Below is a maxim for each day of the year. As recommended by the Stoics training requires daily practice.
JANUARY 1
N the morning as soon as thou art awaked, when thy judgment, before either
thy affec- tions, or external objects have wrought upon it, is yet most free and impartial :
put this question to thyself, whether if that which is right and just be done, the doing of it
by thyself, or by others when thou art not able thyself, be a thing material or no. For sure it
is not. And as for these that keep such a life, and stand so much upon the praises, or
dispraises of other men, hast thou forgotten what manner of men they be : that such and such
upon their beds, and such at their board : what their ordinary actions are : what they pursue
after, and what they fly from : what thefts and rapines they com- mit, if not with their hands
and feet, yet with that more precious part of theirs, their minds : which (would it but admit
of them) might enjoy faith, modesty, truth, justice, a good spirit. M. A. X. 15. 177090
JANUARY 2
IN the morning when thou findest thyself un- wiUing to rise, consider with
thyself presently, it is to go about a man's work that I am stirred up. Am I then yet unwilling
to go about that, for which I myself was born and brought forth into this world ? Or was I made
for this, to lay me down, and make much of myself in a warm bed? M. A. V. I. WHEN thou art hard
to be stirred up andawaked out of thy sleep, admonish thyself and call to mind, that to perform
actions tending to the common good is that which thine own proper constitution, and that which
the nature of man doth require. But to sleep, is common to unreasonable creatures also. M. A.
viii. II. NOT to be slack and negligent ; or loose, andwanton in thy actions, nor contentious,
and troublesome in thy conversation, nor to rove and wander in thy fancies and imaginations.
Not basely to contract thy soul ; nor boisterously to sally out with it, or, furiously to
launch out as it were, nor ever to want employment. M. A. viii. 19.
JANUARY 3
BETIMES in the morning say to thyself: This day I shall have to do with an
idle curious man, with an unthankful man, a railer, a crafty, false, or an envious man ; an
unsociable uncharit- able man. All these ill qualities have happened unto them, through
ignorance of that which is truly good and truly bad. But I that understand the nature of that
which is good, that it only is to be desired, and of that which is bad, that it only is truly
odious and shameful : who know moreover, that this transgressor, whosoever he be, is my
kinsman, not by the same blood and seed, but by participation of the same reason, and of the
same divine particle ; How can I either be hurt by any of those, since it is not in their power
to make me incur anything that is truly reproach- ful? or angry, and ill affected towards him,
who by nature is so near unto me? for we are all born to be fellow-workers, as the feet, the
hands, and the eye-lids ; as the rows of the upper and under teeth : for such therefore to be
in opposi- tion, is against nature ; and what is it to chafe at, and to be averse from, but to
be in opposition ? M. A. i. 15.
JANUARY 4
T^HIS is the nature of our proceedings. As in ^ a crowded fair the horses and
cattle are brought to be sold, and the greatest part of men come either to buy or sell ; but
there are a few who come only to look at the fair, and inquire how it is carried on ; and why
in that manner ; and who appointed it ; and for what purpose : thus, in the fair of the world,
some, like cattle, trouble themselves about nothing but fodder. For as to all you who busy
yourselves about pos- sessions and farms and domestics and public posts, these things are
nothing else but mere fodder. But there are some few men among the crowd who are fond of
looking on and considering, " What then, after all, is the world? Who governs it? Hath it no
governor? How is it possible, when neither a city nor a house can remain ever so short a time
without someone to govern and take care of it, that this vast and beautiful system should be
administered in a fortuitous and dis- orderly manner ? Is there then a governor ? What sort of
one is he ? And how doth he govern ; and what are we who are under him ; And for what designed
? Have we some connection and relation to him ; or none ? " In this manner are the few affected
; and apply themselves only to view the fair and then depart. E. D. ii. 14, 4.
JANUARY 5
IN every affair consider what precedes and follows, and then undertake it.
Otherwise you will begin with spirit ; but not having thought of the consequences, when some of
them appear you will shamefully desist. " I would conquer at the Olympic games." But consider
what precedes and follows, and then, if it be for your advantage, engage in the affair. You
must conform to rules, submit to a diet, refrain from dainties ; exercise your body, whether
you choose it or not, at a stated hour, in heat and cold ; you must drink no cold water, nor
sometimes even wine. In a word, you must give yourself up to your master, as to a physician.
Then, in the combat, you may be thrown into a ditch, dislocate your arm, turn your ankle,
swallow abundance of dust, be whipped, and, after all, lose the victory. When you have reckoned
up all this, if your inclination still holds, set about the combat. Otherwise, take notice, you
will behave like children, who sometimes play wrestlers, sometimes gladiators, sometimes blow a
trumpet, and sometimes act a tragedy, when they happen to have seen and admired these shows.
Thus you too will be at one time a wrestler, at another a gladiator, now a philosopher, then an
orator ; but with your whole soul, nothing at all. Like an ape, you mimic all you see, and one
thing after another is sure to please you, but is out of favour as soon as it becomes familiar.
For you have never entered upon anything con- siderately, nor after having viewed the whole
matter on all sides, or made any scrutiny into it, but rashly, and with a cold inclination. E.
D. iii. 15, I.
JANUARY 6
nPHE natural properties, and privileges of a J- reasonable soul are; That she
seeth her- self; that she can order, and compose herself: that she makes herself as she will
herself: that she reaps her own fruits whatsoever, whereas plants, trees, unreasonable
creatures, what fruit soever (be it either fruit properly, or analogically only) they bear,
they bear them unto others, and not to themselves. Again ; \\^hensoever, and wheresoever,
sooner or later, her life doth end, she hath her own end nevertheless. For it is not with her,
as with dancers, and players, who if they be interrupted in any part of their action, the whole
action must needs be imperfect : but she in what part of time or action soever she be
surprised, can make that which she hath in her hand whatsoever it be, complete and full, so
that she may depart with that comfort, " I have lived ; neither want I anything of that which
properly did belong unto me." M. A. xi. I.
JANUARY 7
YOU say theorems are useless. To whom ?To such as apply them ill. For
medicines for the eyes are not useless to those who apply them when and as they ought.
Fomentations are not useless ; poisers are not useless ; but they are useless to some, and, on
the contrary, useful to others. If you should ask me now, Are syllogisms useful ? I answer,
that they are useful ; and, if you please, I will show you how. "Will they be of service to me,
then ? " ?Why, did you ask, man, whether they would be useful to you, or in general ? If anyone
in a dysentery should ask me whether acids be useful, I answer. They are. "Are they useful for
me, then?"? I say. No. First try to get the flux stopped, and the exulcera- tion healed. Do
you, too, first get your ulcers healed ; your fluxes stopped. Quiet your mind, and bring it
free from distraction to the school, and then you will know what is the force of reasonmg. E.
D. ii. 21, 3.
JANUARY 8
WHY should I grieve myself; who never did willingly grieve any other ! One
thing re- joiceth one, and another thing another. As for me, this is my joy ; if my
understanding be right and sound, as neither averse from any man, nor refusing any of those
things, which as a man I am subject unto ; if I can look upon all things in the world meekly
and kindly ; accept all things, and carry myself towards everything according to the true worth
of the thing itself. M. A. viii. 41. WHEN one consulted him, how he mightpersuade his brother
to forbear treating him ill : Philosophy, answered Epictetus, doth not promise to procure
anything external to man, otherwise it would admit something beyond its proper subject-matter.
For the subject-matter of a carpenter is wood ; of a statuary, brass : and so of the art of
living, the subject-matter is each per- son's own life. E. D. i. 15, I.
JANUARY 9
WELL then : each of the animals is constitutedeither for food, or husbandry,
or to produce milk, and the rest of them for some other like use ; and for these purposes what
need is there of understanding the appearances of things, and being able to make distinctions
concerning them? But God hath introduced man as a spectator of Him- self and His works ; and
not only as a spectator, but an interpreter of them. It is therefore shame- ful that man should
begin and end where irrational creatures do. He is indeed rather to begin there, but to end
where nature itself hath fixed our end ; and that is in contemplation and understanding, and in
a scheme of life comformable to nature. E. D. i. 6, 4.
JANUARY 10
NO object can of itself beget any opinion in us, neither can come to us, but
stands with- out still and quiet ; but we ourselves beget, and as it were print in ourselves
opinions concerning them. Now it is in our power, not to print them ; and if they creep in and
lurk in some corner, it is in our power to wipe them off. Remember moreover, that this care and
circumspection of thine, is to continue but for a while, and then thy life will be at an end.
And what should hinder, but that thou mayst do well with all these things? For if they be
according to nature, re- joice in them, and let them be pleasing and acceptable unto thee. But
if they be against Nature, seek thou that which is according to thine own Nature, and whether
it be for thy credit or no, use all possible speed for the attainment of it : for no man ought
to be blamed, for seeking his own good and happiness. M. A. xi. 15. 10
JANUARY 11
\ X /"HAT was it, that waked Epicurus from his * ^ sleep, and compelled him
to write what he did? VV^hat else but that which is of all others the most powerful in mankind,
nature ; which draws everyone, however unwilling and reluctant, to its own purposes? For since,
says she, you think that there is no relation between mankind, write this doctrine, and leave
it for the use of others, and break your sleep upon that account ; and, by your own practice,
confute your own principles. Do we say that Orestes was roused from sleep by the agitation of
the Furies ; and was not Epicurus waked by Furies more cruel and avenging, which would not
suffer him to rest, but compelled him to divulge his own evils, as wine and madness do the
priests of Cybele? So strong and unconquerable a thing is human nature ! For how can a vine
have the properties not of a vine, but of an olive-tree? Or an olive-tree not those of an
olive-tree, but of a vine ? It is im- possible. It is inconceivable. Neither, therefore, is it
possible for a human creature entirely to lose human affections. But even those who have
undergone a mutilation cannot have their inclina- tions also mutilated : and so Epicurus, when
he had mutilated all the offices of a man, of a master of a family, of a citizen, and of a
friend, did not mutilate the inclinations of humanity. . . . What a misfortune is it when
anyone, after having re- ceived from nature standards and rules for the knowledge of truth,
doth not strive to add to these, and make up their deficiencies ; but, on the contrary,
endeavours to take away and destroy whatever truth may be known even by them. E. D. ii. 20, 3.1
1
JANUARY 12
THAT which is chief in every man's constitu- tion, is, that he intend the
common good. The second is, that he yield not to any lusts and motions of the flesh. For it is
the part and privi- lege of the reasonable and intellective faculty, that she can so bound
herself, as that neither the sensitive, nor the appetitive faculties, may not anywise prevail
upon her. For both these are brutish. And therefore over both she challengeth mastery, and
cannot anywise endure, if in her right temper, to be subject unto either. M. A. vii. 30. 12
JANUARY 13
I^HEN hath a man attained to the estate of perfection in his life and
conversation, when he so spends every day, as if it were his last day. M. A. vii. 40.
WHATSOEVER thou dost affect, whatsoever thou dost project, so do, and so project all, as one
who, for aught thou knowest, may at this very present depart out of this life. M. A. ii. 8. AS
it is impossible to assent to an evident false-hood, or to deny an evident truth, so it is
impossible to abstain from an evident good. E. D. iii. 7, I. EVIDENT good at first sight
attracts, and evil repels. Nor will the soul any more reject an evident appearance of good than
they will Caesar's coin. E. D. iii. 3; 2. 13
JANUARY 14
A ND it is impracticable, as well as tedious, to ^^ undertake the very thing
that Jupiter himself could not do : to convince all mankind what things are really good and
evil. Is this granted you ? The only thing granted you is to convince yourself, and you have
not yet done that ; and do you, notwithstanding, undertake to convince others? Why, who hath
lived so long with you as you have with yourself? Who is so likely to have faith in you, in
order to be convinced by you, as you in yourself? Who is a better wisher, or a nearer friend to
you, than you to yourself? How is it, then, that you have not yet convinced yourself? Should
not you now turn these things every way in your thoughts ? What you were studying was this : to
learn to be exempt from grief, perturbation, and meanness, and to be free. Have not you heard,
then, that the only way that leads to this is to give up what doth not depend on choice : to
withdraw from it, and confess that it belongs to others ? What kind of thing, then, is
another's opinion about you?? "Independent on choice." Is it nothing, then, to you?? "
Nothing." While you are still piqued and dis- turbed about it, then, do you think that you are
convinced concerning good and evil ? E. D. iv. 6, I. 14
JANUARY 15
DO but remember the general rules. What ismine? What not mine? What is
allotted me? What is the will of God, that I should do now ? What is not His will ? A little
while ago it was His will that you should be at leisure, should talk with yourself, write about
these things, read, hear, prepare yourself. You have had suffi- cient time for this. At present
He says to you, "Come now to the combat. Show us what you have learned, how you have wrestled."
How long would you exercise by yourself? It is now the time to show whether you are of the
number of those champions who merit victory, or of those who go about the world, conquered in
all the games round. Why, then, are you out of humour ? There is no combat without a tumult.
There must be many preparatory exercises, many ac- clamations, many masters, many spectators.
E. M. iii. 2, 3. 15
JANUARY 16
T N short, then, remember this, that whatever -- external to your own choice
you esteem, you destroy that choice. And not only power is external to it, but the being out of
power too ; not only business, but leisure too.?"Then, must I live in this tumult now?"?What do
you call a tumult??^"A multitude of people."?And where is the hardship ? Suppose it is the
Olympic games. Think it a public assembly. There, too, some bawl out one thing, some do another
; some push the rest. The baths are crowded. Yet who of us is not pleased with these
assemblies, and doth not grieve to leave them ? Do not be hard to please, and squeamish at what
happens. " Vinegar is disagreeable (says one), for it is sour. Honey is disagreeable (says a
second), for it disorders my constitution. I do not like veget- ables, says a third. Thus, too
(say others), I do not like retirement ; it is a desert : I do not like a crowd ; it is a
tumult."?Why, if things are so disposed that you are to live alone, or with few, call this
condition a repose, and make use of it as you ought. E. D. iii. 2, -?. i6
JANUARY 17
OF things that are external, happen what willto that which can suffer by
external acci- dents. Those things that suffer let them com- plain themselves, if they will ;
as for me, as long as I conceive no such thing, as that that which is happened is evil, I have
no hurt; and it is in my power not to conceive any such thing. M. A. vii. [I. A ;T ANY things
there be, which oftentimes in- -''' J- sensibly trouble and vex thee, as not armed against them
with patience, because they go not ordinarily under the name of pains, which indeed are of the
same nature as pain ; as to slumber unquietly, to suffer heat, to want appetite : when
therefore any of these things make thee discon- tented, check thyself with these words : " Now
hath pain given thee the foil : thy courage hath failed thee." M. A. vii 36. 17
JANUARY 18
TN the same manner as we exercise ourselves -*- against sophistical
questions, we should exer- cise ourselves likewise in relation to such appear- ances as every
day occur, for these two offer questions to us. Such a one's son is dead. What do you think of
it? Answer: it is inde- pendent on choice, it is not an evil.?Such a one is disinherited by his
father. What do you think of it ? It is independent on choice, it is not an evil.?Caesar hath
condemned him. This is independent on choice, it is not an evil.?He hath been afflicted by it.
This is dependent on choice, it is an evil.?He hath supported it bravely. This is dependent on
choice, it is a good. E. D. iii. 8, I. i8
JANUARY 19
\ A /"HY do you say nothing to me, then? * * I have only this to say to you :
That who- ever is ignorant what he is, and wherefore he was born, and in what kind of a world,
and in what society ; what things are good, and what evil ; what fair, and what base : who
understands neither discourse nor demonstration ; nor what is true nor what is false ; nor is
able to distinguish between them : such a one will neither exert his desires, nor aversions,
nor pursuits, conformably to nature ; he will neither intend, nor assent, nor deny, nor suspend
his judgment conformably to nature ; but will wander up and down entirely deaf and blind,
supposing himself to be somebody, while he is in reality nobody. Is there anything new in all
this? Is not this ignorance the cause of all the errors that have happened from the very
original of mankind ? E. D. ii. 24, 2. 19
JANUARY 20
T^ VERY great faculty is dangerous to a be- -L^ ginner. Study first how to
live with a person in sickness, that in time you may know how to live with one in health. E. D.
iii. 13, 3. T F you have an earnest desire of attaining to ?^ philosophy, prepare yourself from
the very first to be laughed at, to be sneered by the multitude, to hear them say, " He is
returned to us a philo- sopher all at once," and "Whence this super- cilious look ? " Now, for
your part, do not have a supercilious look indeed ; but keep steadily to those things which
appear best to you as one appointed by God to this station. For remember that, if you adhere to
the same point, those very persons who at first ridiculed will afterwards admire you. But if
you are conquered by them, you will incur a double ridicule. E. M. 22. 20
JANUARY 21
THE school of a philosopher is a surgery. Youare not to go out of it with
pleasure, but with pain : for you come there not in health ; but one of you had a dislocated
shoulder, another an abscess, a third a fistula, a fourth the headache. And am I, then, to sit
uttering pretty trifling thoughts and little exclamations that, when you have praised me, you
may each of you go away with the same dislocated shoulder, the same aching head, the same
fistula, and the same abscess that you brought ? And is it for this that young men are to
travel ? And do they leave their parents, their friends, their relations, and their estates
that they may praise you while you are uttering little exclamations? E, D. iii. 24, 2. 21
JANUARY 22
UP and down, from one age to another, gothe ordinary things of the world ;
being still the same. And either of every thing in particular before it come to pass, the mind
of the Universe doth consider with itself and deliberate : (and if so, then submit for shame
unto the determina- tion of such an excellent Understanding) : or once for all it did resolve
upon all things in general ; and since that, whatsoever happens, happens by a necessary
consequence, and all things indivisibly in a manner and inseparably hold one of another. In
sum, either there is a God, and then all is well ; or if all things go by chance and fortune,
yet must thou use thine own providence in those things that concern thee properly ; and then
art thou well. M. A. ix. 26. 22
JANUARY 23
OF my Grandfather Verus I have learned to begentle and meek, and to refrain
from all anger and passion. From the fame and memory of him that begot me I have learned both
shame- fastness and manlike behaviour. Of my Mother I have learned to be religious, and
bountiful ; and to forbear, not only to do, but to intend any evil ; to content myself with a
spare diet, and to fly all such excess as is incidental to great wealth. Of my great
Grandfather, both to frequent public schools and Auditories, and to get me good and able
Teachers at home ; and that I ought not to think much, if upon such occasions, I were at
excessive charges. M. A. i. I. 23
JANUARY 24
FROM Claudius Maximus I learnt in all things to endeavour to have power of
myself, and in nothing to be carried about ; to be cheerful and courageous in all sudden
chances and acci- dents, as in sicknesses : to love mildness, and moderation, and gravity : and
to do my business, whatsoever it be, thoroughly, and without queru- lousness. Whatsoever he
said, all men believed him that as he spake, so he thought, and whatso- ever he did, that he
did it with a good intent. His manner was, never to wonder at anything; never to be in haste,
and yet never slow : nor to be perplexed, or dejected, or at any time un- seemly, or
excessively to laugh : nor to be angry, or suspicious, but ever ready to do good, and to
forgive, and to speak truth ; and all this, as one that seemed rather of himself to have been
straight and right, than ever to have been recti- fied, or redressed : neither was there any
man that ever thought himself undervalued by him, or that could find in his heart, to think
himself a better man than he. He would also be very pleasant and gracious. M. A. i. 12. 24
JANUARY 25
NOTHING is meaner than the love of pleasure,the love of gain, and insolence.
