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A man deposits seed in a womb
and goes away, and then another cause

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takes it and labors on it and
makes a child. What a thing from

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such a material? Again, the
child passes food down through the throat,

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and then another cause takes it and
makes perception and motion, and in fine

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life, and strength and other things. How many and how strange I observe

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then, the things which are produced
in such a hidden way, and see

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the power, just as we see
the power which carries things downwards and upwards,

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not with the eyes, but still
no less plainly, constantly, consider

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how all things such as they now
are in time past also were, and

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consider that they will be the same
again, And place before thy eyes entire

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dramas and stages of the same form, whatever thou hast learned from thy experience

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or from older history. For example, the whole court of Hadrian, and

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the whole court of Antoninus, and
the whole court of Philip Alexander crisis,

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for all those were such dramas as
we see now, only with different actors.

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Imagine every man who is grieved at
anything or discontented to be like a

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pig which is sacrificed in kicks and
screams like this pig. Also is he

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who, on his bed, in
silence, laments the bonds in which we

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are held. And consider that only
to the rational animal is it given to

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follow voluntarily what happens. But simply
to follow is a necessity imposed on all,

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severally on the occasion of everything that
thou doest pause and ask thyself if

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death is a dreadful thing, because
it deprives thee of this When thou art

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offended at any man's fault, forthwith
turned to thyself and reflecting what like manner

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thou dost eer thyself? For example, what in thinking that money is a

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good thing, or pleasure, or
a bit of reputation and the like.

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For by attending to this thou wilt
quickly forget thy anger. If this consideration

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also is added, that the man
is compelled, for what else could he

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do? Or if thou art able
to take away from him the compulsion.

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When thou hast seen Saturn the Socratic, think of either Eutychies or Hymen,

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And when thou hast seen Euphrates,
think of u ti Kan or Sylvanus.

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And when thou hast seen Alciphron,
think of Tropiophorus, And when thou hast

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seen Xenophon, think of Crito or
Severus, And when thou hast looked on

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thyself, think of any other Caesar. And in the case of everyone,

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do in like manner. Then let
this thought be in thy mind. Where

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then are those men nowhere or nobody
knows where? For thus continuously thou will

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look at human things as smoke and
nothing at all, especially if thou reflectest

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at the same time that what has
once changed will never exist again in the

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infinite duration of time. But thou, in what a brief space of time

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is thy existence? And why art
thou not content to pass through this short

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time in an orderly way? What
matter and opportunity for thy activity art thou

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avoiding? For what else are all
these things except exercises? For the reason,

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when it is viewed carefully and by
examination into their nature, the things

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which happen in life persevere then until
thou shalt have. And it made these

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things thy own, as the stomach, which is strengthened, makes all things

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its own, as the blazing fire
makes flame and brightness out of everything that

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is thrown into it. Let it
not be in any man's power to say

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truly of THEE that thou art not
simple, or that thou art not good?

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But let him be a liar,
whoever shall think anything of this kind

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about THEE. And this is altogether
in thy power. For who is he

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that shall hinder THEE from being good
and simple? Do thou only determine to

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live no longer unless thou shalt be
such, For neither does reason allow THEE

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to live if thou art not such. What is that which, as to

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this material our life, can be
done or said in the way most conformable

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to reason. For whatever this may
be, it is in thy power to

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do it or to say it.
And do not make excuses that thou art

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hindered. Thou wilt not cease to
lament till thy mind is in such a

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condition that what luxury is to those
who enjoy pleasure, such shall be to

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THEE. In the matter which is
subjected and presented to THEE the doing of

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the things which are conformable to man's
constitution. For a man ought to consider

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as an enjoyment everything which it is
in his power to do, according to

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his own nature, And it is
in his power everywhere. Now it is

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not given to a cylinder to move
everywhere by its own motion, nor yet

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to water, nor to fire,
nor to anything else which is governed by

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nature or an irrational soul. For
the things which check them and stand in

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the way are many. But intelligence
and new reason are able to go through

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everything that opposes them, and in
such manner as they are formed by nature,

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and as they choose place before thy
eyes this facility with which the reason

