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Book eleven. These are the properties
of the rational soul. It sees itself,

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analysis it self, and makes itself, such as it chooses the fruit

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which it bears itself enjoys for the
fruits of plants, and that in animals,

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which corresponds to fruits others enjoy.
It obtains its own end wherever the

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limit of life may be fixed,
not as in a dance and in a

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play, and in such like things
where the whole action is incomplete, if

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anything cuts it short, but in
every part, and wherever it may be

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stopped, it makes what has been
set before it full and complete, so

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that it can say, I have
what is my own. And further,

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it traverses the whole universe and the
surrounding vacuum, and surveys its form,

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And it extends itself into the infinity
of time, and embraces and comprehends the

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periodical renovation of all things. And
it comprehends that those who come after us

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will see nothing new, nor have
those before us seen anything more. But

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in a manner, he who is
forty years old, if he has any

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understanding at all, has, by
virtue of the uniformity that prevails all things,

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which have been and all that will
be. This too is a property

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of the rational soul, love of
one's neighbor, and truth and modesty,

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and to value nothing more more than
itself, which is also the property of

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law. Thus, then right reason
differs not at all from the reason of

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justice. Thou wilt set little value
on pleasing song and dancing in the pancreatium.

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If thou wilt distribute the melody of
the voice into its several sounds,

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and ask thyself as to each,
if thou art mastered by this, for

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thou wilt be prevented by shame from
confessing it. And in the matter of

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dancing, if at each movement and
attitude thou wilt do the same, and

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the like also in the matter of
the pancratium. In all things, then,

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except virtue and the acts of virtue, remember to apply thyself to there

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are several parts, and by this
division to come to value them little.

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And apply this rule also to thy
whole life. What a soul that is

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which is ready, if at any
moment must be separated from the body,

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and ready either to be extinguished or
dispersed, or continue to exist. But

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so that this readiness comes from a
man's own judgment, not from mere obstinacy,

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as with the Christians, but considerately
and with dignity, and in a

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way to persuade another without tragic show. Have I done something for the general

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interest? Well, then I have
had my reward. Let this always be

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present to thy mind, and never
stop doing such good? And what is

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thy art to be good? And
how is this accomplished? Well? Except

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by general principles, some about the
nature of the universe, and others about

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the proper constitution of man. At
first, tragedies were brought on the stage

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as means of reminding men of the
things which happened to them, and that

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it is according to nature for things
to happen so, and that if you

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are delighted with what is shown on
the stage, you should not be troubled

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with that which takes place on the
larger stage. For you see that these

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things must be a scomplished thus,
and that even they bear them who cry

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out O sksthyron. And indeed some
things are said well by the dramatic writers,

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of which kind is the following,
especially me and my children. If

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the gods neglect this has its reason
too. And again we must not chail

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and fret at that which happens,
and life's harvest reap like the wheat's fruitful

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ear, and other things of the
same kind. After tragedy, the old

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comedy was introduced, which had a
magisterial freedom of speech, and by its

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very plainness of speaking, was useful
in reminding men to beware of insolence.

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And for this purpose too, Diogenes
used to take from these writers. But

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as to the middle comedy which came
next, observe what it was, and

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again for what object the new comedy
was introduced, which gradually sunk down into

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a mere mimic artifice. That some
good things are said, even by these

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writers, everybody knows. But the
whole plan of such poetry and dramaturgy,

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to what end does it look?
And how plain does it appear? That

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there is not another condition of life
so well suited for philosophizing as them in

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which thou now happenest to be a
branch cut off from the adjacent branch,

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must of necessity be cut off from
the whole tree. Also so to a

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man, when he is separated from
another man, has fallen off from the

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whole social community. Now, as
to a branch another cuts it off.

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But a man by his own act
separates himself from his neighbor when he hates

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him and turns away from him,
and he does not know that he has

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at the same time cut himself off
from the whole social system. Yet he

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has this privilege, certainly from Zeus, who framed society, for it is

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in our power to grow again to
that which is near to us, and

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be to come a part which helps
to make up the whole. However,

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if it often happens this kind of
separation, it makes it difficult for that

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which detaches itself to be brought to
unity and to be restored to its former

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condition. Finally, the branch,
which from the first grew together with the

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tree and has continued to have one
life with it, is not like that

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which, after being cut off,
is then in graph. For this is

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something like what the gardeners and it
mean when they say that it grows with

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the rest of the tree, but
that it has not the same mind with

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it as those who try to stand
in thy way. When thou art proceeding

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according to right reason, will not
be able to turn thee aside from thy

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proper action. So neither let them
drive THEE from thy benevolent feelings towards them,

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But be on thy guard equally in
both matters, not only in the

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matter of steady judgment and action,
but also in the matter of gentleness towards

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those who try to hinder or otherwise
trouble THEE. For this also is a

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weakness to be vexed at them,
as well as to be diverted from thy

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course of action, and to give
way through fear. For both are equally

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deserters from their post, the man
who does it through fear and the man

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who is alienated from him, who
is by nature a kinsman and a friend.