Nothing is nobler than magnanimity, meekness, and good- nature. E. FR. 46. IN my Father, I
observed his meekness ; his constancy without wavering in those things, which after a due
examination and deliberation, he had determined. How free from all vanity he carried himself in
matter of honour and dignity, (as they are esteemed : ) his laboriousness, and assiduity, his
readiness to hear any man, that had aught to say, tending to any common good : how generally
and impartially he would give every man his due ; his skill and knowledge, when rigour or
extremity, or when remissness or moderation was in season. M. A. i. 13. 25
JANUARY 26
DO all things as becometh the Disciple ofAntoninus Pius. Remember his
resolute constancy in things that were done by him accord- ing to reason, his equability in all
things, his sanctity ; the cheerfulness of his countenance, his sweetness, and how free he was
from all vainglory ; how careful to come to the true and exact knowledge of matters in hand,
and how he would by no means give over till he did fully and plainly understand the whole state
of the business ; and how patiently, and without any contestation he would bear with them, that
did unjustly condemn him : how he would never be overhasty in anything, nor give ear to
slanders and false accusations, but examine and observe with best diligence the several actions
and dis- positions of men. Again, how he was no back- biter, nor easily frighted, nor
suspicious, and in his language free from all affectation and curiosity: and how easily he
would content himself with few things, as lodging, bedding, clothing, and ordinary nourishment,
and attendance. How able to endure labour, how patient : his uniformity and constancy in matter
of friendship. How he would bear with them that with all boldness and liberty opposed his
opinions ; and even rejoice if any man could better advise him : and lastly, how religious he
was without superstition. All these things of him remember, that whensoever thy last hour shall
come upon thee, it may find thee, as it did him, ready for it in the possession of a good
conscience. M. A. vi. 28. 26
JANUARY 27
IF thou shalt find anything in this mortal Hfe better than righteousness,
than truth, temper- ance, fortitude, and in general better than a mind contented both with
those things which according to right and reason she doth, and in those, which without her will
and knowledge happen unto thee by the Providence : If I say, thou canst find out anything
better than this ; apply thyself unto it with thy whole heart. M. A. iii. 7. BUT who ever came
into the world without aninnate idea of good and evil, fair and base, becoming and unbecoming,
happiness and misery, proper and improper, what ought to be done and what not to be done? E. D.
ii. II, I.
JANUARY 28
WHENEVER, therefore, anyone makes his interest to consist in the same thing
with sanctity, virtue, his country, parents, and friends, all these are secured ; but wherever
they are made to interfere, friends, and country, and family, and justice itself, all give way,
borne down by the weight of self-interest. For wherever / and mine are placed, thither must
every animal gravitate. If in body, that will sway us ; if in choice, that ; if in externals,
these. If, therefore, I be placed in a right choice, then only I shall be a friend, a son, or a
father, such as I ought. For in that case it will be for my interest to preserve the faithful,
the modest, the patient, the abstinent, the beneficent character; to keep the relations of life
inviolate. But, if I place myself in one thing, and virtue in another, the doctrine of Epicurus
will stand its ground, That virtue is nothing, or mere opinion. E. D. ii. 22, 2. 28
JANUARY 29
DIFFICULTIES are the things that show what men are. For the future, on any
difficulty, remember that God, Hke a master of exercise, has engaged you with a rough
antagonist. For what end ? That you may be a conqueror like one in the Olympic games, and it
cannot be without toil. No man, in my opinion, has a more advantageous difficulty on his hands
than you have ; provided you will but use it as an athletic champion doth his antagonist. E. D.
i. 24, I. 29
JANUARY 30
WHAT, then, ought each of us to say upon every difficult occasion? "It was
for this that I exercised, it was for this that I prepared myself." God says to you, Give me a
proof if you have gone through the preparatory combats, according to rule ; if you have
followed a proper diet, a proper exercise ; if you have obeyed your master ; and after this, do
you faint at the very time of action ? Now is the proper time for a fever?bear it well ; for
thirst, bear it well ; for hunger, bear it well. Is it not in your power? Who shall restrain
you ? A physician may restrain you from drinking, but he cannot restrain you from bearing your
thirst well. He may restrain you from eating, but he cannot restrain you from bearing hunger
well.?But I cannot follow my studies.?And for what end do you follow them, wretch? Is it not
that you may be prosperous? That you may be constant? That you may think and act conformably to
nature? What restrains you, but that in a fever you may preserve your ruling faculty
conformable to nature ? Here is the proof of the matter. Here is the trial of the philosopher ;
for a fever is a part of life, just as a walk, a voyage, or a journey. E. D. iii. 10. 30
JANUARY 31
I AM persuaded there must be someone among you who sit here that feels secret
pangs of impatience, and says : " When will such a difficulty come to my share as hath now
fallen to his ? Must I sit wasting my life in a corner when I might be crowned at Olympia? When
will any- one bring the news of such a combat for me ? " Such should be the disposition of you
all. Even among the gladiators of C?esar there are some who bear it very ill, that they are not
brought upon the stage and matched ; and who offer vows to God, and address the officers,
begging to fight. And will none among you appear such? I would willingly take a voyage on
purpose to see how a champion of mine acts ; how he treats his subject. " I do not choose such
a subject," say you. Is it in your power, then, to take what subject you choose ? Such a body
is given you ; such parents, such brothers, such a country, and such a rank in it ; and then
you come to me and say: "Change my subject." Besides, have not you abilities to manage that
which is given you ? E. D. i. 29, 6. 31
FEBRUARY 1
"pRAY, what would Hercules have been if he -'- had said : " What can be done
to prevent a great lion or a great boar or savage men from coming in my way ? " Why, what is
that to you ? If a great boar should come in your way, you will fight the greater combat ; if
wicked men, you will deliver the world from wicked men.?"But, then, if I should die by this
means ? " ?You will die a good man in the performance of a gallant action. E. D. iv. 9, 2.
CONDEMN your actions : but when you havecondemned them, do not despair of yourself, nor be like
those poor-spirited people who, when they have once given way, abandon themselves entirely, and
are carried along as by a torrent. Take example from the wrestling masters. Hath the boy fallen
down ? Get up again, they say ; wrestle again till you have acquired strength. E. D. iv. Q, 2.
32
FEBRUARY 2
PRAY, what figure do you think Hercules would have made if there had not been
such a lion, and a hydra, and a stag, and unjust and brutal men ; whom he expelled and cleared
away ? And what would he have done if none of these had existed ? Is it not plain that he must
have wrapped himself up and slept ? In the first place, then, he would never have become a
Hercules by slumber- ing away his whole life in such delicacy and ease ; or if he had, what
good would it have done? What would have been the use of his arm, and the rest of his strength
; of his patience, and greatness of mind, if such circumstances and sub- jects of action had
not roused and exercised him? What then : must we provide these things for ourselves, and
introduce a boar, and a lion, and a hydra, into our country ? This would be madness and folly.
But as they were in being, and to be met with, they were proper subjects to set off and
exercise Hercules. Do you therefore likewise, being sensible of this, inspect the faculties you
have, and after taking a view of them, say, " Bring on me now, O Jupiter, what difficulty thou
wilt, for I have faculties granted me by thee, and abilities by which I may acquire honour and
ornament to myself."?No ; but you sit trembling, for fear this or that should happen ; and
lamenting, and mourning, and groaning at what doth happen ; and then you accuse the gods. E. D.
i. 6, 6. 33
FEBRUARY 3
THE first and highest purity, or impurity, then,is that which is formed in
the soul. But you will not find the impurity of the soul and body to be alike. For what else of
impurity can you find in the soul than that which renders it filthy with regard to its
operations? Now the operations of the soul are its pursuits and avoidances, its desires,
aversions, preparations, intentions, assents. What, then, is that which renders it defiled and
impure in these operations? Nothing else than its per- verse judgments. So that the impurity of
the soul consists in wicked principles, and its purification in the forming right principles ;
and that is pure which hath right principles, for that alone is un- mixed and undefiled in its
operations. E. D. iv. 10, 2. 34
FEBRUARY 4
NEVER esteem of anything as profitable,which shall ever constrain thee either
to break thy faith, or to lose thy modesty ; to hate any man, to suspect, to curse, to
dissemble, to lust after anything that requireth the secret of walls, or veils. But he that
preferreth before all things his Rational part and Spirit, and the sacred mysteries of virtue
which issueth from it, he shall never lament and exclaim, never sigh, he shall never want
either solitude or company : and which is chiefest of all, he shall live without either desire
or fear. And as for life, whether for a long or short time he shall enjoy his soul thus
compassed about with a body, he is altogether indifferent. For if even now he were to depart,
he is as ready for it, as for any other action, which may be per- formed with modesty, and
decency. For all his life long, this is his only care, that his mind may always be occupied in
such intentions and objects, as are proper to a rational sociable creature. E. D. iii. 8. 35
FEBRUARY 5
DO men lose nothing but money? Is not modesty to be lost? Is not decency to
be lost ? Or may he who loses these suffer no damage? You, indeed, perhaps no longer think
anything of this sort to be a damage. But there was once a time when you accounted this to be
the only damage and hurt ; when you were anxiously afraid lest anyone should shake your regard
from these discourses and actions. See, it is not shaken by another, but by yourself. Fight
against yourself, re'cover yourself to decency, to modesty, to freedom. E. D. iv. 9, 2. DO not
variegate the structure of your wallswith Euboean and Spartan stone ; but adorn both the minds
of the citizens and of those who govern them by the Grecian education. Yox cities are made good
habitations by the sentiments of those who live in them, not by wood and stone. E. FR. 77. 36
FEBRUARY 6
WHAT doth an adulterer lose? The modest,the chaste character ; the neighbour.
What doth an angry person lose? Something else. A coward? Something else. No one is wicked
with- out some loss or damage. Now, if, after all, you make the loss of money the only damage,
all these are unhurt and undamaged. Nay, it may be, even gainers; as, by such practices, their
money may possibly be increased. But consider : if you refer everything to money, the man who
loses his nose is not hurt. Yea, say you, he is maimed in his body. Well ; but doth he, who
loses his smell itself, lose nothing ? Is there, then, no faculty of the soul which he who
possesses it is the better for, and he who parts with it the worse ? What sort do you mean ?
Have we not a natural sense of honour ? We have. Doth he who loses this suffer no damage? Is he
deprived of nothing? Doth he part with nothing that belongs to him ? Have we no natural
fidelity ? No natural affection ? No natural dis- position to mutual usefulness, to mutual
forbear- ance? Is he, then, who carelessly suffers himself to be damaged^ in these respects,
unhurt and un- damaged ? E. D. ii. ID, 5. 374\ .y
FEBRUARY 7
KEEP thyself pure from all violent passion,and evil affection, from all
rashness and vanity, and from all manner of discontent, either in regard of the gods, or men.
For indeed what- soever proceeds from the gods, deserves respect for their worth and excellency
; and whatsoever proceeds from men, as they are our kinsmen, should by us be entertained, with
love, always ; sometimes, as proceeding from their ignorance of that which is truly good and
bad (a blindness no less, than that by which we are not able to discern between white and black
: ) with a kind of pity and compassion also. M. A. ii. II. .38
FEBRUARY 8
IT is high time for thee to understand that there is somewhat in thee, better
and more divine than either thy passions, or thy sensual appetites and affections. What is now
the object of my mind, is it fear, or suspicion, or lust, or any such thing? To do nothing
rashly without some certain end ; let that be thy first care. The next, to have no other end
than the common good. For, alas ! yet a Httle while, and thou art no more : no more will any,
either of those things that now thou seest, or of those men that now are living, be any more.
M. A. xii. 15. 39
FEBRUARY 9
UPON every action that thou art about, putthis question to thyself; How will
this when it is done agree with me? Shall I have no occasion to repent of it ? Yet a very
little while and I am dead and gone ; and all things are at end. What then do I care for more
than this, that my present action, whatsoever it be, may be the proper action of one that is
reasonable ; whose end is, the common good ; who in all things is ruled and governed by the
same law of right and reason, by which God Himself is. M. A. viii. 2. CONTRACT thy whole life
to the measure and proportion of one single action. And if in every particular action thou dost
perform what is fitting to the utmost of thy power, let it suffice thee. And who can hinder
thee, but that thou mayest perform what is fitting? But there may be some outward let and
impediment. Not any, that can hinder thee, but that whatsoever thou doest, thou may do it,
justly, temperately, and with the praise of God. Yea, but there may be somewhat, whereby some
operation or other of thine may be hindered. And then, with that very thing that doth hinder,
thou mayest be well pleased, and so by this gentle and aequanimous conversion of thy mind unto
that which may be, instead of that which at first thou didst intend, in the room of that former
action there succeedeth another, which agrees as well with this contraction of thy life, that
we now speak of. M. A. viii. 3, 40
FEBRUARY 10
WHERE is improvement, then ?If any of you, withdrawing himself from
externals, turns to his own faculty of choice, to exercise, and finish, and render it
conformable to nature ; elevated, free, unrestrained, unhindered, faithful, decent : if he hath
learnt too, that who- ever desires, or is averse to, things out of his own power, can neither
be faithful nor free, but must necessarily be changed and tossed up and down with them ; must
necessarily too be subject to others, to such as can procure or prevent what he desires or is
averse to : if, rising in the morning, he observes and keeps to these rules ; bathes and eats
as a man of fidelity and honour; and thus, on every subject of action, exercises himself in his
principal duty ; as a racer, in the business of racing ; as a public speaker, in the business
of exercising his voice : this is he who truly im- proves ; this is he who hath not wrought in
vain. E. D. i. 4, 4. 41
FEBRUARY 11
\ Xy^HEN you let go your attention for a little ^ while, do not fancy you may
recover it whenever you please; but remember this, that by means of the fault of to-day your
affairs must necessarily be in a worse condition for the future. First, what is the saddest
thing of all, a habit arises of not attending ; and then a habit of de- ferring the attention,
and always driving off from time to time, and procrastinating a prosperous life, a propriety of
behaviour, and the thinking and acting conformably to nature. Now, if the pro- crastination of
anything is advantageous, the ab- solute omission of it is still more advantageous ; but, if it
be not advantageous, why do not you preserve a constant attention? E. D. iv. 12, I. " A 7[
THAT, then, is it possible by these means * * to be faultless?" Impracticable; but this is
possible, to use a constant endeavour to be faultless. For we shall have cause to be satis-
fied if, by never remitting this attention, we shall be exempt at least from a few faults. E.
D. iv. 12, 4. 42
lEBRUARV 12
TWO things must be rooted out of man : conceitand diffidence. Conceit lies in
thinking you want nothing ; and diffidence, in supposing it im- possible, that under such
adverse circumstances, you should succeed. E. D. iii. 14, 4. WHAT, then, is it to be properly
educated? To learn how to adapt natural preconcep- tions to particular cases, conformably to
nature ; and, for the future, to distinguish that some things are in our own power, others not.
In our own power are choice, and all actions dependent on choice ; not in our power, the body,
the parts of the body, property, parents, brothers, children, country, and, in short, all with
whom we are engaged in society. Where, then, shall we place good? To what kind of things shall
we adapt the preconception of it ? To that in our own power. E. D. i. 22, 2. 43
FEBRUARY 13
T T is not easy to gain the attention of effeminate -?- young men, for you
cannot take custard by a hook ; but the ingenuous, even if you discourage them, are the more
eager for learning. Hence Rufus, for the most part, did discourage them, and made use of that
as a criterion of the ingenu- ous and disingenuous. For he used to say, As a stone, even if you
throw it up, will by its own propensity be carried downward ; so an ingenuous mind, the more it
is forced from its natural bent, the more strongly will it incline towards it. E. D. iii. 6, 4.
WHATEVER rules you have deliberately pro-posed to yourself for the conduct of life, abide by
them as so many laws, and as if you would be guilty of impiety in transgressing any of them ;
and do not regard what anyone says of you, for this, after all, is no concern of yours. E. M.
50. 44
FEBRUARY 14
IF you perceive any of those things which you have learned and studied
occurring to you in action, rejoice in them. If you have laid aside ill-nature and reviling ;
if you have lessened your harshness, indecent language, inconsiderateness, effeminacy ; if you
are not moved by the same things as formerly, if not in the same manner as formerly, you may
keep a perpetual festival : to-day, because you have behaved well in one affair ; to-morrow,
because in another. How much better a reason for sacrifice is this, than obtaining a consulship
or a government ? E. D. iv. 4, 5. WHENSOEVER by some present hard oc- currences thou art
constrained to be in some sort troubled and vexed, return unto thy- self as soon as may be, and
be not out of tune longer than thou must needs. For so shalt thou be the better able to keep
thy part another time, and to maintain the harmony, if thou dost use thyself to this
continually ; once out, presently to have recourse unto it, and to begin again. M. A. vi. 9. 45
FEBRUARY 15
IT is not death or pain that is to be feared ; but the fear of pain or death.