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will be carried through all things as
fire, upwards as a stone, downwards

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as a cylinder down an inclined surface, and seek for nothing further, For

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all other obstacles either affect the body
only, which is a dead thing,

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or except through opinion, in the
yielding of the reason itself, they do

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not crush nor do any harm of
any kind. For if they did,

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he who felt it would immediately become
bad. Now, in the case of

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all things which have a certain constitution, whatever harm may happen to any of

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them, that which is so affected
becomes consequently worse. But in the like

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case a man becomes both better,
if one may say so, and more

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worthy of praise, by making a
right use of these accidents. And finally,

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remember that nothing harms him who is
really a citizen which does not harm

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the state. Nor yet does anything
harm the state which does not harm law

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order. And of these things,
which are called misfortunes, not one harms

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law. What then does not harm
law, does not harm either state or

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citizen. To him who is penetrated
by true principles, even the briefest precept

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is sufficient in any common precept to
remind him that he should be free from

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grief and fear. For example,
leaves some the wind scatters on the ground,

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so is the race of men.
Leaves also are thy children, and

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leaves to two are they who cry
out as if they were worthy of credit,

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and bestow their praise, or on
the contrary, curse, or secretly

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blame and sneer. And leaves in
like manner are those who shall receive and

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transmit a man's fame to after times. For all such things as these are

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produced in the season of spring,
as the poet says, then the wind

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casts them down. Then the forest
produces other leaves in their places. But

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a brief existence is common to all
things. And yet thou avoidest and pursuest

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all things as if they would be
eternal. A little time, and thou

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shalt close thy eyes and him who
has attended thee to thy grave, another

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soon will lament. The healthy eye
ought to see all visible things, and

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not to say I wish for green
things, for this is the condition of

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a diseased eye. And the healthy
hearing and smelling ought to be ready to

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perceive all that can be heard and
smelled. And the healthy stomach ought to

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be with respect to all food,
just as the mill with respect to all

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things which it is formed to grind. And accordingly, the healthy understanding ought

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to be prepared for everything which happens. But that which says, let my

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dear children live, and let all
men praise whatever I may do, is

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an eye which seeks for green things, or teeth which seek for soft things.

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There is no man so fortunate that
there shall not be by him when

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he is dying. Some who are
pleased with what is going to happen,

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suppose that he was a good and
wise man. Will there not be at

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last someone to say to himself,
let us at last breathe freely being relieved

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from this schoolmaster. It is true
that he was harsh to none of us,

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But I perceive that he tacitly condemns
us. This is what is said

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of a good man. But in
our own case, how many other things

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are therefore, which there are many
who wish to get rid of us.

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Thou wilt consider this then, when
thou art dying, and thou wilt depart

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more contentedly by reflecting. Thus,
I am going away from such a life

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in which even my associates, in
behalf of whom I have striven so much,

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prayed and cared themselves, wished me
to depart, hoping perchance to get

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some little advantage by it. Why
then, should a man cling to a

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longer stay here. Do not,
however, for this reason, go away

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less kindly disposed to them, but
preserving thy own character and friendly and benevolent

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and mild. And on the other
hand, not as if thou wast torn

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away, but as when a man
dies a quiet death, the poor soul

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is easily separated from the body.
Such also ought thy departure from men to

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be. For Nature united thee to
them and associated thee. But does she

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now dissolve the union? Well,
I am separated as from kinsmen, not

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however, dragged resisting, but without
compulsion, For this too is one of

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the things according to nature. Accustom
thyself as much as possible, on the

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occasion of anything being done by any
person, to inquire with thyself, for

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what object is this man doing this? But begin with thyself and examine thyself.

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First, Remember that this which pulls
the strings is the thing which is

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hidden within. This is the power
of persuasion, This is life. This,

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if one may so say, is
man. In contemplating thyself, Never

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include the vessel which surrounds thee,
and these instruments which are attached about it,

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For they are like to enact differing
only in this that they grow to

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the body. For indeed, there
is no more use in these parts without

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the cause which moves and checks them, than in the weaver's shuttle, when

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the writer's pen and the driver's whip