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There is no nature which is inferior
to art, for the arts imitate

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the nature of things. But if
this is so, so, that nature,

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which is the most perfect and the
most comprehensive of all natures, cannot

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fall short of the skill of art. Now all arts do the inferior things

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for the sake of the superior.
Therefore the universal nature does so too,

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And indeed hence is the origin of
justice, and injustice the other virtues have

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their foundation. For justice will not
be observed if we either care for middle

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things, things indifferent, or are
easily deceived and careless and changeable. If

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the things do not come to THEE, the pursuits and avoidances of which disturb

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THEE still in a manner, Thou
goest to them. Let then thy judgment

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about them be at rest, and
they will remain quiet, and thou wilt

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not be seen either pursuing or avoiding. The spherical form of the soul maintains

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its figure when it is neither extended
towards any object, nor contracted inwards,

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nor dispersed, nor sinks down,
but is illuminated by light by which it

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sees them truth, the truth of
all things, and the truth that is

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in itself. Suppose any man shall
despise me, let him look to that

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himself. But I will look to
this, that I be not discovered doing

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or saying anything deserving of contempt.
Shall any man hate me, let him

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look to it. But I will
be mild and benevolent towards every man,

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and ready to show even him his
mistake, not reproachfully, nor yet as

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making a display of my endurance,
but nobly and honestly, like the great

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Phocion, unless indeed he only assumed
it. For the interior parts ought to

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be such and a man ought to
be seen by the gods, neither dissatisfied

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with anything, nor complaining, For
what evil is it to thee? If

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thou art now doing what is agreeable
to thy own nature, and art satisfied

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with that which, at this moment
is suitable to the nature of the universe,

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since thou art a human being placed
at thy post in order that what

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is for the common advantage may be
done. In some way, men spies

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one another and flatter one another,
and men wish to raise themselves above one

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another and crouch before one another.
How unsound and insincere is he who says,

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I have determined to deal with THEE
in a fair way? What art

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thou doing? Man? There is
no occasion to give this notice. It

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will soon show itself by acts.
The voice ought to be plainly written on

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the forehead, such as a man's
character is, and he immediately shows it

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in his eyes, just as he
who is beloved forthwith reads everything in the

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eyes of lovers. The man who
is honest and good ought to be exactly

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like a man who smells strong,
so that the bystander, as soon as

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he comes near him, must smell, whether he choose or not. But

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the affectation of simplicity is like a
crooked stick. Nothing is more disgraceful than

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a wolfish friendship, false friendship.
Avoid this most of all. The good

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and simple and benevolent. Show all
these things in the eyes, and there

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is no mistaking as to living in
the best way. This power is in

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the soul. If it be indifferent
to things which are indifferent, and it

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will be indifferent. And if it
looks on each of these things separately and

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altogether, and if it remembers that
not one of them produces in us an

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opinion about itself, nor comes to
us. But these things remain immovable.

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And it is we ourselves who produce
the judgments about them, And as we

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may say, write them in ourselves, it being in our power not to

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write them, and it being in
our power if perchance these judgments have imperceptibly

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God admission to our minds to wipe
them out. And if we remember also

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that such attention will only be for
a short time, and then life will

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be at an end. Besides,
what trouble is there at all in doing

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this? For if these things are
according to nature, rejoice in them,

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and they will be easy to thee. But if contrary to nature, seek

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what is conformable to thy own nature, and strive towards this, even if

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it bring no reputation. For every
man is allowed to seek his own good.