Hence we commend him who says : Death is no ill, but shamefully to die. Courage, then, ought to
be opposed to death, and caution to the fear of death : whereas we, on the contrary, oppose to
death, flight ; and to our principle concerning it, carelessness and desper- ateness and
indifference. E. D. ii. I, 2. 46
FEBRUARY 16
THE materials of action are indifferent ; but theuse of them is not
indifferent. How, then, shall one preserve intrepidity and tranquillity ; and at the same time
be careful, and neither rash nor indolent ? By imitating those who play at tables. The dice are
indifferent ; the pieces are indifferent. How do I know what will fall out ? But it is my
business to manage carefully and dexterously whatever doth fall out. Thus in life, too, this is
the chief business ; distinguish and separate things, and say, " Externals are not in my power,
choice is. Where shall I seek good and evil? Within ; in what is my own." But in what belongs
to others, call nothing good, or evil, or profit, or hurt, or anything of that sort. E. D. ii.
5, I. 47
FEBRUARY 17
HERE is the artificer ; here are the materials ;what is it we want ? Is not
the thing cap- able of being taught ? It is. Is it not in our own power, then ? The only thing
of all others that is so. Neither riches, nor health, nor fame, nor, in short, anything else,
is in our power, except the right use of the appearances of things. This alone is, by nature,
not subject to restraint, not subject to hindrance. Why, then, do not you finish it? Tell me
the cause. It must be by my fault, or yours, or from the nature of the thing. The thing itself
is practicable, and the only one in our power. The fault then must be either in me, or in you,
or, more truly, in both. Well, then, shall we now, at last, bring this inten- tion along with
us ? Let us lay aside all that is past. Let us begin. Only believe me, and you will see the
consequence. E. D. ii. 19, 4. 48
FEBRUARY 18
A LL are preserved and improved by operations '^~^ correspondent to their
several faculties ; as a carpenter, by building; a grammarian, by gram- mar ; but if he
accustom himself to write ungram- matically, his art will necessarily be spoiled and destroyed.
Thus modest actions preserve the modest man, and immodest ones destroy him ; faithful actions,
the faithful man, and the con- trary destroy him. On the other hand, contrary actions heighten
contrary characters. Thus im- pudence, an impudent one ; knavery, a knavish one ; slander, a
slanderous one ; anger, an angry one ; and inequitable dealings, a covetous one. E. D. ii. 9,
2, 49
FEBRUARY 19
HOW do we act in a voyage ? What is in mypower? To choose the pilot, the
sailors, the day, the time of day. Afterwards comes a storm. What have I to care for ? My part
is performed. The subject belongs to another, to the pilot. But the ship is sinking: what then
have I to do? That which alone I can do ; I am drowned, with- out fear, without clamour, or
accusing God ; but as one who knows that what is born must likewise die. For I am not eternity,
but a man ; a part of the whole, as an hour is of the day. I must come like an hour, and like
an hour must pass away. What signifies it whether by drowning or by a fever? For, in some way
or other, pass I must. E. D. ii. 5, 2. 50
FEBRUARY 20
A/OU see that Caesar hath procured us a pro- Jl found peace ; there are
neither wars nor battles, nor great robberies nor piracies, but we may travel at all hours, and
sail from east to west. But can Caesar procure us peace from a fever too ? From a shipwreck ?
From a fire ? From an earthquake ? From a thunderstorm ? Nay, even from love? He cannot. From
grief? From envy ? No, not from any one of these. But the doctrine of philosophers promises to
procure us peace from these too. And what doth it say ? " If you will attend to me, O mortals,
wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, you shall neither grieve nor be angry, nor be
compelled nor restrained ; but you shall live impassive, and free from all." Shall not he who
enjoys this peace, proclaimed, not by Cresar (for how should he have it to proclaim ?) but by
God, through reason, be contented, when he is alone reflecting and considering : " To me there
can now no ill happen ; there is no thief, no earthquake. All is full of peace, all full of
tranquillity ; every road, every city, every assembly. My neighbour, my companion, unable to
hurt me." E. D. iii. 13, I. 51
FEBRUARY 21
EVERY error in life implies a contradiction : for, since he who errs doth not
mean to err, but to be in the right, it is evident that he acts contrary to his meaning. What
doth a thief mean ? His own interest. If, then, thieving be against his interest, he acts
contrary to his own meaning. Now every rational soul is naturally averse to self-contradiction
: but so long as any- one is ignorant that it is a contradiction, nothing restrains him from
acting contradictorily : but whenever he discovers it, he must as necessarily renounce and
avoid it, as anyone must dissent from a falsehood whenever he perceives it to be a falsehood :
but while this doth not appear, he assents to it as to a truth. E. D. ii. 26, I.
FERRUARY 22
THIS, again, is folly and insolence to say : " I am impassive and
undisturbed. Be it known to you, mortals, that while you are fluctuating and bustling about for
things of no value, I alone am free from all perturbation."?Are you then so far from being
contented with having no pain your- self, that you must needs make proclamation : "Come hither,
all you who have the gout, or the headache, or a fever, or are lame, or blind, and see me free
from every distemper." This is vain and shocking, unless you could show, like ^2sculapius, by
what method of cure they may presently become as free from distempers as yourself, and bring
your own health as a proof of it. E. D. iv. 3, 5. 53
FEBRUARY 23
^1^7'HEN one of the company said to him, * * " Convince me that logic is
necessary." "Would you have me demonstrate it to you?" says he. "Yes." "Then I must use a
demonstrative form of argument." "Granted." " And how will you know then whether I argue
sophistically ?" On this, the man being silent, " You see," says he, " that even by your own
confession, logic is necessary ; since without its assistance, you cannot learn so much as
whether it be necessary or not." E. D. ii. 25. 54
FEBRUARY 24
WHAT is asserted by the philosophers may,perhaps, appear a paradox to some :
let us, however, examine, as well as we can, whether this be true : That it is possible in all
things to act at once with caution and courage. For caution seems, in some measure, contrary to
courage ; and contraries are by no means consistent. The appearance of a paradox to many, in
the present case, seems to me to arise from something like this. If, indeed, we assert that
courage and caution are to be used in the same instances, we should justly be accused of
uniting contradic- tions : but, in the way that we afifirm it, where is the absurdity? For, if
what hath been so often said, and so often demonstrated, be certain, that the essence of good
and evil consists in the use of the appearances ; and that things independent on choice are not
of the nature either of good or evil : what paradox do the philosophers assert, if they say:
"Where things are not dependent on choice, be courageous ; where they are, be cautious ? " For
in these only, if evil consists in a bad choice, is caution to be used. E. D. ii. I, I. 55
FEBRUARY 25
SET death before me, set pain, set a prison, setignomony, set condemnation
before me, and you will know me. This is the proper ostenta- tion of a young man come out from
the schools. Leave the rest to others. Let no one ever hear you utter a word about them, nor
suffer it, if any- one commends you for them : but think that you are nobody, and that you know
nothing. Appear to know only this, how you may never be dis- appointed of your desire ; never
incur your aver- sion. Let others study causes, problems, and syllogisms. Do you study death,
chains, torture, exile : and all these with courage, and reliance upon him who hath called you
to them, and judged you worthy a post in which you may show what the rational governing faculty
can do when set in array against powers independent on the choice. And thus, this paradox
becomes neither impossible nor a paradox, that we must be at once cautious and courageous :
courageous in what doth not depend upon choice, and cautious in what doth. E. D. ii. I, 5. 56
FEBRUARY 26
T_J E that hath not one and the selfsame -*- -*- general end always as long
as he liveth, cannot possibly be one and the selfsame man always. But this will not suffice
except thou add also what ought to be this general end. For as the general conceit and
apprehension of all those things which upon no certain ground are by the greater part of men
deemed good, cannot be uniform and agreeable, but that only which is limited, and restrained by
some certain proprieties and conditions, as of community : that nothing be conceived good,
which is not com- monly, and publicly good : so must the end also that we propose unto
ourselves, be common and sociable. For he that doth direct all his own private motions and
purposes to that end, all his actions will be agreeable and uniform ; and by that means will be
still the same man. M. A. xi. 19. 57
FEBRUARY 27
LET it always appear, and be manifest unto thee, that soHtariness, and desert
places, by many Philosophers, so much esteemed of, and affected, are of themselves but thus and
thus ; and that all things are here to them that live in Towns, and converse with others : as
they are the same nature everywhere to be seen and observed : to them that have retired
themselves to the top of mountains, and to desert Havens, or what other desert and inhabited
places soever. For any- where if thou wilt mayest thou quickly find and apply that to thyself,
which Plato saith of his Philosopher, in a place ; as private and retired saith he, as if he
were shut up and enclosed about in some Shepherd's lodge, on the top of a hill. There by
thyself to put these questions to thyself, or to enter into these considerations : What is my
chief and principal part, which hath power over the rest ? What is now the present estate of
it, as I use it ; and what is it, that I employ it about ? Is it now void of reason or no ? Is
it free, and separated ; or so affixed, so congealed and grown together, as it were with the
flesh, that it is swayed by the motions and inclinations of it? M. A. X. 24. 58
FEBRUARY 28
SOLITUDE is the state of a helpless person. For not he who is alone is
therefore solitary, any more than one in a crowd the contrary. When therefore, we lose a son,
or a brother, or a friend on whom we have been used to repose, we often say we are left
solitary even in the midst of Rome, where such a crowd is continually meeting us. E. D. iii.
13, I. AT what time soever thou wilt, it is in thy power,to retire into thyself, and to be at
rest, and free from all businesses. A man cannot any- whither retire better, than to his own
soul : he especially who is beforehand provided of such things within, which whensoever he doth
with- draw himself to look in, may presently afford unto him perfect ease and tranquillity. M.
A. iv. 3. 59
FEBRUARY 29
A T thy first encounter with anyone, say pre- -^^ sently to thyself; This
man, what are his opinions concerning that which is good or evil ? as concerning pain,
pleasure, and the causes of both ; concerning honour, and dishonour, con- cerning life and
death ; thus and thus. Now if it be no wonder that a man should have such and such opinions,
how can it be a wonder that he should do such and such things ? I will remember then, that he
cannot but do as he doth holding those opinions that he doth. Remember, that as it is a shame
for any man to wonder that a fig- tree should bear figs, so also to wonder that the World
should bear anything, whatsoever it is which in the ordinary course of nature it may bear. To a
physician also and to a pilot it is a shame either for the one to wonder, that such and such a
one should have an ague ; or for the other, that the winds should prove contrary. M. A. viii.
13. 60
MARCH 1
THOU must continually ponder and considerwith thyself, what manner of men
they be, and for their minds and understandings what is their present estate, whose good word
and testi- mony thou dost desire. For then neither wilt thou see cause to complain of them that
offend against their wills ; or find any want of their applause, if once thou dost but
penetrate into the true force and ground both of their opinions, and of their desires. " No
soul (saith he) is willingly bereaved of the Truth," and by conse- quence, neither of justice,
or temperance, or kind- ness, and mildness ; nor of anything that is of the same kind. It is
most needful that thou shouldst always remember this. For so shalt thou be far more gentle and
moderate towards all men. M. A. vii. 34. 61
MARCH 2
THEY that shall oppose thee in thy right courses, as it is not in their power
to divert thee from thy good action, so neither let it be to divert thee from thy good
affection towards them. But be it thy care to keep thyself constant in both ; both in a right
judgment and action, and in true meekness towards them, that either shall do their endeavour to
hinder thee, or at least will be displeased with thee for what thou hast done. For to fail in
either (either in the one to give over for fear, or in the other to forsake thy natural
affection towards him, who by nature is both thy friend and thy kinsman) is equally base, and
much savouring of the disposition of a cowardly fugitive soldier. M. A. xi. 8. 62
MARCH 3
LABOUR not as one to whom it is appointed to be wretched, nor as one that
either would be pitied, or admired ; but let this be thine only care and desire ; so always and
in all things to prosecute or to forbear, as the law of Charity, or mutual society doth
require. M. A. ix. lo. HAVE I done anything charitably? then am I benefited by it. See that
this upon all occasions may present itself unto thy mind, and never cease to think of it. What
is thy pro- fession ? to be good. M. A. xi. 4. WHAT wouldst thou have more ? Unto himthat is a
man, thou hast done a good turn : doth not that suffice thee ? Must thou be re- warded for it?
M. A. ix. 43. 63
MARCH 4
TO them that ask thee, Where hast thou seenthe Gods, or how knowest thou
certainly that there be Gods, that thou art so devout in their worship ? I answer first of all,
that even to the very eye, they are in some manner visible and apparent. Secondly, neither have
I ever seen mine own soul, and yet I respect and honour it. So then for the Gods, by the daily
experience that I have of their power and providence towards myself and others, I know
certainly that they are, and therefore worship them. M. A. xii. 21, THOU shalt find it a very
good help, toremember the Gods as often as may be ; and that, the thing which they require at
our hands, of as many of us, as are by nature reasonable creatures ; is not that with fair
words, and out- ward show of piety and devotion we should flatter them, but that we should
become like unto them. M. A. X. 8. 64
MARCH 5
T)UT gods there be certainly, and they take -L' care for the world ; and as
for those things which be truly evil, as vice and wickedness, such things they have put in a
man's own power, that he might avoid them if he would : and had there been anything besides
that had been truly bad and evil, they would have had a care of that also, that a man might
have avoided it. But why should that be thought to hurt and prejudice a man's life in this
world, which cannot anywise make man himself the better, or the worse in his own person ?
Neither must we think that the Nature of the Universe did either through ignor- ance pass these
things, or if not as ignorant of them, yet as unable either to prevent, or better to order and
dispose them. It cannot be that she through want either of power or skill, should have
committed such a thing, so as to suffer all things both good and bad, equally and promiscu-
ously to happen unto all both good and bad. As for life therefore, and death, honour and dis-
honour, labour and pleasure, riches and poverty, all these things happen unto men indeed, both
good and bad, equally ; but as things which of themselves are neither good nor bad; because* of
themselves, neither shameful nor praiseworthy. M. A. ii. 8. 65
MARCH 6
'T^HINK oftener of God than you breathe. E. FR. 114. A RE not the gods
everywhere at the same dis- ^~^ tance ? Do not they everywhere equally see what is doing ? E.
D. iv. 4, 5. TT E liveth with the gods, who at all times affords -? -?- unto them the spectacle
of a soul both con- tented and well pleased with whatsoever is afforded or allotted unto her;
and performing whatsoever is pleasing to that spirit whom (being part of him- self) Zeus hath
appointed to every man as his overseer and governor. M. A. 5, 21. T F you always remember that
God stands by, an J- inspector of whatever you do either in soul or body, you will never err,
either in your prayers or actions, and you will have God abiding with you. E. FR. 115. 66
MARCH 7
T7 ITHER the Gods can do nothing for us at -|-- all, or they can still and
allay all the distrac- tions and distempers of thy mind. If they can do nothing, why dost thou
pray ? If they can, why wouldst not thou rather pray, that they will grant unto thee, that thou
mayest neither fear, nor lust after any of those worldly things which cause these distractions,
and distempers of it ? Why not rather, that thou mayest not at either their absence or
presence, be grieved and discontented : than either that thou mayest obtain them, or that thou
mayest avoid them ? For certainly it must needs be, that if the Gods can help us in any- thing,
they may in this kind also. But thou wilt say perchance, In those things the Gods have given me
my liberty : and it is in mine own power to do what I will. But if thou mayest use this
liberty, rather to set thy mind at true liberty, than wilfully with baseness and servility of
mind, to affect those things, which either to compass or to avoid is not in thy power, wert not
thou better? And as for the Gods, who hath told thee, that they may not help us up even in
those things that they have put in our own power ? Whether it be so or no, thou shalt soon
perceive, if thou wilt but try thyself and pray. M. A. xi. 40. 67
MARCH 8
("^ OD beholds our minds and understandings, -J bare and naked from these
material vessels, and outsides, and all earthly dross. Yor with His simple and pure
understanding, He pierceth into our inmost and purest parts, which from His, as it were by a
water pipe and channel, first flowed and issued. M. A. xii. 2. LET thy god that is in thee to
rule over thee,find by thee, that he hath to do with a man ; that hath ordered his life, as one
that ex- pecteth, as it were, nothing but the sound of the trumpet, sounding a retreat to
depart out of this life with all expedition. M. A. iii. 5. 68
MARCH 9
WHENEVER you lay anything to the chargeof Providence, do but reflect, and you
will find that it hath happened agreeably to reason. Well, but a dishonest man hath the
advantage. In what ? In money. Why, he is better qualified for it than you ; because he
flatters, he throws away shame, he keeps awake ; and where is the wonder ? But look whether he
hath the advantage of you in fidelity or in honour. You will find he hath not ; but that
wherever it is best for you to have ad- vantage of him, there you have it. E. D. iii. 17, I. O
EMEMBER, that all things in general are by -?-^ certain order and appointment. M. A. vii. 22.
69
MARCH 10
HOW comes it to pass, that the Gods havingordered all other things so well
and so lovingly, should be overseen in this one only thing, that whereas there hath been some
very good men, that have made many covenants as it were with God, and by many holy actions, and
outward services contracted a kind of familiarity with Him ; that these men when once they are
dead, should never be restored to life, but be extinct for ever. But this thou mayest be sure
of, that this (if it be so indeed) would never have been so ordered by the Gods, had it been
fit otherwise. M. A. xii. 4. CAN the gods, who are immortal, for the con-tinuance of so many
ages bear without indignation with such and so many sinners, as have ever been, yea not only
so, but also take such care for them, that they want nothing ; and dost thou so grievously take
on, as one that could bear with them no longer ; thou that art but for a moment of time ? yea
thou that art one of those sinners thyself? M. A. vii. 41. 70
MARCH 11
HAVE no will but the will of God ; and who shall restrain you, who shall
compel you any more than God ? When you have such a guide, and conform your will and
inclinations to his, what need you fear being disappointed? Yield up your desire and aversion
to riches, or poverty ; the one will be disappointed, the other incurred. Yield them up to
health, power, honours, your country, friends, children, in short, to anything independent on
choice, you will be unfortunate. But yield them up to Jupiter and the other gods. Give yourself
up to these ; let these govern, let both be ranged on the same side with these ; and how can
you be any longer unprosperous ? But if, poor wretch, you envy, and pity, and are jealous, and
tremble, and never cease a single day from complaining of yourself and the Gods, why do you
boast of your education ? E. D. ii. 17, I. 71
MARCH 12
EITHER this Universe is a mere confused mass, and an intricate context of
things, which shall in time be scattered and dispersed again : or it is an Union consisting of
Order, and administered by providence. If the first, why should I desire to continue any longer
in this for- tuitous confusion and commixtion ? or why should I take care for anything else,
but that as soon as may be I may be Earth again ? And why should I trouble myself any more
whilst I seek to please the gods ? Whatsoever I do, Dispersion is my end, and will come upon me
whether I will or no. But if the latter be, then am not I religious in vain ; then will I be
quiet and patient, and put my trust in Him, who is the governor of all. M. A. vi. 8. 72
MARCH 13
EITHER Fate, (and that either an absolute necessity, and unavoidable decree ;
or a placable and flexible Providence) or All is a mere casual Confusion, void of all order and
govern- ment. If an absolute and unavoidable Necessity, why dost thou resist? If a placable and
exor- able Providence, make thyself worthy of the divine help and assistance. If all be a mere
confusion without any Moderator, or Governor, then hast thou reason to congratulate thyself,
that in such a general flood of Confusion, thou thyself hast obtained a reasonable Faculty,
whereby thou mayest govern thine own life and actions. M. A. xii. II. /6
MARCH 14
CONSIDER the exertions of God's power, and His administration. What hath He
given me, my own, and independent? What hath He re- served to Himself? He hath given me
whatever depends upon choice. The things in my power He hath made incapable of hindrance or
restraint. But how could He make a body of clay incapable of hindrance ? Therefore He hath
subjected pos- sessions, furniture, house, children, wife, to the revolution of the universe.
