrel enough with our   
vices1 which1 ,i beseech thee1          
persecute perpetually4 ,cast from thee  
everything that corrupts the  heart2 and
 if thou canst not otherwise get rid of 
it1 spare not the  heart itself4        
,,from ,,de ,,beneficiis4      ,nature  
is not without ,god nor is ,god without 

nature4 ,both are the same  and their   
functions are the same4 ,so1 too1       
nature1 destiny1 fortune1 are  all the  
names of the same ,god4    ,it is the   
mark of a noble and generous soul to be 
helpful1 to do good2  he who confers    
favors1 imitates the gods4              
,beneficence always makes haste2 what   
one does willingly one does  quickly4   
,we owe no thanks for a favor that has  
for a long time adhered to the  hands of
 the giver1 as it were2 which he seems  
to have let go with  reluctance and     
which one might almost say had been     
wrested from him4    ,those favors are  
most gratifying to us that are          
deliberately and  willingly offered1 and
 in connection with which the only      
hesitancy is on  the part of the        
recipient4    ,i do not make the favors 
,i confer a matter of public record4    
,he who intends to be grateful ought to 
think about requiting a favor as  soon  
as he receives it4    ,this is the law  
of beneficence between two persons3 the 

one should  forthwith forget that he has
 given2 the other should never forget   
that  he has received4    ,you buy from 
the physician a thing that is above     
price1 life and health2  from the       
teacher of belles-lettres1 acquaintance 
with the liberal arts4  ,yet it is not  
the value of these things that you pay  
for but their  pains1 because when they 
are serving us they give up their       
private  business to devote themselves  
to us4    ,the sun rises for the evil   
also4    ,god has given certain         
benefactions to all men1 and from which 
none are  excluded4    ,who is so       
wretched1 so despised1 who born to so   
hard and sorrowful a  destiny that he   
has never perceived the munificence of  
the gods8 ,seek  out even those who     
bewail their fate and who are always    
complaining1 you  will not find among   
the entire number one who has not       
experienced the  beneficence of heaven2 
there is not one for whom there has not 
flowed  something from the most         

inexhaustible of all fountains4    ,add1
 now1 that external circumstances do not
 coerce the gods1 but their  sempiternal
 will is their law4 ,they have          
established an order of events  which   
they do not change4 ,the gods never     
repent of their first purpose4          
,beneficence consists not in what is    
done or given1 but in the spirit of  the
 doer or giver4    ,it is a most        
glorious work to save even the unwilling
 and refractory4    ,the door to virtue 
is closed to no one2 it is open to all1 
admits all2  virtue invites everybody1  
free-born1 freedmen1 slaves1 kings and  
exiles4  ,it selects neither class nor  
condition1 it seeks the man only4       
,nature directs us to do good to all men
 whether bond or free1 free-born  or    
emancipated slaves4 ,wherever there is a
 human being1 there is a place  for     
beneficence4    ,he who reasons thus    
7like ,epicurus71 does not hear the     
voices of  supplicants and the prayers  
offered everywhere1 in public and       

private1  with hands outstretched toward
 heaven4 ,this could not be1 nor is it  
possible that all men should have       
willingly consented to the folly of     
addressing deaf divinities and powerless
 gods1 if they had not  recognized their
 benefactions1 sometimes given          
spontaneously1 sometimes  in answer to  
prayer1 always great1 timely1 averting  
by their  intervention impending        
disasters4                              
,,from ,,various ,,sources4      ,it is 
easy to form the mind while it is still 
tender2 but it is  difficult to root out
 those vices that have grown up with it4
    ,it is a great thing to know when to
 speak and when to be silent4    ,the   
vices of others we have before our eyes2
 our own1 behind our backs4    ,use your
 ears oftener than your tongue4         
,nothing is more out of place in him who
 is inflicting punishment than  anger4  
,it is not the issue of a thing that    
ought to be taken into account1 but  the
 purpose4    ,every crime is committed  

before the deed is done4    ,to cupidity
 nothing is enough2 to nature even a    
little is enough4    ,vice takes        
possession of us unconsciously2 virtue  
is difficult to find1  and we need a    
guide and teacher4 ,vices are learned   
without a teacher4    ,stars shall      
impinge upon stars and all matter that  
now delights us with  its beautiful     
order shall burn in one huge            
conflagration4    ,all that is best can 
neither be given to men nor taken from  
them4    ,there are two things1 the most
 precious of all1 that attend us        
whithersoever we turn our steps3 common 
nature and personal virtue4  ,these     
things are so1 believe me1 because they 
were so willed by the  creator of the   
universe1 whether it is that ,god who   
controls everything1  or incorporeal    
reason1 the artificer of great works1 or
 the divine  spirit that pervades       
equally the greatest and the smallest   
things4    ,if the dead have any        
feeling1 the soul of my brother1 now set

 free from  a long imprisonment1 is at  
length in the full enjoyment of his     
freedom  and his majority2 he beholds   
with delight the nature of things and   
looks  down upon human affairs from his 
high abode2 but things divine1 the      
causes of which he so long sought out in
 vain1 he now beholds at close  range4  
,why then do ,i pine away in sorrow for 
him who is either blessed  or not all8  
,to mourn for one who is in bliss is    
envy2 for one who is  not1 folly4       
,borne on high1 he soars among beatified
 spirits1 and a sanctified  company     
welcomes him--the ,scipios1 the ,catos1 
released by the beneficence  of death4  
,there thy father devotes himself to his
 grandson1 resplendent  in the new light
 even though in that place all are known
 to each4 ,he  explains to him the      
motions of the stars around him2 not    
from  conjectures1 but1 versed in the   
knowledge of all things1 he gladly      
inducts him into the arcana of nature4  
,if you will believe those who have     

looked more deeply into the truth1  our 
whole life is a punishment4    ,for     
those who sail this sea so stormy1 so   
exposed to every tempest1  there is no  
harbor except death4    ,he now enjoys a
 serene and cloudless heaven4 ,from this
 humble and low  abode1 he has sped     
swiftly into that region1 wherever it   
may be1 where  souls1 freed from their  
chains1 are received into the abode of  
the  blest4 ,he now roams about at will1
 and beholds with supremest delight  all
 that is good in the universe4444 ,he   
has not left us2 he has gone  before4   
,,de ,,providentia ,,sive ,,quare       
,,aliqua ,,incommoda ,,bonis ,,viris    
,,accidantcum                           
,,providentia ,,sit4                    
,,note3--,this monograph is addressed to
 the same ,lucilius1 procurator      of 
,sicily1 to whom ,seneca also dedicates 
his letters and his      ,problems in   
,physics4 ,the date of composition is   
not known1 but it      probably belongs 
to the later years of the author's life4

 ,the      opening sentences seem to    
make it a part of a larger work on      
ethics1      or rather of a theodicy1   
which was either never completed or has 
not      come down to us4 ,this is a    
serious loss both to us and to ,seneca3 
to      us1 because such a work would   
doubtless have placed before us a       
complete theory of human conduct as     
conceived by a man who was              
thoroughly conversant with the motives  
that dominate men2 to ,seneca1          
because it would in all probability have
 explained if not justified      some of
 the inconsistencies that have so sadly 
marred his career4      ,indeed the     
fundamental proposition of the essay is 
inconsistent1      since the conclusion 
does not follow from the premises4 ,for 
if the      patient endurance of        
tribulation is the supreme test of a    
good man1      how is he justified in   
avoiding that test1 as our author       
proposes1      by taking his own life8  
,i4      ,you have asked me1 ,lucilius1 

why it is1 if the world is governed by a
  ,providence1 that so many misfortunes 
befall good men4 ,to this an answer     
would more properly be given in a work  
in which ,i should undertake to  prove  
that a ,providence presides over the    
affairs of men1 and that ,god  dwells   
among us4 ,but since you deem it best to
 take a small portion of  the whole     
subject1 and to settle this single      
disputed question1 the main  proposition
 meanwhile being left untouched1 ,i     
shall undertake a case of  little       
difficulty3 ,i shall plead the cause of 
the gods4    #b4 ,it is superfluous to  
show at the present time that so great a
 work  does not stand fast and firm     
without an overseer2 that the regular   
course of the heavenly bodies is not a  
fortuitous concourse of atoms2  that    
those objects which chance puts in      
motion are subject to frequent          
disturbances and sudden collisions2 that
 this harmonious velocity is  under the 
sway of an eternal law governing        

everything on land and sea1  no less    
than the brilliant luminaries which     
shine according to a  prearranged plan2 
that this order is not the result of    
elements moving  about at random1       
neither can fortuitous aggregations of  
matter cohere  with such art that the   
immense mass of the earth remains       
motionless  while beholding the rapid   
gyrations of the heavenly bodies about  
itself2  that the seas poured into the  
valleys to fructify the soil never feel 
any increase from rivers2 or that       
enormous vegetation grows from the      
minutest seeds4    #c4 ,not even those  
things that appear to be uncertain and  
without  regularity--,i mean rains and  
clouds and the bolts of lightning       
darting  from the clouds1 and fires     
poured from the cleft summits of        
mountains1  and the quakings of the     
tottering ground1 and such other        
disturbances of  the earth about us--are
 without a rational explanation1        
unforeseen though  they be4 ,these      

things1 too1 have their causes1 not less
 those which1  when they appear in      
unexpected places1 are regarded as      
prodigies1 such  as warm springs among  
the billows or new insular lands rising 
up in the  vast expanse of the sea4     
#d4 ,moreover1 if one has observed the  
beach laid bare by the waves of the     
retiring sea and covered again within a 
brief space of time1 does he  believe   
that the waves have been contracted and 
drawn inward by a kind  of blind        
restlessness1 to burst forth again to   
seek with a mighty onset  their         
accustomed seats1 especially since the  
waters increase at regular  intervals   
and move according to a fixed day and   
hour just as the lunar  star attracts   
them more or less1 under whose influence
 the ocean  regulates its ebb and flow8 
,however1 these questions had better be 
reserved for their proper place1 since  
you do not deny the existence of  a     
providence1 but only bring complaints   
against it4    #e4 ,i wish to reconcile 

you with the gods since they regard the 
best men  with the most favor4 ,for in  
the nature of things1 what is good can  
never  harm the good4 ,between good men 
and the gods a friendship exists1 virtue
  being the bond of amity4 ,friendship1 
do ,i say8 nay1 more2 it is a near      
relationship and likeness1 since the    
good man differs from ,god only in      
time2 he is ,his pupil and imitator1    
,his true offspring1 whom his august    
father1 no lenient trainer in the       
virtues1 brings up somewhat rigorously  
after the manner of stern parents4      
#f4 ,accordingly1 when you see good men1
 the favorites of the gods1  toiling1   
sweating1 ascending by hard paths1 and  
the bad living in  licentious indulgence
 and growing effeminate in luxury1      
consider that we  too are gratified with
 the sobriety of our sons1 but with the 
wantonness  of our household slaves2    
that the former gain greater            
self-control by  the sterner discipline1
 the latter are confirmed in their      

presumption4  ,the same thing is true in
 regard to ,god2 ,he does not support   
the good  man in enervating ease2 ,he   
tries him1 hardens him1 prepares him for
  ,himself4                             
,,ii4      8,why do the good meet with  
so many adversities80 7you ask74 ,no    
evil  thing can befall a good man2      
things in their nature contradictory may
  not be commingled4 ,just as so many   
rivers1 so much water falling from  the 
clouds above1 so great a number of      
springs impregnated with mineral        
substances1 do not change the saltness  
of the sea1 do not even dilute  it2 so  
the assaults of adversity produce no    
change in the spirit of a  brave man4   
,he remains steadfast1 and whatever     
betides he gains for his  colors1 for he
 is stronger than all external          
circumstances4 ,i do not1 it  is true1  
say1 that he is insensible to them1 but 
that he triumphs over  them1 and1       
moreover1 remains calm and serene in    
spite of obstacles4 ,all  untoward      

events he regards as so much drill4     
,besides1 is there any man  who is only 
an admirer of noble deeds1 that is not  
eager for honest  toil1 or ready to do  
his duty with alacrity even in the face 
of danger8  ,to what industrious man is 
not inactivity a punishment8 ,we see    
athletes1  whose purpose is to develop  
their bodily strength1 matching         
themselves  with the most doughty       
antagonists1 and requiring those who    
prepare them  for a contest to use all  
their strength against their pupils2    
they allow  themselves to be smitten and
 buffeted1 and if they do not find      
suitable  single antagonists they pit   
themselves against several at the same  
time4    #c4 ,when virtue has no        
antagonist it becomes enervated2 then   
only does it  appear what its true      
character is1 how strong1 how virile it 
is when  patient endurance shows what it
 can accomplish4 ,you surely know that  
good men must do the same thing1 to the 
end that they may not fear what  is hard

 or formidable1 nor complain about fate4
 ,whatever happens1 let  the good bear  
it patiently and turn it to good uses4  
,not what we bear  but how we bear it1  
is the important thing4 ,do you not see 
how  differently fathers and mothers    
show their love for their children8 ,the
  former want their sons to be aroused  
early in order that they may betake     
themselves to their studies2 their      
vacations even they would not have  them
 pass in idleness1 and they draw sweat  
and sometimes even tears from  the      
youths2 but mothers want to fondle them 
on their bosom1 keep them in  the shade2
 they would never have them weep1 never 
be sad1 never undergo  toil4    #d4 ,god
 has a father's feelings toward good men
 and ardently loves them1  and says3    
8,by labors1 sorrows1 privations1 let   
them be tried in order  that they may   
gain real strength40 ,animals that are  
being fattened grow  languid by their   
inactivity1 and by the weight of their  
own bodies  become incapable not only of

 work1 but of movement4 ,unalloyed      
felicity  cannot withstand any shock1   
but a constant struggle against         
obstacles  hardens a man against        
injuries1 and he does not succumb to any
 disaster1  for even if he falls1 he    
fights on his knees4    #e4 ,are you    
surprised if ,god1 who is a most devoted
 friend of the good1  and who wishes    
them to attain the highest degree of    
perfection1 assigns  them a place in    
which they are to be disciplined8       
,verily1 ,i am not  surprised that      
sometimes a desire seizes the the gods  
to behold great  men struggling against 
some misfortune4 ,to us mortals it at   
times  affords pleasure to see a        
courageous youth await with the hunting 
spear1  the onset of some wild beast1 or
 if with unblanched cheek he thrusts    
back the attack of a lion2 and the      
spectacle is agreeable in proportion  to
 the rank of him who exhibits it4    #f4
 ,these are not the sights that attract 
the attention of the gods1 but  childish

 pastimes and the pleasures of men who  
have no serious aims4  ,behold a        
spectacle worthy of a god who is        
intensely interested in his  work2      
behold a pair of champions worthy of    
god1 a brave man pitted  against adverse
 fortune1 especially if he himself be   
the challenging  party4 ,i do not see1  
,i say1 what more agreeable sight on    
earth ,jupiter  can look upon1 if he    
turns his attention thither1 than to    
behold ,cato1  after his party had been 
more than once defeated1 standing erect1
  nevertheless1 amid the ruins of the   
republic4    #g4 ,said he1 8,though     
everything has yielded to the behests of
 one man2  though the lands be guarded  
by legions and the seas by fleets and   
the  soldiers of ,caesar keep watch at  
our gates1 there is a way of escape for 
,cato4 ,single-handed will he make a    
broad way for liberty2 this sword1  pure
 and untarnished even in civil strife1  
shall at length perform a  worthy and   
noble deed2 the liberty it could not    

give to his country1 it  shall give to  
,cato4 ,perform my soul1 a deed long    
meditated1 free thyself  from earthly   
concerns6    #h4 ,already ,petreius and 
,juba have turned their swords against  
each other  and lie dead1 slain with    
mutual hands4 ,a brave and glorious     
covenant to  die was that1 but one that 
was unworthy of my greatness2 it is as  
ignoble for ,cato to beg for death at   
the hands of another as 7to beg  for7   
life40 ,i am sure the gods looked with  
keen satisfaction when that  hero1 the  
intrepid liberator of himself1 takes    
counsel for the safety of  others and   
provides a way of escape for the        
fugitives2 when he pursues  his studies 
far even into that final night2 when he 
thrusts the sword  into his own sacred  
breast2 when he disembowels himself and 
sets free  with his own hand that purest
 spirit unworthy to be contaminated with
 a  sword4    #i4 ,hence ,i would fain  
believe that the thrust was badly       
directed and the  wound not fatal2 it   

was not enough for the immortal gods to 
have beheld  ,cato once only2 his       
courage was restrained and called back  
that it might  show itself in a more    
difficult part4 ,for death may be said  
not so much  to have come upon so great 
a soul as to have been sought by it4    
,why  should they not rejoice to see    
their favorite pass from life in a way  
so  glorious and memorable8 ,death      
deifies those whose departure fills with
  admiration even those who stand aghast
 at the manner of it4                   
,,iii4      ,but as ,i proceed with my  
discourse1 ,i shall show that not all   
those  things which seem to be evils are
 such4 ,for the present1 ,i affirm that 
the conditions you call hard1 adverse1  
and terrible1 are in the first  place   
best for those very persons whom they   
befall2 and in the second1  for all men1
 since the gods are more concerned for  
mankind as a whole  than for the        
individual2 and lastly2 that they happen
 either with their  approval1 or to men 

who are worthy of them1 if without their
 approval4  ,to these propositions ,i   
shall add that such things take place in
 the  fixed order of the world and      
rightly happen to the good1 in virtue of
  the same law which makes them good4   
,from this point of view ,i shall then  
convince you that you never need feel   
pity for the good man2 for though  he   
may be called unfortunate1 he never is  
so4    #b4 ,the most difficult of the   
affirmations ,i have made seems to be   
the  first1 to wit1 that it is for our  
own good these very things happen  which
 we dread and shudder at4 ,is it good   
for anybody1 you say1 to be  driven into
 exile1 to see his children reduced to  
want1 to bear a wife  to the grave1 to  
be disgraced1 maimed8 ,if you are       
surprised that this  should result in   
good to any one1 then you will be       
surprised that  persons are sometimes   
cured by cutting and burning not the    
less than by  hunger and thirst4 ,but if
 you will reflect that as remedial      

measures1  the bones have to be laid    
bare or taken out1 veins to be          
extracted1 and  even members to be      
amputated1 because they cannot be       
allowed to remain  attached to it       
without detriment to the whole body2 you
 will also admit  that some unpleasant  
things are an advantage to those whom   
they befall1  no less than that some    
things which are accounted good and are 
sought  after1 are an injury to those   
who find pleasure in them1 such as      
eating  and drinking to excess and other
 things that kill by the gratification  
they afford4    #c4 ,among the many     
noteworthy sayings of our friend        
,demetrius there is  one that is fresh  
in my mind and keeps sounding and       
ringing in my ears4  8,there is no      
being10 says he1 8more unfortunate than 
the man who never  felt adversity40 ,for
 he has never had an opportunity to test
 himself4  ,though everything may have  
come to him when he wished it or even   
before  he wished it1 the gods have     

nevertheless not thought well of him4   
,they  have adjudged him unworthy of a  
struggle with adversity lest he be      
overcome by it1 for it avoids all       
cowards as if saying1 ,why should ,i    
choose such an antagonist8 he lays down 
his arms forthwith2 there is no  need of
 all my strength against him2 he is     
beaten by a feeble onset2 he  cannot    
bear even a look4    #d4 ,let another be
 selected for the struggle4 ,it is a    
shame to fight with  a man who wants to 
be beaten4 ,a gladiator regards it as a 
disgrace to be  pitted against an       
inferior antagonist for he knows there  
is no glory in  overcoming one who is   
vanquished without danger4 ,adversity   
does  likewise2 it seeks out foemen     
worthy of their antagonist and passes by
  some with disdain4 ,it always attacks 
the doughtiest and boldest for a  trial 
of its strength4    #e4 ,it tries       
,mucius with fire1 ,fabricius with      
poverty1 ,regulus with  torture1        
,socrates with poison1 ,cato with death4

 ,it is misfortune alone  that finds    
noble examples4 ,is ,mucius to be       
commiserated because he put  his hand   
into an enemy's fire and punished       
himself for his mistake8  because he    
vanquished with a burned hand a king    
whom he could not  vanquish with it     
armed8 ,would he have been happier if he
 had warmed it  in the bosom of a       
mistress8    #f4 ,is ,fabricius to be   
pitied because he tilled his own field  
when not  engaged in public duties8     
because he waged war against riches as  
well as  against ,pyrrhus8 because he   
ate1 by his own fireside1 the same roots
 and  herbs that his triumphant old age 
pulled up on his farm8 ,can we say that 
he would have been happier if he had    
filled his stomach with fish from a  far
 off strand and with exotic birds8 or if
 he had stimulated his jaded  and       
nauseated stomach with oysters from the 
,upper and the ,lower sea8 or  if he had
 encircled with a huge pile of different
 fruits1 the finest  game captured at   

the cost of many a huntsman's life8     
#g4 ,is ,rutilius unfortunate because   
those who condemned him decided a  case 
against themselves for all time to come8
 because he was more  willing to be     
deprived of his country than to be      
recalled from exile8  because he alone  
dared to deny anything to the dictator  
,sulla1 and when  invited to return1 not
 only refused1 but fled farther8 8,let  
those manage  affairs10 said he1 8whom  
thy good fortune keeps in ,rome6 ,let   
them look  upon the pool of blood in the
 ,forum and the heads of senators       
floating  on the ,servilian lake1--for  
that was the field of carnage of those  
proscribed by ,sulla--and the bands of  
assassins roaming through the city1  and
 the many thousands of ,roman citizens  
slain in one place after  pledges of    
immunity had been given1 yes1 because of
 those very pledges6  ,let those look   
upon these things who are not able to   
endure exile40    #h4 ,shall we say that
 ,sulla is to be congratulated because1 

when he  descends to the ,forum1 a way  
is opened for him with the sword8       
because  he allows the heads of men of  
consular rank to be shown him in public1
  and paid the price of their slaughter 
by the hand of the quaestor and  from   
the fisc8 ,and he who did these things  
is the same man that enacted  the       
,cornelian law6 ,let us return to       
,regulus4 ,what injury did his destiny  
do him by making him1 the well-known    
exemplar of good faith1 an exemplar  of 
patient endurance8 ,nails pierce his    
skin1 and whatever way he lays  down his
 weary body he lies on a wound1 while   
his open eyes doom him to  perpetual    
wakefulness4    #i4 ,the greater the    
anguish1 the greater will be the glory4 
,wouldst thou  know how little he       
regretted the high value he set on      
fortitude8 ,heal  his wounds and send   
him back to the senate--he will give the
 same advice  7as before74 ,dost thou   
think ,maecenas happier when a prey to  
the  torments of love and when grieving 

over the daily repulses of a wayward    
wife1 he courts sleep amid the sound of 
symphonies softly sounding in  the      
distance8 ,though he stupify himself    
with wine1 and seek diversion in  the   
murmur of waters1 or trick his troubled 
mind with a thousand  pastimes1 he lies 
awake on his bed of down no less than   
the other on his  bed of torture4 ,but  
for the former there is the solace that 
he is  enduring hardness for a noble    
purpose1 and he can look away from his  
pain to its cause2 the latter1 surfeited
 with pleasures1 weighed down by  an    
excess of good fortune1 is more         
tormented by the cause of his           
sufferings than by the sufferings       
themselves4    #aj4 ,not yet has vice so
 completely taken possession of the     
human race as  to make it doubtful that 
the majority1 if they had the choice of 
their  lot1 would prefer that of        
,regulus to that of ,maecenas4 ,or1 if  
there  should be anybody who had        
presumption enough to say that he had   

rather  be born a ,maecenas than a      
,regulus1 the same person1 even though  
he might  not openly admit it1 would    
also rather be born a ,terentia4 ,do you
  pronounce ,socrates unfortunate       
because he drained the executioner's cup
  as if it had been the draught of      
immortality1 and discoursed about death 
up to the moment it overtook him8 ,was  
his lot an unhappy one because his      
blood congealed and his vital force     
stopped by the gradually advancing      
rigor of death8    #aa4 ,how much more  
is he to be envied than those who are   
served from  goblets studded with gems1 
for whom a male prostitute1 accustomed  
to  submit to every kind of abuse1 whose
 virility is gone or at least  doubtful1
 dissolves the snow that floats in a    
golden chalice8 ,whatever  they drink   
they vomit up1 to their chagrin1 and    
taste again mixed with  bile2 but he    
willingly and with joy drains the       
poisonous draught4 ,for  ,cato it is    
sufficient that the unanimous verdict of

 mankind has raised  him to the pinnacle
 of felicity2 him destiny selected as   
one who was  fitted to contend against  
everything that is to be dreaded4       
#ab4 ,is the enmity of the powers that  
be a serious matter8 let him be  opposed
 at the same time by ,pompey1 ,caesar1  
,crassus4 ,is it hard to bear  when one 
is less honored than worse men8 let him 
be sacrificed for  ,vatinius4 ,is it a  
hard thing to be involved in civil wars8
 throughout  the whole world let him    
fight for the good cause1 equally       
renowned for  his misfortunes as for his
 bravery4 ,is it hard to take one's own 
life8  let him do it4 ,what do ,i wish  
to prove by these things8 ,i would have 
all  men know that those vicissitudes of
 which ,cato was deemed worthy1 cannot  
be regarded as evils4                   
,,iv4      ,prosperity comes to ordinary
 people and to men of mean abilities1   
but it  is the prerogative of a great   
man to overcome the calamities and      
terrors  that frighten mortals4 ,in     

truth1 to be always happy and to pass   
one's  life without mental anxiety1 is  
to be ignorant of half of man's destiny4
  ,thou art a great man2 yet how am ,i  
to know it unless fate gives thee an    
opportunity to show thy worth8    #b4   
,thou didst enter the ,olympian games as
 a contestant2 if there was  none beside
 thyself1 thou hast the crown1 thou hast
 not the victory4 ,i  congratulate thee1
 not as a brave man1 but as one who has 
gained the  consulship or the           
praetorship3 thou hast won political    
honors4 ,i can say  the same thing to a 
good man1 unless some more than ordinary
 emergency  has given him an opportunity
 to show his strength of soul4    #c4   
,unhappy do ,i adjudge thee1 if thou    
hast never been unhappy2 thou hast      
passed thy life without an adversary4   
,no one knows what thou mightest  have  
done2 thou dost not even know it        
thyself4 ,we need to be tried that  we  
may find out what we are2 what a man can
 do can be ascertained only  by trial4  