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Consider whence each thing has come,
and of what it consists, and

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into what it changes, and what
kind of a thing it will be when

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it has changed, and that it
will sustain no harm. If any have

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offended against thee, consider first what
is my relation to men? And that

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we are made for one another.
And in another respect, I was made

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to be set over them, as
a ram over the flock, or a

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bulve over the herd. But examine
the matter from first principles. From this,

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if all things are not mere atoms, it is nature which orders all

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things. If this is so,
the inferior things exist for the sake of

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the superior, and these for the
sake of one another. Second, consider

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what kind of men they are at
table, in bed and sew forth,

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and particularly under what compulsions, in
respective opinions they are, And as to

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their acts, consider with what pride
they do what they do. Third,

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that if men do rightly what they
do, we ought not to be displeased.

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But if they do not write it
is plain that they do so involuntarily

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and in ignorance. Where As every
soul is unwillingly deprived of the truth,

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so also is it unwillingly deprived of
the power of behaving to each man according

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to his deserts. Accordingly, men
are pained when they are called unjust,

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ungrateful, and greedy, and in
a word, wrongdoers to their neighbors.

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Fourth, consider that thou also doest
many things wrong, and that thou art

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a man like others. And even
if thou dost abstain from certain faults,

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still thou hast the disposition to commit
them, though, either through cowardice or

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concern about reputation, or some such
mean motive, thou dost abstain from such

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faults. Fifth, consider that thou
dost not even understand whether men are and

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doing wrong or not, For many
things are done with a certain reference to

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circumstances, And in short, a
man must learn a great deal to enable

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him to pass a correct judgment on
another man's acts. Sixth, consider when

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thou art much vexed or grieved,
that man is only a moment, and

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after a short time we are all
laid out dead. Seventh, that it

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is not men's acts which disturb us, For those acts have their foundation in

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men's ruling principles, But it is
our own opinions which disturb us. Take

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away these opinions, then, and
resolve to dismiss thy judgment about an act

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as if it were something grievous,
and thy anger is gone. How then,

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shall I take away these opinions by
reflecting that no wrongful act of another

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brings shame on THEE. For unless
that which is shameful is alone bad,

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thou also, must of necessity do
many things wrong and become a robber in

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everything else. Eighth, consider how
much more pain is brought on us by

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the anger and vexation caused by such
acts than by the acts themselves at which

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we are angry and vexed. Ninth, consider that a good disposition is invincible

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if it be genuine and not an
affected smile and acting apart. For what

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will the most violent man do to
THEE if thou continuest to be of a

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kind disposition towards him, And if, as opportunity offers, thou gently admonishest

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him and calmly correctest his errors at
the very time when he is trying to

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do THEE harm, saying, not
so, my child. We are constituted

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by nature for something else. I
shall certainly not be injured. But thou

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art injuring thyself, my child,
and show him with gentle tact and by

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general principles, that this is so, and that even bees do not do

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as he does, nor any animals
which are formed by nature to be gregarious.

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And thou must do this, neither
with any double meaning, nor in

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the way of reproach, but affectionately
and without any rancor in thy soul.

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And not as if thou wert lecturing
him, nor yet that any bystander may

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admire, but either when he is
alone and if others are present. Remember

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these nine rules as if thou hadst
received them as a gift from the muses,

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and begin at last to be a
man while thou livest. But thou

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must equally avoid flattering men and being
vague at them, for both are unsocial

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and lead to harm. And let
this truth be present to THEE in the

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excitement of anger, that to be
moved by passion is not manly, but

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that mildness and gentleness, as they
are more agreeable to human nature, so

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also are they more manly, and
he who possesses these qualities possesses strength,

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nerves, and courage, and not
the man who is subject to fits of

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passion and discontent. For in the
same degree in which a man's mind is

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nearer to freedom from all passion,
in the same degree also is it nearer

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to strength. And as the sense
of pain is a characteristic of weakness,

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so also is anger. For he
who yields to pain and he who yields

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to anger, both are wounded,
and both submit. But if thou wilt

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receive also a tenth present from the
leader of the muses, Apollo. And

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it is this that to expect bad
men not to do wrong is madness.

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For he who expects this desires and
impossibility. But to allow men to behave

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so to others, and to expect
them not to do thee any wrong,

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is irrational and tyrannical. There are
four principal aberrations of the superior faculty,

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against which thou shouldst be constantly on
thy guard, And when thou hast detected

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them, thou shouldst wipe them out, and say, on each occasion,

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thus this thought is not necessary.
This tends to destroy social union. This

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which thou art going to say comes
not from the real thoughts, for thou

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shouldst consider it among the most absurd
of things for a man not to speak

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from his real thoughts. But the
fourth is when thou shalt reproach thyself for

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anything, For this is an evidence
of the diviner part within thee being overpowered

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and yielding to the less honorable and
to the perishable part the body, and

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to its gross pleasures. Thy aerial
part, and all the fiery parts which

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are mingled in THEE, though by
nature they have an upward tendency, still

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in obedience to the disposition of the
universe, they are overpowered here in the

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compound mass the body, and also
the whole of the earthy part in THEE.