Why, then, do I fight against God ? Why do I will to retain what de- pends not on will ? What
is not granted absolutely ; but how? In such a manner and for such a time as was thought
proper. But He who gave, takes away. Why, then, do I resist? Not to say that I shall be a fool
in contending with a stronger than myself; what is a prior consideration, I shall be unjust.
For whence had I these things when I came into the world? My father gave them to me. And who
gave them to him ? And who made the sun? Who the fruits? Who the seasons? Who their connection
and relation to each other? And, after you have received all, and even your very self, from
another, are you angry with the giver, and complain if he takes anything away from you ? E. u.
iv. I, 12. 74
MARCH 15
IF we had any understanding, ought we not both, in public and in private,
incessantly to sing hymns, and speak well of the Deity, and rehearse His benefits? Ought we
not, whether we are digging, or ploughing, or eating, to sing the hymn to God ? Great is God,
who has supplied us with these instruments to till the ground : great is God, who has given us
hands, a power of swallowing, a stomach : who has given us to grow insensibly, to breathe in
sleep. Even these things we ought upon every occasion to celebrate ; but to make it the subject
of the greatest and most divine hymn, that He has given us the faculty of apprehending them,
and using them in a proper way. Well then : because the most of you are blind and in- sensible,
was it not necessary that there should be someone to fill this station, and give out, for all
men, the hymn to God? P'or what else can I, a lame old man, do but sing hymns to God ? If I was
a nightingale, I would act the part of a night- ingale : if a swan, the part of a swan. But,
since I am a reasonable creature, it is my duty to praise God. This is my business. I do it.
Nor will I ever desert this post as long as it is vouchsafed me ; and I exhort you to join in
the same song. E. D. i. 16, 2. 75
MARCH 16
T) E assured that the essential property of piety J-' towards the gods is to
form right opinions concerning them, as existing and as governing the universe with goodness
and justice. And fix your- self in this resolution, to obey them, and yield to them, and
willingly follow them in all events, as produced by the most perfect understanding. For thus
you will never find fault with the gods, nor accuse them as neglecting you. E. M. 31. IT is
better to die with hunger, exempt from grief and fear, than to live in affluence with
perturbation ; and it is better your servant should be bad, than you unhappy. Begin therefore
from little things. Is a little oil spilt ? a little wine stolen ? Say to yourself, "This is
the purchase paid for tranquillity, and nothing is to be had for nothing." E. M. 12. 76
MARCH 17
I HAVE ranged my pursuits under the direction of God. Is it His will that I
should have a fever? It is my will too. Is it His will that I should pursue anything? It is my
will too. Is it His will that I should desire? It is my will too. Is it His will that I should
obtain anything? It is mine too. Is it not His will ? It is not mine. Is it His will that I
should be tortured? Then it is my will to be tortured. Is it His will that I should die ? Then
it is my will to die. E. HOW is it a paradox to say that when he is whipped or imprisoned or
beheaded he is not hurt? If he suffers nobly, doth not he come off even the better, and a
gainer? But he is the person hurt who suffers the most miserable and shameful evils ; who,
instead of a man, becomes a wolf or viper or a hornet. E. D. iv. I, 13. 77
MARCH 18
TF so be that the gods have deliberated in ^ particular of those things that
should happen unto me, I must stand to their deliberation, as discreet and wise. For that a god
should be an imprudent god, is a thing hard even to conceive : and why should they resolve to
do me hurt? for what profit either unto them or the universe (which they specially take care
for) could arise from it ? But if so be that they have not deliber- ated of me in particular,
certainly they have of the whole in general, and those things which in consequence and
coherence of this general de- liberation happen unto me in particular, I am bound to embrace
and accept of. But if so be that they have not deliberated at all (which indeed is very
irreligious for any man to believe : for then let us neither sacrifice, nor pray, nor respect
our oaths, neither let us any more use any of those things, which we persuaded of the presence
and secret conversation of the gods among us, daily use and practise :) but, I say, if so be
that they have not indeed either in general, or particular deliberated of any of those things,
that happen unto us in this world ; yet God be thanked, that of those things that concern
myself, it is lawful for me to deliberate myself. M. A. vi. 39. 78
MARCH 19
DOTH any good man fear that food should failhim ? It doth not fail the blind,
it doth not fail the lame. Shall it fail a good man ? A pay- master is not wanting to a
soldier, or to a labourer, or to a shoemaker, and shall one be wanting to a good man ? Is God
so negligent of His own institutions, of His servants, of His witnesses, whom alone He makes
use of as examples to the unin- structed, both that He is, and that He administers the universe
rightly, and doth not neglect human affairs, and that no evil happens to a good man, either
living or dead ? What, then, is the case when He doth not bestow food ? What else than that,
like a good general. He hath made me a signal of retreat ? I obey, I follow ; speaking well of
my leader, praising His works. For I came when it seemed good to Him, and again, when it seems'
good to Him, I depart ; and in life it was my business to praise God, both by myself, to each
particular person, and to the world. E. D. iii. 26, 2. 79
MARCH 20
T^O we know, then, what man is? What is his -*-^ nature ; what our idea of
him is ; and how far our ears are open in respect to this matter? Nay, do you understand what
nature is ; or are you able, and in what degree, to comprehend me, when I come to say, " But I
must use demonstra- tion to you"? How should you? Do you com- prehend what demonstration is ;
or how a thing is demonstrated, or by what methods ; or what resembles a demonstration, and yet
is not a de- monstration ? Do you know what true or false is? What is consequent to a thing,
and what contradictory? Or unsuitable, or dissonant? E. D. ii. 24, I. So
MARCH 21
"DUT I must excite you to philosophy. How -L* shall I show you that
contradiction among the generality of mankind, by which they differ concerning good and evil,
profitable and unprofit- able, when you know not what contradiction rneans? Show me, then, what
I shall gain by discoursing with you. Excite an inclination in me, as a proper pasture excites
an inclination to eating in a sheep : for if you offer him a stone, or a piece of bread, he
will not be excited. Thus we too have certain natural inclinations to speak- ing, when the
hearer appears to be somebody ; when he gives us encouragement ; but if he sits by, like a
stone or a tuft of grass, how can he excite any desire in a man ? Doth a vine say to an
husbandman, "Take care of me"? No; but invites him to take care of it, by showing him that if
he doth, it will reward him for his care. Who is there whom engaging sprightly children do not
invite to play, and creep, and prattle with them ? But who was ever taken with an in- clination
to divert himself, or bray, with an ass? For, be the creature ever so little, it is still a
little ass. E. D. ii. 24, I. 81
MARCH 22
FIRST, to act as a man. What is compre- hended in this? Not to be, though
gentle, like a sheep ; nor mischievous like a wild beast. But the particular end relates to the
study and choice of each individual. A harper is to act as a harper ; a carpenter, as a
carpenter ; a philo- sopher, as a philosopher ; an orator, as an orator. When therefore you
say, "Come and hear me read," observe first, not to do this at random ; and, in the next place,
after you have found to what end you refer it, consider whether it be a proper one. Would you
be useful, or be praised? You presently hear him say, "What, do I value the praise of the
multitude ? " And he says well, for this is nothing to a musician or a geometrician, as such.
You would be useful, then. In what? Tell us, that we too may run to make part of your audience.
Now, is it possible for anyone to benefit others who hath received no benefit himself? No ; for
neither can he who is not a carpenter or a shoemaker benefit any in respect to those arts.
Would you know, then, whether you have received benefit? Produce your prin- ciples, philosopher
; what is the aim and promise of desire ? Not to be disappointed. What of aversion ? Not to be
incurred. Come, do we fulfil this promise? Tell me the truth. E. M. iv. 23, I. 82
MARCH 23
wHAT is man ?A rational and mortal being. Well : from what are we
distinguished by reason ? From wild beasts. From what else ? From sheep and the like. Take
care, then, to do nothing like a wild beast ; otherwise you have destroyed the man : you have
not fulfilled what your nature promises. Take care, too, to do nothing like cattle ; for thus
likewise the man is destroyed. In what do we act like cattle? When we act gluttonously, lewdly,
rashly, sor- didly, inconsiderately, into what are we sunk ? Into cattle. What have we
destroyed ? The rational being. When we behave contentiously, injuriously, pas- sionately, and
violently, into what are we sunk ? Into wild beasts. And further : some of us are wild beasts
of a larger size ; others, little mischievous vermin. E. D. ii. 9, 1, 2. 83
MARCH 24
TTATH God, then, given you eyes in vain? Is J- J- it in vain that He hath
infused into them such a strong and active spirit as to be able to represent the forms of
distant objects? What messenger is so quick and diligent ? Is it in vain that He hath made the
intermediate air so yielding and elastic that the sight penetrates through it? And is it in
vain that He hath made the light, without which all the rest would be useless? Man, be not
ungrateful; nor, on the other hand, unmindful of your superior advan- tages ; but for sight and
hearing, and indeed for life itself, and the supports of it, as fruits, and wine, and oil, be
thankful to God : but remember, that He hath given you another thing, superior to them all :
which makes use of them, proves them, estimates the value of each. E. D. ii. 23, I. 84
MARCH 25
THE true joy of a man is to do that whichproperly belongs unto a man. That
which is most proper unto a man, is First, to be kindly affected towards them, that are of the
same kind and nature as he is himself; to contemn all sensual motions and appetites ; to
discern rightly all plausible fancies and imaginations, to con- template the nature of the
Universe ; both it, and all things that are done in it. In which kind of contemplation three
several relations are to be observed. The first, to the apparent secondary cause. The second,
to the first original cause, God, from whom originally proceeds whatsoever doth happen in the
world. The third and last, to them that we live and converse with : what use may be made of it,
to their use and benefit. M. A. viii. 25. 85
MARCH 26
EPICURUS knew that, if once a child is born, it is no longer in our power not
to love and be solicitous for it. For the same reason, he says, a wise man will not engage
himself in public business, for he knew very well what such an engagement would oblige him to
do ; for what should restrain anyone from affairs if we may be- have among men as we would
among a swarm of flies ? And doth he who knows all this dare to bid us not bring up children ?
Not even a sheep or a wolf deserts its offspring, and shall man ? What would you have? That we
should be as silly as sheep? Yet even these do not desert their off- spring. Or as savage as
wolves? Neither do these desert them. Pray, who would mind you if he saw his child fallen upon
the ground, and crying? For my part, I am of opinion that your father and mother, even if they
could have fore- seen that you would have been the author of such doctrines, would not,
however, have thrown you away. E. D. i. 23, I, 2. 86
MARCH 27
WHERE, then, is the great good or evil ofman? Where his difference is. If
this is preserved and remains well fortified, and neither honour, fidelity, or judgment is
destroyed, then he him- self is preserved likewise ; but when any of these is lost and
demolished, he himself is lost also. In this do all great events consist. Paris, they say, was
undone, because the Greeks invaded Troy and laid it waste, and his family were slain in battle.
By no means ; for no one is undone by an action not his own. All that was only laying waste the
nests of storks. But his true undoing was when he lost the modest, the faith- ful, the
hospitable, and the decent character. When was Achilles undone ? When Patroclus died? By no
means. But when he gave himself up to rage ; when he wept over a girl ; when he forgot that he
came there not to get mistresses, but to fight. This is human undoing ; this is the siege ;
this the overthrow ; when right principles are ruined ; when these are destroyed. E. D i. 23,
4. 87
MARCH 28
DIOGENES rightly answered one who desired letters of recommendation from him,
"At first sight he will know you to be a man : and whether you are a good or a bad man, if he
hath any skill in distinguishing, he will know likewise ; and, if he hath not, he will never
know it, though I should write a thousand times." Just as if you were a piece of coin, and
should desire to be recommended to any person as good, in order to be tried : if it be to an
assayer, he will know your value, for you will recommend yourself. We ought, therefore, in life
also, to have some- thing analogous to this skill in gold ; that one may be able to say, like
the assayer, Bring me whatever piece you will, and I will find out its value : or as I would
say with regard to syllogisms. Bring me whoever you will, and I will distinguish for you,
whether he knows how to solve syllogisms or not. Why? Because I can solve syllogisms myself,
and have that faculty, which is necessary for one who knows how to find out persons skilled in
the solution of syllogisms. But how do I act in life? I at some times call a thing good ; at
others, bad. What is the cause of this ? The contrary to what happens in syllogisms : ignorance
and in- experience. E. D. iii. 2, I, 2. 88
MARCH 29
D'\0, Soul, do ; abuse and contemn thy- self; yet a while and the time for
thee to respect thyself, will be at an end. Every man's happiness depends upon himself, but
behold thy hfe is almost at an end, whilst affording thy- self no respect, thou dost make thy
happiness to consist in the souls, and conceits of other men. Why should any of these things
that happen externally, so much distract thee? Give thyself leisure to learn some good thing,
and cease roving and wandering to and fro. Thou must also take heed of another kind of
wandering, for they are idle in their actions, who toil and labour in this life, and have no
certain scope to which to direct all their motions, and desires. M. A. ii. 3, 4. 89
MARCH 30
IF you would appear beautiful, young man, strive for human excellency. What
is that? Consider, when you praise without partial affection, whom you praise : is it the
honest, or the dishonest ? The honest. The sober or the dissolute ? The sober. The temperate or
the intemperate? The temperate. Then, if you make yourself such a character, you know that you
will make yourself beautiful ; but, while you neglect these things, though you use every
contrivance to appear beautiful, you must necessarily be deformed. E. D. iii. I, I. 90
MARCH 31
IF a person could be persuaded of this principle as he ought, that we are all
originally descended from God, and that He is the Father of gods and men, I conceive he never
would think meanly or degenerately concerning himself. E. D. i. 3, I. UPON all occasions we
ought to have these maxims ready at hand : Conduct me, Jove, and thou, O Destiny, Wherever your
decrees have fixed my station. I follow cheerfully ; and, did I not. Wicked and wretched, I
must follow still. Whoe'er yields properly to Fate, is deemed Wise among men, and knows the
laws of heaven. And this third : " O Crito, if it thus pleases the gods, thus let it be. Anytus
and Meletus may kill me indeed, but hurt me they cannot." E. M. 52. 91
APRIL 1
IN all vice, pleasure being presented with a bait, draws sensual minds to the
hook of perdition. E. FR. 107. REPENTANCE, is an inward and self- reprehension for the neglect
or omission of somewhat that was profitable. Now whatso- ever is good, is also profitable, and
it is the part of an honest virtuous man to set by it, and to make reckoning of it accordingly.
But never did any honest virtuous man repent of the neglect or omission of any carnal pleasure
: no carnal pleas- ure then is either good or profitable. M. A. viii. 9. I T is the character
of a wise man to resist pleas- ure, and of a fool to be enslaved by it. E. FR. 106. 92
APRIL 2
HAVE the very leaves, and our own bodies,this connection and sympathy with
the whole, and have not our souls much more ? But our souls are thus connected and intimately
joined to God, as being indeed members and distinct portions of His essence. E. D. i. 14, I.
GOD hath universally so constituted the natureof every reasonable creature, that no one can
attain any of its own proper advantages without contributing something to the use of society.
E. D. i. 19, 2. SOONER mayest thou find a thing earthly, where no earthly thing is, than find a
man that naturally can live by himself alone. M. A. ix. 7. 93
APRIL 3
WHATSOEVER I do either by myself, or with some other, the only thing that I
must intend, is that it be good and expedient for the public. For as for praise, consider how
many who once were much commended, are now already quite forgotten ; yea they that commended
them, how even they themselves are long since dead and gone. M. A. vii. 5. SHOULD I do it? I
will: so the end of my action be, to do good unto men. Doth any- thing by way of cross or
adversity happen unto me? I accept it, with reference unto the gods and their providence ; the
fountain of all things, from which whatsoever comes to pass doth hang and depend. M. A. viii.
22. 94
APRIL 4
DO not you know what sort of a thing a warfareis? One must keep guard,
another go out for a spy, another to battle too. It is neither possible that all should be in
the same place, nor, indeed, better : but you, neglecting to perform the orders of your
general, complain whenever any- thing a little hard is commanded, and do not consider what you
make the army become as far as lies in your power. For, if all should imitate you, nobody will
dig a trench, or throw up a rampart, or watch, or expose himself to danger; but everyone will
appear useless to the expedition. Again, if you were a sailor in a voyage, fix upon one place,
and there remain. If it should be necessary to climb the mast, refuse to do it ; if to run to
the head of the ship, refuse to do it. And what captain will bear you ? Would not he throw you
overboard as a useless piece of goods and mere luggage, and a bad example to the other sailors?
Thus, also, in the present case, every one's life is a warfare, and that long and various. You
must observe the duty of a soldier, and per- form everything at the nod of your general ; and
even, if possible, divine what he would have done. E. D. iii. 24, 2. 95
APRIL 5
AS thou thyself, whoever thou art, wert madefor the perfection and
consummation, being a member of it, of a common society ; so must every action of thine tend to
the perfection and consummation of a hfe that is truly sociable. What action soever of thine
therefore that either im- mediately or afar off, hath not reference to the common good, that is
an exorbitant, and dis- orderly action ; yea it is seditious ; as one among the people who from
such and such a consent and unity, should factiously divide and separate himself. M. A. ix. 21.