,for this reason men have sometimes     
voluntarily encountered  obstacles that 
seemed to evade them and sought an      
opportunity for  demonstrating to others
 the virtue that was passing into       
oblivion4    #d4 ,i assert that great   
men sometimes rejoice in tribulation    
like valiant  soldiers in battles4 ,i   
heard ,triumphus1 a gladiator under     
,caius ,caesar  7,caligula7 complain    
because he had so little to do4 8,how my
 best days  are speeding away10 said he6
 ,courage is eager for danger and looks 
to  the end in view1 not at what it is  
likely to encounter1 for the reason     
that what it encounters is part of the  
glory4 ,warriors are proud of  their    
wounds2 joyfully they point to the blood
 it was their good fortune  to shed4    
,those who return from the combat       
unscathed may have been just  as        
brave--it is the wounded man that is the
 observed of all eyes4    ,god shows his
 good will to those whom he would have  
attain the highest  excellence every    

time he gives them an opportunity to    
display courage  and endurance2 this is 
possible only in some contingency beset 
with  difficulties4 ,you form your      
opinion of a pilot in a storm2 of a     
soldier1  in battle4 ,by what test am ,i
 to know how thou wilt bear up against  
poverty1 if thou aboundest in wealth8   
,by what test am ,i to know how thou    
wilt bear up under ignominy and disgrace
 and popular hatred1 if thou  growest   
old amid public applause8 if a strong   
and unswerving popular  partiality      
supports thee in all thou doest8    #f4 
,how am ,i to know with what equanimity 
thou wilt bear the loss of  children1 if
 thou seest about thee all those thou   
hast begotten8 ,i have  listened to thee
 when thou wert offering consolation to 
others2 then  should ,i have seen thee  
when thou wert thyself in need of       
consolation2  when thou wert trying to  
restrain thyself from sorrowing4 ,do    
not1 ,i  beseech thee1 shrink from these
 things which the immortal gods send    

upon  thee as stimuli to thy courage4 ,a
 disaster is an occasion of virtue4     
,those persons one can rightly call     
wretched who grow effeminate in         
superabounding prosperity2 whom a dead  
calm bears along1 as it were1 in  a     
motionless sea4    #g4 ,no matter what  
befalls them1 they are unprepared for   
it4 ,hardships  bear heaviest on those  
who have never known them2 heavy lies   
the yoke on  the neck that has not felt 
it4 ,the mere thought of a wound makes  
the raw  recruit turn pale2 the veteran 
looks without blanching upon his own    
blood because he knows that he has often
 gained a victory at the price  of it4  
,then it is that ,god trains and hardens
 those whom he has chosen1  whom he     
loves and wishes well to2 but those whom
 he seems to treat with  indulgence1    
whom he spares1 he keeps tender for the 
evils to come4 ,for  you are mistaken if
 you conclude that any one is exempt2 he
 who has long  basked in the sunshine of
 fortune will have his turn4    ,every  

one that thinks he is discharged has    
been placed among the  reserves4 7,you  
ask7 why does ,god afflict every good   
man with ill health  or sorrow or other 
misfortune8 ,because in camp-life the   
most perilous  duties are also laid on  
the bravest2 the commander sends picked 
men to  fall upon the enemy from a      
nocturnal ambuscade1 or to explore a    
route1  or to carry by assault an       
outpost4 ,no one of those who go forth  
says1  8,the general has a poor opinion 
of me10 but1 8,he has judged wisely and 
well10 ,and so let all say who are      
ordered to undergo what to the coward   
and the slothful seem to be painful     
experiences3 ,god has accounted us      
worthy to be used as examples by which  
to show how much human nature can       
endure4 ,flee from pleasure1 from that  
unmanly felicity in which the  active   
powers of the mind grow torpid1 unless  
something intervenes to  recall man's   
lot1 by a sort of perpetual             
intoxication4    #i4 ,him whom glass    

windows protect against every breath of 
air2 whose  feet are kept warm by       
fomentations periodically renewed2 whose
  dining-rooms are made always          
comfortable by heat within the walls and
  under the floor--such a person1 not   
even a gentle breeze passes over        
without danger4 ,though everything that 
transcends the bounds of  moderation is 
hurtful1 the most perilous intemperance 
is that of good  fortune4 ,it excites   
the brain1 awakens idle fancies in the  
mind1 puts  dense darkness between the  
false and the true4    #aj4 ,which is   
better1 to bear up under continuous     
misfortune that incites  us to do our   
best1 or to be crushed under unbounded  
and inexhaustible  riches8 ,death comes 
gently when the stomach is empty2 it is 
from  repletion that men die like       
beasts4 ,accordingly the gods follow the
 same  method with good men that        
teachers follow with good pupils--they  
require  the hardest labor from those of
 whom they cherish the highest hopes4   

,dost thou believe that it is out of    
hatred for their children that the      
,lacedaemonians try1 by public          
scourgings1 what stuff they are made of8
  ,their own fathers exhort them to bear
 bravely their flagellations1 and  ask  
them1 when bleeding and half dead1 to   
proffer unflinchingly their  wounds for 
fresh wounds4    #aa4 ,why is it strange
 if ,god sends severe trials upon noble 
spirits8 a  test of one's courage is    
never an easy matter4 ,is it destiny    
that  scourges and lacerates us8 let us 
endure it2 'tis not wanton cruelty1 it  
is a contest2 the oftener we enter it1  
the stronger we shall become4 ,the      
solidest part of the body1 frequent use 
has made so4 ,we must be  subjected to  
the buffetings of fortune in order that 
in this way we may  become callous to   
it4 ,little by little1 fortune makes us 
a match for  itself2 contempt of dangers
 results from often braving them4 ,in   
this way  sailors inure their bodies to 
the sea2 the hands of the husbandman are

  calloused2 the arms of the soldier are
 strong from hurling javelins2 the      
limbs of runners are agile4 ,that part  
of everybody is the strongest that  has 
exercised the most4    #ab4 ,the soul   
acquires the strength to brave          
misfortune by patient  endurance2 what  
it can effect in us thou mayst know1 if 
thou dost but  consider what hardship   
does for those peoples that go about    
without  clothing and are strong by     
their very indigence4 ,consider all the 
nations over whom the sway of ,rome does
 not extend1 ,i mean the ,germans  and  
every nomad tribe along the ,danube4    
,perpetual winter1 a severe  climate1   
bear hard upon them1 a sterile soil     
grudgingly supports them1 a  hut or     
branches of trees protect them against  
the rain1 they roam over  marshes       
hardened by frost1 for food they capture
 wild beasts4    #ac4 ,dost thou think  
them wretched8 ,no one is wretched when 
he performs  what habit has made second 
nature to him2 for by degrees we find   

pleasure in doing what we began to do   
from necessity4 ,these peoples have  no 
houses and no resting place except as   
weariness finds them from day  to day2  
their food is cheap and obtained only as
 wanted2 their naked  bodies are exposed
 to the terrible extremes of a horrid   
climate2 what  thou regardest as a      
frightful calamity is the whole life of 
many  peoples4    #ad4 ,why dost thou   
wonder that good men are called upon to 
undergo  violent shocks to the end that 
they may stand the more firmly8 ,a tree 
does not take deep root1 or grow strong1
 unless it is frequently shaken  by the 
wind2 for as a result of violent        
agitation its fiber is toughened  and   
its roots more firmly set4 ,those are   
fragile that grow up in  sheltered      
valleys4 ,it is therefore a boon to good
 men1 as it makes them  fearless amid   
danger1 to become familiar with         
hardships and to bear with  equanimity  
those things that are not ills1 except  
when they are borne  with an ill grace4 

,v4      ,add1 now1 that it is best for 
all that every good man should1 so to   
speak1 be always under arms and in      
action4 ,it is the purpose of ,god1     
just as if ,he were a wise man1 to      
demonstrate that those things which  the
 average man longs for1 which he fears1 
are neither good nor evil2  but it will 
be evident that those things are good   
that are sent upon  good men1 and those 
evil1 that fall upon the bad4 ,blindness
 would be  dreadful1 if nobody had lost 
his sight except those who deserved to  
have  their eyes put out4 ,accordingly1 
let ,appius and ,metellus be deprived of
  eyesight4 ,riches are not a good4     
#b4 ,and so even the procurer ,elius is 
rich in order that money to which  men  
have given a sacred character in temples
 may also be found in a  brothel4 ,in no
 way is ,god better able to expose to   
contempt those things  that men covet   
than by bestowing them upon the vilest  
and taking them  from the worthiest4    
8,but10 sayst thou1 8it is unjust that a

 good man  should suffer mutilation1 or 
be crucified1 or be bound in fetters1   
while  the bad strut proudly at large   
and live in luxury40    #c4 ,what then8 
is it not also unjust when brave men are
 required to take  up arms1 to pass the 
night in camps and to defend the        
outposts1 though  the bandages are still
 on their wounds1 while in the city1    
eunuchs and  debauchees by profession go
 about in security4 ,what further8 is it
 not  unjust that the noblest virgins   
should be aroused at night to perform   
their sacred duties while impure women  
are enjoying sound sleep8 ,toil  claims 
the best men4 ,the senate is often in   
session during the entire  day1 when at 
the same time all the vilest men are    
either taking their  ease in the ,campus
 ,martius1 or loitering in              
eating-houses1 or wasting  their time in
 idle gossip4 ,it is just so in the     
world at large--good men  toil1         
sacrifice themselves or are sacrificed1 
and willingly at that4  ,they are not   

dragged along by destiny1 they follow it
 and keep pace with  it2 had they known 
whither it would lead them1 they would  
have preceded  it4    #d4 ,i remember   
also to have heard these encouraging    
words from that  noblest of men1        
,demetrius4 8,this one complaint10 said 
he1 8,i have to  make against you1 ye   
immortal gods3 it is that ye did not    
sooner make  known to me your will2 for 
of my own accord ,i would have come to  
those  things to which ,i am now        
summoned4 ,do you wish to take away my  
children8  ,for you ,i have brought them
 up4 ,do you wish any portion of my     
body8 ,take  it4 ,no great thing it is  
that ,i am offering you2 soon ,i shall  
resign it  entirely to you4 ,do you wish
 my life8 ,why not8 ,i shall not be slow
 to  give back to you what ye have      
entrusted to my keeping2 ye shall find  
me  willing to give up anything ye ask4 
,still ,i should rather have proferred  
it to you than given it up4 ,what need  
was there to take what you could  have  

had as a gift4 ,yet not even now do ye  
need to constrain me1 since  that is not
 taken from a man which he does not try 
to retain4 ,i am in no  sense the victim
 of constraint or violence1 nor am ,i   
,god's slave1 but ,i  am in accord with 
,him1 and this all the more cheerfully  
because ,i know  that everything takes  
its course in accordance with an        
immutable law  established from all     
eternity40    #e4 ,the fates lead us1   
and our lot is assigned to us from the  
very hour  of our birth4 ,cause depends 
upon cause2 an unbroken chain of events 
links together public and private       
affairs4 ,we ought therefore to bear    
with fortitude whatever befalls us      
because everything takes place1 not  as 
we think1 by chance1 but in its due     
order4 ,a long time in advance1  all our
 pleasures and our pains have been      
determined1 and although in  the great  
diversity of individual lives1 one life 
may seem to stand  apart1 it all comes  
to this3 transitory beings ourselves we 

have entered  into a transitory         
inheritance4    #f4 ,why then does this 
disquiet us8 ,why indulge in complaints8
 it is the  law of our existence4 ,let  
nature use our bodies1 which are its    
own1 as  it wishes2 let us cheerfully   
and bravely meet whatever comes1 bearing
 in  mind that what we lose is not our  
property4 ,what is the duty of a good   
man8 ,to resign himself to his destiny4 
,it is a great consolation to  share the
 fate of the universe4 ,whatever it be  
that decrees how we are  to live1 how to
 die1 it binds even the gods by the same
 inexorable law2  an irresistible       
current bears along terrestrial and     
celestial things4    ,the creator and   
governor of the universe has indeed     
prescribed the  course of events1 but   
,he ,himself follows them2 ,he obeys    
always1 ,he  commanded but once4    #g4 
8,but why was ,god so unjust in the     
destinies he prescribed for  mortals1 as
 to send upon good men poverty1 wounds1 
and cruel deaths08  ,the artisan cannot 

change matter2 it is passive4 ,there are
 some things  that cannot be separated  
from others2 they are bound together and
  indivisible4 ,sluggish natures and    
such as are prone to sink into slumber  
or into a state closely akin to slumber1
 are conjoined of inert  elements2 to   
form a man who is really worthy of the  
name a more heroic  destiny is needed4  
,his path will not be smooth2 he must go
 up-hill and  down-hill1 be tossed on   
the waves1 and guide his bark through   
turbid  waters2 in spite of changing    
fortune1 he must hold on his way4    #h4
 ,he will meet many obstacles hard to   
remove or surmount1 but he will  himself
 remove them and smooth his path4 ,gold 
is tried by fire2 brave  men by         
misfortune4 ,behold to what heights     
virtue may climb2 thou  shouldst know   
that it cannot go by ways that are free 
from dangers4             ,hard is the  
way at first3 though drawn by prancing  
steeds1           ,slow1 up the sky1 the
 shining car proceeds2--           ,on  

land and sea ,i gaze from heaven's high 
crest2           ,fear and emotion fill 
my heaving breast4           ,steep is  
the downward way1 and with tight rein   
,i must the ardor of my steeds restrain2
           ,e'en ,tethys1 wont to greet 
me 'neath the waves1           ,fears   
lest we plunge headlong to wat'ry       
graves4    #i4 ,when the high-spirited  
youth heard these words he said1 8,i    
like the  way2 ,i shall ascend it even  
though ,i fall forthwith in so doing40  
,the  sun-god still tries to dissuade   
him from his rash purpose by exciting   
his fears3                 ,hold        
straight thy course nor turn for aught  
aside1               ,through ,taurus'  
horns adverse thy coursers guide1       
,and ,haemon's bow and ,leo's searching 
face4    ,to this he replied1 8,yoke the
 steeds to the chariot2 by the very     
words  which you seek to deter me1 you  
incite me4 ,i long to stand where ,sol  
himself quakes with fear2 it is only    
ignoble and weak souls that journey  on 

safe roads2 courage ventures on giddy   
heights40                               
,,vi4      8,but why does ,god suffer   
any evil to befall the good08 ,verily1  
,he does  not suffer it4 ,he wards off  
from them all evils1 crimes and misdeeds
 and  impure thoughts and avaricious    
designs and unbridled passions and lust 
after other men's property2 ,he watches 
over and protects them4 ,will any  one  
in addition to this demand of ,god that 
,he shall also bear the  luggage of good
 men 7as if ,he were a slave76 ,they    
themselves cast this  burden upon ,god2 
mere externals they make light of4      
,democritus threw  away his riches1     
thinking them a fardel upon his noble   
soul4 ,why do you  wonder that ,god     
sometimes suffers that to come upon a   
good man which he  himself desires8     
#b4 8,good men sometimes lose their     
children40 ,why not1 when they          
sometimes even put them to death8 8,they
 are sent into exile40 ,why not1  when  
they sometimes leave their country1     

voluntarily1 never to return8  8,they   
are put to death40 ,why not1 when they  
sometimes lay violent hands  on         
themselves8 8,why do they suffer many   
hardships80 ,that they may teach  others
 to suffer patiently2 they are born to  
be examples4    #c4 ,think of ,god as   
speaking to them thus3 8,what right have
 ye to  complain of me1 ye who take     
pleasure in doing right8 ,other men ,i  
have  encompassed with seductive        
pleasures and their torpid souls ,i have
  lulled into a long and delusive sleep2
 gold1 silver and ivory ,i have         
lavished upon them2 yet at heart they   
are good for nothing4 ,those men  whom  
you look upon as fortunate1 if you      
regard them1 not with respect to  what  
is external but what is concealed1 are  
wretched1 unclean1 deformed1  adorned on
 the outside after the similitude of    
their own walls4 ,their  good fortune is
 not substantial and unalloyed2 it is a 
mere crust and a  thin one at that4     
#d4 ,accordingly1 as long as they are   

allowed to stand and to show  themselves
 as they wish to appear1 they make a    
brilliant and imposing  display2 but    
when something occurs that disarranges  
their plans and  discloses their true   
character1 then it becomes apparent how 
real and  deep their foulness4 ,to you  
,i have given a genuine1 an abiding     
good2 the  more one turns it about and  
looks at it from every side1 the greater
 and  better it appears4 ,i have given  
you the strength to contemn what other  
men fear2 to make of little account what
 others long for4 ,you do not  shine    
because of externals2 it is the kingdom 
within you that is your  highest good4  
,thus does the world disdain what is on 
the outside because  happy in the       
contemplation of itself2 within you have
 ,i placed all real  good2 not to need  
happiness is your happiness40    #e4    
8,but many sad occurrences take place1  
things from which we shrink in  terror1 
and which are hard to bear40 8,because  
,i am not able to ward them  off from   

you1 ,i have armed you against all      
changes of fortune4 ,endure  bravely2 in
 this you may surpass ,god3 ,he is      
exempt from suffering1 you  are superior
 to it4 ,contemn poverty2 no one lives  
so poor as he is born4  ,contemn pain2  
either it will end or you4 ,contemn     
fortune2 ,i have given  to it no weapon 
with which to wound the soul4 ,contemn  
death2 it either  ends your existence or
 transfers it4    #f4 ,before all       
things1 ,i took care that no one should 
keep you here  against your will2 the   
way for your departure is open4 ,if you 
do not  want to fight1 you can run away4
 ,therefore1 with all the restrictions  
,i  have placed upon you1 ,i have made  
nothing easier for you than death4      
,only look and you will see how short   
and easy is the way to liberty4 ,i  have
 made the way shorter for those who wish
 to go out of the world than  for those 
who are entering it2 besides1 destiny   
would have had great  power over you1 if
 it were as hard for a man to die as to 

be born4    #g4 ,every moment of time1  
every place1 can teach you how easy it  
is to  quit nature's service and to     
return to her her gift4 ,at the very    
foot of  the altar and amid the         
solemnities of those who are offering   
sacrifices  for the preservation of     
life1 learn to know death4 ,the huge    
bodies of  bulls drop from the effects  
of a little wound1 and beasts of        
enormous  strength are felled by a blow 
from a human hand2 with a little piece  
of  iron the jointures of the vertabrae 
are severed1 and when the ligature  that
 binds the head and neck is cut asunder1
 the huge mass falls dead to  the       
ground4    #h4 ,the breath does not lurk
 in some secret hiding place1 nor must  
it  necessarily be sought out with the  
sword2 there is no need of piercing  the
 vitals with a deep wound2 death is     
close at hand4 ,i have not  designated  
any particular place for the fatal      
thrust1 it may enter  anywhere4 ,what is
 called death1 that time in which the   

spirit leaves the  body1 is so brief    
that its fleetness cannot be perceived4 
,whether it be  a noose that strangles  
you1 or water that suffocates you1 or a 
fall upon  the hard earth that dashes   
the life out of you1 or fire drawn in   
with  the breath that cuts off its      
return--whatever it be1 its effect is   
speedy4 ,are you not ashamed to fear so 
long what may be done so  quickly80     
,,notes4      ,a few notes have been    
added to the translation4 ,they bear    
chiefly on  obscure allusions in        
,seneca's treatise1 as the necessary    
biographical  data may be found in      
almost any encyclopedia4 ,the notes are 
placed by  themselves so as not to      
interrupt the reader1 who may omit them1
 if he  chooses4          ,i4           
#b4 ,it was held by some of the ,greek  
philosophers1 notably ,epicurus1        
that the universe was built up by a     
fortuitous concourse of atoms4          
#d4 ,some texts have quaeris1 you are   
seeking information4        #f4 ,vernae 

were slaves born in the household of    
their masters1      sometimes his own   
children by a female slave4 ,the        
licentia      vernularum was proverbial 
in ,rome4 ,the vernae and vernulae were 
allowed privileges not accorded to      
slaves obtained by purchase4            
,,ii4          ,in suum colorem1 to its 
colors4 ,the parties represented in the 
race-course were distinguished by       
different colors4 ,the significance     
of the expression is therefore evident4 
,another less probable      explanation 
of the passage is that the author has   
reference to the      effect of red wine
 when mixed with liquids of another     
color4        #c4 ,as the holidays in   
,rome were very numerous much time was  
lost by      those who spent all of them
 in idleness4        #g4 ,cato1 surnamed
 ,uticensis1 is here meant4 ,he was the 
patron saint      of the ,roman ,stoics4
        #i4 ,the sentence here          
translated1 8,for death10 etc41 may also
 mean1      8,for it requires less      

courage to meet death 7once7 than to    
seek it a      second time40            
,,iii4          #f4 ,the wild boar      
roasted whole was generally placed on   
the center of      the table4 ,around it
 were piled fruits1 vegetables1 etc4    
#g4 ,tua felicitas4 ,sulla called       
himself ,,felix1 and in the next        
section we find this epithet applied to 
him4 ,the atrocities he      committed  
are familiar to every reader of ,roman  
history4        #h4 ,the ,cornelian law4
 ,the ,roman ,legal ,code was greatly   
modified      under the inspiration of  
,sulla4 ,the statute here referred to1  
fixed      the penalty for homicide and 
similar crimes4 ,it bore its author's   
gentile name4        ,the familiar story
 of ,regulus was accepted as true by the
 ,romans1      and1 in fact1 by the     
world generally1 until recent times4 ,it
 is      interesting as showing the high
 estimate placed upon patriotism by     
the ,romans from their point of view4   
,though narrow it was intense      and  

played a conspicuous part in the growth 
of the ,roman state4        #i4         
,maecenas the well-known ,premier of the
 emperor ,augustus was      passionately
 attached to his wife ,terentia2 but her
 fidelity was      more than suspected1 
a condition of things that led to many  
quarrels      with her husband4         
#aa4 ,the writer refers here to the     
disgusting practice of the ,romans1     
who1 at their feasts1 frequently ate and
 drank to excess1 then      produced    
vomiting in order to be able to begin   
eating and drinking      over again4    
#ab4 ,vatinius was a worthless fellow   
who defeated ,cato in the contest       
for the praetorship4          ,,iv4     
#ab4 ,the ,romans were wilfully blind as
 to the climate and soil of             
,germany4 ,it was a case of 8sour       
grapes40 ,after vainly endeavoring to   
conquer its inhabitants1 they decided   
that they were not worth the            
trouble of conquest4          ,v4       
#f4 8,whatever it be0 etc4 ,the ,first  

,cause1 about which ,seneca is in       
some doubt1 whether it is personal or   
impersonal1 material or      immaterial2
 whether matter exists of necessity or  
is created4 ,in #d      he uses mundus  
in a personal sense4 ,he is also        
inconsistent in his      attitude toward
 suicide2 for after assuring us in the  
strongest      language1 that it is     
every man's duty to endure whatever     
,providence      or ,fate or ,destiny or
 ,chance sends upon him1 he ends by     
telling him      that if the service is 
too hard he is at perfect liberty to run
 away      from it4 ,grard rightly says1
 8,he confuses ,god with the world1     
,providence with destiny2 he admits and 
does not admit the      immortality of  
the soul2 he proclaims the freedom of   
the will1 and      denies it40          
#h4 #i4 ,dr4 ,lodge1 7#afad7 translates 
the two extracts from ,ovid's           
,metamorphoses as follows3              
8,the first which with unwearied steeds 
,i clime1              ,is such a       

iourney that their ceaseless toyle      
,can scarcily reach before the morrowes 
prime2              ,the next is highest
 heau'n from whence the soyle           
,and spacious seas1 ,i see with         
dreadfull eye              ,and fearfull
 heart2 the next whereto ,i hie         
,is steep and prone and craues a cunning
 guide2              ,and then dothe    
,thetis shake herselfe for dread1       
,lest headlong ,i should fall and       
downward glide1              ,and burie 
in her waues my golden head40           
8,and that thou mayst continue in the   
way1              ,be carefull lest thy 
posting steeds doe stray2               
,yet shalt thou pass by ,taurus1 who    
will bend              ,his hornes to   
cross thee1 whither thou dost tend2     
,th' ,aemonian ,archer and the ,lion    
fell              ,shall stay thy course
 and fright thee where they dwell40     
,see also the classical dictionary under
 ,phaethon4          ,,vi4          #f4 
,an inclined plane down which an object 

may be easily started to      roll4     
#h4 ,the final sentence more literally  
translated would read1 ,are you      not
 ashamed8 what is so quickly done you   
fear so long8                           
,,plutarch ,,and ,,the ,,greece ,,of    
,,his ,,age4      ,ever since ,i have   
known enough about ,greek literature to 
form an opinion  of my own on its       
merits1 it has been a matter of surprise
 to me that the  authors who flourished 
in the century or two immediately       
preceding and  succeeding the ,christian
 era1 are treated with so much neglect4 
,the  histories of ,greek literature1   
whose name is legion1 frequently end    
with  ,grecian independence2 or if they 
continue the subject some centuries     
longer1 treat the later periods in a    
half-hearted and perfunctory  manner1 as
 if they were deserving of nothing      
better4 ,while it is true1  that in some
 departments the field is relatively    
infertile1 there are  many writers well 
worth a careful study1 and several      

eminently so4 ,the  storm and stress    
period is over2 the centuries of        
vigorous productions  well-nigh past2   
yet the ,greek mind is not dead2 the    
field of authorship  still bears many   
fine ears and occasionally a large sheaf
 for the  careful gleaner4 ,the times   
that could produce a ,polybius1 a       
,plutarch1 an  ,epictetus1 an ,arrian1 a
 ,dion ,chrysostomus1 a ,lucian1 to say 
nothing of  ,josephus and ,philo1       
together with others1 a score or more in
 number1  cannot justly be charged with 
intellectual stagnation4 ,if the form in
  which the later writers express their 
thoughts has no longer the  elegance1   
nor the thoughts themselves the         
profundity1 of their  predecessors1 they
 are far from being unworthy of         
painstaking study4 ,if  men reflected   
less1 they did more1 or were at least   
active in a larger  sphere4 ,greeks were
 now to be found in all parts of the    
civilized world2  they still provided   
its intellectual nourishment2 ,athens   

was still its  university and it is of  
the ,greeks of these centuries more than
 of the  earlier that ,horace could say1
                     ,graeca capta ferum
 victorem cepit et artes                
,intulit agresti ,latio4    ,greek      
culture had become so widespread that a 
sojourn in ,athens was no  longer       
necessary for those who were ambitious  
to learn the language in  its purest    
form4 ,though this city was still looked
 upon with a certain  filial regard1    
half a score of rivals had sprung up in 
three continents  that at times         
seriously threatened its prestige4 ,the 
centuries that meet  at the birth of    
,christ are the link that unites the    
golden age of ,greek  literature with   
the ,renaissance4 ,in them was coined   
much of the small  change of ,greek     
thought1 which was by reason of its form
 the more widely  circulated4 ,that much
 of it was silver1 so to speak1 only    
made it the  more generally available4  
,but while the writings of these three  

or four centuries have suffered  greatly
 from neglect at the hands of the       
moderns1 the language in its  narrower  
sense1 except that of the ,new          
,testament1 has been almost wholly      
ignored4 ,it needs but a brief          
examination of the current ,greek       
dictionaries to convince the student    
that here is an ample field for         
profitable work4 ,even the great        
,thesaurus of ,stephanus often leaves   
one  sadly in the lurch2 besides1 it is 
both too extensive and too expensive    
for general use4 ,what we need is a     
careful lexicographical and  grammatical
 study of the individual authors and the
 presentation of the  results in as     
succinct a form as possible4    ,it is a
 pleasure to note the signs of a revival
 in this quarter--for that  it is not a 
misnomer to speak of a revival will be  
evident to those who  know that the     
reader of some of the authors above     
named1 together with  others1 is largely
 compelled to rely on texts that are    

more than half a  century old1 in some  
cases much more4 ,in this laudable work 
of  rediscovery1 ,professor ,mahaffy in 
,great ,britain1 and ,professor         
,krumbacher in ,germany1 may be regarded
 as the leaders4 ,the former1 by  his   
various works upon the ,greeks under    
,roman sway1 and the latter by  his     
masterly ,geschichte der ,byzantinischen
 ,litteratur and his  ,byzantinische    
,zeitschrift have done more than any two
 writers in the  present century to     
awaken an interest in a subject that has
 long been in  a comatose condition4    
,the present volume1 though bearing upon
 the  general theme1 is concerned with  
but a small portion of it4 ,i have tried
  to throw a little light upon two      
authors1 in whose writings are many     
passages that put them in some sort of  
relation to nascent ,christianity4      
,while it is almost absolutely certain  
that neither ,seneca nor ,plutarch  had 
any knowledge of the new doctrines first
 preached in their time1 it  ought      

surely to be a matter of interest to    
every thinking man to note  how closely 
the best that is in the old philosophy  
approached the new  religion2 or1 to    
state the case somewhat differently1    
that the old  philosophy and the new    
religion are in many points identical4  
,the ,french have1 almost from the      
beginning of their national literature1 
been ardent admirers of ,plutarch4      
,amyot reduced some of his precepts to  
rhyme in order that they might the more 
readily be taught to children1  and     
regarded his writings as more profitable
 than any other except the  ,scriptures4
 ,gui-,patin makes ,pliny1 ,aristotle1  
,plutarch1 and ,seneca  constitute an   
entire family1--father1 mother1 older   
and younger  brother--and thus in a     
sense represent the whole circle of     
literature4  ,rollin copies his         
,parallel ,lives almost literally into  
his ,ancient  ,history4 ,rousseau cites 
him among the few authors that he read  
in his  old age4 ,he is the last        

consolation of ,st4 ,pierre4 ,laharpe   
regards him  as by nature the most moral
 man that ever lived2 and ,joubert calls
 him  the ,herodotus of ,philosophy1 and
 deems his ,lives the wisdom of         
antiquity  in its entirety4 ,montaigne  
says1 8,i never settled myself to the   
reading  of any authors but ,plutarch   
and ,seneca40 ,again1 8,plutarch had    
rather we  should applaud his judgment  
than commend his knowledge1 and had     
rather  leave us with an appetite to    
read more1 than glutted with that we    
have  already read4 ,he knew very well  
that a man may say too much even upon   
the best subjects1 and that             
,alexandrides did justly reproach him   
who  made very elegant but too long     
speeches to the ,ephori1 when he said3  
#8,o  stranger1 thou speakest the things
 thou oughtest to speak1 but not after  
the manner thou shouldst speak them4'0  
,elsewhere he recurs to the  subject    
with these words1 8,as to what concerns 
my other reading that  mixes a little   

more profit with the pleasure and whence
 ,i learn how to  marshal my opinions1  
the books that serve me to this purpose 
are  ,plutarch and ,seneca4 ,both of    
them have this great convenience suited 
to  my humor1 that the knowledge ,i     
there seek is discoursed in some pieces 
that do not require any great trouble of
 reading long1 of which ,i am           
incapable40 ,in his ,essays1 ,montaigne 
refers to or quotes ,plutarch more  than
 two hundred times1 and ,seneca almost  
as often4 ,so far as ,plutarch's  ,lives
 are concerned1 the translation         
published by ,jacques ,amyot1 bishop  of
 ,auxerre1 in #aeei1 is still regarded  
as a masterpiece4 ,this version is  of  
special interest to ,english-speaking   
people1 because from it ,sir  ,thomas   
,north made his translation1 published  
some twenty years later1  and           
,shakespeare1 in turn1 took the material
 for his plays dealing with  antique    
life4 ,of later ,english translations1  
that of the ,langhorne is  undoubtedly  

the most popular1 though the one known  
as ,dryden's1 albeit  he had little to  
do with it1 as revised by ,a4 ,h4       
,clough1 is much read4  ,that of        
,stewart and ,long is not generally     
known4 ,there seems to be no  ,english  
translation of ,plutarch's ,moral       
,writings except that made by a  number 
of ,oxford scholars some two centuries  
since and edited by  ,professor         
,goodwin4 ,the ,german version made by  
,kaltwasser just one  hundred years ago1
 is an excellent piece of work4 ,the    
,lives have been  frequently translated4
    ,about sixty miles northwest of the 
city of ,athens near the road leading   
from ,delphi to ,lebadeia1 midway       
between the gulf of ,corinth and the    
northern end of the ,euripus1 lies      
to-day the town of ,chaeroneia1 or      
rather its modern representative1       
,capraena4 ,though never a municipality 
of much importance1 its inhabitants1    
before the time of ,plutarch1 had  been 
the spectators of many stirring events4 