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In the watery, though their tendency
is downward, still are raised up

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and occupy a position which is not
their natural one. In this manner,

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then the elemental parts obey the Universal. For when they have been fixed in

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any place perforce, they remain there
until set again the Universal shall sound the

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signal for dissolution. Is it not
then strange that thy intelligent part only should

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be disobedient and discontented with its own
place, And yet no force is imposed

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on it, but only those things
which are conformable to its nature. Still

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it does not submit, but is
carried in the opposite direction. For the

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movement towards injustice and intemperance, and
to anger and grief and fear, is

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nothing else than the act of one
who deviates from nature. And also when

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the ruling faculty is discontented with anything
that happens, then too it deserts its

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post. For it is constituted for
piety and reverence towards the gods, no

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less than for justice. For these
qualities also are comprehended under the generic term

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of contentment with the constitution of things, And indeed they are prior to acts

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of justice. He who has not
one and always the same object in life

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cannot be one and the same all
through his life. But what I have

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said is not enough unless this also
has added what this object ought to be.

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For as there it is not the
same opinion about all the things which,

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in some way or other are considered
by the majority to be good,

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but only about some certain things,
that is, things which concern the common

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interest. So also ought we to
propose to ourselves an object which shall be

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of a common kind, social and
political. For he who directs all his

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own efforts to this object will make
all his acts alike, and thus will

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always be the same. Think of
the country mouse and of the town mouse,

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and of the alarm and trepidation of
the town mouse. Socrates used to

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call the opinions of the many by
the name of lamier bugbears to frightened children.

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The Lacedaemonians, at their public spectacles, used to set seats in the

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shade for strangers, but themselves sat
down anywhere. Socrates excused himself to predict

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us for not going to him,
saying, it is because I would not

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perish by the worst of all ends, that is that I would not receive

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a favor and then be unable to
return it. In the writings of the

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Ephesians there was this precept constantly to
think of someone of the men of former

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times who practiced virtue. The Pythagoreans
bid us in the morning, look to

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the heavens, that we may be
reminded of those bodies which continually do the

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same things and in the same manner
perform their work, and also be reminded

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of their purity and nudity, For
there is no veil over a star of

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it. Consider what a man's Socrates
was when he dressed himself in a skin,

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after Xanthipy had taken his cloak and
gone out, And what Socrates said

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to his friends, who are ashamed
of him and drew back from him when

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they saw him dressed. Thus,
neither in writing nor in reading wilt thou

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be able to lay down rules for
others, before thou shalt have first learned

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to obey rules thyself. Much more
is this so in life a slave thou

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art. Free speech is not for
thee and my heart laughed within, and

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virtue they will curse. Speaking harsh
words. To look for the fig in

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winter is a madman's act, such
as he who looks for his child when

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it is no longer allowed. When
a man kisses his child, said Epictetus,

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he should whisper to himself tomorrow perchance
thou wilt die. But those are

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words of bad omen. No word
is a word of bad omen, said

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Epictetes, which expresses any work of
nature, Or if it is so,

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it is also a word of bad
omen. To speak of the ears of

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corn being reaped, the unripe grape, the ripe bunch, the dried grape.

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All are changes not into nothing,
but into something which exists. Not

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yet, no man can rob us
of our free will. Epictetus also said,

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a man must discover in art or
rules with respect to giving his assent,

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and in respect to his movements,
he must be careful that they be

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made, with regard to circumstances,
that they be consistent with social interests that

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they have. Regard to the value
of the object, And as to sensual

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desire, he should altogether keep away
from it, and as to avoidance aversion,

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he should not show it with respect
to any of the things which are

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not in our power. The dispute, then, he said, is not

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about any common matter, but about
being mad or not. And Socrates used

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to say, what do you want? Souls of rational men? Are irrational?

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Souls of rational men? Of what
rational men sound or unsound sound?

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Why then do you not seek for
them? Because we have them? Why

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then do you fight in quarrel