THERE is but one light of the sun, though itbe intercepted by walls and mountains, and other
thousand objects. There is but one common soul, though divided into innumerable particular
essences and natures. M. A. xii. 23. 96
APRIL 6
nrO judge of reasonable and unreasonable, we ^ make use not only of a due
estimation of things without us, but of what relates to each person's particular character.
Thus, it is reason- able for one man to submit to a dirty disgraceful office, who considers
this only, that if he does not submit to it he shall be whipped, and lose his dinner ; but if
he does, that he has nothing hard or dis- agreeable to suffer : whereas to another it appears
insupportable, not only to submit to such an office himself, but to bear with anyone else who
does. If you ask me, then, whether you shall do this dirty office or not, I will tell you, it
is a more valuable thing to get a dinner, than not ; and a greater disgrace to be whipped than
not to be whipped : so that, if you measure yourself by these things, go and do your office.
"Ay, but this is not suitable to my character." It is you who are to consider that, not I : for
it is you who know yourself, what value you set upon yourself, and at what rate you sell
yourself: for different people sell themselves at different prices. E. D. i. 2, 2. G 97
APRIL 7
" A ND why did he speak?" You may as well '^~*' ask, Why was he Apollo, why
doth he deliver oracles, why hath he placed himself in such a post as a prophet and the
fountain of truth, to whom the inhabitants of the world should re- sort? Why is Know Thyself
inscribed on the front of his temple, when no one minds it? Did Socrates prevail on all who
came to him, to take care of themselves ? Not on the thousandth part ; but however, being, as
he himself declares, divinely appointed to such a post, he never de- serted it. What doth he
say even to the judges ? " If you would acquit me, on condition that I should no longer act as
I do now, I will not accept it, nor desist, but I will accost all I meet, whether young or old,
and interrogate them just in the same manner, but particularly you, my fellow-citizens, as you
are more nearly related to me." " Are you so curious and officious, Socrates? What is it to you
how we act?"?"What do you say? While you are of the same community, and the same kindred with
me, shall you be careless of yourself, and show yourself a bad citizen to the city, a bad
kinsman to your kindred, and a bad neighbour to your neighbourhood?" E. D. iii. I, 3, 4. 98
APRIL 8
OBSERVE yourselves in your actions, and you will find of what sect you are.
You will find that most of you are Epicureans, a few Peripatetics, and those but loose ones.
For, by what action will you prove that you think virtue equal, and even superior, to all other
things ? Show me a Stoic if you have one. Where? Or how should you ? You can show, indeed, a
thousand who repeat the Stoic reasonings. But do they repeat the Epicurean worse ! Are they not
just as perfect in the Peripatetic? Who, then, is a Stoic? As we call that a Phidian statue,
which is formed according to the art of Phidias, so show me some one person, formed according
to the principles which he professes. E. D. ii. 19, 3. 99
APRIL 9
SHOW me one who is sick, and happy ; indanger, and happy ; dying, and happy ;
exiled, and happy ; disgraced, and happy. Show him me, for, by heaven, I long to see a Stoic.
But (you will say) you have not one perfectly formed. Show me, then, one who is forming, one
who is approaching towards this character. Do me this favour. Do not refuse an old man a sight
which he hath never yet seen. Let any of you show me a human soul, willing to have the same
sentiments with those of God, not to accuse either God or man, not to be disappointed of its
desire, or incur its aversion, not to be angry, not to be envious, not to be jealous, in a
word, willing from a man to become a God, and, in this poor mortal body, aiming to have
fellowship with Jupiter. Show him to me. But you cannot. Why, then, do you im- pose upon
yourselves, and play tricks with others ? E. D. ii. 19, 3. 100
APRIL 10
A CYNIC must besides have so much patience ^^ as to seem insensible and a
stone to the vulgar. No one reviles, no one beats, no one affronts him ; but he hath
surrendered his body to be treated at pleasure by anyone who will. For he remembers that the
inferior, in whatever instance it is the inferior, must be conquered by the superior, and the
body is inferior to the multitude, the weaker to the stronger. He never therefore enters into a
combat where he can be conquered, but immediately gives up what belongs to others ; he doth not
claim what is slavish and dependent ; but, where choice and the use of the Appearances are
concerned, you will see that he hath so many eyes, you would say Argos was blind to him. Is his
assent ever precipitate? His pursuits ever rash ? His desire ever disappointed ? His aversion
ever incurred? His intention ever fruitless ? Is he ever querulous, ever dejected, ever
envious? Here lies all his attention and application. With regard to other things, he snores
supine. All is peace. There is no robber, no tyrant of the choice. E. D. iii. 22, 14. lOI
APRIL 11
BUT above all, the ruling faculty of a Cynicmust be purer than the sun,
otherwise he must necessarily be a common cheat, and a rascal, if, while he is guilty of some
vice himself, he re- proves others. For, consider how the case stands. Arms and guards give a
power to common kings and tyrants of reproving and of punishing de- linquents, though they are
wicked themselves ; but to a Cynic, instead of arms and guards, conscience gives this power,
when he knows that he hath watched and laboured for mankind ; that he hath slept pure, and
waked still purer ; and that he hath regulated all his thoughts as the friend, as the minister
of the gods, as a partner of the empire of Jupiter ; that he is ready to say upon all occa-
sions. Conduct me, Jove ; and thou, O Destiny. And, " If it thus pleases the gods, thus let it
be." Why should he not dare to speak boldly to his own brethren, to his children ; in a word,
to his kindred ? E. D. iii. 22, 13. 102
APRIL 12
TT ENCE he who is thus qualified is neither ^ -*- impertinent nor a busybody,
for he is not busied about the affairs of others, but his own, when he oversees the
transactions of men. Other- wise say that a general is a busybody when he oversees, examines,
and watches his soldiers, and punishes the disorderly. But if you reprove others at the very
time that you have a cake under your own arm, I will ask you : Had you not better, sir, go into
a corner and eat up what you have stolen ? But what have you to do with the concerns of others
? For what are you ? Are you the bull in the herd, or the queen of the bees? Show me such
ensigns of empire as she hath from nature. But, if you are a drone, and arrogate to yourself
the kingdom of the bees, do not you think that your fellow-citizens will drive you out, just as
the bees do the drones? E. D. iii. 22, 13. 103
APRIL 13
IF anyone comes and tells you, that in a dispute which was the best of the
philosophers, one of the company said that such a one was the only philosopher, that little
soul of yours grows to the size of two cubits, instead of an inch ; but if another should come
and say, " You are mistaken, he is not worth hearing, for what doth he know? He hath the first
rudiments, but nothing more," you are thunderstruck ; you presently turn pale and cry out, " I
will show him what a man, and how great a philosopher, I am." It is evident what you are by
these very things ; why do you aim to show it by others ? Do not you know that Diogenes showed
some sophist in this manner by extending his middle finger ; and, when he was mad with rage,
This, says Diogenes, is he ; I have showed him to you. For a man is not shown in the same sense
as a stone, or a piece of wood, by the finger ; but whoever shows his principles, shows him as
a man. E. D. iii. 2, 4. to4
APRIL 14
FROM an unseasonable regard to divination,we omit many duties. For what can
the diviner see, besides death, or danger, or sickness, or, in short, things of this kind ?
When it is necessary, then, to expose oneself to danger for a friend, or even a duty to die for
him, what occa- sion have I for divination? Have not I a diviner within, who hath told me the
essence of good and evil, and who explains to me the indications of both ? What further need,
then, have I of the entrails of victims, or the flight of birds ! E. D. ii. 7, I. 105
APRIL 15
WHAT use is there of suspicion at all ? or, whyshould thoughts of mistrust,
and suspicion concerning that which is future, trouble thy mind at all ? What now is to be
done, if thou mayest search and inquire into that, what needs thou care for more ? And if thou
art well able to per- ceive it alone, let no man divert thee from it. But if alone thou dost
not so well perceive it, suspend thine action, and take advice from the best. And if there be
anything else that doth hinder thee, go on with prudence and discretion, according to the
present occasion and opportunity, still pro- posing that unto thyself, which thou dost con-
ceive most right and just. For to hit that aright, and to speed in the prosecution of it, must
needs be happiness, since it is that only which we can truly and properly be said to miss of,
or, miscarry in. M. A. X. 13. 106
APRIL 16
AS a traveller inquires the road of the personhe meets, without any desire
for that which turns to the right hand, more than to the left ; for he wishes for neither of
these, but that only which leads him properly. Thus we should come to God as to a guide. Just
as we make use of our eyes, not persuading them to show us one object rather than another, but
receiving such as they present to us. But now we hold the bird with fear and trembling, and, in
our invocations to God, entreat Him, " Lord, have mercy upon me : suffer me to come off safe."
You wretch ! would you have anything, then, but what is best? And what is best, but what
pleases God ? Why do you, as far as in you lies, corrupt your judge and seduce your adviser ?
E. D. ii. 7, 3. 107
APRIL 17
GOD now brings me hither, now sends methither ; shows me to mankind, poor,
without authority, sick ; sends me to Gyaros, leads me to prison : not that He hates me :
heaven forbid ! For who hates the best of his servants? Nor that He neglects me, for He doth
not neglect any one of the smallest things ; but to exercise me, and make use of me as a
witness to others. Appointed to such a service, do I still care where I am, or with whom, or
what is said of me, instead of being wholly attentive to God, and to His orders and commands ?
E. D. iii. 24, 6. 108
APRIL 18
A WISE and good man, mindful who he is andwhence he came, and by whom he was
pro- duced, is attentive only how he may fill his post regularly and dutifully to God. " Is it
thy pleasure I should any longer continue in being? I will continue free, spirited, agreeably
to thy pleasure ; for thou hast made me incapable of restraint in what is my own. But thou hast
no further use for me ? Fare thou well ! I have stayed thus long for thy sake alone, and no
other, and now I depart in obedience to thee."?" How do you depart ? " ? " Again, agreeably to
thy pleasure ; as free, as thy servant, as one sensible of thy commands and thy prohibitions.
But while I am employed in thy service, what wouldst thou have me be ? A prince or a private
man, a senator or a plebeian, a soldier or a general, a preceptor or the master of a family?
Whatever post or rank thou shalt assign me, like Socrates, I will die a thousand times rather
than desert it. Where wouldst thou have me be ? At Rome or at Athens, at Thebes or at Gyaros?
Only remember me there. If thou shalt send me where men cannot live conformably to nature, I do
not depart from thence in diso- bedience to thy will, but as receiving my signal of retreat
from thee. I do not desert thee ; heaven forbid ! but I perceive thou hast no use for me. If a
life conformable to nature be granted, I will seek no other place but that in which I am, nor
any other company but those with whom I am. " E. D. iii. 24, 5. 109
APRIL 19
BE not surprised, if other animals have all things necessary to the body
ready provided for them, not only meat and drink but lodging : that they want neither shoes,
nor bedding, nor clothes, while we stand in need of all these. For they not being made for
themselves, but for service, it was not fit that they should be formed so as to need the help
of others. For, consider what it would be for us to take care, not only for ourselves, but for
sheep and asses too, how they should be clothed, how shod, and how they should eat and drink.
But as soldiers are ready for their com- mander, shod, clothed, and armed (for it would be a
grievous thing for a colonel to be obliged to go through his regiment to put on their shoes and
clothes), so nature likewise has formed the animals made for service, ready provided, and
standing in need of no further care. Thus one little boy, with only a crook, drives a flock.
But now we, instead of being thankful for this, complain of God that there is not the same kind
of care taken of us likewise. And yet, good heaven ! any one thing in the creation is
sufficient to demonstrate a providence to a modest and grateful mind. Not to instance at
present in great things, but only in the very production of milk from grass, cheese from milk,
and wool from skins : who formed and contrived these things ? No one, say you. O surprising
stupidity, and want of shame ! E. D. i. 16, I, 2. TIO
APRIL 20
" T)RAY, sir, can you tell me to whom you -^ entrust your horses?"?"Yes,
certainly." " Is it, then, to anyone indifferently, though he be ignorant of horsemanship?"?
"By no means." " To whom do you entrust your gold, or your silver, or your clothes ? " ? " Not
to anyone in- differently." "And did you ever consider to whom you committed the care of your
body ? "? " Yes, surely." " To one skilled in exercise, or medicine, I suppose ? " ? " Without
doubt." " Are these things your chief good ; or are you possessed of something better than all
of them ? " ? " What do you mean?" "Something which makes use of these, and proves and
deliberates about each of them ? "?"What then, do you mean the soul ? " " You have guessed
right ; for indeed I do mean that."?"I do really think it a much better pos- session than all
the rest." E. D. ii. 12, I. Ill
APRIL 21
" /'~^AN you show us, then, in what manner you ^^-' have taken care of this
soul ? For it is not probable that a person of your wisdom, and ap- proved character in the
State, should carelessly suffer the most excellent thing that belongs to you to be neglected
and lost." ? " No, certainly." "But do you take care of it yourself? And is it by the
instructions of another, or by your own discovery how it ought to be done?" Here now comes the
danger, that he may first say. Pray, good sir, what business is that of yours ? What are you to
me ? Then, if you persist to trouble him, he may lift up his hand and give you a box on the
ear. I myself was once a great admirer of this method of instruction, till I fell into such
kind of adventures. E. D. ii. 12, T. 112
APRIL 22
\/0U carry a god about with you, wretch. I *- know nothing of it. Do you
suppose I mean some god without you, of gold or silver? It is within yourself you wrong him,
and profane him, without being sensible of it, by impure thoughts and unclean actions. E. D.
ii. 8, 2, TT AVE you not God? Do you seek any other, J- J- while you have Him ? Or will He tell
you any other than these things ? If you were a statue of Phidias, either Zeus or Athena, you
would remember both yourself and the artist ; and, if you had any sense, you would endeavour to
do nothing unworthy of him who formed you, or of yourself: nor to appear in an unbecoming
manner to spectators. And are you now careless how you appear, because you are the workmanship
of Jupiter ? E. D. ii. 8, 3. H 1^3
APRIL 23
AND yet, what comparison is there, eitherbetween the artists or the things
they have formed ? What work of any artist contains in itself those faculties which are shown
in forming it ? Is it anything but marble, or brass, or gold, or ivory? And the Athena of
Phidias, when its hand is once extended and a Victory placed in it, remains in that attitude
for ever. But the works of God are endued with motion, breath, the use of the appearances of
things, judgment. Being, then, the formation of such an artist, will you dishonour him,
especially when he hath not only formed, but entrusted and given the guardianship of you to
yourself? Will you not only be forgetful of this, but, moreover, dishonour the trust? If God
had committed some orphan to your charge, would you have been thus careless of him ? He hath
delivered yourself to your care, and says, ?' I had no one fitter to be trusted than you :
preserve this person for me, such as he is by nature ; modest, faithful, sublime, unterrified,
dispassion- ate, tranquil." And will you not preserve him ? E. D. ii. 8, 3. 114
APRIL 24
T COME therefore to the diviner and interpreterA of these things, and say,
"Inspect the entrails for me : what is signified to me ? " Having taken and laid them open, he
thus interprets them :? You have a choice, man, incapable of being re- strained or compelled.
This is written here in the entrails. I will show you this first in the faculty of assent. Can
any one restrain you from assenting to truth??"No one."?Can anyone compel you to admit a
falsehood??"No one."?You see, then, that you have in this topic a choice incapable of being
restrained or compelled or hindered. AV'ell, is it any otherwise with regard to pursuit and
desire? What can conquer one pursuit?? "Another pursuit."?What desire and aversion ?? "Another
desire and another aversion." If you set death before me (say you) you compel me. No ; not what
is set before you doth it, but your principle, that it is better to do such or such a thing
than to die. Here, again, you see it is your own principle which compels you?that is, choice
compels choice. For, if God had constituted that portion which He hath separated from His own
offence and given to us, capable of being restrained or compelled, either by Himself or by any
other. He would not have been God, nor have taken care of us in a due manner. E. D. i. 17, 2.
115
APRIL 25
OUR life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage. M. A. ii. 15. THOU hast taken
ship, thou hast sailed, thouart come to land : go out, if to another life, there also shalt
thou find gods, who are every- where. If all life and sense shall cease, then shalt thou cease
also to be subject to either pains, or pleasures. M. A. iii. 4. THE art of true living in this
world, is morelike a wrestler's than a dancer's practice. For in this they both agree, to teach
a man, whatsoever falls upon him, that he may be ready for it, and that nothing may cast him
down. M. A. vii. 33. 116
APRIL 26
TS anyone preferred before you at an entertain- -*- ment, or in a compliment,
or in being admitted to a consultation ? If these things are good, you ought to rejoice that he
hath got them ; and if they are evil, do not be grieved that you have not got them. And
remember that you cannot, without using the same means to acquire things not in our own power,
expect to be thought worthy of an equal share of them. For how can he who doth not frequent the
door of any man, doth not attend him, doth not praise him, have an equal share with him who
doth? You are unjust, then, and insatiable, if you are unwilling to pay the price for which
these things are sold, and would have them for nothing, E. M. 25. 117
APRIL 27
FOR how much are lettuces sold ? A half-penny, for instance. If another,
then, paying a halfpenny, takes the lettuces, and you, not pay- ing it, go without them, do not
imagine that he hath gained any advantage over you. For as he hath the lettuces, so you have
the halfpenny which you did not give. So, in the present case, you have not been invited to
such a person's enter- tainment, because you have not paid him the price for which a supper is
sold. It is sold for praise ; it is sold for attendance. Give him then the value, if it be for
your advantage. But if you would, at the same time, not pay the one and yet receive the other,
you are insatiable, and a block- head. Have you nothing, then, instead of the supper ? Yes,
indeed, you have : the not praising him, whom you do not like to praise ; the not bearing with
his behaviour at coming in. E. M. 25. 118
APRIL 28
WHEN we are invited to an entertainment, wetake what we find ; and if anyone
should bid the master of the house set fish or tarts before him, he would be thought absurd.
Yet, in the world, we ask the gods for what they do not give us, and that though they have
given us so many things. E. FR. 12, IN every feast remember that there are two guests to be
entertained, the body and the soul ; and that what you give the body you pre- sently lose, but
what you give the soul remains for ever. E. FR. 27. AGRIPPINUS, when Florus was considering
whether he should go to Nero's shows, so as to perform some part in them himself, bid him go. ?