,epaminondas called the  plain near it  
the dancing-plot of ,ares1 an epithet   
that was abundantly  justified by       
preceding and succeeding occurrences4   
,lying in a measure  between northern   
and southern ,greece it was rich in     
historical  reminiscences and in        
traditions4 ,already known to ,homer as 
,arne1 it  subsequently witnessed the   
countless hosts of ,dareius and ,xerxes 
pass  beneath its walls4 ,near it       
,philip of ,macedon completely overthrew
 the  allied ,thebans and ,athenians1   
,b4 ,c4 #cch4 ,in ,plutarch's time the  
mound  erected in honor of the king's   
soldiers who lost their lives here1 was 
still in a fair state of preservation1  
and the oak under which ,alexander  had 
erected his tent was yet standing4 ,in  
#bgi the ,gauls passed over the  plain  
of ,chaeroneia leaving desolation in    
their track4 ,twenty-eight  years later 
the ,boeotians were defeated near the   
town in a battle with  the ,aetolians4  
,still later1 by a century and a half1  

,sulla inflicted a  crushing blow on his
 enemies1 for the most part ,greeks1    
under the  command of ,archelaus1 the   
lieutenant of ,mithridates4 ,it was two 
citizens  of ,chaeroneia who performed  
for the ,roman general a service similar
 to  that rendered to ,xerxes by        
,ephialtes4 ,in order to leave a        
memorial of  his success he erected a   
trophy on the summit of an adjacent     
hill4  ,another trophy1 dating from this
 time and of special significance to the
  ,chaeroneans1 was the statue of       
,lucius ,lucullus1 a ,roman commander1  
that  stood in their marketplace4 ,they 
had become involved in a quarrel with   
their old enemies1 the ,orchomenians1 on
 the charge of having caused the  death 
of a ,roman officer and several of his  
attendants2 but through the             
interposition of ,lucullus had obtained 
a verdict from the home  government in  
their favor4    ,but the pen is mightier
 than the sword4 ,posterity is not      
greatly  interested in wars and battles 

in which no great principles are        
involved2 besides1 all sanguinary       
conflicts are of more or less local     
significance4 ,hence it is that         
,chaeroneia is chiefly known1 not       
because  of the two hundred thousand men
 who lost their lives or limbs near it1 
but as the birthplace and lifelong      
residence of one of the best-known      
characters in the literary history of   
the world4 ,about half a score of  years
 after the crucifixion1 this august yet 
kindly personage1 first saw  the light  
in what was1 even for ,greece1 an       
obscure town1 but which he  never left  
for any considerable time1 until the day
 of his death1 at a  ripe old age4 ,the 
visible remains of the first great      
battle fought here  in historic times   
are the fragments of a colossal lion    
erected to  commemorate1 not a victory1 
but the valor of those who fell fighting
 for  their country and for what they   
believed to be its freedom4 ,there is   
also a village of some fifty houses1 a  

church1 a schoolhouse and a stone  seat 
which its inhabitants fondly imagine to 
have been the property of  their        
illustrious fellow townsman1 and which  
they eagerly show as such1  to the      
traveler4 ,small as the village is      
to-day1 it can never have been  a place 
of much importance1 a fact that is      
attested by the scant remains  of its   
ancient theater1 one of the smallest in 
,greece4    ,in ,plutarch's time the    
chief industry of his native town       
consisted in  its trade in oil and the  
manufacture of perfumes and unguents    
from the  numerous flowers and herbs    
that grew in the vicinity4 ,in          
conformity to  ancient usage1 this      
business was chiefly carried on by      
slaves1 while its  citizens1 having no  
political affairs to engage their       
attention1 and but  little interest in  
philosophical discussion1 gave          
themselves up largely  to gossip and    
other equally profitless ways of passing
 time4    ,plutarch was descended from  

one of the most prominent families of   
his  native town4 ,he received an       
excellent education1 according to the   
standard of his day4 ,he also seems to  
have given instruction informally  and  
without pay1 as he shared the prejudices
 of his countrymen against  receiving   
compensation for such service4 ,we do   
not know much of his  private life or of
 his family connections4 ,living as he  
did the quiet  life of a peaceable man1 
absorbed in his books and his studies   
and only  appearing in public when his  
duties as a good citizen called him     
forth1  there was little in his career  
to attract the attention of a           
biographer4  ,almost all that we know   
about him has to be gleaned from        
occasional  references in his own       
writings4 ,it has been aptly said of him
 that the  prince of biographers is     
himself without a biographer4 ,his      
father's name  is not recorded4 ,that of
 his grandfather was ,lamprias4 ,we do  
not know  how many brothers and sisters 

he had1 though he speaks of two brothers
  with whom he lived on the most        
amicable terms4 ,of these1 ,timon is an 
interlocutor in the dialogue ,de ,sera4 
,his wife's name was ,timoxena4 ,by  her
 he had four sons and one daughter4 ,the
 latter and the oldest son  died when   
quite young4    ,plutarch's wife seems  
to have been an excellent woman and to  
have shared  her husband's views as to  
the proper conduct of life4 ,she was    
plain in  dress and appearance1 averse  
to show and parade1 devoted to her      
husband1  her children1 and her         
household affairs4    ,plutarch made    
some journeys beyond the bounds of his  
native land2 one at  least as far as    
,alexandria in ,egypt4 ,he spent some   
time in ,rome where he  gave lectures in
 ,greek2 for as he himself tells us he  
never learned the  ,latin language well4
 ,he went thither on public business1   
and is thought  to have visited other   
parts of ,italy on a similar errand4    
,his fame had  preceded him to the      

imperial city where he was already known
 by  reputation to some of the literati1
 and he embraced the opportunity to     
enlarge the circle of his acquaintances4
 ,athens he visited a number of  times1 
and ,sparta at least once4 ,yet1        
notwithstanding his celebrity in  his   
lifetime1 and in striking contrast to   
his fame in modern times1 he  is not    
quoted by any extant ,roman writer1 and 
but rarely by his own  countrymen4      
,as a patriotic citizen and an admirer  
of all that was venerable and  worthy of
 preservation in the history no less    
than in the traditions of  ,greece1     
,plutarch felt it incumbent upon him to 
discharge both civil and  religious     
duties as occasion called him4 ,he was a
 priest of ,apollo to  whose worship he 
was ardently devoted and to whom he     
frequently refers  in his works1 among  
others in the ,de ,sera4 ,as a          
consequence he  interested himself      
greatly in the religious festivals that 
occurred so  frequently in ,delphi near 

by4 ,it is also plain from his writings 
that he  kept open house4 ,people who   
desired to learn1 and all who took life 
seriously1 were always welcome4 ,in some
 of the young men who came to him  for  
enlightenment1 whom1 nevertheless1 we   
cannot regard as his pupils  except in  
the ,socratic sense1 he took a lifelong 
interest4 ,the choice of  many of the   
subjects discussed in his lectures was  
probably accidental4  ,they were        
proposed by persons who visited him1    
talked over at the time1  but afterwards
 more fully investigated and the results
 written out4 ,it  this way light was   
thrown upon them both by the oral       
contributions of an  intelligent company
 and also by the aid of books1 of which 
he had a  large collection4#c           
,plutarch was a man who strove not only 
to make others wiser1 but also to       
become wiser himself4 ,his aim was to be
 a living exemplar of the  doctrines he 
professed and taught4 ,he was a firm    
believer in plain  living and high      

thinking4 ,he disliked as strongly as he
 disliked  anything the costly and      
luxurious banquets so much affected by  
the rich  ,romans of his day4 ,the      
little company that so frequently came  
together  under his hospitable roof met1
 not to eat and drink1 but to engage in 
serious and profitable conversation4    
,the viands were plain--a secondary     
matter2 the chief thing was the         
discussion4 ,this often turned on the   
most trivial subjects1 for the host     
seems to have thought with ,terence3    
8,homo sum1 et nihil humani a me alienum
 puto40    ,practical politics for a    
,greek of ,plutarch's day did not mean  
serious  business1 especially for the   
citizen of a small municipality like    
,chaeroneia4 ,he had therefore ample    
time for studying1 lecturing and        
formulating his numerous writings4 ,he  
was not only so fortunate as to  have a 
good memory1 but he began at an early   
age to take notes on what  he read2 in  
this way he accumulated the large stock 

of quotations so  profusely scattered   
through his writings4 ,in fact this     
practice of  depending upon others for  
his information must have done a good   
deal  toward weakening his power of     
original thought1 and he usually        
enforces  a precept by an apt quotation 
rather than by arguments that he has    
himself elaborated4 ,on the other hand1 
his frequent reference to older  authors
 has given a special value to his       
writings in the eyes of the  moderns4   
,though not quoted by any extant ,roman 
writer and rarely by a  ,greek he must  
have been much read soon after his      
death1 and at no time  was he wholly    
forgotten4 ,his early and continued     
popularity doubtless  contributed not a 
little to the preservation of so large a
 portion of  his writings2 but it also  
put into circulation under his name a   
number  of spurious works--just how many
 cannot be determined4 ,yet it is       
certain  that some genuine writings have
 been lost4 ,among the earliest printed 

books were portions of ,plutarch4       
,plutarch is a prolix but not a pedantic
 nor a tedious writer4 ,though he       
displays immense erudition he does so   
without effort4 ,an apt quotation  from 
one of the poets1 a telling anecdote of 
some celebrated man or  woman1 or       
historical incident seems always ready  
to his hand1 and  waiting for a suitable
 place to be used4 ,he is completely    
master of the  extensive stock of       
knowledge stored up in his mind or his  
notes4 ,he is a  capital story-teller4  
,he knows how to seize the salient      
features of a  situation1 and can place 
them before the reader in the most      
effective  light4 ,a large proportion of
 the anecdotes of illustrious men1      
belonging  to a remoter antiquity1      
current in modern literature1 have found
 their  way into it through the medium  
of his writings4 ,he often reminds one  
of  ,herodotus notwithstanding his      
antipathy to this author1 and whose     
veracity he vigorously impeaches in one 

of his essays--assuming1 of  course1    
that ,de ,malignitate is really the work
 of ,plutarch4 ,like  ,herodotus1 he    
often wanders from the main theme of his
 narrative1 but  never loses sight of   
it1 and always returns to it without    
unduly  distracting the reader's        
attention4 ,like ,herodotus1 he is often
 reminded  of a 8little story0 that he  
forthwith proceeds to tell2 and1 as in  
the  case of ,herodotus1 the reader     
feels that something of value has been  
added to the narrative by the story4    
,like ,herodotus1 too1 he exhibits a    
strange mixture of credulity with       
sterling good sense4 ,so it happens     
that the ,father of ,history and the man
 whom ,jean ,paul ,richter calls the    
,biographical ,shakespeare of ,universal
 ,history often meet on common  ground1 
in spite of the aversion of the one to  
the other4 ,of course the  canvas on    
which the historian paints is much      
larger2 the interests he  discusses are 
much more momentous2 but he does not    

treat them with  greater seriousness    
than does the biographer and moralist4  
,perhaps the most succinct statement of 
,plutarch's creed is a passage in  ,isis
 and ,osiris4 ,he says3 8,for ,god is   
not a being that is without             
intelligence1 without a soul1 and       
subject to men1 but we regard these as  
gods who constantly and in sufficient   
measure furnish us these fruits1  and   
there are neither different gods among  
different peoples1 some  barbarian some 
,greek1 some northern1 some southern2   
but just as the sun  and moon1 heaven   
and earth and sea are common to all1 but
 are  differently designated by         
different peoples1 so there is but one  
intelligence that arranges all those    
things about us in order and one        
,providence to which other powers that  
direct all things are made  subordinate1
 some of which have1 by custom1 received
 different honors  and appellations     
among different peoples4 ,the initiates 
also employ  different symbols1 some    

clearer1 others more obscure1 that lead 
the mind  to what is divine1 though not 
without risk 7of being misunderstood74  
,for  some1 being altogether led astray1
 fall into superstition2 others again1  
having steered clear of superstition1 as
 if it were a bog1 fall into  atheism as
 from a precipice4 ,on this account it  
is especially important  to take reason 
that is born of philosophy1 as a guide  
through these  mysteries1 in order that 
we may comprehend rightly everything    
that is  said and done1 in its true     
significance40    ,plutarch is a        
philosopher in the sense that every man 
of sound mind may  be a philosopher2 but
 he is not1 strictly speaking1 a        
philosophical  thinker4 ,he does not    
hold to any carefully elaborated and    
consistent  system4 ,while he has much  
to say about character and conduct1 he  
rarely  attempts to fathom the motives  
that underlie and influence conduct4 ,he
  is at times inconsistent with himself 
because his views on  transcendental    

problems have not been systematically   
wrought out and  firmly fixed4 ,if he   
can quote the authority of some great   
name in  support of a position he takes1
 it generally suffices him4 ,not        
unfrequently he cites contradictory     
authorities both for facts and          
opinions1 then declares which he prefers
 without giving a reason for his        
preference4    ,plutarch's ,moralia or  
,moral ,writings are so called for the  
reason that  they are more or less      
concerned with ethical problems4 ,but   
they also  treat incidentally of matters
 religious1 political1 literary1        
psychological1 physical and metaphysical
 or philosophical4 ,many of his         
treatises are in the form of dialogues1 
in which he doubtless had before  his   
mind's eye his great prototype ,plato1  
little as he is able to fathom  his     
speculative profundity4 ,sometimes his  
discussions are addressed to a  real or 
imaginary interlocutor1 who has1        
however1 little to say4 ,his  discourses

 may be regarded as sermons or lectures 
addressed to a small  circle of         
interested listeners1 or even to a      
single person1 though in  reality       
intended for a larger public4 ,the      
homiletic character of many of          
,plutarch's discourses is also attested 
by the fact that he regards  morals as  
closely connected with religion4 ,he is 
the bitter enemy of  atheism1 because1  
as he maintains1 it leads to a dissolute
 and aimless  life4 ,he was1 however1 in
 no sense an innovator1 but ardently    
attached  to the traditions of his      
countrymen4 ,he seeks to discover a     
hidden  meaning in the popular myths and
 cults1 and to explain them on          
philosophical grounds4 ,his attitude in 
this respect has contributed a  good    
deal to the popular interest in the man4
 ,he is a self-consecrated  priest of   
the established religion which he       
defended1 not because it was  to his    
personal profit to do so1 but from      
conviction4 ,as he will not or  can not 

discard the cults of his day1 or treat  
them as founded on mere  figments of the
 imagination1 it is incumbent upon him  
to explain them as  best he can4 ,and he
 seems to be convinced that he has been 
entirely  successful4    ,not only is he
 an avowed foe of atheism1 but he is an 
equally vigorous  opponent of           
superstition4 ,yet it is often          
impossible to see where he  draws the   
line between what he regards as rational
 faith and mere  credulity2 between his 
own creed and that of the populace4 ,in 
truth1 the  task is not an easy one for 
anybody4 ,the ,german nicely designates 
the  close proximity of faith and       
credulity by the two terms ,glaube and  
,aberglaube4 ,there was hardly a man in 
the ancient world of whom we  have any  
considerable knowledge1 even though he  
may have been an avowed  atheist1 who   
was wholly without superstition4 ,the   
destiny of individuals  and nations was 
so often decided by influences so       
mysterious and  inscrutable that it     

might well be attributed to the         
miraculous  interposition of the gods4  
,even in our day1 when the laws of      
nature are  better understood than ever 
before1 men still feel themselves the   
sport  of unseen forces and powers that 
often seem to be malevolent or          
benevolent for no discoverable reason1  
and which1 it is hard to believe1  are  
not controlled by a supernal will4      
,plutarch's merits as a historical      
writer are seriously impaired by his    
readiness to believe everything that    
comes to him through tradition or       
record4 ,still one ought not to blame   
him for not being what he does not      
profess to be4 ,his main purpose is not 
to attain historical truth1 but  to     
discover what will 8point a moral1 or   
adorn a tale40 ,had he been  other than 
he was he would never have been so      
assiduously read4    ,plutarch fully    
recognized the importance of the family 
in the social  fabric4 ,this is the more
 to his credit for the reason that the  

trend of  public opinion was against him
 in this respect4 ,all the evidence we  
have  goes to show that he was a        
judicious father1 a loving husband1 a   
dutiful  son1 and an affectionate       
brother4 ,he is thus a zealous defender 
of the  virtues he himself exemplified4 
,a knowledge of his character1 as shown 
by his conduct1 contributes not a little
 to the pleasure the modern  reader     
finds in the perusal of his pages4 ,how 
often1 alas6 do we  discover on closer  
examination a great gulf between what   
men write and  what they do6 ,how often 
does a knowledge of the private life of 
a great  writer mar the interest we take
 in what he writes6    ,though a man of 
kind heart and polished manners1 judged 
by the standard  of his time1 ,plutarch 
was no reformer4 ,indeed1 no reform was 
possible by  means of his didactic      
method4 ,he does not denounce           
vigourously the  corruptions of his     
time4 ,he is far from employing the     
drastic speech of  his ,roman           

contemporaries4 ,it is probable that in 
his secluded home he  did not know or   
even suspect the moral degradation of   
the world around  him2 it is certain he 
had not fathomed it4 ,he knows something
 of the  ,jewish religion1 and might    
have known more1 had he cared to inform 
himself4 ,he might have heard ,paul's   
preaching2 and ,christianity had  gained
 a firm foothold in ,greece before      
,plutarch's death4 ,but he was too  much
 of a ,greek to take any interest in    
what had no relation either to  ,greek  
religion or tradition4 ,the new faith in
 virtue of its origin1 was  foolishness 
to him4 ,he considered the ,hellenic    
religion good enough for  anybody and   
everybody4 ,it might indeed need        
purification from some of  its grosser  
elements and exotic excrescences2 but   
more than this was  wholly unnecessary4 
,nothing that ,plutarch says exhibits in
 a more striking light the  humaneness  
of his disposition than his exhortations
 to the kind  treatment of brutes4 ,he  

believes that the good man is kind to   
his beast4  ,he regards it a duty to    
care for the horse and the dog that have
 served  him well1 when they become old 
and useless4 ,he seems to think that    
animals are not without a measure of    
reason and that they have to a  limited 
extent1 the power to decide between     
right and wrong4 ,though  possessed of  
only a modicum of intelligence1 this at 
least cannot be  entirely denied to     
them1 any more than it can be denied to 
a bad man4 ,a  certain measure of reason
 is the gift of nature2 perfect and     
virtuous  reason is the result of       
practice and instruction4 ,the reasoning
 powers  of many animals are1 to an     
extent1 on a level with those of man2   
they  differ not so much in quality as  
in quantity4 ,it is right1 therefore1 to
  use but not to abuse them4 ,cruelty to
 animals is evidence of a base  heart4  
,those who treat them harshly usually   
accentuate their bad traits  in their   
dealings with men4 ,our treatment of    

animals is1 therefore1 in  some sort and
 often to a considerable extent1 an     
index of how we treat  our fellow       
beings4 ,plutarch finds the lower       
animals in some respects  more rational 
than men4 ,they never eat or drink more 
than enough to  satisfy hunger and      
thirst2 nor do they give way to any     
unnatural or  excessive appetites4 ,he  
is somewhat inclined to condemn the use 
of  animal food2 but1 at any rate1      
animals must not be cruelly dealt with  
to  make them more palatable1 nor put to
 death by lingering and inhuman         
methods4 ,he had in view more           
particularly some of the practices      
prevalent in ,rome in his               
day1--practices that were1 in truth1    
horrible in  the extreme4 ,it is no     
wonder that he names them only to       
condemn them4  ,the extreme modernness  
of ,plutarch in this matter becomes the 
more  strikingly evident when we        
remember that classical antiquity not   
only  very seldom has a kind word for   

irrational creatures1 but was wont to   
treat them with extreme harshness4 ,this
 was particularly the case among  the   
,romans4    ,plutarch regards the soul  
as composed of two parts4 ,one part     
seeks after  truth and light2 the other 
is under the influence of the passions1 
and  liable to error4 ,the first is     
divine1 the second carnal4 ,in so far as
 a  man heeds the monitions of the      
former he will follow the path of       
virtue4  ,practical virtue1 virtue in   
action1 is wisdom2 vice is error4 ,in   
order  to be virtuous it is only        
necessary to listen to the voice of     
reason4  ,plutarch does not doubt that  
virtue can be taught4 ,to teach virtue  
consists largely in making it attractive
 to the young4 ,reason does not         
annihilate the passions2 it merely      
directs them toward a goal that it  has 
marked out4 ,virtue consists in 8the    
golden mean0-- --in doing  neither too  
much nor too little4 ,bravery is a      
virtue whose place is  between cowardice

 and rashness4 ,mildness or kindness is 
a virtue3 its  place is between         
stolidity and cruelty1 just as the place
 of liberality  is midway between the   
extremes1 stinginess and prodigality4   
,he adduces a  number of proofs to      
establish the position that the passions
 are  corporeal and the reason          
supersensuous2 in a correct system of   
pedagogy  a proper use is to be made of 
the latter for controlling and wisely   
directing the former toward rational    
ends4 ,it is in every man's power to  be
 virtuous under all circumstances1 but  
happiness1 or rather good  fortune1 is  
dependent upon many things4 ,a virtuous 
man may enjoy peace  of mind at all     
times1 while the largest possessions are
 of no real value  to a bad man4 ,vice  
is an anomaly in the constitution of    
society4  ,tranquillity of mind1        
calmness of soul1 are not to be sought  
in a state  of inactivity and in        
retirement4 ,the affirmative of this    
proposition has  led many people into   

error4 ,disgusted with the world1 they  
seek peace by  withdrawing from its     
turmoil and hurly-burly1 too often only 
to meet  with disappointment4 ,there is 
not a condition in life from which no   
consolation can be extracted1 and it is 
the province of reason to  discover how 
this may be done4 ,in what way this is  
possible he shows by  a number of       
examples from biography4 ,what many     
persons at first looked  upon as        
misfortunes not unfrequently turned out 
to be a blessing to  themselves and to  
the world4 ,on the other hand1 many     
persons who were  regarded by almost    
every one as among the most fortunate1  
were found to  have a skeleton in their 
closet4 ,when the sage suffers a loss1  
he does  not grieve over it1 but places 
a higher value on what is left to him4  
,no  man is so poor1 no man has lost so 
much1 but that there remains in his     
possession something for which he can   
felicitate himself4 ,neither is any  one
 so destitute but that he might be still

 worse off1 and the most  wretched are  
certain to meet with others more needy  
than themselves4 ,on  the physical side 
of our nature we are all subject to     
what1 for want of  a better name1 may be
 called chance2 but this is not true of 
our moral  and intellectual side4 ,it is
 therefore within our power to secure   
indestructible and inalienable          
possessions3 insight1 love of knowledge1
  virtue1 the consciousness of being and
 doing right4 ,not even the fear of     
death disquiets the good man1 for he    
knows that after his dissolution he     
shall enter into a better state of      
existence than this life2 the bad man   
clings to life because of the dread     
uncertainty before him after death4  ,as
 a last resource1 if a man's sufferings 
become too great to be  endured1 he can 
make an end of them with his own hand4  
,to ,plutarch1 no riches1 no purely     
external possessions1 are so conducive  
to peace of mind and cheerfulness of    
heart1 as a soul that has kept  itself  

free from evil thoughts and acts4 ,for a
 soul that has held itself  aloof from  
contamination every day is a festival2  
the world1 a temple in  which ,god      
dwells and which he has adapted to the  
fulfilment of man's  wants4 ,by the     
proper use of reason men may control    
their passions and  find satisfaction in
 the enjoyment of what is within their  
reach4 ,they  may reflect with          
complacency on the past and look forward
 to the future  with hope4 ,a man's     
unhappiness is caused rather by the     
pains of the soul  than those of the    
body4 ,diseases of the body are due to  
its nature1 but  disease of the soul is 
man's own work4 ,moreover the maladies  
of the soul  are curable1 a condition of
 things that ought to afford us much    
consolation4 ,though the sufferings and 
diseases to which the body is  subject  
take many forms1 those that a corrupt   
heart and a debased soul  send forth1 as
 from a perennial fountain1 are much    
more numerous4 ,again1  corporal        

diseases may be detected by their       
external symptoms2 the  maladies of the 
soul are hidden4 ,they are the more     
dangerous from the  fact that1 in most  
instances1 the patient himself is not   
aware of them4  ,the greatest malady of 
the soul is the want of reason and good 
sense1  because they disqualify men from
 recognizing their own baseness and the 
remedies necessary for a cure4 ,few     
persons who are guilty of wrong-doing   
realize that they have committed        
transgressions2 oftentimes they even    
think they have acted wisely and        
judiciously4 ,they call their anger1    
bravery2 their envy and jealousy1       
emulation2 their cowardice1 prudence2   
while it never occurs to them to seek   
the aid of a philosopher for the        
diseases of the soul until they are     
incurable and have become so  virulent  
that they drive the patient to the      
commission of the most  diabolical      
crimes4    ,from these premises there   
follows the inevitable conclusion that  

