Book ten. Wilt thou, then my soul, never be good and simple
and one and naked, more manifest than the body which surrounds THEE. Wilt
thou never enjoy an affectionate and contented disposition. Wilt thou never be full and
without a want of any kind, longing for nothing more, nor desiring anything,
either animate or inanimate, for the enjoyment of pleasures, nor yet desiring
time wherein thou shalt have longer enjoyment, or place, or pleasant climate,
or society of men with whom thou mayst live in harmony. But wilt thou
be satisfied with thy present condition and pleased with all that is about THEE?
And wilt thou convince thyself that thou hast everything, and that it comes from
the Gods, that everything is well for THEE, and will be well whatever
shall please them and whatever they shall give for the conservation of the perfect living
being, the good and just and beautiful, which generates and holds together all
things, and contains and embraces all things which are dissolved for the production of
other like things. Wilt thou never be such that thou shalt so dwell in
community with gods and men as neither to find fault with them at all,
nor to be condemned by them. Observe what thy nature requires, so far
as thou art governed by nature. Only then do it and accept it.
If thy nature, so far as thou art a living being, shall not
be made worse by it. And next thou must observe what thy nature requires,
so far as thou art a living being. In all this thou mayst
allow thyself. If thy nature, so far as thou art a rational animal,
shall not be made worse by it, but the rational animal is consequently
also a political social animal. Use these rules, then, and trouble thyself
about nothing else. Everything which happens either happens in such wise as thou art
formed by nature to bear it, or as thou art not formed by nature
to bear. If then it happens to thee in such way as thou art
formed by nature to bear it, do not complain, but bear it as
thou art formed by nature to bear it. But if it happens in such
wise as thou art not formed by nature to bear it, do not complain,
for it will perish after it has consumed thee. Remember, however,
that thou art formed by nature to bear everything with respect to which it depends
on thy own opinion, to make it endurable and tolerable, by thinking that
it is either thy interest or thy duty to do this. If a man
is mistaken, instruct him kindly and show him his error. But if thou
art not able, blame thyself, or blame not even thyself. Whatever may
happen to THEE, it was prepared for THEE from all eternity, and the
implication of causes was from eternity spinning the thread of thy being and of that
which is incident to it. Whether the universe is a concourse of atoms or
nature is a system, let this first be established that I am a part
of the whole which is governed by nature. Next, I am in a
manner intimately related to the parts which are of the same kind with myself.
For remembering this, inasmuch as I am a part, I shall be discontented
with none of the things which are assigned to me out of the whole.
For nothing is injurious to the part if it is for the advantage of the
whole. For the whole contains nothing which is not for its advantage, and
all natures indeed have this common principle. But the nature of the universe has
this principle besides that it cannot be compelled, even by any external cause,
to generate anything harmful to itself. By remembering and then that I am a
part of such a whole, I shall be content with everything that happens.
And inasmuch as I am in a manner intimately related and added to the parts
which are of the same kind with myself, I shall do nothing unsocial.
But I shall rather direct myself to the things which are of the same kind
with myself, and I shall turn in my efforts to the common interest and
divert them from the contrary. Now, if these things are done so,
life must flow on happily, just as thou mayest observe that the life of
a citizen is happy who continues a course of action which is advantage just to
his fellow citizens, and is content with whatever the state may assign to him.
The parts of the whole, everything I mean, which is naturally comprehended
in the universe, must of necessity perish. But let this be understood in
this sense that they must undergo change. But if this is naturally both an
evil and a necessity, for the parts the whole would not continue to exist
in a good condition, the parts being subject to change and constituted so as
to perish in various ways. For whether did Nature herself designed to do evil
to the things which are parts of herself, and to make them subject to
evil, and of necessity fall into evil, or have such results happened without
her knowing it? Both these suppositions and indeed are incredible. But if a
man should even drop the term nature as an efficient power, and should speak
of these things as natural, even then it would be ridiculous to affirm at
the same time that the parts of the whole are in their nature subject to
che and at the same time to be surprised or vexed as if something were
happening contrary to nature, particularly as the dissolution of things is into those things
of which each thing is composed, For there is either a dispersion of the
elements out of which everything has been compounded, or a change from the solid
to the earthy, and from the airy to the aerial, so that these
parts are taken back into the universal. Reason, whether this at certain periods
is consumed by fire or renewed by eternal changes. And do not imagine that
the solid and the airy part belong to THEE from the time of generation.
For all this received it's accretion only yesterday and the day before, as one
may say, from the food and the air which is inspired. This,
then, which has received the accretion change, is not that which thy mother
brought forth. But suppose that this which thy mother brought forth implicates THEE very
much with that other part which has the peculiar quality of change. This is
nothing, in fact in the way of objection to what is said. When
thou hast assume these names good, modest, true rational, a man of
equanimity and magnanimous, take care that thou dost not change these names, and
if thou shouldst lose them, quickly return to them. And remember that the
term rational was intended to signify a discriminating attention to every several thing and freedom
from negligence, And that equanimity is the voluntary acceptance of the things which are
assigned to THEE by the common nature, and that magnanimity is the elevation of
the intelligent part above the pleasurable or painful sensations of the flesh, and above
that poor thing called fame and death. In all such things, If then
thou maintainest thyself in the possession of these names, without desiring to be called
by these names by others, thou wilt be another person, and wilt enter
on another life. For to continue to be such as thou hast hitherto been,
and to be tom in pieces and defiled in such a life is the
care of a very stupid man, and one over fond of his life.
And like those half devoured fighters with wild beasts, who, though covered with
wounds and gore, still entreat to be kept to the following day, though
they will be exposed in the same state to the same claus and bites.