" But why do not you go then ? " says Florus. " Because," replied Agrippinus, " I do not
deliber- ate about it." For he who once sets himself about such considerations, and goes to
calculating the worth of external things, approaches very near to those who forget their own
character. E. D. i. 2, 3. 119
APRIL 29
IT would be best if, both while you are person- ally making your
preparations, and while you are feasting at table, you could give among the servants part of
what is before you. But, if such a thing be difficult at that time, remember that you, who are
not weary, are attended by those who are ; you, who are eating and drinking, by those who are
not ; you, who are talking, by those who are silent ; you, who are at ease, by those who are
under constraint ; and thus you will never be heated into any unreasonable passion yourself,
nor do any mischief by provoking an- other. E. FR. 30. I 20
APRIL 30
WHEN a person inquired, how any one mighteat acceptably to the gods: If he
eats with justice, says Epictetus, and gratitude, and fairly and temperately and decently, must
he not also eat acceptably to the gods? And when you call for hot water, and your servant doth
not hear you, or, if he doth, brings it only warm ; or per- haps is not to be found at home ;
then not to be angry, or burst with passion, is not this acceptable to the gods ? E. D. i. 13,
I. IN the mind that is once truly disciplined and purged, thou canst not find anything, either
foul or impure, or as it were festered : nothing that is either servile, or affected : no
partial tie ; no malicious averseness ; nothing obnoxious ; no- thing concealed. The life of
such an one. Death can never surprise as imperfect ; as of an Actor, that should die before he
had ended, or the play itself were at an end, a man might speak. M. A. iii. 9.
MAY 1
IN parties of conversation, avoid a frequent and excessive mention of your
own actions and dangers. For, however agreeable it may be to yourself to mention the risks you
have run, it is not equally agreeable to others to hear your ad- ventures. Avoid, likewise, an
endeavour to excite laughter. For this is a slippery point, which may throw you into vulgar
manners, and, besides, may be apt to lessen you in the esteem of your ac- quaintance.
Approaches to indecent discourse are likewise dangerous. Whenever, therefore, any- thing of
this sort happens, if there be a proper opportunity, rebuke him who makes advances that way ;
or, at least, by silence and blushing and a forbidding look, show yourself to be displeased by
such talk. E. M. 33. 122
MAY 2
I MAY be at a loss, perhaps, to give a reason how sensation is performed ;
whether it be diffused universally, or reside in a particular part ; for I tind difficulties
that shock me in each case ; but, that you and I are not the same person, I very exactly know.
How so? Why, I never, when I have a mind to swallow anything, carry it to your mouth, but my
own. I never, when I wanted to take a loaf, took a brush ; but went directly to the loaf, as
fit to answer my purpose. And do you yourselves, who deny all evidence of the senses, act any
otherwise ? Who of you, when he intended to go into a bath, ever went into a mill ? E. D. i.
27, 2. 123
MAY 3
WHAT are you doing, man ? You contradictyourself every day, and yet you will
not give up these paltry cavils. When you eat, where do you carry your hand? To your mouth, or
to your eye? When you bathe, where do you go? Do you ever call a kettle a dish ; or a spoon a
spit ? If I were a servant to one of these gentlemen, were it at the hazard of being flayed
every day, I would plague him. "Throw some oil into the bath, boy." I would take pickle and
pour upon his head. "What is this?" Really, sir, an appear- ance struck me so perfectly alike,
as not to be distinguished from oil. "Give me the soup." I would carry him a dish full of
vinegar. " Did not I ask for the soup ? " Yes, sir, this is the soup. " Is not this vinegar? "
Why so, more than soup? "Take it and smell to it; take it and taste it." How do you know, then,
but our senses deceive us? If I had three or four fellow-servants to join with me, I would make
him either choke with passion and burst, or change his opinions. But now they insult us by
making use of the gifts of nature, while in words they destroy them. Grateful and modest men,
truly ! E. D. ii. 20, 6. 124
MAY 4
MY friend HeracHtus, in a trifling suit abouta little estate at Rhodes, after
having proved to the judges that his cause was good, vi'hen he came to the conclusion of his
speech, " I will not entreat you," says he, " nor care what judgment you give : for it is
rather you who are to be judged than I." And thus he lost his suit. What need was there of this
? Be content not to entreat : do not tell them, too, that you will not entreat, unless it be a
proper time to provoke the judges de- signedly, as in the case of Socrates. But if you too are
preparing such a speech, what do you wait for? Why do you submit to be tried? For if you wish
to be hanged, have patience, and the gibbet will come. But if you choose rather to submit, and
make your defence as well as you can, all the rest is to be ordered accordingly : with a due
regard, however, to the preservation of your own character. E. D. ii. 2, 3. 125
MAY 5
WHEN children come to us clapping theirhands and saying: "To-morrow is the
good feast of Saturn," do we tell them that good doth not consist in such things ? By no means
: but we clap our hands along with them. Thus, when you are unable to convince anyone, con-
sider him as a child, and clap your hands with him ; or if you will not do that, at least hold
your tongue. E. D. i. 29, 5. I ONCE saw a person weeping and embracing the knees of
Epaphroditus, and deploring his hard fortune that he had not ^^50,000 left. What said
Epaphroditus, then? Did he laugh at him, as we should do ? No ; but cried out with as-
tonishment : " Poor man ! How could you be silent ? How could you bear it ? " E. D. i. 26, 2.
T26
MAY 6
ONLY give any of us that you please someilliterate person for an antagonist,
and he will not find out how to treat him. But when he hath a little moved the man, if he
happens to answer beside the purpose, he knows not how to deal with him any further; but either
reviles or laughs at him, and says, "He is an illiterate fel- low; there is no making anything
of him." Yet a guide, when he perceives his charge going out of the way, doth not revile and
ridicule and then leave him ; but leads him into the right path. Do you also show your
antagonist the truth, and you will see that he will follow. But till you do show it, do not
ridicule him ; but rather be sen- sible of your own incapacity. E. D. ii. 12, I. 127
MAY 7
WILL this querulousness, this murmuring,this complaining and dissembling
never be at an end? What, then, is it that troubleth thee? Doth any new thing happen unto thee?
What dost thou so wonder at ? At the cause, or the matter? Behold either by itself, is either
of that weight and moment indeed? And besides these, there is not anything. But thy duty to-
wards the 'gods also, it is time that thou shouldst acquit thyself of it with more goodness and
sim- plicity. M. A. ix. 35. MANY of those things that trouble and straighten thee, it is in thy
power to cut off, as wholly depending from mere conceit and opinion, and then thou shalt have
room enough. M. A. ix. 3. 128
MAV 8
T TSE thyself even unto those things that thou^ dost at first despair of. For
the left hand we see, which for the most part lieth idle because not used ; yet doth it hold
the bridle with more strength than the right, because it hath been used unto it. M. A. xii. 5.
"O EMEMBER that you are an actor in a drama,J-^ of such a kind as the author pleases to make
it. If short, of a short one ; if long, of a long one. If it be his pleasure you should act a
poor man, a cripple, a governor, or a private person, see that you act it naturally. For this
is your business, to act well the character assigned you ; to choose it, is another's. E. M.
17. 129
MAY 9
WHAT, then, would anybody have you dress yourself out to the utmost? By no
means, except in those things where our nature requires it; in reason, principles, actions;
but, in our persons, only as far as neatness, as far as not to give offence. But if you hear
that it is not right to wear purple, you must go, I suppose, and roll your cloak in the mud, or
tear it.?"But where should I have a fine cloak?"?You have water, man ; wash it. " What an
amiable youth is here ! How worthy this old man to love and be loved ! " ?A fit person to be
trusted with the instruction of our sons and daughters, and attended by young people, as
occasion may require?to read them lectures on a dunghill ! Every deviation pro- ceeds from
something human, but this approaches very nearly towards being not human. E. D. iv. II, 5. 130
MAY 10
DO you think you deserve to have an unpleasantodour ? Be it so. But do those
deserve to suffer by it who sit near you, who are placed at table with you, who salute you ?
Either go into a desert, as you deserve, or live solitary at home, and smell yourself; for it
is fit you should enjoy your nasti- ness alone. But to what sort of character doth it belong to
live in a city, and behave so carelessly and inconsiderately ? If nature had trusted even a
horse to your care, would you have overlooked and neglected him ? Now, consider your body as
committed to you instead of a horse. Wash it, rub it, take care that it may not be anyone's
aversion, nor disgust anyone. Who is not more disgusted at a stinking, unwholesome-looking
sloven, than at a person who hath been rolled in filth ? The stench of the one is adventitious
from without, but that which arises from want of care is a kind of inward putrefaction. E. D.
iv. II, 3.
MAY 11
DO not say to what excels, Who are you? Ifyou do, it will, somehow or other,
find a voice to tell you, " I am like the purple thread in a garment. Do not expect me to be
like the rest, or find fault with my nature, which hath distin- guished me from others." What
then, am I such a one ? How should I ? Indeed, are you such a one as to be able to hear the
truth ? I wish you were. But, however, since I am condemned to wear a grey beard and a cloak,
and you come to me as to a philosopher, I will not treat you cruelly, nor as if I despaired of
you, but will ask you?Whom is it, young man, whom you would render beautiful ? Know first who
you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly. You are a man ; that is, a mortal animal, capable
of a rational use of the appearances of things. And what is this rational use? A perfect
conformity to nature. What have you then particularly excellent ? Is it the animal part? No.
The mortal? No. That which is capable of the use of the appearances of things? No. The
excellence lies in the rational part. Adorn and beautify this, but leave your hair to him who
formed it, as he thought good. E. D. iii. I, 4, 5. 132
MAY 12
T F you would have your house securely inhabited, J- imitate the Spartan
Lycurgus. And as he did not enclose his city with walls, but fortified the inhabitants with
virtue, and preserved the city always free, so you do likewise ; not surround yourself with a
great courtyard, nor raise high towers, but strengthen those that live with you by benevolence
and fidelity and friendship. And thus nothing hurtful will enter, even if the whole band of
wickedness was set in array against it. E. FR. 40. ''jPHERE is nothing more shameful than per-
J- fidious friendship. M. A. xi. 7. T_T E is the master of every other person who J- J- is able
to confer or remove whatever that person wishes to have or to avoid. Whoever then would be
free, let him wish nothing, let him decline nothing, which depends on others, else he must
necessarily be a slave. E. M. 14. 133
MAY 13
REMEMBER that you must behave in life as at an entertainment. Is anything
brought round to you? Put out your hand and take your share with moderation. Doth it pass by
you ? Do not stop it. Is it not yet come ? Do not stretch forth your desire towards it, but
wait till it reaches you. E. M. 15. LET death and exile, and all other things which appear
terrible, be daily before your eyes, but chiefly death, and you will never entertain any abject
thought, nor too eagerly covet anything. E. M. 21. AT a feast, to choose the largest share is
verysuitable to the bodily appetite, but utterly inconsistent with the social spirit of an
entertain- ment. When you eat with another, then, remem- ber not only the value of those things
which are set before you to the body, but the value of that behaviour which ought to be
observed towards the person who gives the entertainment. E. M. 36. 134
MAY 14
WHO is it that hath fitted the sword to the scabbard, and the scabbard to the
sword? Is it no one ? From the very construction of a complete work, we are used to declare
positively, that it must be the operation of some artificer, and not the effect of mere chance.
Doth every such work, then, demonstrate an artificer; and do not visible objects, and the sense
of seeing, and Light, demonstrate one ? E. D. i. 6, 2. SEE the practice of those who play
skilfully atball. No one contends for the ball, as either a good or an evil ; but how he may
throw and catch it again. Here lies the address, here the art, the nimbleness, the sagacity ;
that I may not be able to catch it, even if I hold up my lap for it ; another may catch it
whenever I throw it. But if we catch or throw it with fear or perturbation, what kind of play
will this be? How shall we keep our- selves steady ; or how see the order of the game ? One
will say, Throw ; another. Do not throw ; a third. You have thrown once already. This is a mere
quarrel, not a play. E. D. ii. 5, 3. 135
MAY 15
IS freedom anything else than the power of living as we like ? Nothing else.
Well tell me, then, do you like to live in error ? We do not. No one, sure, that lives in error
is free. Do you like to live in fear? Do you like to live in sorrow? Do you like to live in
perturbation? By no means. No one, therefore, in a state of fear, or sorrow, or perturbation,
is free ; but whoever is delivered from sorrow, fear, and perturbation, by the same means is
delivered likewise from slavery. E. D. ii. I, 4. 136
MAY 16
I WOULD be the purple, that small and shining thing, which gives a lustre and
beauty to the rest. E. D. i. 2, 3. F OR as for him who is the Administrator of all,he will make
good use of thee whether thou wilt or no, and make thee (as a part and member of the whole) so
to co-operate with him, that what- soever thou doest, shall turn to the furtherance of his own
counsels, and resolutions. But be not thou for shame such a part of the whole, as that vile and
ridiculous verse (which Chrysippus in a place doth mention) is a part of the Comedy. M. A. vi.
37. T)AY in, before you are called upon, what is due A to the public, and you will never be
asked for what is^not due. E. FR. 72. 137
MAY 17
pRISCUS HELVIDIUS, when Vespasian hadJ- sent to forbid his going to the
senate, an- swered, "It is in your power to prevent my con- tinuing a senator; but while I am
one, I must go." ? "Well then, at least be silent there."?" Do not ask my opinion, and I will
be silent."?" But I must ask it."?" And I must speak what appears to me to be right."? " But if
you do, I will put you to death."?" Did I ever tell you that I was im- mortal ? You will do
your part, and I mine : It is yours to kill, and mine to die intrepid ; yours to banish me,
mine to depart untroubled." What good, then, did Priscus do, who was but a single person ? Why
what good does the purple do to the garment? What but the being a shining character in himself,
and setting a good example to others? Another, perhaps, if in such circum- stances Caesar had
forbidden his going to the senate, would have answered, " I am obliged to you for excusing me."
But such a one he would not have forbidden to go, well knowing that he would either sit like a
statue, or, if he spoke, he would say what he knew to be agreeable to C^sar, and would overdo
it by adding still more. E. V. i. 2, 4, 5. 138
MAY 18
DIOGENES used to say, "Ever since Antis- thenes made me free, I have ceased
to be a slave." How did he make him free? Hear what he says. " He taught me what was my own,
and what not. An estate is not my own. Kindred, domestics, friends, reputation, familiar
places, manner of life, all belong to another." " What is your own, then ?" "The use of the
appearances of things. He showed me that I have this, not subject to restraint or compulsion ;
no one can hinder or force me to use them any otherwise than I please. Who, then, after this,
hath any power over me? Philip, or Alexander, or Perdiccas, or the Persian king ? Whence should
they have it ? For he that is to be subdued by man must, long before, be subdued by things. He,
therefore, of whom neither pleasure nor pain, nor fame nor riches, can get the better, and who
is able, when- ever he thinks fit, to throw away his whole body with contempt, and depart,
whose slave can he ever be ? " E. D. iii. 23, 4. 139
MAY 19
WE will allow those creatures only to be freewho do not endure captivity ;
but, as soon as they are taken, die, and escape. Thus Diogenes somewhere says, that the only
way to freedom is to die with ease. And he writes to the Persian king, " You can no more
enslave the Athenians than you can fish."?"How? What, shall not I take them ? "?" If you do
take them," says he, " they will leave you, and be gone like fish. For take a fish, and it
dies. And, if the Athenians too die as soon as you have taken them, of what use are your
warlike preparations ? " This is the voice of a free man, who had examined the matter in
earnest, and, as it might be expected, found it out. But, if you seek it where it is not, what
wonder if you never find it? E. D. iv. I, 6. 140
MAY 20
CEASE to make yourselves slaves, first of things, and then upon their
account, of the men who have the power either to bestow or take them away. Is there any
advantage then to be gained from these men? From all, even from a reviler. What advantage doth
a wrestler gain from him with whom he exercises himself, before the combat? The greatest. Why,
just in the same manner I exercise myself with this man. He exercises me in patience, in
gentleness, in meekness. Is my neighbour a bad one? He is so to himself; but a good one to me.
He exer- cises my good temper, my moderation. Is my father bad? To himself, but not to me.
"This is the rod of Hermes. Touch with it whatever you please, and it will become gold." No ;
but bring whatever you please, and I will turn it into good. Bring sickness, death, want,
reproach, capital trial. All these, by the rod of Hermes, shall turn to advantage. E. D. iii.
20, 1. 141
MAY 21
FREEDOM is the name of virtue ; and slavery,of vice. N^ E. F. 7. one is free,
who doth not command mself. E. F. 109. AA /"HAT is wickedness? It is that which many ^ * times
and often thou hast already seen and known in the world. And so oft as anything doth happen
that might otherwise trouble thee, let this memento presently come to thy mind, that it is that
which thou hast already often seen and known. Generally, above and below, thou shalt find but
the same things. The very same things whereof ancient stories, middle-age stories, and fresh
stories are full : whereof towns are full, and houses full. There is nothing that is new. All
things that are, are both usual and of little con- tinuance. M. A. ii. I. 142
MAY 22
THE man who is unrestrained, who hath all things in his power as he wills, is
free ; but he who may be restrained, or compelled, or hin- dered, or thrown into any condition
against his will, is a slave. "And who is unrestrained?"? He that desires none of those things
that belong to others. "And what are those things which belong to others?"?Those which are not
in our own power, either to have or not to have. E. D. iv. I, 14. THE things themselves (which
either to get orto avoid thou art put to so much trouble) come not unto thee themselves ; but
thou in a manner goest unto them. Let then thine own judgment and opinion concerning those
things be at rest ; and as for the things themselves, they stand still and quiet, without any
noise or stir at all ; and so shall all pursuing and flying cease. M. A. xi. lo. M3
MAY 23
HE is free who lives as he likes ; who is not subject either to compulsion,
to restraint, or to violence ; whose pursuits are unhindered, his desires successful, his
aversions unincurred. Who, then, would wish to lead a wrong course of life ? ? " No one." Who
would live deceived, prone to mistake, unjust, dissolute, discontented, dejected ? ?"No one."