the  chief end of man is progress in    
virtue1 or1 we might better say1 in all 
the virtues1 though virtue in reality is
 but one4 ,our progress in  philosophy  
is the result of constant and           
uninterrupted effort4 ,parallel  to this
 is our progress in virtue2 if we relax 
our efforts for a moment  we incur the  
danger of letting vice get a hold upon  
us4 ,he who is always  in conflict with 
vice1 with his evil passions1 may rest  
assured that he  is making progress in  
virtue4 ,but our love for virtue must   
partake of  the nature of a passion2 in 
it we ought to find our highest         
gratification1 so that if we are        
interrupted in our pursuit we shall     
long to return to it4 ,the aim and      
purpose of our philosophy must be       
practical1 and it is chiefly in our     
activity as a citizen and a man in  all 
the multiplex relations of life1 that we
 may test our love for it4  ,yet1 the   
true philosopher is not ostentatious1   
and it makes little  difference to him  

whether the world recognizes him as such
 or not4 ,he  ought to seek internal    
satisfaction1 not public                
acknowledgement4 ,herein  ,plutarch     
takes his stand in opposition to many of
 his countrymen who  aspired to the name
 and title of philosophers1 but did     
little to deserve  them4 ,how men of    
sense regarded them has been pointed out
 elsewhere4    ,we may also measure our 
progress in philosophy1 that is1 in     
virtue1 by  our love of the beautiful   
and the good2 by our attitude towards   
praise  and blame4 ,we ought neither to 
seek the one nor avoid the other4 ,if we
  really desire to correct our faults   
and shortcomings1 we will be ready  at  
all times to listen to advice and to    
heed criticism2 nor will we  conceal any
 part of our nature or cover up any of  
our acts in order to  seem what we are  
not4 ,nevertheless1 when we are firmly  
convinced that we  are in the right1 it 
is our duty to go forward in the course 
we have  marked out for ourselves1 no   

matter what others may think or say4    
,there is no stronger incentive to noble
 deeds and an upright life than  the    
lives of the great and the good of all  
ages4 ,it was mainly under the  impulse 
of this belief that ,plutarch compiled  
his parallel biographies4  ,in the      
nature of the case their value as       
truthful records is greatly  impaired by
 the standpoint from which they were    
written2 but it is this  fact that has  
given them an attractiveness and a      
currency such as no  other works of     
their kind have equalled4 ,plutarch's   
,lives have for  centuries been the     
monitors of youth and the solace of the 
aged4 ,they  have been read and admired 
wherever men have honored courage1      
fortitude1  intrepidity1 self-control1  
patriotism1 humaneness--in short1 every 
trait  of character that can be classed 
among the virtues4 ,greeks and ,romans1 
ancients and moderns1 learned and       
illiterate1 rich and poor1 have been    
fascinated by them1 and it is on them   

that their author's fame chiefly  rests4
 ,to many persons1 in fact to the great 
majority of readers1  ,plutarch is known
 only as the writer of charming         
biographies2 yet these  constitute a    
good deal less than half his extant     
works4    ,plutarch holds that men find 
the path of virtue and continue to walk 
in  it1 by reflection1 deliberation1    
introspection2 by a systematic1 rigid   
and continued self-examination--in other
 words1 by a practical  application of  
the methods that philosophy points out4 
,man is sane and  sound only so long as 
he puts into practice the principles of 
virtue4 ,so  long as he is the slave of 
his passions he is in need of a         
physician4  ,philosophy is the          
sanitation of the soul2 the genuine     
philosopher is the  real physician of   
the soul4 ,in pursuance of his chosen   
vocation1  ,plutarch wrote a number of  
essays for the purpose of giving        
instruction  upon the best methods of   
controlling the different passions to   

which men  are subject4 ,their purport  
easily becomes evident from a glance at 
their  titles4 ,they show that he has   
carefully observed and studied men1 at  
least those that constitute the various 
higher classes and give the  prevailing 
tone to society4 ,many of these essays  
are still of interest  and well repay   
perusal4 ,they contain many acute       
observations and piquant  remarks4      
,for ,plutarch the old mythology is     
sufficient as a basis for a religious   
belief4 ,like most of the ,greek        
philosophers who incline toward theism1 
he maintains that myths are1 to a       
greater or less extent1 corruptions of  
primitive verities4 ,these originated in
 the popular mind and received  artistic
 form at the hands of the poets4        
,underlying them all there is  truth    
enough and beauty enough to show the    
aspiration of the soul after  higher    
things1 and they form the basis of a    
purely theistic belief4  ,plutarch's    
unbounded faith in human reason leads   

him to believe that it  alone is        
entirely sufficient to enable any and   
every man to lead a  virtuous life4 ,his
 advice to every one is1 in substance3  
get all the  light you can2 use the     
reason you are endowed with by the      
creator2  acquire additional knowledge  
and wisdom every day2 make your inward  
life  an object of daily study and      
reflection1--if you do these things you 
will  lead a virtuous life4 ,those      
persons who have no love for the        
beautiful  and the good1 no desire to   
become virtuous1 fail because they      
neglect to  cultivate the reason with   
which every man is originally endowed4  
,they  grope in the darkness cast about 
them by their own passions1 and refuse  
to follow the lamp that reason holds up 
before them4 ,plutarch's  optimism2 his 
faith in the power of the intellect to  
make the world  better1 is especially   
remarkable in view of the fact that his 
countrymen1 notwithstanding their       
general intelligence1 notwithstanding   

the large number of great men in almost 
every department of knowledge  born in  
,greek lands1 in spite of the fact that 
,greece was the native  hearth of       
philosophy1 had for centuries been      
retrograding morally1  intellectually   
and politically4 ,so hard is it to      
divorce most men from a  theory to which
 they have attached themselves4 ,his    
mistake arose from  his seeing all men  
in the mirror of his own thoughts4 ,he  
believed that  the whole human race     
could be influenced by the motives that 
influenced  himself1 and that all could1
 if they wished1 be constantly engaged  
in  the search for light and wisdom in  
the way he sought them4 ,this radical   
error he inherited from his master1     
,plato1 and it is strange that he did   
not detect it4 ,he seems never to have  
suspected that he might be  mistaken4   
,plutarch's religion is wholly without  
enthusiasm and his morality has in  it  
not a tinge of emotion4 ,do right       
always1 because by such a course of     

life you will enjoy the largest measure 
of mundane happiness that can  fall to  
the lot of a mortal1 and be a benefactor
 to all who come within  the circle of  
your influence4 ,make the best of every 
situation in which  you may be placed4  
,do not take too seriously the          
hindrances to a  virtuous life that you 
may find in your way1 because you can   
remove them  if you will4 ,no matter    
what your station in life1 do not expect
 your  path to be always a smooth one4  
,if you keep these things in mind you   
will probably live long1--you are sure  
to live happily4    ,plutarch's views   
regarding the education of women are far
 in advance of  his age4 ,he follows his
 master1 ,plato1 in vindicating for them
 the same  virtues that belong to men4  
,his treatise often designated ,the     
,virtues of  ,women is chiefly a record 
of heroic deeds that have been performed
 by  the so-called weaker sex4 ,he      
admits that the worth or efficiency of  
women is not necessarily of the same    

quality as that of men1 but he  contends
 that its ethical value is equal and its
 intrinsic merit in no  wise inferior4  
,the woman who has performed a noble    
deed is entitled to  just as much credit
 as a a man4 ,he takes issue with       
,thucydides for  saying that the best   
woman is the one of whom least is said  
either for  good or evil4 ,he also takes
 issue with the thoroughly ,greek       
sentiment1  though perhaps more         
pronounced in ,athens than elsewhere1   
that woman is  at most little else than 
a plaything and a convenience for man2  
and that  her highest function is to    
bear legitimate male children4          
,according to  ,plutarch the wife is to 
be the equal partner in the management  
of the  household4 ,when it is well     
conducted she deserves equal            
commendation  with the husband4 ,he     
would open a wider sphere for women2    
train them  intellectually1 and awaken  
in them an interest in the larger       
affairs of  life4 ,consistently with    

these views1 ,plutarch assigned to his  
wife an  honorable place in his         
household4 ,she received guests in her  
husband's  absence2 sat at table with   
him and interested herself in public as 
well  as private affairs4 ,while this   
was in contravention of the custom of   
his  day1 it was in harmony with a      
faintly discernible trend of public     
opinion1 probably the result of ,roman  
influence4 ,that the innovation  made   
slow progress is plain not only from the
 later history of ,greece  but also from
 ,greek social usages in our own day4   
,when we take  cognizance of the unhappy
 state of his country we are inclined to
 wonder  at ,plutarch's uniform serenity
 of mind4 ,he never indulges in satire  
or  sneer1 while many of his            
contemporaries did both4 ,but we must   
remember  that his philosophy had1 above
 and beyond everything else1 a practical
  purpose1 and that in a rather material
 sense4 ,men's misfortunes are  their   
own fault and therefore preventible2 or 

they are not their own  fault and       
therefore unavoidable4 ,in either case  
nothing is gained by  grieving over     
them4    ,it will be evident from a     
perusal of the ,de ,sera that optimism  
is the  basis of ,plutarch's philosophy4
 ,men can do right if they will1 and if 
they do right they can not fail to be   
happy4 ,there is a superintending       
,providence that in the end rectifies   
all wrong and injustice4 ,he seems  to  
hold with ,goethe that 8,every sin is   
punished here below10 though the        
punishment does not end in this life4   
,retribution is not delayed until  after
 death2 it visits the sinner in this    
world4 ,or if he is so  fortunate as to 
end his days in peace1 so far as mortals
 can see1 he  entails a curse upon his  
descendants4 ,the iniquities of the     
fathers are  visited upon the children  
unto the third and fourth generation4   
,but the  punishment of the wicked does 
not end with this life4 ,the soul bears 
the  imprint of its crimes after it has 

left the body4 ,that ,god sometimes     
permits a wicked man to end his days in 
peace but that ,he has fastened a  curse
 on his offspring1 is a prominent       
article in the creed of many of  the    
older ,greek writers4 ,it is often      
referred to by ,herodotus4 ,so firmly   
convinced is he that all wrong-doing    
must be atoned for that when he  finds  
an instance where the law does not      
appear to hold good he  confesses       
himself at a loss to account for the    
failure of its operation4  ,not only    
individuals but nations as well must    
expiate crimes committed  and wrongs    
done by their representatives in an     
official capacity4 ,and  there is no    
doubt that the influence of this belief 
was most wholesome4  ,much of what      
,plutarch says on this point is probably
 fanciful1  especially when he appeals  
to the testimony of history2 but what he
  records is in keeping with his        
philosophy and has therefore a strong   
personal interest4 ,moreover1 he        

furnishes us with some interesting      
testimony as to the prevalence of a     
belief in rewards and punishments  among
 men outside the pale of ,christianity4 
,plutarch's ideal of duty is a high one4
 ,the fulfilment of some duty is        
incumbent upon every man so long as he  
lives4 ,it is as imperative in old  age 
as in early life4 ,when a man is quit of
 his obligations to his  children1 he   
owes a service to his country and to his
 fellow citizens in  a narrower sense4  
,from this service1 only the impairment 
of his  facilities or death may release 
him4 ,as every man is born into the     
state1 and as1 in a certain sense1 he is
 a man only in so far as he  discharges 
his obligations to the state1 he has no 
choice in the matter4  ,herein lies a   
duty from which there is no possible    
escape4 ,but the mere  holding of an    
office is not the only or even the chief
 test of the good  citizen4 ,his duties 
in a private capacity are no less       
important1 and if  less conspicuous are 

equally far reaching4 ,the good citizen 
is the  philosopher in his true sphere3 
good citizenship is philosophy in       
action--applied philosophy4 ,it is only 
in actual life that the  philosopher can
 put his theories to the test4 ,the form
 of government is  a matter of minor    
importance4 ,plutarch regards monarchy1 
as on the  whole1 the best1 but he is   
not radical4 ,in this he agrees with the
  majority of ,greek philosophers1 most 
of whom were generally more or less     
dissatisfied with the turbulent         
,athenian democracy4 ,that monarchy is  
best where the head of the state is what
 ,plutarch would have him be1 a         
philosopher4 ,but even the most absolute
 monarch should not regard  himself     
above law2 he is to be its executor4    
,moreover1 it is his duty  not only to  
obey cheerfully the written law that    
binds prince and people  alike1 but also
 that unwritten law that reason has     
implanted in the soul  of every man of  
sound mind4 ,rulers are in a sense the  

servants of ,god  whose duty it is to   
apportion rewards and punishments       
according to their  deserts1 to all that
 are under their authority4    ,after   
all1 man's first and chief duty is to   
himself4 ,his quest for  light1 for     
knowledge1 for truth is never to be     
intermitted4 ,he is to  take his        
bearings1 as it were1 frequently1 in    
order to see what progress  he is       
making4 ,if his aims are noble1 his     
purposes right1 and his motives  pure1  
he will not only make daily progress in 
virtue1 but when he is  called to leave 
this world he can depart in peace       
because he will have  the consciousness 
that it is the better for his having    
lived in it4    ,having thus given a    
short sketch of ,plutarch as a man and a
 citizen let  us proceed to examine     
briefly the times in which he lived as  
supplementary to what has already been  
said under this general head in         
treating of ,seneca4 ,what had ,roman   
rule done for his country8 ,what was    

the social and economic condition of    
,greece and ,greek lands in the first   
century of the ,christian era8          
,unfortunately our information on these 
points is exceedingly scanty4 ,in fact1 
political economy is a recent  science2 
in ancient times the lot of the poor was
 little taken note of4  ,it was         
everywhere a hard one1 and the care of  
the indigent1 so much  insisted on in   
the ,new ,testament1 is almost the first
 sign of an  awakening in this respect4 
,but it did not originate with the      
government2  that had other ends in     
view4 ,that the ,roman policy toward the
  proletariat in the imperial capital   
only made matters worse1 is well  known4
 ,when we remember how much has been    
done in recent years by  legislation in 
every civilized country for the         
amelioration of the  condition of the   
lowest classes and how much still       
remains to be done1  we can picture to  
ourselves the state of society where all
 this was  omitted4    ,when we remember

 further that up to a comparatively     
recent period  commerce1 trade and      
manufactures flourished1 in so far as   
they can be  said to have flourished1   
not because they were fostered by       
governments1  but almost in spite of    
them1 it is not surprising that they    
received  little attention at the hands 
of the ,greeks and ,romans1 either      
individually or collectively4 ,it has   
already been stated that the sole       
object of the ruling powers was to raise
 the largest amount of revenue1  not to 
equalize the burdens on all the         
subjects4 ,on no question is  ancient   
thought so crude as upon economics4 ,the
 blight of slavery that  made free labor
 to a certain extent disgraceful1 and a 
condition of  things that hindered the  
establishment of manufacturies on a     
large  scale1 tells the sorrowful story4
    ,in his attitude toward slavery1    
,plutarch does not seem to hold as      
advanced views as ,seneca and some of   
the better men of his age and  preceding

 times4 ,yet he did not endorse the     
prevalent opinion1 embodied  in         
legislation1 that a slave is a soulless 
thing1 though the justice of            
emancipation occupied his attention but 
little4 ,here again we find his         
practical ideas in the foreground4 ,he  
is concerned to make the best of  the   
situation as he finds it4 ,slavery      
exists1 is an ineradicable element  of  
organized society and is coextensive    
with the human race4 ,the best  that the
 philosopher can do is to make sages of 
slave-holders1 to the  end that they    
treat their bondmen with justice and    
humaneness4 ,compare  the anecdotes of  
,plato and ,archytas in ,de ,sera1      
,chap4 #e4 ,according to  ,plutarch     
slaves have souls like other human      
beings1 and are capable of  mental and  
moral improvement2 consequently masters 
have duties to  perform toward them that
 are just as plain and just as          
imperative as  those due to persons on  
the same social level with themselves4  

,the prosperity of nations rests mainly 
upon the numbers and intelligence  of   
its middle classes4 ,it can everywhere  
be measured by the rise of this  class4 
,what wonder then that the nations were 
poor among whom it  scarcely existed8   
,rome could not go on plundering        
interminably1 and the  riches of its    
provinces in time became exhausted      
because not  replenished4 ,all that the 
ancient world has left upon record for  
us1  proceeds upon the assumption of a  
large body of slaves and a small body   
of free citizens1 and breathes a        
contempt for labor and trade4 ,in most  
of the ,greek states the commercial and 
manufacturing class consisted  chiefly  
of resident aliens who were also        
slave-holders1 and no citizen  was so   
poor that he did not own at least one   
slave4 ,to be a slave-owner  was a badge
 of respectability even for those who   
were not citizens4 ,in  the ,greek      
states1 so long as they were free       
polities1 war and religion  occupied all

 the time and attention of the citizens1
 except that small  body that were      
interested in philosophical pursuits4   
,when they were no  longer free and no  
longer had serious affairs in which to  
employ their  time1 they spent most of  
it in idle gossip or as the ,acts tell  
us1 8in  hearing or telling some new    
thing40 ,what legislation they were     
still  permitted to engage in never     
concerned matters of grave import4 ,they
  decreed crowns and statues to real or 
supposed benefactors1 only to  annul    
their decrees when those whom they were 
intended to honor happened  to incur the
 displeasure of the legislators or to   
fall into disgrace  with the higher     
powers4 ,then there were deputations    
between different  states about boundary
 disputes1 about festivals1 about claims
 and  counter claims of all sorts1 the  
sending of which was often debated with 
a solemnity that makes us wonder how the
 participants could themselves  fail to 
see their farcical character4 ,generally

 the game at stake was  the favor of the
 emperor1 each party striving to outbid 
the other in  professions of loyalty or 
to outvie it in the length of its bill  
for  services rendered4 ,when1 as was   
frequently the case1 these delegations  
did not find the emperor in ,rome1 they 
had1 of course1 to follow him  into     
provinces or to await his return4 ,this 
required time that1 we may  be sure1 was
 in most cases ungrudgingly given4      
,instead of directing  their energies   
into channels of activity and trying by 
honest work to  better their worldly    
condition it was talk1 talk with the    
,greeks1 and  talk without end4         
,there is no stronger evidence of their 
fondness for discussion and for         
listening to the spoken word than ,greek
 literature itself4 ,the  historians are
 in the habit of stating the case of    
opposing parties by  harangues which    
they put into the mouth of a            
representative of each4  ,greek poetry  
consists in a great measure of dialogue4

 ,philosophy was  chiefly developed by  
means of oral discussion4 ,comedy1 even 
after it was  no longer represented on  
the stage1 still appears as dialogue and
 not in  the usual form of the satire4  
,among its richest legacies to posterity
 is  its oratory1 and in it we have the 
spoken word in its most effective  form2
 but it still represents words rather   
than deeds1 and belongs for  the most   
part to the declining age of ,greece4 ,a
 solitary thinker like  ,kant was wholly
 foreign to ,greek ideas4 ,so           
persistently has this trait  remained a 
characteristic of the ,hellenes that    
many of their best  friends deplore     
their fondness for petty politics2 their
 sleepless  anxiety to assist in the    
management of the government instead of 
turning  their attention to bettering   
their material condition by a steady    
devotion to private business4 ,many of  
the rich and well-to-do ,greeks  live   
outside the kingdom of ,greece where    
their lingual activity is  circumscribed

 and they are compelled by circumstances
 to turn their  energies into more      
profitable channels4 ,rarely has a man1 
distinguished  for eloquence alone1     
profoundly influenced the course of     
human events4  ,contemporaries are      
unanimous in ascribing to ,julius       
,caesar oratorical  gifts of the highest
 order2 but he preferred to make his    
mark as a doer  of deeds rather than as 
a maker of phrases4    ,in ,rome the    
economic conditions were somewhat       
different from those  prevailing in     
,greece and the ,east1 yet ,rome was not
 a commercial state4  ,it was founded on
 military power1 extended by valor and  
endurance in  war1 and when there were  
no more worlds to conquer1 the forces   
that had  been turned against external  
enemies began to be turned against      
herself4  ,rome was rich while she had  
other countries to plunder2 when this   
was no  longer possible her decay began4
 ,and these countries1 by which we mean 
all the provinces outside of the city1  

were rich so long as the  fertility of  
their soil continued and their mines    
were productive4 ,that  ,rome's moral   
decline antedated her economic          
retrogression by centuries  is familiar 
to every reader of ancient history1 but 
it is only the  latter that we are      
concerned with here4    ,money was not  
used for purposes of production1 but for
 the purchase of  articles of luxury and
 display4 ,much of what had been        
accumulated in the  capital flowed      
eastward and disappeared4 ,italy        
gradually passed into the  hands of a   
small number of largelanded proprietors1
 whose vast estates  were cultivated by 
persons who had no interest in          
maintaining their  fertility4 ,great    
numbers of free citizens flocked to     
,rome to enjoy the  doles distributed to
 the populace at stated intervals2 to   
feast their  eyes on the bloody         
spectacles1 so frequently and so        
magnificently given2  and to die1 only  
to leave room to be filled by the       

constantly inflowing  stream4 ,the      
empire existed for the ,city1 its       
capital4 ,we have already  spoken of the
 strange fascination it exercised over  
all who had once  been under its spell4 
,we may safely assume that of the eighty
 thousand  ,romans put to death by      
,mithridates in his dominions1 a        
considerable  portion had gone abroad in
 the hope of enriching themselves in    
order to  spend their gains in the      
capital4 ,doubtless1 too1 so far afield1
 trade  was less despised than at the   
seat of government4 ,the empire built1  
and  for a time kept in repair1 those   
magnificent highways that are still the 
admiration of all who see them4 ,but    
they served military purposes almost    
exclusively4 ,when no longer needed they
 were suffered to fall into  decay4     
,they were not constructed to facilitate
 commercial intercourse1  and           
contributed little to the economic      
welfare of the empire4 ,when the  lack  
of local improvements was sufficiently  

felt and the people were not  too much  
impoverished1 which was seldom the case1
 to bear the necessary  financial       
burdens these were undertaken by the    
local authorities4 ,but  there is reason
 to believe that some of the provinces1 
notably the  ,grecian1 became poorer and
 poorer from year to year4 ,the capital 
drained  the province2 the people lost  
heart1 and gave themselves up to the    
apathy of indifference or despair4      
,it was the evil destiny of the ,greek  
polities that they could never be       
brought to act together for any length  
of time2 nor did all of them ever  act  
together in any common enterprise4 ,and 
they learned nothing from  experience4  
,the misfortunes resulting from this    
centripetal tendency  were pointed out  
time and again by writers and orators1  
but to no  purpose4 ,local pride always 
outweighed the dictates of reason or    
even of  common prudence4 ,had ,greece  
presented a united front1 under         
competent  leadership1 it would have    

been a hard task for even ,rome to      
subdue it4  ,but it was impossible for  
the different states to forget their    
reciprocal animosities3 the increasing  
prosperity of one was usually the       
signal for others to turn their arms    
against it4 ,in this way all of them    
were gradually weakened and thus became 
a comparatively easy prey to any  strong
 foreign foe that might choose to attack
 them4 ,their subjugation  by ,rome was 
by far the greatest misfortune that ever
 befell them4 ,philip  of ,macedon and  
his successors were at least more than  
half ,greeks1 and  had a good deal of   
sympathy with ,greek ideas4 ,the ,romans
 had none  whatever4 ,still1 cruelly as 
they carried out the work of subjugation
 in  certain localities1 when their     
first animosity was appeased they seem  
not to have interfered systematically   
with existing municipal                 
administrations4 ,yet the financial     
pressure became harder as the people    
grew poorer1 and matters went from bad  

to worse4 ,the wickedness of  ,corinth1 
the most ,roman of ,greek cities after  
it had been rebuilt under  imperial     
auspices1 affords striking evidence of  
what ,roman influence  meant on the     
morals of a ,greek polity4    ,it is a  
matter of common knowledge what ,roman  
internecine war brought  upon ,italy4   
,to a certain extent the same evils were
 shared by ,greece4  ,three of the      
fiercest battles between the contestants
 for the principate  were fought in or  
near ,greece4 ,the ,greeks were always  
on the losing  side1 though her soldiers
 were not numerously represented in the 
,roman  armies4 ,these battles did but  
accelerate a retrograde movement that   
had  been quite marked at least since   
the ,mithridatic war1 though it did not 
begin then4 ,the population was rapidly 
decreasing4 ,plutarch says that in  his 
time all ,greece could not furnish three
 thousand heavy-armed  soldiers4 ,this  
statement must not be taken too         
literally2 it can hardly  mean that     

there were not this number of           
able-bodied men in the whole of         
,greece2 it must mean that it did not   
contain three thousand citizens         
sufficiently well-to-do to enable them  
to support themselves in the  field4 ,in
 the days of their glory some of the    
smallest ,greek states were  better off 
than this would indicate4 ,it is        
certainly proof positive of  poverty1 if
 not of a very sparse population4 ,but  
this1 too1 had greatly  decreased in    
some places4 ,in the time of ,augustus1 
,thebes had ceased to  be anything more 
than a large village--the same ,thebes  
that had played so  prominent a part in 
legend and history4 ,with a few         
exceptions1 the  larger ,boeotian towns 
were in the same sad plight4 ,cities    
without  inhabitants1 or only a few2    
cattle grazing in the deserted streets1 
and  even in the market-place1 seem to  
have been a common sight4 ,what had     
become of the inhabitants8 ,we only know
 that they were gone1 most of  them1    

doubtless1 to their graves4    ,in      
,greece1 ,sparta excepted1 slavery was  
of a rather mild type1 and it  was      
unusual for a ,greek to sell a slave to 
a foreigner4 ,neither did  gladiatorial 
combats flourish among the ,greeks4     
,even ,corinth1 that in  later times    
contained a large admixture of ,romans1 
could not acclimate  them4 ,while it is 
true that the ,greeks made light of     
human life and took  it upon the        
slightest pretext1 it was rarely done by
 the cruel methods  of the ,romans4     
,with all their faults and frailties    
they belonged to a  distinctly higher   
type of men1 and their civilization at a
 very early  period began to move along 
lines afterward followed by the         
progressive  nations of the world4 ,how 
infinitely better were their peaceful   
contests  than the bloody spectacles    
that were the delight of ,rome6    ,just
 as the ,greeks were reluctant to admit 
foreigners to citizenship1  they were   
also reluctant to admit exotic gods into

 their pantheon4 ,in  both1 their policy
 was diametrically opposed to that of   
,rome4 ,their  exclusiveness in the     
former regard was due to their belief in
 their own  superiority2 in the latter1 
to the conviction that their national   
gods  were sufficient for all human     
needs4 ,friedlaender is probably right  
in  his contention that the period here 
under consideration shows no decay  in  
what we may call religion1 either in    
,greece or ,rome4 ,its external  forms  
and traditional rites were sedulously   
kept up and scrupulously  maintained4   
,plutarch likewise bears testimony to   
this condition of  things4 ,scoffers and
 infidels had become more numerous1     
mainly because  the ,romans were more   
tolerant in such matters than the       
,greeks4 ,to the  ruling class all cults
 were alike2 consequently they made no  
objections  to anything that was spoken 
or written1 so long as their authority  
was  not directly or indirectly         
attacked4 ,in the various controversies 

about  religion mentioned in the ,new   
,testament1 the attitude of the         
government  is always one of            
indifference except as to the           
maintenance of public  order4    ,the   
,greeks1 generally speaking1 preferred1 
like ,plutarch1 the limited  sphere of  
local political activity to the larger  
one offered at ,rome4  ,the provincials 
who came to honor on the other side of  
the ,adriatic were  few in number4      
,in the main the provinces fared better 
under the imperial government  than     
under the republic4 ,there was a higher 
degree of probability that  wrongs would
 be redressed4 ,a case in point is that 
of the apostle ,paul  who appealed to   
,caesar even when the ,caesar was ,nero4
    ,it is a well-known fact of ancient 
history that property in transit1       
either by land or sea1 was at no time   
particularly safe at a distance  from   
the centers of population4 ,the thief   
and the robber are familiar  figures in 
both sacred and profane writings4       