Therefore, fix thyself in the possession of these few names. And if thou
art able to abide in them, abide as if thou wast removed to certain
islands of the happy. But if thou shalt perceive that thou fallst out of
them, and dost not maintain thy hold, go courageously into some nook where
thou shalt maintain them, or even depart at once from life, not in
passion, but with simplicity and freedom and modesty. After doing this one laudable
thing, at least in thy life, to have gone out of it.
Thus, in order, however, to the remembrance of these names, it
will greatly help thee if thou rememberest the gods, and that they wish not
to be flattered, but wish all reasonable beings to be made like themselves.
And if thou rememberest that what does the work of a fig tree is a
fig tree, and that what does the work of a dog is a dog,
and that what does the work of a bee is a bee, and
that what does the work of a man is a man. Mimi, War,
astonishment, torpor, slavery will daily wipe out those holy principles of thine.
How many things, without studying nature dost thou imagine, and how many
dost thou neglect. But it is thy duty so to look on and so
to do everything, that at the same time the power of dealing with circumstances
is perfected, and the contemplative faculty is exercised, and the confidence which comes
from the knowledge of each several thing is maintained without showing it, but yet
not concealed. For when wilt thou enjoy simplicity, when gravity, and when
the knowledge of every several thing, both what it is in substance and what
place it has in the universe, and how long it is formed to exist,
and of what things it is compounded, and to whom it can belong,
and who are able both to give it and take it away. A
spider is proud when it has caught a fly, and another when he has
caught a poor hair, and another when he has taken a little fish in
a net, and another when he has taken wild boars, and another when
he has taken bears, and another when he has taken Sarmatians are not these
robbers if thou examinest their opinions, acquire the contemplative way of seeing how all
things change into one another, and constantly attend to it, and exercise thyself
about this part of philosophy. For nothing is so much adapted to produce magnanimity.
Such a man has put off the body, and as he sees that
he must no one knows how soon go away from among men and leave everything
here. He gives himself up entirely to just doing in all his actions and
in everything else that happens. He resigns himself to the universal nature. But
as to what any man shall say or think about him, or do against
him, he never even thinks of it. Being himself contented with these two
things, with acting justly in what he now does, and being satisfied with
what is now assigned to him, and he lays aside all distracting in busy
pursuits, and desires nothing else than to accomplish the straight course through the law,
and by accomplishing the straight course, to follow God. What need is
there of suspicious fear, since it is in thy power to inquire what ought
to be done. And if thou seest clear, go by this weigh content
without turning back. But if thou dost not see clear, stop and take
the best advisers. But if any other things oppose thee go on according to
thy powers, with due consideration, keeping to that which appears to be just,
For it is best to reach this object. And if thou dost fail,
let thy failure be in attempting this. He who follows reason in all
things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and
collected. Inquire of thyself as soon as thou wakest from sleep, whether it
will make any difference to THEE. If another does what is just and right,
it will make no difference. Thou hast not forgotten. I suppose that
those who assume arrogant airs in bestowing their praise or blame on others are such
as they are at bed and at board, And thou hast not forgotten what
they do, and what they avoid, and what they pursue, and how
they steal, and how they rob, not with hands and feet, but
with their most valuable part, by means of which there is produced. When
a man chooses fidelity, modesty, truth, law, a good demon,
happiness to her who gives and takes back all to nature. The man who
is instructed and madas says, give what thou wilt, take back what thou
wilt. And he says this not proudly, but obediently and well pleased with
her. Short is the little which remains to thee of life. Live as
on a mountain, For it makes no difference whether a man lives there or
here. If he lives everywhere in the world, is in a state political
community. Let men see, Let them know a real man who lives according
to nature. If they cannot endure him let them kill him, for that
is better than to live. Thus, as men do no longer talk at
all about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but
be such. Constantly contemplate the whole of time and the whole of substance,
And consider that all individual things, as to substance, are a grain of
a fig and as to time, the turning of a gimlet. Look at
everything that exists, and observe that it is already in dissolution and in change,
and as it were, a putrefaction or dispersion, or that everything is
so constituted by nature as to die. Consider what men are when they are
eating, sleeping, generating, easing themselves, and so forth. Then what
kind of men they are when they are imperious and arrogant, or angry and
scolding from their elevated place. But a short time ago to how many they
were slaves and for what things? And after a little time, consider in
what a condition they will be. That is for the good of each thing,
which the universal nature brings to each, and it is for its good
at the time when nature brings it. The earth loves the shower, and
the solemn Ether loves, and the universe loves to make whatever is about to
be. I say then to the universe, that I love as thou lovest.
And is not this too said, that this or that loves is wont
to be produced. Either thou livest here and hast already accustom thyself to it,
or thou art going away and this was thy own will, or thou
art dying and hast discharged thy duty. But besides these things there is nothing
be of good cheer. Then let this always be plain to thee that this
piece of land is like any other, and that all things here are the
same with things on top of a mountain, or on the seashore, or
wherever thou choosest to be. For thou wilt find just what Plato says,
dwelling within the walls of a city as in a shepherd's fold on a mountain.
What is my ruling faculty now to me? And of what nature am
I now making it? And for what purpose am I now using it?
Is it void of understanding? Is it loosed and rent asunder from social life?
Is it melted into and mixed with the poor flesh, so as to
move together with it? He who flies from his master is a runaway.
But the law is master, and he who breaks the law is a runaway.
And he also who is grieved or angry or afraid, is dissatisfied because
something has been or said, is or shall be, of the things which
are appointed by Him who rules all things. And he is law and assigns
to every man what is fit. He then, who fears or is grieved
or as angry as a runaway,