No wicked man, then, lives as he likes ; therefore neither is he free. And who would live in
sorrow, fear, envy, pity ; with dis- appointed desires, and incurred aversions ?^" No one." Do
we then find any of the wicked ex- empt from sorrow, fear, disappointed desires, incurred
aversions??"Not one." Consequently, then, not free. E. D. iv. I, I. 144
MAY 24
STUDY these points, these principles, thesediscourses, contemplate these
examples, if you would be free, if you desire the thing in proportion to its value. And where
is the wonder that you should purchase so great a thing at the price of others, so many, and so
great ? Some hang them- selves, others break their necks, and sometimes even whole cities have
been destroyed, for that which is reputed freedom ; and will not you, for the sake of the true
and secure and inviolable freedom, repay God what He hath given when He demands it? Will you
not study, not only as Plato says, to die, but to be tortured and banished and scourged, and,
in short, to give up all that belongs to others? If not, you will be a slave among slaves,
though you were ten thousand times a consul ; and, even though you should rise to the palace,
you will be nevertheless so. And you will feel that though philosophers (as Cleanthes says) do,
perhaps, talk contrary to common opinion, yet not contrary to reason. For you will find it
true, in fact, that the things that are eagerly followed and admired are of no use to those who
have gained them ; while they who have not yet gained them imagine that, if they are acquired,
every good will come along with them ; and then, when they are acquired, there is the same
feverishness, the same agitation, the same nauseating, and the same desire of what is absent.
E. D. iv. I, 19. K 145
MAY 25
BUT the tyrant will chain ?what??A leg.?He will take away?what ??A head.?What
is there, then, that he can neither chain nor take away??The will and choice. Hence the advice
of the ancients?Know thyself. E. D. i. 18, 2. SUPPOSE that at the Palaestra somebody hath all
torn thee with his nails, and hath broken thy head. Well, thou art wounded. Yet thou dost not
exclaim ; thou art not offended with him. Thou dost not suspect him for it afterwards, as one
that watched to do thee a mischief. Yea, even then, though thou doest thy best to save thyself
from him, yet not from him as an enemy. It is not by way of any suspicious indignation, but by
way of gentle and friendly declination. Keep the same mind and disposition in other parts of
thy life also. For many things there be, which we must conceive and apprehend, as though we had
had to do with an antagonist at the Palsestra. For as I said, it is very possible for us to
avoid and decline, though we neither suspect, nor hate. M. A. vi. 19. 146
MAY 26
WHAT, then ! do you philosophers teach usa contempt of kings? By no means.
Who of us teaches anyone to contend with them about things of which they have the command? Take
my body, take my possessions, take my reputation, take those who are about me. If I persuade anyone to contend for these things in his own, accuse me with
justice.?"Ay, but I would command your prin- ciples too."?And who hath given you that power
? How can you conquer the principle of another?? By applying terror I will conquer it.?Do
not you see that what conquers itself is not conquered by another? And nothing but itself
can conquer the choice. Hence, too, the most excellent and equit- able love of God, that
the better should always prove superior to the worse. E. D. i. 29, 2. 147
MAY 27
GOD says, " If you wish for good, receive it from yourself." You say. No
; but from another. ? "Nay; but from yourself." In consequence of this, when a tyrant
threatens and sends for me ; I say. Against what is your threatening pointed? If he says, "
I will chain you " ; I answer, It is my hands and feet that you threaten. If he says, " I
will cut off your head " ; I answer, It is my head that you threaten. If he says, " I will
throw you into prison "; I answer. It is the whole of this paltry body that you threaten :
and, if he threatens banishment, just the same. Doth not he threaten you, then ? If I am
persuaded that these things are nothing to me, he doth not ; but, if I fear any of them, it
is me that he threatens. Whom, after all, is it that I fear? The master of what? Of things
in my own power? Of these no one is the master. Of things not in my power? And what are
these to me ? E. D. i. 29, I. 148
MAY 28
THEY kill me, they cut my flesh : they perse-cute my person with curses.
What then ? May not thy mind for all this continue pure, prudent, temperate, just? As a
fountain of sweet and clear water, though she be cursed by some stander by, yet do her
springs nevertheless still run as sweet and clear as before ; yea though either dirt or
dung be thrown in, yet is it no sooner thrown, than dispersed, and she cleared. She cannot
be dyed or, infected by it. What then must I do, that I may have within myself an
overflowing fountain, and not a well ? Beget thyself by continual pains and endeavours to
true liberty with charity, and true simplicity and modesty. M. A. viii. 50. 149
MAY 29
AS one that tosseth up a ball. And what is aball the better, if the
motion of it be upwards ; or the worse if it be downwards ; or if it chance to fall upon
the ground ? So for the bubble ; if it continue, what is it the better? And if it dis-
solve, what is it the worse? And so is it of a candle too. And so must thou reason with
thy- self, both in matter of fame, and in matter of death. For as for the body itself, (the
subject of death) wouldst thou know the vileness of it? Turn it about, that thou mayest
behold it the worst sides upwards as well, as in its more ordinary pleasant shape ; how
doth it look, when it is old and withered? when sick and pained? And as for fame. This life
is short. Both he that praiseth, and he that is praised ; he that remembers, and he that is
remembered, will soon be dust and ashes. Besides, it is but in one corner of this part of
the world that thou art praised ; and yet in this corner, thou hast not the joint praises
of all men ; no nor scarce of anyone constantly. And yet the whole earth itself, what is it
but as one point, in regard of the whole world? M. A. viii. 19. J 50
MAY 30
AS for thy life, consider what it is ; a wind ; notone constant wind
neither, but every moment of an hour let out, and sucked in again. The third, is thy ruling
part ; and here consider ; Thou art an old man ; suffer not that excellent part to be
brought in subjection, and to become slavish : suffer it not to be drawn up and down with
unreasonable and unsociable lusts and motions, as it were with wires and nerves ; suffer it
not any more, either to repine at anything now present, or to fear and fly any- thing to
come, which the Destiny hath appointed thee. E. D. i. 16.1 ^i
MAY 31
WHAT is it to bear a fever well? Not toblame either God or man, not to be
afflicted at what happens ; to expect death in a right and becoming manner, and to do what
is to be done. When the physician enters, not to dread what he may say ; nor, if he should
tell you that you are in a fair way to be too much rejoiced ; for what good hath he told
you ? When you were in health, what good did it do you? Not to be dejected when he tells
you that you are very ill ; for what is it to be very ill ? To be near the separation of
soul and body. What harm is there in this, then ? If you are not near it now, will you not
be near it hereafter? What, will the world be quite overset when you die? E. D. iii. 10.
1^2
JUNE 1
BUT what says God? " O Epictetus, if it were possible, I had made this
little body and property of thine free, and not liable to hindrance. But now do not mistake
: it is not thine own, but only a finer mixture of clay. Since, then, I could not give thee
this, I have given thee a certain por- tion of myself: this faculty of e.xerting the powers
or pursuit and avoidance, of desire and aversion ; and, in a word, the use of the
appearances of things. Taking care of this point, and making what is thy own to consist in
this, thou wilt never be restrained, never be hindered ; thou wilt not groan, wilt not
complain, wilt not flatter anyone. How then ! Do all these advantages seem small to thee?"
Heaven forbid! "Let them suffice thee then, and thank the gods." E. D. i. 1, 3. '53
JUNE 2
BOLDLY make a desperate push, man, as the saying is, for prosperity, for
freedom, for magnanimity. Lift up your head at last, as free from slavery. Dare to look up
to God and say, " Make use of me for the future as Thou wilt. I am of the same mind ; I am
equal with Thee. I refuse nothing which seems good to Thee. Lead me whither Thou wilt.
Clothe me in whatever dress Thou wilt. Is it Thy will, that I should be in a public or a
private condition, dwell here or be banished, be poor or rich ? Under all these
circumstances I will make Thy defence to men. I will show what the nature of everything
is." No. Rather sit alone in a warm place, and wait till your mamma comes to feed you. E.
D. ii. i6, 4. '54
JUNE 3
T F Hercules had sat loitering at home, what -?- would he have been ?
Eurystheus, and not Hercules. Besides, by travelling through the world, how many
acquaintance and how many friends had he ? But none more his friend than God, for which
reason he was believed to be the son of God, and was so. In obedience to Him, he went about
extirpating injustice and lawless force. But you are not Hercules, nor able to extirpate
the evils of others ; nor even Theseus to extirpate the evils of Attica. Extirpate your
own, then. Expel, instead of Procrustes and Sciron, grief, fear, desire, envy, malevolence,
avarice, effeminacy, in- temperance, from your mind. But these can be no otherwise expelled
than by looking up to God alone as your pattern ; by attaching yourself to Him alone, and
being consecrated to His com- mands. If you wish for anything else, you will, with sighs
and groans, follow what is stronger than you, always seeking prosperity without, and never
able to find it. For you seek it where it is not, and neglect to seek it where it is. E. D.
ii. i6, 4. 155
JUNE 4
WHAT is by nature free, cannot be disturbedor restrained by anything but
itself. But its own principles disturb it. Thus, when the tyrant says to anyone : " I will
chain your leg " : he who values his leg, cries out for pity : while he who sets the value
on his own will and choice, says : " If you imagine it for your interest, chain it." ? "
What ! do not you care ? " ?No ; I do not care.? " I will show you that I am master."?You ?
How should you ? God has set me free. What ! do you think He would suffer His own son to be
enslaved ? You are master of my carcase. Take it.? " So that when you come into my
presence, you pay no regard to me ? " ?No ; but to myself. E. D. i. 19, 2. 156
JUNE 5
WHAT is our nature ?To be free, noble-spirited, modest. (For what other
animal blushes ? What other hath the idea of shame ?) But pleasure must be subjected to
these, as an attendant and handmaid, to call forth our activity and to keep us constant in
natural operations. But I am rich and want nothing. Then why do you pretend to
philosophize? Your gold and silver plate is enough for you. What need have you of
principles ? Besides, I am judge of the Greeks. Do you know how to judge ? Who hath im-
parted this knowledge to you ? Cffisar hath given me a commission. Let him give you a
commission to judge of music; and what good will it do you? But how were you made a judge ?
Whose hand have you kissed ? Before whose bed-chamber have you slept? To whom have you sent
presents? But I can throw whom I please into prison. As you may a stone. But I can beat
whom I will too. As you may an ass. This is not a government of men. E. D. iii. 7, I. 157
JUNE 6
DO not you know that freedom is a verybeautiful and valuable thing? But
for me to choose at random, and for things to happen agreeably to such a choice, may be so
far from a beautiful thing as to be, of all others, the most shocking. For how do we
proceed in writing? Do I choose to write the name of Dion (for in- stance) as I will ? No ;
but I am taught to be willing to write it as it ought to be writ. And what is the case in
music? The same. And what in every other art or science? Otherwise, it would be to no
purpose to learn anything, if it was to be adapted to each one's particular humour. Is it,
then, only in the greatest and principal point, that of freedom, permitted me to will at
random ? By no means, but true instruction is this : learning to will that things should
happen as they do. And how do they happen ? As the appointer of them hath appointed. He
hath appointed that there should be summer and winter, plenty and dearth, virtue and vice,
and all such contrarieties, for the harmony of the whole. To each of us he hath given a
body and its parts, and our several pro- perties and companions. Mindful of this appoint-
ment, we should enter upon a course of education and instruction not to change the
constitutions of things, which is neither put within our reach nor for our good ; but that,
being as they are, and as their nature is with regard to us, we may have our mind
accommodated to what exists. E. D. 158
JUNE 7
A^T'HAT makes a tyrant formidable? His * guards, say you, and their
swords; they who belong to the bedchamber, and they who shut out those who would go in.
VVhat is the reason, then, that, if you bring a child to him when he is surrounded by his
guards, it is not afraid ? Is it because the child doth not know what they mean ? Suppose,
then, that anyone doth know what is meant by guards, and that they are armed with swords,
and, for that very reason, comes in the tyrant's way, being desirous, on account of some
misfortune, to die, and seeking to die easily by the hand of another : doth such a man fear
the guards ? No ; for he wants the very thing that renders them formidable. Well, then, if
anyone without an absolute desire to live or die, but, as it may happen, comes in the way
of a tyrant, what restrains his approaching him without fear? Nothing. E. D. iv. 7, I. 159
JUNE 8
WHAT, then, must I at one time be calledto a trial ; must another at
another time be scorched by a fever ; another be exposed to the sea; another die; and
another be condemned? Yes ; for it is impossible, in such a body, in such a world, and
among such companions, but that some or other of us must fall into such cir- cumstances.
Your business, when you come into them, is to say what you ought, to order things as you
can. Then, says one, " I decide that you have acted unjustly." Much good may it do you ; I
have done my part. You are to look to it, whether you have done yours ; for there is some
danger of that too, let me tell you. E. D. ii. 5, 5. 160
JUNE 9
CONvSIDER, you who are going to take your trial, what you wish to
preserve, and in what to succeed. For if you wish to preserve a choice conformable to
nature, you are resting safe ; every- thing goes well ; you have no trouble on your hands.
While you wish to preserve what is in your own power, and which is naturally free, and are
contented with that, whom have you longer to care for ? For who is the master of things
like these? Who can take them away.'' If you wish to be a man of honour and fidelity, who
shall prevent you ? If you wish not to be restrained or compelled, who shall compel you to
desires contrary to your principles ; to aver- sions contrary to your opinion ? The judge,
perhaps, will pass a sentence against you which he thinks formidable : but how can he
likewise make you receive it with aversion ? Since, then, desire and aversion are in your
own power, what have you else to care for? Let this be your introduction, this your
narration, this your proof, this your victory, this your conclusion, and this your
applause. E. D. ii. 2, I. t6i
JUNE 10
BUT he who hath the power hath given sen-tence. " I judge you to be
impious and profane." What hath befallen you ?? I have been judged to be impious and
profane. Anything else ? ? Nothing. Suppose he had passed his judgment upon an hypothetical
proposition, and pronounced it to be a false conclusion, that if it be day it is light ;
what would have befallen the proposition ? In this case who is judged ; who condemned ; the
proposition, or he who is deceived concerning it? Doth he, who hath the power of
pronouncing anything concerning you, know what pious or impious mean ? Hath he made it his
study, or learned it ? Where ? From whom? A musician would not regard him if he pronounced
bass to be treble : nor a mathe- matician, if he passed sentence that lines drawn from the
centre to the circle are not equal. And shall he, who is truly learned, regard an unlearned
man, when he pronounces upon pious and im- pious, just and unjust? E. D. i. 29, 7. 162
JUNE 11
\ A /"HEN you are going to any one of the great, * * remember there is
another, who sees from above what passes ; and whom you ought to please rather than man. He
therefore asks you : In the school, what did you use to call exile, and prison, and chains,
and death, and defamation? I ? Indifferent things. What, then, do you call them now? Are
they at all changed ??No. Are you changed, then ??No. Tell me, then, what things are
indifferent. Things independent on choice. Tell me the consequence too. Things independent
on choice, are nothing to me. Tell me, likewise, what appeared to us to be the good of man.
A right choice and a right use of the appear- ances of things, What his end ? To follow
thee. Do you say the same things now, too ? Yes, I do say the same things, even now. Well,
go in, then, boldly, and mindful of these things : and you will see what a youth, who hath
studied what he ought, is among men who have not. I protest, I imagine you will have such
thoughts as these : " Why do we provide so many and great qualifications for nothing ? Is
the power, the antechamber, the attendants, the guards, no more than this ? Is it for these
that I have listened to so many dissertations? These are nothing : and I had qualified
myself as for some great encounter." E. D. i. 30. 163
JUNE 12
WHENEVER you see any one subject toanother, and flattering him, contrary
to his own opinion, confidently say that he too is not free ; and not only if he doth it
for a supper, but even if it be for a government, nay, a consul- ship ; but call those
indeed little slaves who act thus for the sake of little things, and the others, as they
deserve, great slaves.? "Be this, too, agreed." Well, do you think freedom to be some-
thing independent and self-determined??"How can it be otherwise .'^ " Him, then, whom it is
in the power of another to restrain or to compel, affirm confidently to be not free. And do
not mind his grandfathers, or great-grandfathers, or inquire whether he hath been bought or
sold ; but if you hear him say from his heart, and with emotion, My master, though twelve
lictors should march before him, call him a slave. And if you should hear him say. Wretch
that I am, what do I suffer I call him a slave. In short, if you see him wailing,
complaining, unprosperous, call him a slave in purple. " Suppose, then, he doth nothing of
all this ? " ?Do not yet say he is free, but learn whether his principles are liable to
com- pulsion, to restraint, or disappointment, and, if you find this to be the case, call
him a slave keeping holiday during the Saturnalia. Say that his master is abroad : he will
come presently, and you will know what he suffers. " Who will come ? " ?Whoever hath the
power either of bestowing or taking away any of the things he wishes for. E. D. iv. I. lo.
164
JUNE 13
A RE you free yourself, then? (it will be said). ^^ By heaven, I wish and
pray for it. But I cannot yet face my masters. I still pay a regard to my body, and set a
great value on keeping it whole, though at the same time it is not whole. But I can show
you one who was free, that you may no longer seek an example. Diogenes was free.?"How so?"
Not because he was of free parents, for he was not ; but because he was so himself, because
he had cast away all the handles of slavery, nor was there any way of getting at him, nor
anywhere to lay hold on him to enslave him. Everything sat loose upon him, everything only
just hung on. If you took hold on his posses- sions, he would rather let them go than
follow you for them ; if on his leg, he let go his leg ; if his body, he let go his body ;
acquaintance, friends, country, just the same. For he knew whence he had them, and from
whom and upon what conditions he received them. But he would never have forsaken his true
parents the gods, and his real country, nor have suffered anyone to be more dutiful and
obedient to them than he ; nor would anyone have died more readily for his country than he.