,pompey's extensive crusade  against the
 pirates that infested all parts of the 
,mediterranean forms  an important      
episode in the records of the ,roman    
navy4 ,even in the  cities1 the         
unlighted streets afforded frequent     
opportunities for  plunder and murder to
 those who had no scruples about taking 
life or  property4 ,as domestic affairs 
from time to time engrossed the         
attention  of the imperial              
administration1 the outlying provinces  
were not  carefully looked after2 roads 
were neglected and became insecure2 the 
police force lacked efficiency1 and     
commercial intercourse between the      
different parts of the empire was       
reduced to a minimum4 ,the people were  
driven to agriculture as their only     
means of support1 which1 in ,greece     
particularly1 was never a profitable    
industry4 ,nothing affords a more       
striking contrast between the police    
system of ancient and modern times  than
 the frequency with which robberies are 

mentioned in the former and  their      
rarity in the other4 ,paul tells us that
 he had been in peril by  robbers2 we   
know1 too1 from the writings of         
,josephus and others that the  conflicts
 between this class of outlaws and the  
,roman government were by  no means     
infrequent4 ,those who had been engaged 
in rebellion1 or who  were among the    
vanquished in battle1 or who had become 
voluntary or  compulsory exiles1 often  
felt that they had a right to prey on   
orderly  society4    ,it is a recognized
 fact that the monarchical system of the
 ,east tended  to encourage immorality1 
a condition of things that usually      
exists where  there is no strong and    
wholesome public opinion4 ,the usurpers 
in the  ,greek cities1 and later1 the   
,roman provincial governors1 were1 with 
rare  exceptions1 men of loose morals if
 not worse4 ,the private life of its    
representatives was a matter with which 
the home government did not  concern    
itself1 and the subjects were           

constrained to be dumb4 ,now and  then  
one of these petty sovereigns ruled     
wisely according to the  standards of   
the time1 and the public was satisfied1 
especially if they  knew how to maintain
 brilliant courts1 and to adorn their   
capitals with  imposing structures4 ,it 
was so easy to trump up the charge of   
sedition  against persons who refused to
 be servile flatterers1 that only the   
most  courageous dared to stand aloof4  
,finlay1 though somewhat given to       
painting in strong colors1 is probably  
not far wrong when he says3 8,it  is    
difficult to imagine a society more     
completely destitute of moral  restraint
 than that in which the ,asiatic ,greeks
 lived4 ,public opinion  was powerless  
to enforce even an outward respect for  
virtue2 military  accomplishments1      
talents for civil administration1       
literary eminence and  devotion to the  
power of an arbitrary sovereign1 were   
the direct roads  to distinction and    
wealth2 honesty and virtue were very    

secondary  qualities4 ,in old countries 
or societies where a class becomes      
predominant1 a conventional character is
 formed1 according to the  exigencies of
 the case1 as the standard of an        
honorable man2 and it is  usually very  
different indeed from what is really    
necessary to  constitute a virtuous or  
even an honest citizen40    ,the student
 of ,greek history is often inclined to 
believe that the bane  of ,hellenic     
statesmanship was the bitter rivalry    
that always existed  between the        
different polities4 ,from the standpoint
 of the philosopher  this view is       
correct4 ,if the energies devoted to the
 means and methods  of mutual           
destruction had been expended on the    
arts of peace1 not only  ,greece1 but   
the entire world would1 to-day1 present 
a widely different  aspect4 ,however    
much the moralist may deplore the       
existing conditions1  the man who takes 
the world as it is cannot fail to see   
that the utmost  strength of a nation is

 always put forth in war and for warlike
  purposes4 ,it was so with the ,greeks4
 ,political rivalry was the strongest   
stimulus under which they acted4 ,it was
 their life and growth1 and to a  large 
extent the measure of their prosperity4 
,when political rivalries  were         
extinguished by ,alexander1 and more    
effectually by the ,romans1 the  spirit 
of ,greece1 too1 died out4 ,the ,romans1
 especially in their first  contact with
 ,greece1 were too much barbarians to   
have any sympathy with  the best that   
,greece had to offer4 ,a genius for     
government is not  necessarily a mark of
 advanced civilization4 ,it is true     
there were at  all times men among the  
,romans able to appreciate the proud    
preeminence  of the ,greeks in arts and 
letters1 but their numbers were too few 
to  make any general impression4 ,the   
leading families1 including most of the 
emperors1 were familiar with the ,greek 
language and used it with ease2  but    
there were few ,romans who did not      

despise the ,greeks and regard them  as 
inferiors4 ,nations1 like individuals1  
feel more or less contempt for  those   
whose tastes are different from their   
own2 and in the case before  us1 the    
,greeks being the weaker1 were the chief
 sufferers4 ,but just as  rich men      
sometimes buy books and statuary of     
which they do not know the  value1 and  
collect libraries which they cannot     
read1 because intelligent  people take  
pleasure in these things1 so a certain  
class of ,romans  affected a fondness   
for ,greek art and literature and       
philosophy4 ,an  enormous quantity of   
works of ,greek art was transported     
across the  ,adriatic by the ,romans    
with small advantage to the pillagers or
 to the  nation4 ,notwithstanding the   
predilection of some of the leading     
families  for ,greek culture1 their     
influence made no deep and lasting      
impression  on ,roman thought1 in the   
better sense4 ,rome always showed itself
 much  more receptive toward what is    

debasing than for what was ennobling4   
,after this hasty survey of the         
condition of ,plutarch's countrymen we  
are  more than ever inclined to be      
surprised at his optimism4 ,yet the     
explanation is not far to seek1 and is  
consistent with his philosophy4  ,he had
 an abiding faith in a divine           
,providence who orders all things for   
the best4 ,he holds that men are free   
and therefore responsible4 ,the ills    
that afflict them are chiefly of their  
own making2 why then should a  wise man 
grieve over them8 ,it is man's chief    
business to free himself  from unholy   
desires2 to control the volcanic and    
perturbing impulses of  his nature by   
means of philosophy1 which when rightly 
apprehended is  divine4 ,as man is in   
the last analysis an ethical being1 the 
fundamental  problem of philosophy is   
how to carry out in practice those      
ethical  principles in the observance of
 which man only can be truly happy4 ,if1
  then1 men's misfortunes are the       

natural consequence and result of their 
own perverseness1 there is no reason why
 we should grieve over them4 ,so  far as
 political conditions are concerned1 he 
doubtless felt that the  rule of the    
,roman emperors had at last given peace 
to his long  distracted country1 on as  
favorable terms as could be expected4   
,it has been said of ,plutarch that     
there is not a new thought in all his   
writings1--and this by way of           
disparagement4 ,the charge is probably  
true4  ,the men who have put new ideas  
into the world are few indeed4 ,the     
world  is far less in need of           
instruction than of reminding4 ,besides1
 there is  no reason why an artist      
should not deal with a familiar subject 
in his  own way4 ,if he can tell an old 
story so as to give it a new interest1  
or  treat a well-worn theme so as to    
make it seem fresh1 he is not the least 
among his brethren4 ,it is especially   
writers upon ethics that are apt to  be 
tedious4 ,the more honor to him who can 

make his preaching attractive  and      
interesting4    ,perhaps the chief charm
 of ,plutarch's writings is the         
assumption on his  part that he is a    
reasonable man himself and is talking to
 reasonable  men2 for as we have already
 seen1 he has always hearers in mind    
rather  than readers4 ,we can imagine   
him ever and anon saying1 ,you either   
know  what is right1 what your duty is1 
or you want to know4 ,the rules of      
conduct are plain and simple2 you have  
but to obey them and you will be  happy4
 ,perform the duties incumbent upon you1
 to the gods1 to your  fellow citizens1 
to the members of your family1 to       
yourself1 and you  will be content with 
the present order of things1 and your   
fellow men  with you4 ,if you want to   
lead a moral life1 be humane1 be        
truthful1 be  sympathetic1 be chaste1   
deal honestly with your fellow men1     
follow your  rational nature rather than
 your emotions1 and you will have no    
reason  to regret that you have lived2  

your fellow men will be glad that you   
have for a time sojourned among them1   
and have left behind you the light  of  
your example to shine for those who come
 after you4    ,lecky in his ,history of
 ,european ,morals1 already cited1 has  
some  interesting passages on the       
relation of ,seneca and ,plutarch to    
certain  phases of the thought of their 
time1 a few of which may properly find a
  place here4 ,he says3 8,a class of    
writers began to arise1 who1 like the   
,stoics1 believed virtue rather than    
enjoyment1 to be the supreme good1  and 
who acknowledged that virtue consisted  
solely of the control which  the        
enlightened will exercises over the     
desires1 but who at the same  time gave 
free scope to the benevolent affections1
 and a more religious  and mystical tone
 to the whole scheme of morals40        
8,plutarch1 whose fame as a biographer  
has1 ,i think1 unduly eclipsed his      
reputation as a moralist1 may be justly 
regarded as the leader of this          

movement1 and his moral writings may be 
profitably compared with those  of      
,seneca1 the most ample exponent of the 
sterner school4 ,seneca is not          
unfrequently self-conscious1 theatrical1
 and over-strained4 ,his precepts  have 
something of the affected ring of a     
popular preacher4 ,the imperfect  fusion
 of his short sentences gives his style 
a disjointed and1 so to  speak1         
granulated character1 which the emperor 
,caligula happily  expressed when he    
compared it to sand without cement2 yet 
he often rises  to a majesty of         
eloquence1 a grandeur both of thought   
and expression1  that few moralists have
 ever rivaled4 ,plutarch1 though far    
less sublime1  is more sustained1       
equable and uniformly pleasing4 ,the    
,montaigne of  antiquity1 his genius    
coruscates playfully and gracefully     
around his  subject2 he delights in     
illustrations which are often singularly
 vivid  and original1 but which by their
 excessive multiplication appear        

sometimes rather the texture than the   
ornament of his discourse4 ,a  gentle1  
tender spirit1 and a judgment equally   
free from paradox1  exaggeration1 and   
excessive subtilty1 are characteristics 
of all he  wrote4 ,plutarch excels most 
in collecting motives of consolation2   
,seneca  in forming characters that need
 no consolation4 ,there is something of 
the woman in ,plutarch2 ,seneca is all  
man4#d ,the writings of the first       
resemble the strains of the flute1 to   
which the ancients attributed the  power
 of calming the possessions and chasing 
away the clouds of sorrow1  and drawing 
men by gentle suasion into the paths of 
virtue2 the writings  of the other are  
like the trumpet blast which kindles the
 soul with  heroic courage4 ,the first  
is more fitted to console a mother      
sorrowing  over her dead child2 the     
second to nerve a brave man1 without    
flinching  and without illusion1 to     
grapple with an inevitable fate4 ,the   
elaborate  letters which ,seneca has    

left us on distinctive tenets of the    
,stoical  school1 such as the equality  
of the vices1 or the evil of the        
affections1 have now little more than an
 historic interest2 but the  general    
tone of his writings gives them a       
permanent importance1 for they  reflect 
and foster a certain type of excellence 
which1 since the  extinction of         
,stoicism1 has had no adequate          
expression in literature4  ,the         
prevailing moral tone of ,plutarch1 on  
the other hand1 being formed  mainly on 
the prominence of the amiable virtues   
has been eclipsed or  transcended by the
 ,christian writers1 but his definite   
contribution to  philosophy and morals  
are more important than those of        
,seneca4 ,he has  left us one of the    
best works on ,superstition1 and one of 
the most  ingenious on ,providence1 we  
possess4 ,he was probably the first     
writer  who advocated very strongly     
humanity to animals on the broad ground 
of  universal benevolence1 as           

distinguished from the ,pythagorean     
doctrine of  transmigration1 as he was  
also remarkable1 beyond all his         
contemporaries  for his high sense of   
female excellence1 and of the sanctity  
of female  love40    ,seneca1 ,plutarch1
 and the ,apostle ,paul were in a sense 
contemporaries4  ,all three did what    
they could to make the world better in  
their time and  after them4 ,all three  
were preachers of righteousness1 each in
 his way4  ,all three wrote much that   
has engaged the attention of the world1 
and  stimulated its thought4 ,but how   
great the contrast between the projects 
of these men1 especially the two last6  
,plutarch was wholly lacking in  ,paul's
 devotion to an idea4 ,he would have    
scouted the suggestion that a  man      
should give up friends1 social position1
 country1 kindred1  everything1 to go   
forth to preach a new doctrine4 ,how    
widely apart1 how  almost diametrically 
opposite the methods of two men who are 
in a sense  seeking the same end6 ,the  

thoughts of the philosopher1 his        
intellectual  vision1 was turned toward 
the setting sun4 ,at most he could only 
hope1  as we now see1 to prolong the dim
 twilight that still hovered over the   
earth4 ,the world had well-nigh lost    
faith in the power of human reason  to  
regenerate mankind4 ,the spiritual eyes 
of the ,christian were on the  rising   
sun4 ,though he saw that it was as yet  
shining but dimly1 he had  no doubt that
 in time it would rise to noonday       
splendor4 ,the pillar of  fire that led 
and lighted the way for the saint2 the  
beatific vision  that always stood      
before his enraptured gaze2 the         
world-embracing  panorama that kept     
growing larger and larger as the little 
,christian  colonies were planted one   
after another in ,asia ,minor1 in       
,greece1 in  ,rome1 had no existence for
 the philosopher4 ,he has1 it is true1 a
 belief  in an overruling ,providence1  
but it lacks clearness1 because weakened
 by  a polytheistic creed1 or at least  

by the remnants of such a creed4 ,to it 
he still tenaciously clings1 though it  
may be half unconsciously4 ,he too  had 
a belief in an existence after death2   
but it was not of the sort  that made   
him feel that all the tribulations of   
this world which were  but for a moment 
were not to be compared with the glory  
that should  follow4    ,if we would    
personify ,christianity and ,philosophy 
as they met each other  at the close of 
the first century of our era1 we may    
designate the one  as the young man1    
who1 though poor in this world's goods1 
is strong in  hope1 in faith1 in himself
 and in his cause4 ,his superb physique1
 his  capital digestion1 make him ready 
for any enterprise1 any sacrifice that  
shall promise success4 ,any field in    
which he may display his splendid       
energies is welcome to him1 for he lives
 not in the past1 but in the  future4   
,the other is the old man who has1 in   
the main1 lived a useful  and honorable 
life1 who has performed some noble      

deeds1 and whose chief  anxiety is to   
give the rising generation the benefit  
of the wisdom that  has come to him in a
 life of study and observation4 ,but1 as
 is usually  the case with the aged1 his
 advice has become commonplace and the  
rising  generation passes him by almost 
unheeded4 ,few have now any confidence  
in  his teachings1 while many of his    
former disciples have deserted him4 ,it 
is his sad fate1 to see himself jostled 
at first and finally thrust  aside by   
the passing stream of humanity4         
,footnote #c3      ,students of ,german 
literature are reminded of a certain    
moral and    intellectual similarity    
between ,plutarch and ,gellert4 ,the    
latter1    though a man of much less    
natural ability1 had all of ,plutarch's 
kindliness1 moral and religious         
earnestness1 sympathy for those in      
distress1 and the same popularity among 
all classes from prince to    peasant4  
,both were equally religious1 though one
 was a heathen and the    other a       

,christian2 both preserved the same     
serenity of mind and    cheerfulness of 
heart in a time of national degradation 
and    immorality4    ,footnote #d3     
8,when ,plutarch1 after the death of his
 daughter2 was writing a letter    of   
consolation to his wife1 we find him    
turning away from all the               
commonplaces of the stoics as the       
recollection of one simple trait of     
his little child rushed upon his        
mind3--#8,she desired her nurse to press
    even her dolls to her breast4 ,she  
was so loving that she wished           
everything that gave her pleasure to    
share in the best she had4'0 ,the       
statement that ,seneca is all man will  
be questioned by those who know    that 
two of his ,letters of ,condolence are  
addressed to women4 ,these    are almost
 the only writings in ,roman literature 
so addressed4                      99   
99       99       99       99      ,the 
principal works used in the study of    
,plutarch here placed before the  reader

 are the following3        ,plutarchi   
,chaeronensis ,moralia4 ,edidit ,daniel 
,wyttenbach4 #h voll4      ,oxonii1     
#agie-ahba4        ,r4 ,volkmann4 ,leben
 und ,schriften des ,plutarch von       
,chaeronea4      ,berlin1 #ahfi4        
,o4 ,grard4 ,de la ,morale de           
,plutarque4 ,cinquime edition4 ,paris1  
#ahib4        ,plutarch's ,werke        
bersetzt von ,klaiber1 ,bhr1 u4 ,a4     
,stuttgart1      #ahcg-eg4              
,plutarchi ,chaeronensis ,moralia4      
,recognovit ,gregorius ,n4              
,bernardakis4 ,lipsiae1 #ahhh-if4 #g    
voll4    ,the last named contains a     
revised text only2 from it my           
translation of  the ,de ,sera was made4 
,the ,german translation of ,bhr1 the   
well-known  ,heidelberg professor1 in   
the collection above cited1 follows the 
original very closely and has been of   
much service to me by its               
interpretation of obscure passages4     
,a complete catalogue of ,plutarch's    
,moralia is given in the appendix4 ,the 

list is borrowed from the edition of    
,bernardakis and the question of        
authenticity is not taken into account4 
,,note3--,to translate ,plutarch is a   
very different task from that of        
translating ,seneca4 ,the style of the  
latter is terse and      epigrammatic2  
clauses and sentences often follow each 
other without      connectives1 and are 
in the main short4 ,that of the former  
is the      reverse4 ,most of his       
sentences are long1 many of them very   
long4      ,these1 as well as clauses   
and words1 are often strung together    
with      the participles  and 1 or     
other connectives1 until the reader     
sometimes wonders whether they will ever
 end4 ,seneca is full of      pithy     
sayings well suited for quotation2 in   
,plutarch they are rare4      ,the style
 of both writers is highly rhetorical1  
but1 if we except      the evident      
striving after effect1 they have little 
else in common4        ,as in the case  
of ,seneca1 it has been my aim to       

preserve for the      ,english reader   
the peculiarities of the ,greek1 so far 
as possible4      ,there is much to be  
said in favor of making a translation1  
above      everything else1 readable2   
but in the effort to do so1 the         
translator is constantly exposed to the 
danger of displacing the      style of  
the original with his own4 ,i hope ,i   
have in a measure1 at      least1       
succeeded in putting before the ,english
 reader1 not only what      ,plutarch   
said in the following ,tract1 but also  
how he said it4        8,because        
sentence against an evil work is not    
executed speedily1      therefore the   
heart of the sons of men is fully set in
 them to do      evil40                 
,,concerning ,,the ,,delay ,,of ,,the   
,,deity ,,in ,,punishing ,,the ,,wicked4
      ,,dramatis ,,personae4            
,,plutarch4 ,,patrocleas1 his           
son-in-law4 ,,timon1 his brother4       
,,olympichus4        ,the scene is the  
portico of the temple of ,apollo at     

,delphi4 ,the      tract is dedicated to
 a certain ,quintus1 whose name seems to
      indicate that he was a ,roman1 but
 of whom nothing definite is known4     
,when ,epicurus had thus spoken1 ,o     
,quintus1 and before any one had        
replied1 he went hurriedly away1 as we  
were now at the end of the porch4  ,we  
stood for some time in speechless wonder
 at the strange conduct of  the man and 
looking at one another1 then turned back
 to resume our walk4  ,thereupon        
,patrocleas first broke the silence3    
8,pray1 what shall we do80  said he1    
8,shall we drop the inquiry1 or shall we
 answer the arguments of  the speaker   
who is not present as if he were80 8,it 
would not be fitting  to leave the dart 
he discharged1 as he departed1 sticking 
in the wound4  ,brasidas1 as we are     
told1 drew the shaft from his body1 and 
with the  same weapon slew the man who  
had hit him4 ,it is not worth our while1
 of  course1 to defend ourselves against
 all those who assail us with           

ill-grounded or fallacious arguments1   
but it will suffice us if we cast  them 
from us before they become firmly fixed 
in our minds40 8,what was  there then10 
said ,i1 8in what he said that most     
impressed you8 ,for many  things and    
without any order1 one here1 another    
there1 the man kept  charging against   
,providence1 with anger and vituperation
 at the same  time40    #b4 ,hereupon   
,patrocleas said3 8,the tardiness and   
delay of the ,deity in  punishing the   
wicked seems to me a matter of special  
importance2 and  now1 by the arguments  
that have been advanced1 ,i have been   
led anew and1  as it were1 a stranger1  
to the question2 but long ago ,i was    
offended  when ,i read in ,euripides1   
#8,he procrastinates1 and this is the   
manner of the ,deity4' ,yet ,god ought1 
least of all things1 to be slack towards
 the wicked1 as they are neither  slack 
nor dilatory about doing evil1 but are  
impelled by their  unrestrained passions
 to acts of injustice4 ,and in truth1   

the  retribution1 which ,thucydides says
 follows close upon the commission of  a
 crime1 forthwith bars the way for those
 who usually prosper in  successful     
villainy4 ,for there is no debt like    
overdue justice that  makes him who has 
been wronged so faint-hearted and       
discouraged1 while  it emboldens the    
wicked man in his audacity and violence2
 but the  punishments that follow close 
upon the commission of crimes are       
restraints upon those who are meditating
 wrongs against others1 and  there is   
the greatest consolation in this for    
those who have suffered  injustice4 ,so1
 then1 the remark of ,bias often        
troubles me when ,i reflect  upon it2   
for he said1 according to report1 to a  
certain reprobate1 that  he did not fear
 lest he might not suffer the punishment
 of his misdeeds1  but only that he     
might not himself 7,bias7 live to see   
it4 ,what profit  was it to the         
,messenians1 who were long since dead1  
that ,aristokrates  was punished for    

betraying them at the battle of         
,taphros1 when the  matter remained     
undiscovered for more than twenty years1
 during which  time he had been king of 
the ,arcadians1 though he was finally   
detected  and punished1 when they were  
no longer alive8 ,or what consolation   
was it  to the ,orchomenians who had    
lost children and friends and kinsmen   
through the treason of ,lykiscus1 that  
he was seized a long time  afterwards by
 a disease which gradually ate up his   
body8--this man who  was always dipping 
his feet into the river to wet them and 
calling down  a curse upon himself1     
praying that he might rot if he had     
betrayed and  wronged them4 ,and the    
casting forth of the bodies of the      
accursed from  ,athens and their        
transportation beyond the boundaries was
 an act that  not even the children of  
those who had been slain were permitted 
to  behold4 ,wherefore1 ,euripides      
inappropriately uses these lines to     
deter  men from the commission of crime1

 #8,fear not lest injustice overtake    
thee  and smite thee down1 unjust man2  
but in silence and with slow step it    
will overtake the wicked when the time  
is ripe4' ,for verily1 no other         
consideration but just such as these1   
the bad will naturally use to  encourage
 themselves and take as pledges of      
security in villainy1 on the  ground    
that wrong-doing brings forth early and 
evident fruit1 while the  penalty comes 
late1 and long after the satisfaction   
7that arises from  success in crime740  
#c4 ,when ,patrocleas had concluded his 
remarks1 ,olympichus spoke up and  said1
 8,to what great absurdities do the     
delays and postponements of the  ,deity 
in such matters lead6 ,because this     
tardiness destroys faith in             
,providence1 and the fact that          
retribution does not closely follow each
  particular act of wrong-doing but is  
later1 thus making room for chance1     
men1 by calling it a misfortune1 not a  
penalty1 are they in any wise  bettered8

 ,even though they may be grieved at    
what has befallen them1 do  they feel   
regret at what they have done8 ,for just
 as the immediate  stroke of the whip or
 the spur laid quickly to the horse that
 makes a  false step or stumbles brings 
it to a sense of duty1 but all the      
subsequent jerking and tugging at the   
reins and shouting seem rather to  be   
done for some other reason than         
correction1 because they produce pain   
but not betterment2 so vice1 if lashed  
and beaten for each act of  villainy    
committed1 would speedily become        
repentant and humble and  fearful of    
,god who beholds men's acts and         
sufferings1 if ,he did not  postpone    
justice4 ,and justice that according to 
,euripides procrastinates  and with slow
 pace overtakes the wicked1 seems more  
like an affair of  chance than of       
,providence1 because there is about it  
so much  uncertainty1 delay and lack of 
system4 ,the result is that ,i do not   
see  what use there is in the saying    

that the mills of the gods grind late1  
both because they obscure justice and   
take away the fear of evil-doing40      
#d4 ,thereupon in reply to these remarks
 and while ,i was still absorbed in     
reflection1 ,timon said3 8,shall ,i now 
add to the discussion the climax of  my 
own perplexity or shall ,i pass it over 
until after the disposal of  the main   
argument80 8,what is the use10 said ,i1 
8of sending along a third  wave to wash 
away the subject-matter1 if it be found 
impossible to  refute and invalidate the
 first objection8 ,first1 then1         
beginning1 as we  say1 at the ingle-side
 and with the caution of the            
philosophers of the  ,academy in regard 
to the divinity1 let us beware of       
assuming that we  know just what to say 
on this subject4 ,in truth1 an affair of
 more  serious moment is the            
consideration of supernal and divine    
things1 for  us who are human beings1   
than when one who has no ear for music  
discusses this art1 or when one who has 

never served in the army  discourses on 
military affairs2 because1 though       
ignorant of the plan of  the artificer1 
we assume to be able to fathom his      
designs from what we  suppose to be     
probable and fitting4 ,it is not hard   
for one unacquainted  with the healing  
art to comprehend the reasoning of a    
physician as to  why he did not sooner  
perform a certain amputation rather than
 later1 or  why he ordered a bath       
yesterday and not to-day2 in respect to 
,god1 on  the other hand1 it is not easy
 for a mortal to say any thing positive 
except that1 knowing best the proper    
occasion for curing a man of his  vices1
 ,he administers to each person         
chastisements as medicaments1 but  not  
equally severe in all cases nor at one  
and the same time4 ,for that  the       
healing art when applied to the soul is 
called right and  righteousness and is  
the greatest of all arts1 ,pindar in    
addition to  thousands of others1       
affirms1 when he calls ,god the ruler   

and custodian  of the whole universe1   
the #8master builder1' for the reason   
that ,he is  the guardian of justice    
according to which it shall be          
determined when  and how and to what    
degree every wicked man is to be        
punished4 ,and of  this art ,plato says 
that ,minos the son of ,jove was a      
student1 as it is  not possible to      
properly dispense justice1 or to        
recognize what is just  unless one has  
learned and acquired a knowledge of the 
same4 ,not even  the laws that men enact
 have always their clear and plain      
justification  and some enactments even 
seem at first sight ridiculous4 ,for    
instance1  in ,lacedaemon1 the ephors1  
immediately upon taking office1 issue an
  edict that no one is to wear a        
mustache and that the laws are to be    
obeyed in order that none may feel their
 severity4 ,the ,romans inflict a       
slight blow with a twig upon those whom 
they intend to emancipate2 and  when    
they make a will they bequeath their    

property to some persons as  their      
heirs1 but sell it to others1--which    
seems to be absurd4 ,but most  absurd   
one would think the law of ,solon to be 
to the effect that he  shall be deprived
 of civil rights1 who1 when there are   
parties and  factions in the state1 take
 sides with neither4 ,in short1 one     
could name  many anomalies in law1 if he
 did not know the intentions of the     
law-maker1 and did not understand the   
reason for every single part of  the    
decrees that have been issued4 ,what    
wonder is it then1 if1 when it  is so   
hard to see through human purposes1 that
 it is not easy to say  with respect to 
the gods for what reason they punish    
some transgressors  later1 others       
sooner4    #e4 ,these things are no     
excuse for shunning an investigation1   
but a plea  for indulgence1 so that the 
discussion1 looking as it were1 toward a
  harbor and port of refuge1 may move   
forward with the greater confidence1  in
 the midst of perplexities4 ,then       

consider first this fact1 that          
according to ,plato1 ,god having placed 
,himself in the midst of all that  is   
enchantingly fair1 as a sort of model1  
gives to human worth1 which is  in some 
measure an image of ,himself1 an        
exemplar which all are to follow  so far
 as they are able4 ,for the universe1   
being in its natural state  devoid of   
order1 began to change and to be        
transformed into a cosmos  when it      
participated in1 and became assimilated 
to1 the divine idea and  virtue4 ,this  
same man also says that nature kindles  
in us the germ of  vision so that by    
beholding the heavenly bodies borne     
along in their  courses1 and by         
admiration of the same1 the soul becomes
 habituated to  take pleasure in and to 
love what is orderly and systematically 
arranged1 but that it hates all         
disorderly and uncontrolled passion1 and
  shuns the purposeless and hit-or-miss 
as being the origin of all vice  and    
discord4 ,it is impossible for man1 by  

his very nature1 to have a  completer   
enjoyment of ,god than when seeking and 
earnestly striving  after virtue by     
imitating everything that is good and   
noble4 ,for this  reason also ,god      
punishes the wicked in due time and with
 deliberation2  not because ,he is      
,himself afraid of making a mistake by  
chastising any  one too soon or because 
,he might repent of it1 but in order to 
remove  from us what is brutal and hasty
 in the infliction of punishment1 and to
  teach us not to chastise in anger nor 
when greatly excited and  indignant1    
#8rage o'erleaps the bounds of reason'2 
as if1 in order to  satisfy our hunger  
or quench our thirst we rushed upon     
those who have  done us an injury1 but  
imitating ,his goodness and             
long-suffering and  taking time as our  
adviser1 that gives least room for      
repentance1 we  should proceed to       
inflict punishments in accordance with  
justice4 ,for1  as ,socrates said1 it is
 less mischievous to drink murky water1 

heedlessly1 than when one is in a       
perturbed state of mind and under the   
influence of anger and has lost the     
power of self-control before the  mind  
has become calm and clear1 to vent one's
 wrath on the person of a  kinsman or   
friend4 ,for vengeance does not belong  
close upon the inquiry1  as ,thucydides 
says1 but is most in place when as far  
from it as  possible4 ,since anger1     
according to ,melanthius #8commits      
terrible deeds  when it has displaced   
self-control'2 so1 likewise1 reason does
 what is  just and fitting when it has  
put aside anger and excitement4 ,further
  also1 men are made humane by the      
example of others when they learn1 for  
instance1 that ,plato1 after raising his
 staff to strike his slave1  remained   
standing for a long time1 as he himself 
says1 in this way  chastening his anger4
 ,and ,archytas1 on learning that his   
servants were  negligent and disorderly 
in his fields1 but noticing that he was 
greatly  angered and incensed at them1  

did nothing but remark as he walked     
away1  #8,you are lucky that ,i am very 
wroth at you4' ,if1 therefore1 the      
reported  sayings of men1 treasured up  
for us1 deter us from harshness and the 
violence resulting from passion2 much   
more does it become us1 as we look  upon
 ,god who lacks nothing and who knows no
 repentance for any deed1 yet  postpones
 punishment to the future and bides ,his
 time1 to be on our  guard in such      
matters4 ,we ought also to look upon    
mildness and  long-suffering as the     
divine part of the virtue which ,god    
,himself  exemplifies 7in ,his dealings 
with men71 and to remember that few are 
made better by swift chastisement1 but  
that many are profited and  admonished  
by tardiness in punishing4    #f4 ,in   
the second place1 let us remember that  
punishments among men1  having regard   
solely to the infliction of injuries to 
others1 cease with  the malefactor and  
go no further2 therefore1 like a barking
 dog they  7the penalties7 cling to the 

heels of the transgression and follow up
  actions closely4 ,but ,god1 as seems  
reasonable1 discerns the passions of    
the diseased soul upon which ,he wishes 
to visit punishment1 whether in  any    
way1 perchance1 it may turn to          
repentance1 and ,he gives time for      
amendment to those whose vices are not  
ineradicable and incurable4 ,for1       
knowing 7as ,he does7 what portion of   
virtue souls going forth from ,him  to  
be born1 carry with them1 and how strong
 and ineffaceable is the  nobleness     
implanted in them1 and that virtue      
yields to vice contrary to  its nature  
because corrupted by food and evil      
communications1 and that  some1 after   
undergoing a cure1 again resume their   
former nature1 ,he does  not inflict    
upon all a penalty equally severe4 ,but 
him who is  incorrigible ,he removes    
forthwith from life and cuts off1       
because  constant association with      
wickedness is very harmful to others1   
and in  the highest degree harmful to   

the soul itself4 ,on the contrary1 to   
those  who from ignorance of the good   
rather than from a predilection for evil
  and to whom it is only second nature  
to go astray1 ,he gives time for        
repentance4 ,but if they remain obdurate
 ,he visits these also with  punishment1
 for1 of course1 ,he has no fear lest   
they may escape ,him4  ,consider also   
what transformations have taken place in
 the character of  men and in their     
life2 for which reason also this change 
and character  77 is called a turning 77
 as habit 77 for the most part  shapes  
it and by laying hold of it controls it4
 ,i think1 therefore1 that  the ancients
 represented ,kecrops dual in form 7a   
combination of man and  dragon71 not as 
some say1 because1 after he had been an 
excellent king  he became a cruel and   
ruthless tyrant1 but for the opposite   
reason1  namely1 that after having been 
unjust and merciless he turned out to be
  gentle and kindly1 when he had got    
into power4 ,if this is not certain1  we

 know1 at least1 that ,gelo and ,hiero1 
both ,sicilians1 and ,peisistratus  the 
son of ,hippokrates1 all men who had put
 themselves at the head of  affairs by  
base methods1 used their power for the  
furtherance of  virtuous ends2 and      
though they had attained power          
illegally1 they  nevertheless became    
just and popular rulers4 ,they promoted 
good order  and the cultivation of the  
soil2 made temperate and industrious    
citizens  out of men who had been       
gossipers and idlers2 and ,gelo1 after  
fighting  bravely and defeating the     
,carthaginians in a great battle1 would 
not  make the peace with them which they
 sued for until they had pledged        
themselves to cease from sacrificing    
their children to ,kronos4 ,in          
,megalopolis1 ,lydiades was a usurper2  
but when at the height of his power  a  
change came over him and1 having        
conceived a loathing for iniquity1 he   
gave a constitution to the citizens1    
then in a battle with the enemies  of   

his country met a glorious death4 ,if   
some one had slain the usurper          
,miltiades in the ,chersonesus1 or had  
prosecuted ,kimon for incest with  his  
sister1 or had driven ,themistocles from
 the city by an indictment1  when he was
 indulging in drunken revelries and     
insulting people in the  market place1  
as was afterwards done with ,alkibiades1
 would we not have  lost the heroes of  
,marathon1 of the ,eurymedon and fair   
,artemisium1  #8where the sons of the   
,athenians laid the glorious            
corner-stone of  liberty8' ,men cast in 
a large mold neither do anything in a   
small way1  nor do the vehemence and    
energy of their titanic natures suffer  
them to  be inactive2 but they are      
tossed to and fro like a ship on the    
waves  until they settle down into a    
fixed and well-grounded character4 ,just
 as  a person who was ignorant of       
agriculture would not take a fancy to   
land1  if he saw it overgrown with weeds
 and brambles1 full of wild animals1    

running water and marshes2 while to one 
who has learned to discriminate  and to 
judge1 these very things show the       
strength and goodness of the  soil2 so  
men cast in a large mold commit         
irregularities and follies--men  whose  
volcanic and vehement natures we cannot 
endure1 and think they  ought to be cut 
off or kept in check4 ,but the better   
judge1 he who in  spite of these things 
discerns innate worth and nobility1     
waits until  age and maturity become the
 co-workers of reason and virtue1 when  
nature  shall bring forth her proper    
fruit40    #g4 8,so much1 then1 on this 
point4 ,and do you not think certain of 
the  ,greeks have done wisely in        
adopting the ,egyptian law that forbids 
the  execution of a woman condemned to  
death during pregnancy1 until after  her
 delivery80 8,most assuredly10 they     
said4 8,if then10 said ,i1 8a person  is
 big1 not with a child1 but with a deed 
or a secret project which he  may in the
 course of time bring into the world and

 put into execution1  or if he might    
disclose some hidden crime1 or be the   
author of some  judicious counsel or the
 discoverer of some useful invention1   
would it  not be better to await a      
seasonable time for removing him 7than  
to do it  prematurely78 ,to me at least 
it seems so10 ,i said4 8,and to us      
also10  replied ,patrocleas4 8,very     
good10 said ,i4 8,now consider that if  
,dionysius  had been punished at the    
beginning of his usurped power1 no      
,greek would  have settled in ,sicily1  
though it had been laid waste by the    
,carthaginians2 nor would ,greeks have  
settled in ,apollonia or in  ,anaktorium
 or in the peninsula of ,leukadia1 if   
,periander had not  received his        
punishment a long time after 7his       
accession to power74 ,and  ,i believe   
also that the day of reckoning for      
,kasander was postponed in  order that  
,thebes might be rebuilt4 ,of the       
mercenaries that had assisted  in       
plundering the temple here the greater  

part accompanied ,timoleon on  an       
expedition to ,sicily where they        
conquered the ,carthaginians and        
overthrew the tyrants2 then the         
miserable wretches died a miserable     
death4 ,there is no doubt that the      
,deity sometimes employs certain men    
after the manner of public executioners1
 to be the avengers of other  villains1 
then destroys them as ,i think ,he does 
most tyrants4 ,for just  as the gall of 
the hyena and the beestings 7or rennet7 
of the seal and  other parts of         
repulsive animals have a property that  
is useful for the  cure of diseases1 so 
,god inflicts on some persons who need a
 drastic  remedy and chastisement1 a    
stern and hard tyrant2 nor does ,he     
release  them from their grievous and   
melancholy state until ,he has cured    
their  disease and purified them4 ,such 
a medicine was ,phalaris to the         
,akragantines1 and to the ,romans1      
,marius4 ,to the ,sikyonians also the   
god  declared explicitly that their city

 needed a scourge for taking away  from 
the ,kleonians the boy ,teletias1       
crowned in the ,pythian games1 as  their
 own fellow-citizen1 and putting him to 
death4 ,so1 sure enough1  when          
,orthagoras had become tyrant of        
,sikyon1 and after him ,myron and       
,kleisthenes1 he and his successors made
 an end of their lasciviousness2  the   
,kleonians1 however1 not receiving such 
curative treatment1 sank into           
insignificance4 ,you know that ,homer   
somewhere says1 #8,from him1 a far      
baser father1 was born a son better in  
all manner of excellence'2 yet  that son
 of ,kopreus performed no brilliant or  
even noteworthy exploit4  ,but the      
descendants of ,sisyphus and of         
,autolycus and of ,phlegyas were        
conspicuous for the deeds and virtues of
 great kings4 ,pericles of  ,athens1    
also sprang from a house on which rested
 a curse2 while in ,rome1  ,pompey the  
,great was the son of ,strabo whose     
corpse the ,roman people1 in  their     

hatred1 cast out and trampled under     
foot4 ,why should it then be  thought   
strange1 if1 just as the husbandman does
 not dig up the thorns  lest he destroy 
the asparagus1 and the ,lydians do not  
burn the shrub  until they have gathered
 the gum from it2 so ,god should in like
 manner  delay to extirpate the evil and
 corrupt root of an illustrious and     
kingly house until the proper fruit has 
grown from it8 ,it was better for  the  
,phokians to lose the countless herds of
 kine and horses belonging to  ,iphitus1
 as also that much gold and silver      
should be taken from ,delphi1  than not 
to have had ,ulysses or ,asklepias born 
among them1 or the other  distinguished 
and noble-minded men whose ancestors had
 been evil-doers  and reprobates4    #h4
 ,do you not think it better that       
retribution should come in due season   
and in a fitting way1 than immediately  
and all at once8 ,as1 for  instance1 in 
the case of ,kalippus1 who1 supposed to 
be the friend of  ,dion1 killed him with

 the same sword with which he was       
afterward  dispatched by his friends2   
and that of ,mitias the ,argive who had 
been  slain in a tumult and whose brazen
 statue in the market-place fell on  the
 slayer of ,mitias during a dramatic    
performance and killed him4 ,and  the   
stories of ,bessus1 the ,paeonian1 and  
of ,aristo the ,oetaean1 the  leaders of
 the mercenaries1 you1 of course1 know1 
,patrocleas40 8,i do  not10 said he1    
8but ,i would like to hear them40       
8,aristo10 ,i said1  8having taken away 
the ornaments of ,eriphyle lying here   
7in this  temple71 with the permission  
of the authorities1 presented them to   
his  wife2 but his son1 angered at his  
mother from some cause1 set the house   
on fire and burned up all who were in   
it4 ,and ,bessus1 as the story goes1    
having killed his own father1 was not   
found out for a long time1 but  finally1
 going to a banquet with some friends   
and happening to strike a  nest of young
 swallows with his spear1 knocked it    

down and killed the  fledglings4 ,when  
those who were present said1 as was     
natural1 #8,man1 what  possessed you to 
do such an ill-omened deed8' he replied1
 #8,have they not  this long time been  
falsely accusing me and crying out      
against me for  killing my father'8 ,the
 astonished company reported the remark 
to the  king1 and after the case had    
been investigated ,bessus received his  
just  deserts40    #i4 8,we say these   
things10 ,i continued1 8on the          
assumption that there is  a postponement
 of punishment for the wicked2 on the   
other hand1 it is  proper to hear what  
,hesiod says1 who does not think with   
,plato that  punishment is a pain which 
follows injustice1 but that it is       
something  of equal age with it2 that it
 springs from the same root and place1  
for  he says1    #8,evil counsel is most
 hurtful to him who has given it1' and1 
#8,he who lays plots for another1 lays a
 plot against himself4'    ,the         
cantharis1 you know1 is said to contain 

within itself the antidote  7for the    
pain it inflicts71 and villainy1 by     
engendering within itself  both pain and
 punishment1 pays the penalty for       
evil-doing1 not at a  subsequent time1  
but in the outrage itself4 ,every       
malefactor who is  punished by the      
infliction of pain on his body bears his
 own cross1 and  vice wreaks upon       
itself1 out of itself1 its own          
vengeance1 because it is  in a sense a  
creator of the woes of life that it     
brings into existence1  together with   
the accompanying disgrace1 many sorrows1
 fears and violent  passions and regrets
 and unceasing restlessness4 ,some      
people are in no  wise different from   
children1 who1 on seeing malefactors in 
the theaters  often clad in gilded and  
purple garments1 crowned and dancing    
about1 are  delighted and admire them as
 fortunate mortals1 until they are seen 
goaded and scourged1 while the fire     
breaks forth from their splendid and    
costly attire4 ,for many of the wicked  

are the owners of fine mansions1  and1  
as they hold magistracies and other     
responsible positions1 no one  is aware 
that they are undergoing punishment     
until they are put to death  or hurled  
from rocks4 ,this1 one ought not to call
 punishment1 but the  consummation and  
fulfilment of punishment4 ,for as       
,herodicus of  ,selymbria1 who had been 
attacked by consumption1 an incurable   
disease1  was the first to combine      
gymnastics with the healing art1 and of 
whom  ,plato says1 that 7in so doing7 he
 protracted his own death1 and that of  
all who were similarly diseased2 so     
malefactors who are seen to have        
escaped immediate punishment1 expiate   
their crimes by a longer1 not by a      
shorter penalty2 nor after a longer time
 but during a longer time2 they  are not
 punished after they have grown old1 but
 they grow old during  their punishment4
 ,and ,i say a long time with reference 
to ourselves1  for to the gods the span 
of human life is nothing1--now1 but not 

thirty  years ago is the same as to say1
 that in the evening1 but not in the    
morning1 the malefactor1 is to be       
tortured or hanged1 especially since    
man is shut up in this life just as in a
 prison from which there is no          
migration to another place or escape1   
but which in the meanwhile allows  time 
for many enjoyments and the transaction 
of business1 the bestowing  and         
receiving of honors and favors1 and for 
diversions2 just as persons  in prison  
are allowed to play at dice or draughts1
 though the noose is  all the while     
dangling above their heads4    #aj4     
,moreover1 what reason is there for     
saying that those who lie in  prison    
under sentence of death do not receive  
their punishment until  they are        
decapitated8 or that he who has drunk   
the hemlock-juice1 but is  still walking
 about waiting for the heaviness to get 
into his legs1  until he is seized by   
anaesthesia and the rigor of death1 7has
 not  received his87 ,if we regard the  

consummation of the punishment as the   
punishment itself1 we overlook the      
intervening sufferings and fears1 as    
well as the apprehension and regret with
 which every evil-doer is  harassed4 ,is
 not this just as if we were to say of  
the fish that has  swallowed the hook1  
that it is not caught until we see it   
broiled or cut  up by the cooks8 ,every 
one who has committed a crime is firmly 
held by  justice and has then and there 
fastened within himself1 like a bait the
  sweet morsel of iniquity4 ,having an  
avenging conscience in his breast1      
#8,like a frantic tunny he spins round  
in the sea4' ,for the well-known        
reckless audacity and over-confidence of
 vice is active and ardent until  the   
evil deed has been done2 then the       
passion subsiding like a wind1  sinks   
down weak and cowed under the weight of 
fears and superstitions2  so that it is 
entirely in accordance with the event   
and the truth that  ,stesichorus        
attributes a dream to ,klytemnestra in  

about these words3  #8,she thought a    
dragon with gory head approached her1   
and from it  ,pleisthenades came forth4'
 ,for visions by night and apparitions  
by day  and oracles and celestial       
portents and whatever other phenomenon  
is  regarded as caused by the direct    
interposition of ,god1 cause anxieties  
and fears to persons who have a guilty  
conscience4 ,for example1 it is  said1  
that ,apollodorus once in a dream saw   
himself flayed by the  ,scythians1 then 
boiled1 and heard his heart speaking    
from the caldron  and saying1 #8,i am   
the cause of all this'2 and that at     
another time he  saw his daughters all  
ablaze1 their bodies encircled with     
flame1 running  about him4 ,hipparchus  
also1 the son of ,peisistratus1 a little
 before his  death saw ,aphrodite       
flinging blood in his face from a kind  
of basin2 and  the favorites of ,ptolemy
 the ,thunderer1 saw him summoned before
 a  tribunal by ,seleucus where vultures
 and wolves were the judges1            

distributing many pieces of flesh among 
his enemies4 ,pausanias1  likewise1     
having caused a free maiden to be       
brought by force from  ,byzantium in    
order to pass the night with her1 but   
when she was come1  owing to some       
perturbation of mind and suspicion1 had 
her put to  death--this maiden he       
frequently saw in a dream calling to    
him1 #8,hasten  to judgment2 assuredly  
lust brings sorrow on men4' ,as the     
apparition did  not cease to haunt him1 
it is said that he set sail for the     
oracle of  the dead at ,heracleia where 
he called up the ghost of the damsel by 
expiatory rites and libations4          
,appearing before him1 she said that he 
would be freed from his troubles when he
 came to ,lacedaemon2 but as soon  as he
 arrived there he died4    #aa4 ,if then
 the soul has no sensation after death1 
and dissolution is  the end of all      
rewards and punishments1 one might      
rather say that the  divinity deals     
kindly and indulgently with the wicked  

who are speedily  chastised and die4    
,for if we were to assert nothing more  
than that as  long as they live and     
during the present existence no evil    
befalls the  bad1 but that when vice is 
exposed and is seen to be a fruitless   
and  barren thing1 that it brings       
nothing good or worth an effort1 in     
spite  of many severe agonies of        
mind--the recognition of these facts    
renders  life an uneasy one4 ,a case in 
point is the story told of ,lysimachus  
that  under stress of thirst he gave up 
his body and his dominions to the       
,getae1 but that when he had got into   
their hands and received a draught  he  
cried out1 #8,shame on my baseness for  
depriving myself of such a  kingdom for 
so short-lived a pleasure4' ,yet it is  
exceedingly difficult  to resist the    
needs of our physical nature2 but when a
 man1 either for  the sake of money or  
from avidity for political honors or    
influence1  commits a lawless and wicked
 act1 and when1 after the thirst and    

madness  of his passion have been       
allayed1 he finds1 in the course of     
time1 that  the ignominy and the bitter 
sorrow for his crimes remain behind1 and
  that villainy has been neither        
advantageous nor necessary nor          
profitable1 must not the thought1 so    
servile and mean1 often occur to  him1  
that for empty glory or fleeting        
enjoyment he has trampled under  foot   
the dearest and highest rights of       
mankind1 only to fill his life  with    
shame and confusion4 ,for as ,simonides 
jestingly said1 that he  always found   
the chest he kept for money full and the
 one he kept for  gratitude empty2 so   
wicked men1 when they examine their own 
evil hearts1  discover that for the sake
 of a pleasure which directly proves to 
be an  empty one1 they find them void of
 hope but full of sorrows and pain1     
unpleasant memories1 and anxiety for the
 future1 but big with distrust  of the  
present4 ,just as we hear ,ino crying   
out in the theater when  filled with    

regret for what she had done1 #8,dear   
women1 how can ,i again  dwell in the   
house of ,athamas8 ,would that ,i had   
done none of the deeds ,i  committed6'  
,so the soul of every villain ought to  
consider well and  reflect how it may   
rid itself of the memory of its         
iniquities and  exorcise a bad          
conscience1 undergo a process of        
purification and live  life over again4 
,when the bad is deliberately preferred1
 it shows a lack  of confidence and     
firmness and strength and               
stability--unless1 forsooth1  we admit  
that evil-doers are a class of sages4   
,wherever there exists an               
uncontrollable love of money and        
pleasure1 and insatiable avarice        
coupled with malice or a bad character1 
there you will find also1 if you  look  
closely1 latent superstitions and an    
aversion to labor and fear of  death and
 sudden gusts of passion and an         
eagerness to be talked about  joined to 
a penchant for boasting4 ,such men fear 

those who censure them  and are afraid  
of those who praise them as persons who 
have been wronged  by deception2 they   
are particularly hostile to the wicked  
because they  freely praise those who   
have the reputation of being virtuous4  
,for that  which hardens men in vice is 
like the brittleness in poor iron and is
  easily shivered4 ,whence it comes that
 as they1 in the course of time1  gain a
 deeper insight into the nature of      
things1 are weighed down with  sorrow   
and become morose and abhor their own   
past life4 ,it surely cannot  be but    
that a bad man who has restored a trust1
 or become surety for a  friend1 or who 
from a love of glory or fame has given  
and contributed  something to his       
country1 will forthwith regret what he  
has done1  because he is unstable in his
 ways and fickle in his purpose2        
sometimes  persons of this kind1 even   
when applauded in the theaters1 groan   
inwardly because the love of money has  
supplanted the love of glory2 nor  can  

it be that those who have sacrificed men
 for the attainment of  sovereignty or  
to carry out a conspiracy1 as did       
,apollodorus1 or who  have taken away   
money from their friends1 as did        
,glaucus1 do not repent1  nor hate      
themselves1 and do not feel regret for  
what they have done4 ,i1  for my part1  
do not believe1 if ,i may say so1 that  
there is need of any  god or man to     
punish the impious1 but that their life1
 ruined and made  uneasy by vice1 is    
fully sufficient40    #ab4 8,consider1  
however10 ,i said1 8whether we are not  
examining the  argument at greater      
length than its importance demands40 ,to
 this ,timon  replied1 8,it may be1 in  
view of what is yet to come and of what 
has been  omitted4 ,for ,i shall now    
bring up as a sort of reserve the final 
difficulty1 since we have in a measure  
worked our way through those that       
preceded4 ,what ,euripides alleges      
against the gods when he boldly charges 
them with turning #8the transgressions  

of the parents over to their  children1'
 this1 believe me1 we also tacitly      
impute to them as an  injustice4 ,for1  
if those who have committed offenses    
have themselves  expiated them1 there is
 no further need of punishing those who 
have  committed none1 since it is not   
just to punish a second time for the    
same crime those who are innocent2 or if
 through negligence they have  failed to
 punish the real criminals1 and long    
after visit the penalty  upon the       
innocent1 they do not justly make up for
 their tardiness by  injustice4         
,something of this kind is told of      
,aesop who1 it is said1 came  here 7to  
,delphi7 with gold from ,crsus in order 
to make a magnificent  oblation to the  
god and to distribute to each of the    
,delphians four  minae2 but some        
difficulty arising1 as it seems1 and he 
having got into  a quarrel with the     
parties here1 performed the sacrifice   
but sent the  money back to ,sardis1    
alleging that the men were not worthy to

 receive  it2 thereupon they trumped up 
a charge of temple-robbery against him  
and  put him to death by hurling him    
from the rock called ,hyampeia4 ,for    
this  the god is said to have become    
incensed at them and to have sent a     
famine upon the land1 together with all 
manner of strange diseases2 so  that    
they went around to the ,hellenic       
festivals proclaiming and making  known 
everywhere that whoever wished might    
wreak vengeance upon them for  the wrong
 they had done to ,aesop4 ,in the third 
generation came one  ,iadmon1 a man in  
no way related to ,aesop1 but a         
descendant of those who  had bought him 
in ,samos2 and to this man1 having in   
some way made  satisfaction 7for the    
wrong done to ,aesop71 the ,delphians   
were released  from their calamities4   
,after that date also1 they say1 the    
punishment of  temple-robbery was       
transferred to ,nauplia from ,hyampeia4 
,those who are  great admirers of       
,alexander1 of which number we also are1

 do not commend  him for destroying the 
city of the ,branchidae and putting them
 all to  death1 without distinction of  
age or sex1 because their forefathers   
had  betrayed the temple at ,miletus4   
,agathocles1 too1 the usurper of        
,syracuse1 mockingly told the           
,corcyreans1 in answer to the question  
why  he had laid waste their island1    
#8,that it most assuredly was because   
their fathers had kindly received       
,ulysses4' ,to the people of ,ithaca he 
likewise replied when they expostulated 
with him because his soldiers  carried  
off their sheep1 #8,your king also came 
to us and even blinded the  shepherd4'  
,and is not ,apollo even more           
unreasonable if he is destroying  the   
present generation of ,pheneatae by     
blocking up the barathrum and           
inundating their entire territory1      
because a thousand years ago1 as they   
say1 ,hercules carried off the prophetic
 tripod and took it to ,pheneus8  or    
when he foretold to the ,sybarites a    

release from their ills1 whenever  they 
had appeased the anger of the ,leucadian
 ,hera1 by a demolition three  times    
repeated8 ,and in truth1 it is not long 
since the ,lacedaemonians  ceased to    
send virgins to ,troy #8who without     
upper garments and with bare  feet1 like
 slaves1 at early dawn swept around the 
altar of ,athena1  without the wimple1  
even though old age bore heavy upon     
them1' on  account of the lasciviousness
 of ,ajax4 ,where1 pray1 is the logic or
  justice of these things8 ,we do not   
approve the custom of the ,thracians1   
who even at the present day tattoo their
 wives for the purpose of  avenging     
,orpheus1 nor that of the barbarians    
along the ,po for wearing  black        
garments in token of mourning for       
,pentheus1 as they say4 ,and it  would  
have been still more ridiculous1 ,i     
think1 if the men who lived at  the time
 when ,phaethon perished had not        
concerned themselves about him1  but    
those who were born five or ten         

generations after his death had  begun  
to change their garments for his sake   
and to put on mourning4  ,nevertheless  
this is merely silly and has nothing    
pernicious or  irremediable about it4   
,but with what reason does the anger of 
the gods  sometimes suddenly disappear  
like certain rivers1 only to break out  
afterwards against others in order to   
plunge them into the direst             
misfortunes80    #ac4 ,as soon as he    
ceased1 ,i1 fearing lest he might again 
proceed anew to  more and greater       
absurdities1 spoke up and asked him3    
8,very well1 but do  you accept all     
these things as true80 ,to which he     
replied1 8,even if not  all1 but only   
some of them are true1 do you not think 
the question  presents the same         
difficulty80 8,perhaps10 said ,i1 8and  
yet when persons  are suffering from a  
high fever1 the same or nearly the same 
heat  remains whether they have on them 
one or more garments2 nevertheless it   
affords some relief 7to the patient7 to 

remove what is superfluous4  ,still1 if 
you do not wish to go on1 we will let   
this matter pass2 at any  rate1 these   
stories look like fables and inventions2
 remember1 however1  the festival of    
,theoxenia1 recently celebrated1 and the
 honorable place  the heralds assign to 
the descendants of ,pindar2 how imposing
 and  delightful the ceremony appeared  
to you4 ,who would not1 ,i said1 be     
charmed with the bestowal of this honor1
 so entirely in harmony with the  spirit
 of ,greek antiquity1 unless his #8black
 heart had been forged with  cold       
flame1' to use one of ,pindar's own     
expressions8 ,then ,i forbear to        
mention1 ,i said1 a proclamation similar
 to this in ,sparta called1 ,after  the 
,lesbian ,bard1 in honor and memory of  
,terpander the ,ancient1 for the        
argument is the same4 ,and you too1     
descendants of ,opheltas1 forsooth1     
claim somewhat more consideration than  
others among the ,boeotians and at  the 
hands of the ,phokians because of       

,diophantus2 besides1 you were  present 
and were the first to support me when ,i
 upheld the traditional  honor of       
,herakles and the right to wear a crown 
which the ,lycormae and  the ,satilaiae 
laid claim to2 for ,i said it was       
altogether proper that  the descendants 
of ,herakles should enjoy unimpaired    
honors and benefits  for services which 
he had rendered to the ,greeks1 but for 
which he had  not himself received      
adequate recognition and requital40     
8,you have  recalled to my mind a noble 
contest10 he said1 8and one well worthy 
of a  philosopher40 8,retract1 then1 my 
friend10 said ,i1 8this serious charge1 
and do not take it ill if the           
descendants of wicked or base men are   
sometimes punished2 or cease to speak   
with approval of the honors  conferred  
upon those who are of noble ancestry4   
,for it is incumbent upon  us1 if we are
 to requite to their descendants1 the   
services of their  forefathers1 as a    
matter of consistency not to think that 

punishment  ought to cease or be        
discontinued at once after the crime1   
but that it  ought to run along with it 
and render a recompense corresponding to
 it4  ,he who is pleased to see the     
family ,kimon honored at ,athens1 but   
feels  sore and aggrieved when the      
descendants of ,lachares or ,aristo are 
expelled1 is very weak and inconsistent2
 or rather1 he is captious and          
hypercritical as regards the deity3 for 
he finds fault if the  grand-children of
 a wicked and unjust man seem to meet   
with good  fortune1 and he finds fault  
again1 if the offspring of the vicious  
are  cut off and blotted out4 ,he blames
 ,god equally whether the children of a 
good man or a bad man fare ill40    #ad4
 8,let these things10 ,i said1 8serve   
you as a sort of bulwark against  those 
over hasty and carping critics2 but let 
us take up again1 as one  may say1 the  
beginning of the thread of this obscure 
problem concerning  the ,deity1 with its
 many windings and ramifications1 and   

let us follow  them up with care but    
without fear1 to what is probable as    
well as what  is reasonable2 this at    
least is clear and well established1    
that even in  those things which we     
ourselves do1 we cannot always give the 
reason4  ,for example1 why do we direct 
the children of those who have died of  
consumption or dropsy to sit with both  
feet in the water until the  corpse is  
buried8 for it is believed that in this 
way the disease will  not pass to them  
or come near them4 ,again1 for what     
reason does a whole  herd of goats stand
 still if one of their number gets      
eryngo in its  mouth1 until the herdsman
 comes up and takes it out8 ,and there  
are other  forces in nature that        
interact among each other and pass back 
and forth  with incredible swiftness    
through a great extent of space4 ,yet we
 are  surprised at intervals of time1   
but not those of space4 ,with all that1 
it is more wonderful if ,athens is      
infected with a disease that had its    

origin in ,ethiopia and of which        
,pericles died and from which           
,thucydides  suffered than if the       
penalty for the crimes committed by the 
,delphians  or ,sybarites should be     
carried down to and visited upon their  
children4  ,the forces of nature have   
certain connections1 and inter-relations
 with  each other extending from their  
farthest endings to their very          
beginnings1 the cause of which1 though  
unknown by us1 silently produce  their  
proper effects4    #ae4 ,and1 in truth1 
the wrath of the gods1 when it falls    
upon a whole  city1 has its             
justification4 ,for a city is a unit and
 an entirety1 just  like an animal1 that
 does not lose its identity with the    
passing of the  years1 nor is           
transformed from one thing into         
something different in the  course of   
time1 but is always affected by like    
feelings and has a  character peculiar  
to itself4 ,it merits all the praise and
 all the blame  for what it has done in 

its sovereign capacity1 so long as the  
community  which makes it one and binds 
it together preserves its unity4 ,to    
make  one city1 in the course of time1  
consist of many cities1 or rather1 of a 
countless number1 is like dividing one  
man into many because he is now  older1 
but was formerly younger1 and still     
earlier1 a stripling4 ,this is          
altogether like the well-known argument 
of ,epicharmus1 the so-called           
increasing syllogism1 much used by the  
,sophists1 that the man who had         
incurred a debt some time ago does not  
owe it now as he has become  another    
man1 and that he who was invited to a   
banquet yesterday comes  to-day an      
unbidden guest because he is another    
person4 ,advancing age  produces greater
 changes in each one of us than in the  
general character  of cities4 ,any one  
would recognize ,athens if he saw it    
thirty years ago2  the customs of       
to-day1 the motions1 the sports1 the    
occupations1 the  likes and dislikes of 

the people are precisely the same they  
were in  former times2 but a man whom a 
relative or a friend might chance to    
meet  after an interval of time1 he     
would scarcely recognize1 and the change
  of character easily seen in every     
remark and occupation and in the        
feelings and habits have1 even for those
 who are about us all the time1         
something strange and striking by their 
novelty4 ,nevertheless a man is         
regarded as one person from his birth to
 his death2 and in like manner  we think
 it right that the city1 which remains  
the same1 ought to be  held responsible 
for the transgressions of its former    
citizens with the  same show of reason  
that it shares in their glory and       
prestige2  otherwise we shall1 without  
being aware of it1 cast everything into 
the  river of ,heracleitus into which he
 says nothing goes twice because  nature
 keeps all things in motion and changes 
their form4    #af4 ,if then a city is a
 unit and a continuous thing1 the same  

is  undoubtedly true of the family that 
springs from one and the same  beginning
 and engenders a certain power and a    
natural bond of sympathy  between all   
its members4 ,that which is begotten is 
not as if it were the  handiwork of an  
artisan1 separate from him who begets1  
for it is  something that proceeds out  
of him1 not something framed by him2    
consequently it possesses and bears     
within itself some portion of its       
original that may rightfully be         
chastised or honored4 ,if ,i were not   
afraid ,i should be thought to be       
jesting ,i would say that the statue of 
,kasander has suffered a greater wrong  
at the hands of the ,athenians when  it 
was melted down1 and the body of        
,dionysius when after death it was      
carried beyond their boundary by the    
,syracusans1 than their descendants  in 
paying the penalty for the deeds of     
these men4 ,for in a statue of          
,kasander there was no part of him1 and 
the soul of ,dionysius had left  the    

dead body long previously2 but in the   
case of ,nysaeus and of  ,apollokrates  
and of ,antipater and of ,philip and of 
all other persons in  like manner who   
are the children of vicious parents1    
nature has  implanted this predominant  
principle and it is ever present with   
them2  is not dormant or inoperative1   
but they live in it and are nurtured by 
it2 with them it abides and it directs  
their actions4 ,it is not cruel or      
unreasonable if the children of these   
men share their destiny4 ,all  things   
considered1 here1 as in the healing art1
 what is advantageous is  just1 and he  
would make himself ridiculous who should
 affirm that in  diseases of the        
hip-joint it was wrong to cauterize the 
thumb1 and in  the case of an ulcerated 
liver1 to make an incision in the belly1
 and to  anoint the tips of the horns of
 cattle if their hoofs are soft4 ,so in 
the matter of punishments2 he who thinks
 anything else is just than what  will  
cure vice1 and is scandalized if the    

healing is affected on one  party for   
the sake of another1--like the opening  
of a vein to relieve the                
eyes--evidently sees no farther than    
what is plain to the senses4 ,he does   
not take into account that even a       
schoolmaster1 when he punishes one      
pupil also corrects others1 and that a  
general who decimates his army  punishes
 all his soldiers4 ,likewise1 certain   
qualities1 good as well as  bad1 are    
transmitted not only from one body to   
another1 but even more  readily from one
 soul to another4 ,for in the one case  
it seems  reasonable that the same      
conditions should also produce the same 
change1  while in the other1 the soul   
impelled by motives and impulses is     
naturally inclined by boldness or       
timidity to become worse or better40    
#ag4 ,while ,i was yet speaking1        
,olympichus interrupting me1 said1 8,you
  seem1 in your discourse1 to proceed on
 a weighty assumption1 namely1 the      
continued existence of the soul40 8,you 

will surely grant this10 ,i  replied1   
8or rather1 have granted it1 for my     
argument has proceeded from  the        
beginning on the hypothesis that ,god   
distributes to us all rewards  and      
punishments according to our deserts40  
,hereupon he replied1 8,do you then     
think it follows of necessity1 from  the
 fact that because the gods observe all 
our actions1 and apportion  rewards and 
punishments1 that souls are either      
altogether incorruptible1  or that they 
continue to exist for some time after   
death80 8,my good  friends10 said ,i1   
8,god is not impatient1 or so occupied  
with trifles1  that if there were not   
something of the divinity in us1        
something at  least in a measure similar
 to ,himself1 but if1 like unto leaves1 
as  ,homer says1 we are altogether      
transitory1 and doomed to perish in a   
little while1 ,he would treat us with so
 much consideration--like those  women  
who plant the gardens of ,adonis in     
fragments of pottery and bestow  pains  

on them--cherishing those ephemeral     
souls of ours1 that dwell in a  frail   
body1 and when they are sprung up have  
no firm root in life1 but  are forever  
extinguished by any sudden calamity4    
,but if you are agreed1  let us pass    
over the other gods and let us consider 
ours here 7in  ,delphi71 whether you    
think1 if he were aware that the souls  
of those who  have passed from life1    
forthwith dissolve into nothing1 like   
clouds or  smoke1 as soon as they leave 
the body1 he would have instituted so   
many  ceremonies for the dead1 and would
 still require large gifts and honors   
for the deceased1 merely to impose upon 
and delude the credulous4 ,for my  part1
 ,i could never give up 7my faith in7   
the immortality of the soul  unless some
 one should again1 like another         
,herakles1 take away the  tripod of the 
,pythia1 and eradicate and destroy the  
oracle4 ,so long as  even in our day    
many such oracular responses are        
rendered1 as they say  were given to    

,korax the ,naxian1 it is impious to    
assert that the soul  can die40 ,here   
,patrocleas asked1 8,what was the       
response and who was this  ,korax8 for  
to me both the name and the circumstance
 are unknown40 8,not  at all10 said ,i1 
8but ,i am to blame for using a cognomen
 instead of a  name4 ,the man who slew  
,archilochus in battle was called       
,kalondas1 as you  know2 but he bore the
 eponym1 ,korax4 ,repelled at first by  
the ,pythia for  killing a devotee of   
the ,muses1 he next had recourse to     
prayers and  humble supplications in    
order to secure his restoration to      
favor1 then  was commanded to repair to 
the habitation of ,tettix1 in order to  
appease  the soul of ,archilochus4 ,this
 was at ,taenarus1 for thither1 they    
say1  ,tettix the ,cretan came with his 
fleet1 founded a city and settled near  
an oracle of the dead4 ,in like manner1 
also1 an oracle came to the  ,spartans1 
bidding them conciliate the soul of     
,pausanias1 persons who  could evoke the

 dead having been sent for to ,italy2   
these1 after  offering sacrifice1       
conjured up the ghost of the dead man in
 the temple4    #ah4 ,this1 then is one 
argument which establishes the          
providence of ,god  and at the same time
 the immortality of the soul1 and it is 
not possible  to reject the one and     
accept the other4 ,now if the soul      
survives after  the death of the body1  
it is also quite reasonable that it     
shares the  rewards and punishments 7of 
the latter74 ,for in this life it is    
engaged  in a contest1 like an athlete1 
and when the contest is ended it        
receives  its deserts4 ,to the rewards  
and punishments meted out when existing 
there by itself 7separate from the body7
 for the deeds of the previous  life1   
the living attach no importance2 they   
are concealed from our  knowledge1 and  
discredited4 ,but those that are        
transmitted to children  and through    
successive generations1 being plainly   
evident to all who  live here1 turn many

 bad men from their ways and hold them  
in check4  ,there is no more grievous   
chastisement1 and none that reaches more
 to  the quick1 than for men to see     
their descendants in misfortune on their
  account2 and when the soul of an      
impious and unjust man beholds1 after   
death1 not statues overturned and honors
 annulled1 but children and  friends and
 his own household overwhelmed with     
calamities and paying the  penalty for  
crimes that he has himself              
committed1--there is no one who  would  
again be unjust1 or who would yield to  
his unbridled passion1 for  the honors  
of ,zeus4 ,i have also a story to tell  
that ,i recently heard1  but ,i hesitate
 to do so lest you think it a fable1 ,i 
will therefore keep  to what is         
probable4 8,by no means10 said          
,olympichus1 8but repeat it  entire40   
,when the others also joined in the     
request1 ,i said1 8,permit me  to repeat
 what is probable in the story and      
afterward1 if you like1 we  will take up

 the fable1 granting1 of course1 that it
 is a fable40    #ai4 ,now ,bion says   
for a god to punish the children of bad 
men would be  more ridiculous than if a 
physician were to administer medicine to
 the  son or grandson1 for the disease  
of the grandfather1 or the father4 ,in  
one respect the conditions are unlike1  
in another they are alike1 or  similar4 
,administering medicine to one man for  
the disease of another  does not1 it is 
true1 cure the patient1 and a person who
 is suffering  from a disease of the    
eyes1 or a fever1 does not get better   
when he sees  another annointed or      
having a plaster put on him2 but the    
punishments of  the wicked make it      
evident to all men that it is the       
purpose of  wisely-directed justice to  
restrain some by the correction of      
others4 ,in  what respect the comparison
 made by ,bion is pertinent to the      
inquiry1 he  himself failed to notice2  
for suppose1 now1 a man falls sick of a 
painful but by no means incurable       

disease1 then gives himself up to       
intemperance and effeminate habits1 and 
dies2 and suppose1 again1 that  his son 
does not have the same disease but only 
a predisposition to  it1--would not a   
physician1 or a trainer1 or even a      
careful master1 on  learning this fact1 
put him on a frugal diet1 and keep him  
from dainties  and pastry1 from drink   
and women1 and by enjoining the         
continuous use of  remedies and the     
exercise of the body in gymnastics1     
scatter and  eradicate the little germ  
of a big disorder1 before it had reached
 the  serious stage8 ,forsooth1 do not  
we admonish those who are born of       
diseased fathers or mothers1 to take    
heed to themselves1 and to be on  their 
guard against neglecting themselves1 and
 forthwith to expel the  inbred evil    
while its germ is yet undeveloped1 and  
thus take the danger  by the forelock8  
8,most assuredly10 said they4 8,then10  
replied ,i1 8we are  not doing an absurd
 but a necessary thing2 not something   

ridiculous but  something useful1 when  
we recommend to the children of         
epileptics and  hypochondriacs and gouty
 persons1 physical exercise and         
wholesome diet  and medicaments1 not    
because they are sick1 but to the end   
that they may  not become sick4 ,the    
body that is born of an unsound body    
does not need  chastisement but medical 
treatment and good regimen4 ,if anybody 
calls  the interdiction of pleasures and
 the imposition of toil and labor1      
punishment1 he does so because he is    
inept and effeminate1 and no  attention 
need be paid to him4 ,shall we say1     
then1 that a body born of  an unsound   
body is worthy of care and attention1   
but the congenital  seeds of vice that  
germinate and spring up in the young    
character1 we  are to let alone and wait
 and dally1 until the evil passions     
break forth  openly1--#8show forth the  
malignant fruit of the heart1' as       
,pindar says8    #bj4 ,of a truth1 in   
this matter is the ,deity any wiser than

 ,hesiod when  he exhorts and advises us
 #8,not when returned from the sorrowful
 burial1  to propagate the race1 but    
after the feast of the immortals8' on   
the  ground that not only vice and      
virtue1 but sorrow and joy and all      
qualities1 are transferred to the       
offspring in procreation2 that at such  
a time men should be jocund and in good 
spirits and merry4 ,but it does  not    
follow1 according to ,hesiod1 nor is it 
the work of human wisdom1 but  of ,god1 
to see through and understand           
similarities and differences of  human  
nature1 before they have led to great   
crimes and are thus made  plain to all  
men4 ,for while the cubs of bears and   
the whelps of wolves  and monkeys       
immediately disclose their inborn nature
 because there is  nothing to conceal or
 disguise it1 the natural disposition of
 man  conforms to customs and opinions  
and laws1 and thus frequently puts a    
mask on what is evil and imitates the   
good4 ,in this way it altogether        

expunges or eradicates the inborn taint 
of vice1 or hides it for a long  time by
 cunningly disguising itself under the  
cloak of virtue2 inasmuch  as we hardly 
take note of any particular act of      
villainy1 unless it  falls upon us or   
strikes us2 or1 rather1 we are for the  
most part  accustomed to regard men as  
bad only when they do a bad deed1       
licentious  when they indulge their     
lusts1 and cowards when they run away4  
,this is  doing as if we believed       
scorpions had a sting only when they    
strike1 and  serpents were poisonous    
only when they bite1--a foolish notion1 
verily6  ,the man who proves to be a    
villain does not become so just at the  
moment  he is found out1 but he had in  
him from his birth the germs of         
iniquity1  the thief merely seizing the 
opportunity or using his power to steal1
  and the tyrant to override the law4   
,but ,god1 depend upon it1 is not       
ignorant of the inclinations and nature 
of any man because ,he looks to  the    

soul rather than the body2 ,he does not 
wait to punish deeds of  violence1 until
 they are done with the hands1 or       
impurity until it is  uttered with the  
tongue1 or lasciviousness until it is   
committed with  the sexual organs4 ,he  
does not take vengeance on the evil-doer
 from any  wrong he has himself         
suffered1 neither is ,he incensed at the
 robber1  because he has been roughly   
handled1 nor does ,he hate the adulterer
  because of the disgrace2 yet1 for the 
sake of betterment1 ,he often  punishes 
the adulterer and the miser and the     
unjust man1 thus cutting  off vice1 as  
if it were an epilepsy1 before it       
becomes firmly rooted4    #ba4 ,a little
 while ago we expressed our ill-will at 
the late and tardy  punishment of the   
wicked2 now we find fault because in    
some cases1 even  before they perpetrate
 any evil deed1 ,god checks the natural 
bent and  disposition of men1 though we 
are aware that the future is often worse
  and more to be feared than the past1  

and what is dormant than what is        
apparent4 ,we are not able to fathom the
 reasons why it is sometimes  better to 
let men commit crimes and sometimes     
better to anticipate them  while they   
are merely deliberating and contriving2 
just as some  medicines are not adapted 
to certain patients1 though helpful to  
others  who are not actually sick1 and  
yet in a worse condition than the       
former4  ,for this reason the gods do   
not #8turn all the transgressions of the
  parents upon their offspring1' but if 
a virtuous son is begotten by a  wicked 
father1 as it were1 a sound man1 by one 
who is diseased1 he  averts the penalty 
from the house1 the offspring of one    
being1 so to  speak1 adopted into       
another4 ,but it is fitting that a young
 man who  conforms himself to the       
likeness of a corrupt family should also
 share  the chastisement of its         
villainies as a debt incurred by        
inheritance4  ,antigonus was not        
punished on account of ,demetrius1 any  

more than the  heroes of the olden time1
 ,phyleus and ,nestor1 for the sake of  
,augeas and  ,neleus2 since these men1  
though sprung from wicked fathers1 were 
themselves good men4 ,but those who     
cherish and take naturally to the       
baseness that is born in them must also 
expect to be pursued to the end  by that
 justice which the likeness of vice     
demands4 ,for just as warts  and livid  
spots and freckles that fathers         
sometimes have1 are not on  their sons1 
but afterwards reappear on the          
grandsons1 and  granddaughters2 and a   
certain ,greek woman who had given birth
 to a black  child for which she was    
charged with adultery until she proved  
that she  was descended from an         
,ethiopian in the fourth generation2 and
 one of the  sons of ,pytho of ,nisibis1
 who recently died1 and who was said to 
be  sprung from the ,sparti1 was born   
with the print of a spear on his        
body--in which case the family likeness 
reappeared and came to the  surface as  

out of the deep1 after such a long space
 of time1--so in like  manner the       
character and passions of the soul are  
often concealed in the  first           
generations and remain unknown1 but some
 time afterward and in  other persons   
nature springs up and asserts its power1
 either for virtue  or vice40    #bb4   
,when he had spoken thus he held his    
peace1 whereupon ,olympichus  said with 
a smile1 8,we do not give you our       
approval lest we shall seem  to excuse  
you from telling the story1 on the      
ground that the case has  been          
sufficiently proved2 but we shall only  
then render our verdict  when we have   
heard that40 ,in this wise ,i           
accordingly began3  8,thespesius of     
,soli1 a kinsman and friend of the      
,protagenes who spent  some time here   
with us1 having passed the first part of
 his life in  great dissoluteness1 and  
having speedily squandered all his      
patrimony1  now pressed by the          
exigencies of his situation1 for some   

time led a  vicious life2 besides       
repenting of his bad management1 he also
 sought  in every way to recover what he
 had lost1 and acted just like those    
libertines who care nothing for their   
wives so long as they are in  possession
 of them1 but after they are divorced   
and married to other  men1 basely try to
 corrupt them4 ,accordingly1 by holding 
aloof from no  act of meanness that     
brought either gratification or gain1 he
 acquired  in a short time not only very
 great possessions1 but also the        
reputation of being a thorough          
scoundrel4 ,above all1 an oracle brought
  from ,amphilochus gave him a bad name2
 for having asked the god through  a    
messenger1 as we are told1 whether he   
would lead a better life in  the future1
 the answer came back that it would be  
better with him  after he was dead4 ,and
 in a measure this turned out to be     
true1 not  long after4 ,for happening to
 fall on his head from a height he lay  
like one dead from the shock alone1 for 

he had received no wound1 and  on the   
third day was already carried forth for 
burial4 ,then all at  once recovering   
strength and coming to himself1 he      
showed a most  astonishing change in his
 manner of life2 for the ,cilicians know
 of no  man of his time more just in    
dealings between man and man1 none more 
reverent toward the gods1 none more     
dreaded by his enemies1 or more         
faithful to his friends4 ,consequently  
all who knew him were eager to  hear the
 cause of this transformation1 as they  
thought such an  alteration of character
 could not be a mere matter of          
chance--which was  in fact the case1 as 
he himself related to ,protagenes and   
other  equally intimate friends4 ,for   
when he lost consciousness1--7literally1
  when his rational soul left his       
body7--he at first experienced about    
the same sensation as the result of the 
change that a pilot would feel  who     
should be hurled from a ship into the   
deep2 afterwards1 having  recovered a   

little1 he thought he had entirely      
regained his breath and  was able to see
 on every side with his soul opened as  
if it were all  one eye4 ,yet he beheld 
none of the former things1 but the      
objects he  recognized were stars of    
immense magnitude at immeasurable       
distances  from one another1 and a      
radiance proceeding from them1          
surprising in  its brilliancy and color1
 in which his soul moved about with     
facility  just as a man in a calm moves 
a ship in any direction1 easily and     
quickly4 ,though he omitted most of what
 he saw1 he said that the souls  of the 
dead1 rising from below1 made flame-like
 bubbles as they  displaced the air     
before them2 then1 as each bubble       
noiselessly burst1  the souls came      
forth1 human in form but of a smaller   
size4 ,their  movements1 however1 were  
not alike1 for some started forth with  
surprising fleetness and darted straight
 up1 while others whirled  round in a   
circle just like spindles1 and whisking1

 now upward1 now  downward1 with a kind 
of confused and aimless motion1 they    
came to  rest only after a long time and
 with great difficulty4 ,respecting most
  of the souls1 however1 he was in      
ignorance as to who they were2 but      
recognizing two or three of his         
acquaintances1 he tried to approach  and
 address them1 yet they neither heard   
him nor were in their right  mind1 but  
beside themselves and dazed1 trying to  
avoid all notice and  intercourse1      
moving aimlessly about1 at first alone  
by themselves1  then encountering many  
who were in a like condition1 they      
joined  themselves to these1 and1 tossed
 about in a disorderly manner in all    
directions1 they uttered unintelligible 
cries that sounded like  mingled screams
 of lamentation and fear4 ,others1      
again1 were seen at  the very summit of 
the upper air1 radiant with joy1        
frequently  approaching each other with 
signs of affection1 but avoiding the    
disorderly ones and testifying their    

aversion1 as he thought1 by  drawing    
themselves together1 but their delight  
and satisfaction1 by  expanding and     
extending themselves4 ,here1 he said1 he
 recognized the  soul of one of his     
kinsmen1 though not quite distinctly1   
for he had  died when yet very young2   
but drawing near it saluted him with1   
#8,hail1  ,thespesius6' ,when he1 in    
surprise1 rejoined that his name was not
  ,thespesius1 but ,aridaeus4           
#8,formerly1 it is true1' replied the   
spirit1  #8that was thy name1 but       
henceforth it is ,thespesius 7the       
,divine74 ,for  thou didst not die1 but 
through the interposition of ,god art   
come  hither in the full possession of  
thy faculties2 the other part of thy    
soul thou hast left behind in thy body1 
as it were an anchor2 and let  this be a
 token to thee both1 now1 and           
henceforth1 that the souls of  the      
departed neither cast a shadow nor move 
the eyelids4' ,on hearing  this1        
,thespesius1 who had by this time       

somewhat recovered  consciousness1      
looked and beheld a kind of faint line  
about himself1  while the rest were     
completely encircled with a radiance and
  diaphanous1 though not all in the same
 manner1 for some1 like the moon  in her
 brightest splendor1 had a uniformly    
smooth and even color1  while others    
were marked with a kind of spots or     
faint weals2 others  again were all     
variegated and strange to look upon2    
while still others  were marked with    
livid fleckings like vipers1 and some   
even showed  slight scarifications4 ,the
 kinsman of ,thespesius explained these 
things in detail 7for there is nothing  
to hinder us from calling the  souls of 
men by the name they themselves bore    
during life7 by reciting  that          
,adrastea1 the daughter of ,necessity   
and ,zeus1 had been placed in  the      
highest seat as the avenger of all      
crimes1 and that there is no  wicked man
 so powerful or so insignificant as to  
be able1 either by  craft or by force1  

to escape her4 ,three attendants wait   
upon her to  each of whom has been      
assigned a different mode of inflicting 
punishment3 those who are to be         
chastised while yet in the body and by  
means of the body1 swift ,poena         
7,punishment7 seizes1 though in a rather
  mild way that still leaves behind many
 things needing expiation2 those  whose 
cure is a matter of greater difficulty  
on account of their  vices1 the daemon  
hands over1 after death1 to ,dike       
7,justice71 while  those that ,dike     
gives up as entirely incorrigible1 the  
third and most  terrible of the         
attendants of ,adrastea1 ,erinys 7the   
,fury71 pursues1  and after hounding    
them as they rush about trying to escape
 her in one  way or another1 she puts   
them all out of sight in a pitiless and 
awful  way by thrusting them into a     
nameless and invisible abyss4 ,of the   
other punishments1 said he1 that        
inflicted by ,poena in this life is     
like those of the non-,greeks4 ,for as  

among the ,persians the clothes  and    
tiaras of those who are undergoing      
chastisement are pulled off and  they   
are scourged1 while the culprits beg    
with tears that their  castigation may  
be ended2 so the punishments suffered in
 body or  estate are no severe          
affliction1 nor do they touch vice      
itself1 but  are chiefly for appearance 
sake and for the outward sense4 ,but him
 who  comes hither from there1          
unpunished and unpurged1 ,dike seizes   
and  exposes his soul in all its        
nakedness1 and there is no place where  
it  can hide or go into concealment or  
cover up its baseness1 but it is        
completely seen on all sides and by     
everybody4 ,at first ,dike shows  this  
soul to honest parents1 if such he had1 
or to ancestors1 as a  detestable       
creature and unworthy 7of such          
ancestry72 but if they were  likewise   
wicked1 he sees them undergoing         
chastisement1 while he is in  turn      
beheld by them receiving his deserts and

 expiating1 for a long  time1 each of   
his evil passions with pains and        
torments which as far  exceed in        
sharpness those endured in the flesh as 
the reality exceeds  in distinctness the
 mere vision 7before you74 ,the stripes 
and weals  for each of the passions     
remain on some a longer1 on others a    
shorter  time40 #8,observe also1' said  
he1 #8the variegated and party-colored  
appearance of the souls2 the darkish and
 filthy hue is the mark of  fraud and   
avarice1 while the blood-red and        
flame-colored indicates  cruelty and    
ugliness of temper2 where the soul has a
 bluish color1 a  lack of self-control  
as against lust has not been wholly     
eradicated  from it2 inherent           
malevolence combined with envy give out 
the violet  color and festering         
appearance underneath1 just as the      
cuttle-fish  sets free its black fluid4 
,for yonder 7in the world71 vice1 when  
the  soul is changed by its passions and
 changes the body1 occasions a  variety 

of colors1 but here 7in the realm of    
departed spirits7 there  is an end of   
purification and punishment1 and when   
the passions are  purged out1 the soul  
recovers entirely its native luster and 
uniform  color4 ,until this takes place1
 paroxysms of passion break forth1      
causing relapses and heart-throbs1 in   
some cases faint and easily  recovered  
from1 in others exceedingly violent4    
,some of the souls1  after undergoing   
repeated castigations resume their      
natural character  and disposition2     
others again are carried away into the  
bodies of  animals by the force and     
power of ignorance and the innate love  
of  sensual gratification2 for1 owing to
 the weakness of the reasoning  faculty 
and a disinclination to discursive      
thought1 one is impelled by  its active 
principle to procreation1 while another1
 though lacking an  instrument of       
sensual gratification1 yet longs to     
satisfy its desires  with worldly       
pleasures and to attain its ends by     

means of the body1  for in this place   
there is only a kind of imperfect shadow
 and vision  of joys that can have no   
reality4' ,when the spirit had thus     
spoken1 it  conducted him 7,thespesius7 
swiftly through boundless space1 as he  
thought1 easily and without deviation1  
borne up by the beams of light  as if on
 wings1 until he came to a wide and deep
 chasm where the power  that supported  
him gave way2 he saw1 too1 that the     
other souls had a  like experience at   
that place1 for these1 crowding together
 like  birds1 and darting downward1 flew
 about the chasm1--for they dared not   
venture to pass directly across         
it--which he saw was decorated within   
like the grottoes of ,bacchus1 with     
shrubbery and plants and with all  sorts
 of green twigs bearing flowers2 it also
 sent forth a gentle and  agreeable     
breeze which was singularly pleasant and
 which produced the  same effect that   
wine does on those who are addicted to  
it1 for the  souls that inhaled these   

fragrant odors were in ecstasies of joy 
and  embraced one another4 ,all around  
this place there was revelry and        
laughter1 together with every kind of   
enjoyment and merry-making4 ,he  said   
that here ,dionysus had ascended and had
 afterwards fetched up  ,semele and that
 it was called the place of             
,forgetfulness 7,lethe74  ,here1 too1   
,thespesius desired to tarry1 but his   
conductor would not  allow it1 and      
hurried him forcibly away1 at the same  
time telling him  that the rational soul
 is melted and dissolved under the      
influence of  pleasure1 but that the    
irrational and carnal part1 moistened   
and  clothed in flesh1 revives the      
memory of the body1 and as a result of  
this reminiscense1 a desire and a       
concupiscence that incites to           
procreation2 for which reason it is     
called an inclination toward the  earth 
because the soul is weighed down with   
moisture4 ,passing next  over another   
way of equal extent1 he thought he saw a

 huge goblet into  which streams flowed1
 of which one was of a whiter color than
 the foam  of the sea or snow2 another1 
purple like the iris2 while others again
  showed1 from afar1 different hues1    
each of which shone with its own        
particular luster1 yet when he came     
near1 the ambient air became more  and  
more rarified1 the colors became        
fainter1 and the goblet lost its        
brilliant tints1 except the white4 ,here
 he saw three supernatural  beings      
7daemons7 sitting by one another in the 
form of a triangle1  mixing together the
 streams with certain measures4 ,the    
conductor of  the soul of ,thespesius   
said that to this point ,orpheus had    
advanced  when he was following after   
the soul of his wife1 but because his   
memory partly failed him he brought back
 to men an incorrect account  when he   
said that the oracle at ,delphi was the 
common property of  ,apollo and ,night1 
when in sooth1 there is nothing in      
common between  ,apollo and ,night4     

#8,but this oracle1' the spirit said1   
#8is common to  night and the moon2 it  
gives response nowhere upon the earth   
and has  no fixed abode1 but roams about
 everywhere among men1 in dreams and    
apparitions2 and emanating from it1 as  
thou seest1 dreams mixed up  with the   
plain and simple truth1 spread abroad   
trickery and fraud4 ,but  that of       
,apollo thou didst not see1' it said1   
#8nor wilt thou be able to  see it1 for 
the earthly part of the soul neither    
strives toward what  is higher nor does 
it release 7the spiritual part71 but it 
tends  downward as long as it is joined 
to the body4' ,at the same time the     
spirit leading him 7,thespesius7 nearer 
tried to show him the light  issuing    
from the tripod which1 as he said1      
passed through the bosom of  ,themis and
 reached as far as ,parnassus4 ,though  
greatly desiring to see  it1 he was not 
able to do so because of its brilliancy2
 but as he  passed by he heard the      
shrill voice of a woman chanting in     

verse some  other things1 and the time  
of his death1 as he thought4 ,the       
supernatural being 7daemon7 said it was 
the ,sibyl1 and that she  foretold      
future events as she was whirled about  
on the face of the  moon4 ,though       
wishing to hear more1 he was carried    
round to the  opposite side by the      
rotary motion of the moon and caught but
 a few  words2 among which was the      
prediction about ,mount ,vesuvius and   
the  impending destruction of           
,dicaearchea by fire1 and a verse about 
the  reigning emperor1 thus3            
#8,though he is good1 disease shall end 
his reign4' ,next in order they  turned 
to look upon those who were undergoing  
punishments4 ,from the very  first they 
beheld nothing but repulsive and        
pitiable sights2 then  ,thespesius quite
 unexpectedly came upon kindred and     
acquaintances and  former companions who
 were in terrible sufferings and        
undergoing  horrible torments and pains1
 and who besought him with loud         

lamentations  to have pity on them4     
,finally1 he recognized his own father  
coming up  from a kind of abyss1 all    
covered with marks and wounds1          
stretching out  his hands to him2 nor   
did those who directed his castigations 
suffer him  to hold his peace1 but they 
compelled him to confess that he had    
been  guilty of a base crime against    
some guests1 for their gold1 by taking  
them off with poison1 and that1 though  
the deed was unknown to everybody  in   
the world above1 it was known to those  
below4 7,he also said7 that he  had     
already undergone some torments1 but was
 being dragged away to  suffer others4  
,smitten with fear and horror he durst  
not offer  supplications and            
intercessions for his father2 but       
wanting to turn  about and flee1 he no  
longer saw his kind and familiar guide1 
and felt  himself urged forward by other
 beings horrible to look upon1 by whom  
he  was compelled to pass among and     
behold the chastisements of others of   

his acquaintances who had openly led a  
wicked life1 though the shade of  those 
who had been punished in the world was  
less grievously tormented  than the     
rest1 and not in the same way1 as they  
were merely condemned to  severe toil   
for the irrational nature and the       
passions4 ,on the other  hand1 those who
 had worn the garb and assumed the name 
of virtue1 but  had in secret led       
corrupt lives1 were forced by other     
tormentors1 with  severe exertion and   
great pain1 to turn the inner parts of  
the soul  outward2 which action being so
 contrary to their nature1 they         
performed  it with wrigglings and       
contortions like those made by the      
marine  scolopendra when they have      
swallowed the hook2 some1 their         
tormentors  flayed and laid open in     
order to show how corrupt and flecked   
they were1  and that their iniquity had 
its root in the reason which is the     
noblest  part of the soul4 ,other souls1
 he also said1 he observed coiled about 

each other by twos and threes and even  
more1 gnawing one another on the  score 
of old grudges for the deeds of malice  
they had suffered or  committed in life4
 ,and he noticed further1 some lakes    
alongside of each  other1 one of which  
was of seething gold1 another of        
exceeding cold  lead1 and still another 
of hard iron2 that over these stood     
certain  demons who in turn1 like       
smiths1 seized with tongs the souls of  
those  who had been guilty of insatiable
 greed and avarice1 drawing them out    
and thrusting them in4 ,when they had   
become heated through and  diaphanous in
 the gold from the effects of the       
burning1 they were  plunged into the sea
 of lead2 having become congealed here  
and hard as  hailstones1 they were next 
thrust into the lake of iron1 where they
  turned completely black1 and were then
 twisted round and round because  of    
their hard-heartedness1 and rubbed      
together until they lost all  semblance 
of their former selves4 ,they were then 

put once more into the  lake of gold to 
undergo1 as he said1 awful torments by  
the change4 ,but  he said those endured 
the keenest anguish1 who1 supposing they
 had been  released by ,justice 7,dike7 
were seized anew3 these were the souls  
of  those for whose transgressions their
 descendants or children had to pay  the
 penalty4 ,for whenever one of these    
arrived and encountered the  other1 he  
fell upon the shade in great wrath1     
uttering loud cries and  showing the    
marks of what he had endured1 at the    
same time execrating  and pursuing it   
while it endeavored to flee away and    
hide itself1 yet  could not4 ,for       
swiftly did the avengers of justice     
pursue such1 dragging  them back again  
amid loud lamentations because they     
foreknew their  impending doom4 ,to some
 of the souls1 he said1 many of their   
descendants  at the same time attached  
themselves like bees or bats1 uttering  
shrill  cries and falling into          
transports of rage at the recollection  

of what  they had endured for their     
sakes2 and last of all he saw the souls 
of  those who were undergoing the       
preparation for a second birth by a     
forced  transformation into all sorts of
 animals1 and by metempsychosis at the  
hands of those who were appointed to the
 task4 ,these1 by the use of  certain   
tools1 and with blows1 hammered together
 entire members1 turned  others round1  
scraped down or removed others entirely 
in order to adapt  them to different    
modes of life1 among which also appeared
 the soul of  ,nero that had already    
undergone the other castigations1 and   
had been  transfixed with red-hot nails4
 ,when the workmen had begun to prepare 
the  figure of a ,pindaric viper1 in    
which it was destined to live after it  
had been conceived and had eaten its way
 out of its mother1 he said that  a     
great light appeared and a voice came   
out of the light commanding that  it be 
transformed into some more gentle       
creature and made over into an  animal  

that is wont to chant around marshes and
 ponds1 as he had already  expiated his 
crimes1 and some consideration was due  
him at the hands of  the gods for       
freeing ,greece1 the land in which dwelt
 the best and most  god-favored of his  
subjects4 ,thus far now ,thespesius was 
an eyewitness2  but when he was about to
 turn back1 he got into the utmost      
perplexity  through fright2 for a woman1
 imposing by her stature and beauty1    
taking  hold of him1 said1 #8,pray come 
hither1 my friend1 in order that you may
  the better remember everything' 7you  
have seen74 ,and as she was about to    
apply to him a little red-hot iron rod  
such as the painters in encaustic  are  
wont to use1 another woman interfered4  
,but he himself was carried  away all at
 once by a sudden and very violent gust 
of wind1 as if blown  through a tube1   
and so lighting again in his own body1  
he was restored  to life1 as it were1 on
 the very brink of the grave40          
,,notes4      ,a few notes of general   

character are here appended4            
,biographical and  mythological details 
may be found in classical dictionaries4 
,they are1  however1 rarely necessary to
 make clear the object of the author's  
allusions4 ,a word or a phrase not in   
the original has1 in a few cases1  been 
inserted in the translation to preclude 
the necessity of a note4          of the
 title4 ,it is not clear from the       
writings of      ,plutarch to what      
extent he was a monotheist4 ,he uses    
both with      and without the article4 
,in some cases his meaning is perfectly 
clear2 in others not4 ,the ,new         
,testament writers1 whose monotheism is 
beyond question1 frequently use the     
article before the name of ,god4        
,in like manner proper names sometimes  
have the article and sometimes      are 
without it4 ,thus we have  and  1       
usually      has the article while      
never has it1 etc4        ,,chap4 #c4   
,the thought here expressed regarding   
the mills of the gods      has been put 

into the form of a couplet by           
,longfellow in his ,poetic              
,aphorisms1 thus3                       
8,though the mills of ,god grind slowly 
yet they grind exceeding small2         
,though with patience ,he stands        
waiting1                      with      
exactness grinds ,he all40        ,the  
purport of the passage is plain1 but the
 parallelism between the      fact and  
the figure is not very close4 ,the idea 
is much older than      ,plutarch4      
,,chap4 #d4 8,the ingle-side0 or        
ancestral hearth4 ,according to the     
ancients the hearth was the center and  
beginning of the family and      the    
state4 ,the expression1 which is often  
used by ,plato and others1      is      
equivalent to the remotest beginning4   
,compare also the ,roman      ,vesta4   
#e4 8,god having placed ,himself10 etc4 
,the following extract from the         
,timaeus of ,plato will serve to        
illustrate our author's meaning4 8,let  
me tell you then why the ,creator made  

this world of generation4 ,he      was  
good1 and the good can never have any   
jealousy of anything4 ,and      being   
free from jealousy1 he desired that all 
things should be as      like himself as
 they could be4 ,this is in the truest  
sense the      origin of creation and of
 the world1 as we shall do well in      
believing on the testimony of wise men4 
,god desired that all things      should
 be good and nothing bad1 so far as this
 was attainable4      ,wherefore also   
finding the whole visible sphere not at 
rest1 but      moving in an irregular   
and disorderly fashion1 out of disorder 
he      brought order1 considering that 
this was in every way better than       
the other4 ,now the deeds of the best   
could never be or have been      other  
than the fairest and best2 and the      
,creator1 reflecting on the      things 
which are by nature visible1 found that 
no unintelligent      creature taken as 
a whole was fairer than the intelligent 
taken as a      whole2 and that         

intelligence could not be present in    
anything which      was devoid of soul4 
,for which reason1 when he was framing  
the      universe1 he put intelligence  
in soul1 and soul in body1 that he      
might be the creator of a work which    
was1 by nature1 fairest4                
,wherefore1 using the language of       
probability1 we may say that the        
world became a living creature1 truly   
endowed with soul and      intelligence 
by the providence of ,god40        #f4  
8,souls going forth from him40 ,the idea
 here is1 that the human      soul      
existed previous to its incarnation in  
the human body1 and that      it is a   
direct emanation from the ,deity4 ,this 
doctrine is fully      expounded by     
,plato4 ,how to establish the           
immortality of the soul1 if      it     
comes into existence with the body1 was 
a serious problem with      the         
ancients4 ,plutarch seems to have       
regarded both the soul and the      body
 as eternal and uncreated1 but the      

latter without form until it      was   
united with the soul4 ,or we may put the
 case otherwise by saying      that the 
soul1 upon entering into a conscious    
existence1 shapes the      hitherto     
formless body into an abode for itself4 
,he also holds that      the soul       
consists of two parts3 ,the one part    
seeks after truth and      has an       
affection for the beautiful2 the other  
is subject to the      passions and     
under the dominion of error4 8,for which
 reason10 the      author here assumes  
that the words  and  are from the same  
root4 ,the former means1 use and wont2  
the latter was originally      applied  
to the haunts or abodes of animals2 then
 the manners1      habits1 and          
dispositions of men4 ,aristotle says1   
1              4 7,ethical is from 1 for
 which reason the word differs but      
slightly from 47 ,plutarch himself says 
that custom is second      nature4 ,it  
is easy to trace the connection between 
a man's acts and      the psychical     

forces1 the character1 that produces    
them4        #h4 8,an ill-omened deed40 
,it was a prevalent belief in antiquity 
that      misfortunes fell upon those   
who were concerned in disturbing a      
swallow's nest4        #aj4 ,near the   
end4 ,the ,greeks ventured to consult   
oracles of the dead      only on rare   
and extraordinary occasions4 ,they      
probably borrowed the      custom from  
the ,east4        #aa4 ,the story of    
,glaucus is told at length by ,herodotus
 in the third      book of his history  
and is often alluded to by later        
writers4 ,the      ethical import of the
 anecdote is far-reaching4        #ag4  
8,gardens of ,adonis40 ,shakespeare     
probably had these in mind when      he 
wrote 7,king ,henry ,,vi4 ,part #a1     
scene sixth73 8,thy promises are        
like ,adonis' gardens1 ,that one day    
bloomed and fruitful were the           
next40 ,at ,taenarus1 the most southern 
point of the ,peloponnesus1      there  
was believed to be an entrance to the   

lower world4        #bb4 8,none more    
dreaded by his enemies40 ,to return good
 for good and      evil for evil was a  
fundamental article of ,greek ethics4   
,it is more      than once alluded to in
 the ,anabasis1 and is found in nearly  
all      ,greek writers4 ,socrates1     
however1 takes a firm stand against the 
principle and maintains that whatever is
 intrinsically wrong can      never     
under any circumstances become right4   
8,an inclination toward the earth40 ,the
 author here assumes that      1        
procreation1 beginning1 is both in fact 
and etymologically1      connected with 
1 an inclination or tendency toward the 
earth4 ,it need hardly be said that his 
idea is pure fancy4        ,this        
eruption of ,vesuvius1 as is well known1
 took place in the year      #gi4       
,decaearchea or ,puteoli was one of the 
cities destroyed together      with     
,herculaneum1 ,pompei and others4       
,vespasian was one of the few           
,roman emperors1 who1 up to his time1   

died a natural death4        ,what is   
meant by a ,pindaric viper is not known4
 ,plutarch is      evidently of the     
opinion that its young gnaw their way   
out of the      mother's womb instead of
 being born in the natural way1 and the 
allusion to ,nero's treatment of his    
mother is plain4 ,nero's love for       
music and his proficiency in the musical
 art are evidently held up      to      
ridicule in this passage4               
,,appendix4      ,a list of ,plutarch's 
works in the order of ,bernardakis'     
edition4  ,lipsiae1 #ahhh-if4           
,,volume ,i4        ,de liberis         
educandis1 7,on the education of        
children74        ,quomodo adolescens   
poetas audire debeat1 7,how a young man 
ought to      hear poems74        ,de   
recta ratione audiendi1 7,how one ought 
to hear lectures74        ,quomodo      
adulator ab amico internoscatur1 7,how  
one may distinguish      a flatterer    
from a friend74        ,quomodo quis    
suos in virtute sentiat profectus1 7,how

 one may know      whether he is making 
progress in virtue74        ,de capienda
 ex inimicis utilitate1 7,how one may   
profit by his      enemies74        ,de 
amicorum multitudine1 7,on the abundance
 of friends74        ,de fortuna1 7,on  
good and ill fortune74        ,de       
virtute et vitio1 7,on virtue and vice74
        ,consolatio ad ,apollonium1     
7,consolation for ,apollonius74         
,de tuenda sanitate prcepta1 7,precepts 
on the preservation of      health74    
,conjugalia prcepta1 7,precepts on      
matrimony74        ,septem sapientum    
convivium1 7,the banquet of the seven   
sages74        ,de superstitione1 7,on  
superstition74      ,,volume ,,ii4      
,regum et imperatorum apophthegmata1    
7,memorable sayings of kings      and   
commanders74        ,apophthegmata      
,laconica1 7,memorable sayings of       
,spartans74        ,instituta ,laconica1
 7,the ancient customs of the           
,lacedaemonians74        ,lacnarum      
apophthegmata1 7,memorable sayings of   

,spartan women74        ,mulierum       
virtutes1 7,heroic deeds of women74     
tia ,romana1 7,a list of topics1        
,roman74        tia ,grca1 7,a list of  
topics1 ,greek74        ,parallela ,grca
 et ,romana1 7,a collection of ,greek   
and ,roman      historical parallels74  
,de fortuna ,romanorum1 7,on the good   
fortune of the ,romans74        ,de     
,alexandri magni fortuna aut virtute1   
oratio ,i et ,,ii1 7,on the      good   
fortune or valor of ,alexander the      
,great1 discourses ,i and ,,ii74        
,bellone an pace clariores fuerint      
,athenienses1 7,were the ,athenians     
more distinguished in war or in wisdom78
        ,de ,iside et ,osiride1         
7,concerning ,isis and ,osiris74        
,,volume ,,iii4        ,de ,e apud      
,delphos1 7,on the ,e at ,delphi74      
,de ,pythia oraculis1 7,on the cessation
 of the ,pythian oracles in      meter74
        ,de defectu oraculorum1 7,on the
 cessation of oracles74        ,an      
virtus doceri possit1 7,can virtue be   

taught78        ,de virtute morali1 7,on
 moral virtue74        ,de cohibenda    
ira1 7,on the control of the temper74   
,de tranquillitate animi1 7,on peace of 
mind74        ,de fraterno amore1 7,on  
fraternal love74        ,de amore       
prolis1 7,on the love of offspring74    
,an vitiositas ad infelicitatem         
sufficiat1 7,does vice of itself        
make men unhappy78        ,animine an   
corporis affectiones sint peiores1 7,are
 the sufferings      of the mind more   
grievous than those of the body78       
,de garrulitate1 7,on talkativeness74   
,de curiositate1 7,on meddlesomness74   
,de cupiditate divitiarum1 7,on the love
 of riches74        ,de vitioso pudore1 
7,on excess of modesty74        ,de     
invidia et odio1 7,concerning envy and  
hatred74        ,de se ipsum citra      
invidiam laudando1 7,on praising one's  
self      without reproach74        ,de 
sera numinis vindicta1 7,concerning     
those whom ,god is slow to      punish74
        ,de fato1 7,on fate74        ,de

 genio ,socratis1 7,on the tutelary     
deity of ,socrates74        ,de exilio1 
7,on exile74        ,consolatio ad      
uxorem1 7,a letter of condolence to his 
wife74      ,,volume ,,iv4              
,questionum convivialium libri ,,ix1    
7,nine books of table-talk74            
,amatorius1 7,a dialogue on love74      
,amatoriae narrationes1 7,love stories74
      ,,volume ,v4        ,maxime cum   
principibus philosopho esse disserendum1
 7,on the      proposition that the     
philosopher ought chiefly to converse   
with      rulers74        ,ad principem 
ineruditum1 7,to an uneducated ruler74  
,an seni res publica gerenda sit1       
7,should an old man hold a public       
office78        ,praecepta gerendae rei 
publicae1 7,political precepts74        
,de unius in re publica dominatione1    
populari statu et paucorum      imperio1
 7,on monarchy1 democracy1 and          
oligarchy74        ,de vitando aere     
alieno1 7,on avoiding debts74        ,x 
oratorum vitae1 7,the lives of the ten  

orators74        ,de comparatione       
,aristophanis et ,menandri epitome      
7,abstract of a      comparison between 
,aristophanes and ,menander74        ,de
 ,herodoti malignitate1 7,on the malice 
of ,herodotus74        ,de placitis     
philosophorum libri ,v1 7,five books of 
maxims of the      philosophers74       
,aetia physica1 7,problems in physics74 
,de facie quae in orbe lunae apparet1   
7,concerning the face that      appears 
on the moon's disk74        ,de primo   
frigido1 7,on the origin of cold74      
,,volume ,,vi4        ,aquane an ignis  
sit utilior1 7,is fire or water the more
 useful78        ,terrestriane an       
aquatilia animalia sint callidiora1     
7,are water or      land animals the    
more cunning78        ,bruta animalia   
ratione uti1 7,on the use of reason by  
brutes74        ,de esu carnium1        
orationes duo1 7,on the eating of flesh1
 two      discourses74                  
,platonicae quaestiones1 7,platonic     
questions74        ,de animae           

procreatione in ,timaeo1 7,on the origin
 of the soul in      the ,timaeus74     
,epitome libri de animae procreatione in
 ,timaeo1 7,abstract of the      book on
 the origin of the soul in the          
,timaeus74        ,de ,stoicorum        
repugnantiis1 7,on contradictions of the
 ,stoics74        ,compendium libri cui 
argumentum fuit1 ,stoicos absurdiora    
poetis      dicere1 7,synopsis of the   
book the argument of which was1 ,the    
,stoics      utter greater absurdities  
than the poets74        ,de communibus  
notitiis adversus ,stoicos1 7,concerning
 the common      conceptions against the
 ,stoics74        ,non posse suaviter   
vivi secundum ,epicurum1 7,that it is   
not      possible to live pleasurably   
according to ,epicurus74                
,adversus ,coloten1 7,against ,colotes74
        ,an recte dictum sit latenter   
vivendum esse1 7,is it a true saying    
that one ought to live in seclusion78   
,de musica1 7,on music74      ,,volume  
,,vii4        ,de fluviorum et montium  

nominibus et de iis qu in illis         
inveniuntur1 7,on the names of rivers   
and mountains and those things      that
 are found in them74        ,de vita et 
poesi ,homeri1 ,lib4 ,i et ,,ii1 7,on   
the life and poetry of      ,homer74    
,the two treatises last named fill more 
than one-third of the volume1 the       
remainder being chiefly taken up with   
fragments1 some of them only a few      
lines in length4 ,it also contains the  
so-called catalogue of ,lamprias  which1
 including the ,parallel lives1 assigns 
#bbg different works to  ,plutarch4     
,volume seven concludes with an index of
 names4 ,as these  treatises are usually
 cited by their ,latin titles1 they only
 are given  above4 ,a complete edition  
of ,plutarch's ,morals1 with an         
introduction by  ,r4 ,w4 ,emerson was   
published in ,boston about twenty-five  
years ago1 under  the editorial         
supervision of ,professor ,goodwin of   
,harvard ,university4  ,the translations
 were made by a number of ,english      

scholars near the  close of the         
seventeenth century4 ,in their revised  
form they are in the  main correct and  
some of them are vigorous and readable4 
,transcriber's ,notes3       ,missing or
 obscured punctuation was silently      
corrected4       ,typographical errors  
were silently corrected4                
,inconsistent spelling and hyphenation  
were made consistent only        when a 
predominant form was found in this book4
       ,text that was in italics is     
enclosed by underscores 7italics74      
,footnotes have been moved to follow the
 sections in which they are             
referenced4