E. D. iv. 1, 17. X65
JUNE 14
S' PEAK the truth, slave, and do not run away from your masters, nor deny
them, nor dare to assert your freedom when you have so many proofs of your slavery. One
might indeed find some excuse for a person, compelled by love to do something contrary to
his opinion, even when at the same time he sees what is best and yet hath not resolution
enough to follow it, since he is with- held by something violent and, in some measure,
divine. But who can bear you, who are in love with old men and women ; and wipe their
noses, and wash them, and bribe them with presents, and wait upon them when they are sick
like a slave ; at the same time wishing they may die, and inquiring of the physician
whether their distemper be yet mortal? And again, when for these great and venerable
magistracies and honours you kiss the hands of the slaves of others, so that you are the
slave of those who are not free themselves ! And then you walk about in state, a praetor,
or a consul. Do not I know how you came to be prjetor, whence you received the consulship,
who gave it you ? For my own part, I would not even live, if I must live by Felicio's
means, and bear his pride and slavish insolence. P'or I know what a slave is, blinded by
what he thinks good fortune. E. D. iv. I, 16. 166
JUNE 15
SAITH the Poet, "The winds blow upon the trees, and their leaves fall
upon the ground. Then do the trees begin to bud again, and by the springtime they put forth
new branches. So is the generation of men ; some come into the world, and others go out of
it." Of these leaves then thy Children are. And they also that applaud thee so gravely, or,
that applaud thy speeches, with that their usual acclamation, O wisely spoken ! and speak
well of thee, as on the other side, they that stick not to curse thee, they that privately
and secretly dispraise and deride thee, they also are but leaves. And they also that shall
follow, in whose memories the names of men famous after death, is preserved, they are but
leaves neither. For even so is it of all these worldly things. Their spring comes, and they
are put forth. Then blows the wind, and they go down. And then in lieu of them grow others
out of the common matter of all things, like unto them. But, to endure but for a while, is
common unto all. Why then shouldst thou so earnestly either seek after these things, or fly
from them, as though they should endure for ever? Yet a little while, and thine eyes will
be closed up, and for him that carries thee to thy grave shall another mourn within a while
after. M. A. X. 36. 167
JUNE 16
A GOOD man is invincible ; for he doth notcontend where he is not
superior. If you would have his land, take it ; take his servants, take his public post,
take his body. But you will never frustrate his desire, nor make him incur his aversion. He
engages in no combat but what concerns the objects of his own choice. How can he fail then
to be invincible? E. D. iii. 6, 2. MERE wisdom, perhaps, is not a sufificient qualification
for the care of youth. There ought to be likewise a certain readiness and aptitude for
this, and, indeed, a particular con- stitution of body ; and, above all, a counsel from God
to undertake this office. E. D. iii. 21, I. CHOOSE rather to have your children well
instructed than rich. Attributed to Epictetus. i68
JUNE 17
THAT meekness is a thing unconquerable, if it be true and natural, and
not affected, or hypocritical. For how shall even the most fierce and malicious that thou
shalt conceive, be able to hold on against thee, if thou shalt still continue meek and
loving unto him ; and that even at that time, when he is about to do thee wrong, thou shalt
be well disposed, and in good temper, with all meekness to teach him, and to instruct him
better? As for example; My son, we were not born for this, to hurt and annoy one another ;
It will be thy hurt not mine, my son ; and so to show him forcibly and fully, that it is so
in very deed : and that neither Bees do it to one another, nor any other creatures that are
naturally sociable. But this thou must do, not scoffingly, not by way of exprobration, but
tenderly without any harshness of words. Neither must thou do it by way of exer- cise, or
ostentation, that they that are by and hear thee, may admire thee : but so always that no-
body be privy to it, but himself alone : yea, though there be more present at the same
time. M. A. ix. 16. 169
JUNE 18
A MAN is carried to prison. What hathhappened? He is carried to prison.
That he is unhappy, is an addition that everyone makes of his own.?But Zeus doth not order
these things right. Why so? Because he hath made you patient? Because he hath made you
brave? Because he hath made them to be no evils? Because it is permitted you, while you
suffer them, to be happy? Because he hath opened you the door, whenever they do not suit
you? Go out, man, and do not complain. E. D. iii. 8, 2. BEING asked what common sense was,
he answered : As that may be called a common ear which distinguishes only sounds, but that
which distinguishes notes an artistic one ; so there are some things which men not totally
per- verted discern by their common natural powers ; and such a disposition is called
common sense. E. D. iii. 6, 3. 170
JUNE 19
AS the sun doth not wait for prayers and in-cantations to be prevailed on
to rise, but immediately shines forth, and is received with universal salutation : so,
neither do you wait for applauses and shouts and praises, in order to do good ; but be a
voluntary benefactor, and you will be beloved like the sun. E. FR. 83. WHEN it is our duty
to share the danger ofa friend or of our country, we ought not to consult the oracle
whether we shall share it with them or not. For, though the diviner should forewarn you
that the victims are unfavourable, this means no more than that either death or mutilation
or exile is portended. But we have reason within us, and it directs, even with these
hazards, to stand by our friend and our country. Attend, therefore, to the greater diviner,
the Pythian god, who cast out of the temple the person who gave no assistance to his friend
while another was murdering him. E. M. 32. 171
JUNE 20
THERE is not any man that is so happy in his death, but that some of
those that are by him when he dies, will be ready to rejoice at his supposed calamity. Is
it one that was virtuous and wise indeed? Will there not someone or other be found, who
thus will say to himself, Well now at last shall I be at rest from this Pedagogue ? He did
not indeed otherwise trouble us much ; but I know well enough that in his heart, he did
much condemn us. Thus will they speak of the virtuous. M. A. X. 36. r:)EMEMBER that all is
but opinion, and all '^ opinion depends of the mind. Take thine opinion away, and then as a
ship that hath stricken in within the arms and mouth of the harbour, a present calm ; all
things safe and steady ; a Bay, not capable of any storms and tempests : as the Poet hath
it. M. A. xii. 16. 172
JUNE 21
HE who is greedy of credit and reputation afterhis death, doth not
consider, that they them- selves by whom he is remembered, shall soon after every one of
them be dead : And they likewise that succeed those ; until at last all memory, which
hitherto by the succession of men admiring and soon after dying hath had its course, be
quite extinct. But suppose that both they that shall remember thee, and thy memory with
them should be immortal, what is that to thee ? I will not say to thee after thou art dead
? but even to thee living, what is thy praise? That which is fair and goodly, whatsoever it
be, and in what respect soever it be, that it is fair and goodly, it is so of itself, and
terminates in itself, not admitting praise as a part or member ; that therefore which is
praised, is not thereby made either better or worse. This I understand even of those
things, that are commonly called fair and good, as those which are commended either for the
matter itself, or for curious workmanship. As for that which is truly good, what can it
stand in need of more, than either Justice or Truth ; or more than either kind- ness and
modesty? Which of all those, either becomes good or fair, because commended ; or dispraised
suffers any damage? M. A. iv. 16. 173
JUNE 22
BUT the care of thine honour and reputationwill perchance distract thee.
How can that be, if thou dost look back, and consider both how quickly all things that are,
are forgotten, and what an immense chaos of eternity was before, and will follow after all
things : and the vanity of praise, and the inconstancy and variableness of human Judgments
and opinions, and the narrow- ness of the place, wherein it is limited and circum- scribed?
For the whole earth is but as one point ; and of it, this inhabited part of it, is but a
very little part ; and of this part, how many in number, and what manner of men are they,
that will commend thee? What remains then, but that thou often put in practice this kind of
retiring of thyself, to this little part of thyself; and above all things, keep thyself
from distraction, and in- tend not anything vehemently, but be free and consider all
things, as a man, whose proper object is virtue, as a man, whose true nature is to be kind
and sociable, as a Citizen, as a mortal creature. M. A. iv. 3. 174
JUNE 23
WHATSOEVER any man either doth or saith, thou must be good ; not for any
man's sake, but for thine own nature's sake. M. A. vii. 12. AFTER one consideration, man is
nearest unto us ; as we are bound to do them good, and to bear with them. But as he may
oppose any of our true proper actions, so man is unto me but as a thing indifferent : even
as the sun, or the wind, or some wild beast. By some of these it may be, that some
operation or other of mine, may be hindered ; however, of my mind and resolution itself,
there can be no let or impediment. M. A. V. 17. WE ought to do well by our friends when
theyare present, and speak well of them when they are absent. Attributed to Epictetus. 175
JUNE 24
WHAT is it that we must bestow our care anddiligence upon ? even upon
this only : That our minds and wills be just ; that our actions be charitable ; that our
speech be never deceitful, or that our understanding be not subject to error; that our
inclination be always set to embrace whatsoever shall happen unto us, as necessary, as
usual, as ordinary, as flowing from such a begin- ning, and such a fountain, from which
both thou thyself, and all things are. M. A. iv. 28. ENDEAVOUR to continue such, as
philosophy (hadst thou wholly and constantly applied thyself unto it) would have made and
secured thee. Worship the gods, procure the welfare of men, this life is short. Charitable
actions, and a holy disposition, is the only fruit of this mortal life. M. A. vi. 27. 176
JUNE 25
BE willing to approve yourself to yourself. Be willing to appear
beautiful in the sight of God : be desirous to converse in purity with your own pure mind,
and with God ; and then, if any such appearance strikes you, Plato directs you : " Have
recourse to expiations : go a suppliant to the temples of the averting deities." It is
sufficient, however, if you propose to yourself the example of wise and good men, whether
alive or dead ; and compare your conduct with theirs. E. D. ii. 18, 4. M 177
JUNE 26
BUT you set up for a physician, provided with nothing but medicines, and
without knowing, or having studied, where or how they are to be ap- pUed. "Why, such a one
had medicines for the eyes, and I have the same." Have you, then, a faculty too of making
use of them? Do you at all know when and how and to whom they will be of service? E. D.
iii. 21, I. HIPPOCRATES having cured many sicknesses, fell sick himself and died. The
Chaldeans and Astrologians having foretold the deaths of divers, were afterwards themselves
surprised by the fates. Alexander and Pompeius, and Caius Caesar, having destroyed so many
towns, and cut off in the field so many thousands both of horse and foot, yet they
themselves at last, were fain to part with their own lives. Heraclitus having writ- ten so
many natural tracts concerning the last and general conflagration of the world, died
afterwards all filled with water within, and all bedaubed with dirt and dung without. Lice
killed Democritus ; and Socrates, another sort of vermin, wicked un- godly men. M. A. ii.
3. ,78
JUNE 27
A CARPENTER doth not come and say, -^~*- " Hear me discourse on the art
of building " ; but he hires a house and fits it up and shows him- self master of his
trade. Let it be your business likewise to do something like this : eat like a man ; drink,
dress, marry, have children, perform the duty of a citizen ; bear reproach ; bear with an
unreason- able brother ; bear with a father ; bear with a son, a neighbour, a companion, as
becomes a man. Show us these things that we may see that you have really learnt somewhat
from the philosophers. E. D. iii. 21, I. nPHE brass pot and the earthen pitcher, the -*-
fable says, are an unsuitable match. E. D. iii. 12, 2. 179
JUNE 28
IVr EVER call yourself a philosopher, nor talk a -^ ^ great deal among
the unlearned about philo- sophic principles, but act conformably to them. Thus, at an
entertainment, do not talk how persons ought to eat, but eat as you ought. For remember
that in this manner Socrates also universally avoided all ostentation. And when persons
came to him and desired to be recommended by him to philo- sophers, he took and recommended
them, so well did he bear being overlooked. And, if anyone tells you that you know nothing,
and you are not nettled at it, then you may be sure that you have begun your business. For
sheep do not throw up the grass to show the shepherds how much they have eaten ; but,
inwardly digesting their food, they out- wardly produce wool and milk. Thus, therefore, do
you likewise not show theorems to the un- learned, but the actions produced by them after
they have been digested. E. M. 46. 180
JUNE 29
"P UPHRATES was in the right to say, " I long -L-- endeavoured to conceal
my embracing the philosophic life, and it was of use to me. For, in the first place, I knew
that what I did right I did it not for spectators, but for myself. I ate in a proper manner
for myself. I had a composed look and walk, all for God and myself. Then, as I fought
alone, I was alone in danger. Philo- sophy was in no danger, on my doing anything shameful
or unbecoming; nor did I hurt the rest of the world, which, by offending as a philosopher,
I might have done. For this reason, they who were ignorant of my intention used to wonder,
that while I conversed and lived entirely with philo- sophers, I never took up the
character. And where was the harm, that I should be discovered to be a philosopher by my
actions and not by the usual badges?" E. D. iv. 8, 4. 181
JUNE 30
SUCH a one is a philosopher. Why ? Becausehe wears a cloak and long hair.
What, then, do mountebanks wear? And so, when people see any of these acting indecently,
they presently say, " See what the philosopher doth." But they ought rather, from his
acting indecently, to say he is no philosopher. E. D. iv. 8, I. AS soon as they have put on
a cloak and lettheir beard grow they cry, " I am a philoso- pher." Yet no one says, " I am
a musician," be- cause he hath bought a fiddle and fiddlestick ; nor, " I am a smith,"
because he is dressed in the Vulcanian cap and apron. But they take their name from their
art, not from their habit. E. D. iv. 8, 3. 18:
JULY 1
A S bad performers cannot sing alone but in a ^^ chorus, so some persons
cannot walk alone. If you are anything, walk alone, talk by yourself, and do not skulk in
the chorus. Think a little at last ; look about you, sift yourself, that you may know what
you are. E. D. iii. 14, I. THOU art now ready to die, and yet hast thounot attained to that
perfect simplicity : thou art yet subject to many troubles, and perturba- tions ; not yet
free from all fear and suspicion of external accidents ; nor yet either so meekly disposed
towards all men, as thou shouldst ; or so affected as one, whose only study, and only
wisdom is, to be just in all his actions. M. A. iv. 3. 183
JULY 2
WE ought, however, to be prepared in somemanner for this also, to be
self-sufficient and able to bear our own company. For as Jupiter converses with himself,
acquiesces in him- self, and contemplates his own administration, and is employed in
thoughts worthy of himself: so should we too be able to talk with ourselves, and not to
need the conversation of others, nor be at a loss for employment ; to attend to the divine
administration ; to consider our relation to other beings ; how we have formerly been
affected by events, how we are affected now ; what are the things that still press upon us,
how these too may be cured, how removed ; if any- thing wants completing, to complete it
according to reason. E. D. iii. 13, I. 184
JULY 3
IF a person drinks water, or doth anything else for the sake of exercise,
upon every occasion he tells all he meets, " I drink water." Why, do you drink water merely
for the sake of drinking it? If it doth you any good to drink it, drink it ; if not, you
act ridiculously. But, if it is for your advantage, and you drink it, say nothing about it
before those who are apt to take offence. What then ? These are the very people you wish to
please. E. D. iii. 14, 2. WHAT art, and profession soever thou hastlearned, endeavour to
affect it, and comfort thyself in it ; and pass the remainder of thy life as one who from
his whole heart commits himself and whatsoever belongs unto him, unto the gods, and as for
men, carry not thyself either tyrannically or servilely towards any. M. A. iv. 26. 185
JULY 4
WE would live immediately as men already wise, and be of service to
mankind.?Of what service? What are you doing? Why, have you been of service to yourself?
But you would exhort them. You exhort ! Would you be of service to them, show them, by your
own example, what kind of men philosophy makes, and be not impertinent. When you eat, be of
service to those who eat with you ; when you drink, to those who drink with you. Be of
service to them, by giving way to all, yielding to them, bearing with them ; and not by
throwing out your own ill hum.our upon them. E. D. iii. 13, 3. THERE is, who without so
much as a Coat; and there is, who without so much as a book, doth put philosophy in
practice. I am half naked, neither have I bread to eat, and yet I depart not from Reason,
saith one. But I say ; I want the food of good teaching, and instruc- tions, and yet I
depart not from Reason. M. A. iv. 25. 186
JULY 5
LET not him think he is loved by any wholoves none. Attributed to
Epictetus. DEATH hangs over thee : whilst thou livest,whilst thou mayest, be good. M. A.
iv. 14. LOOK not about upon the evil conditions of others, but run on straight in the line.
M. A. iv. 15. WHAT you avoid suffering yourself, attemptnot to impose on others. E. FR. 38.
COMMUNICATE to strangers and persons in need, according to your ability. For he who gives
nothing to the needy, shnll receive nothing in his own need. E. FR. 103. 1S7
JULY 6
T ET not the general representation unto thyselfJ?' of the wretchedness
of this our mortal life, trouble thee. Let not thy mind wander up and down, and heap
together in her thoughts, the many troubles and grievous calamities which thou art as
subject unto as any other. But as every- thing in particular doth happen, put this question
unto thyself, and say ; What is it that in this present matter, seems unto thee so
intolerable? For thou wilt be ashamed to confess it. Then upon this presently call to mind,
that neither that which is future, nor that which is past can hurt thee; but that only
which is present. (And that also is much lessened, if thou dost rightly cir- cumscribe it :
) and then check thy mind if for so little a while, (a mere instant) it cannot hold out
with patience. M. A. viii. 34. 188
JULY 7
pj'VERY place is safe to him wlio lives with -L--' justice. E. FR. 97, SO
live as indifferent to the world, and all worldly objects, as one who liveth by himself
alone upon some desert hill. For whether here, or there, if the whole world be but as one
Town, it matters not much for the place. M. A. X. 17. WHATSOEVER doth happen in the
world,doth happen justly, and so if thou dost well take heed, thou shalt find it. I say not
only in right order by a series of inevitable consequences, but according to Justice and as
it were by way of equal distribution, according to the true worth of everything. Continue
then to take notice of it, as thou hast begun, and whatsoever thou doest, do it not without
this proviso, that it be a thing of that nature that a good man, (as the word good is
properly taken) may do it. This observe carefully in every action. M. A. iv. 8. 189
JULY 8
WHY, then, are you anxious? Why do youkeep yourself waking? Why do not
you calculate where your good and evil lies ; and say they are both in my own power,
neither can any deprive me of the one, or involve me, against my will, in the other? Why,
then, do not I lay myself down and snore? What is my own is safe. Let what belongs to
others look to itself who carries it off, how it is given away by him that hath the
disposal of it. Who am I, to will that it should be so and so? For is the option given to
me? Hath anyone made me the dis- penser of it? What I have in my own disposal is enough for
me. I must make the best I can of this. Other things must be as the master of them pleases.
E. D. iv. 9, 4. 190
JULY 9
IF in this kind of life thy body be able to hold out, it is a shame that
thy soul should faint first, and give over. Take heed lest of a philo- sopher thou become a
mere Cresar in time, and receive a new tincture from the Court. For it may happen if thou
dost not take heed. Keep thyself, therefore, truly simple, good, sincere, grave, free from
all ostentation, a lover of that which is just, religious, kind, tender-hearted, strong and
vigorous to undergo anything that becomes thee. M. A. vi. 27. DEATH is a cessation from the
impressionsof the senses, the tyranny of the passions, the errors of the mind, and the
servitude of the body. M. A. vi. 26. 191
JULY 10
IF you would be good, first believe that you are bad. E. FR. 2. WHAT is
it then that doth keep thee here,if things sensible be so mutable and un- settled ? and the
senses so obscure, and so fallible ? and our souls nothing but an exhalation of blood ? and
to be in credit among such, be but vanity ? What is it that thou dost stay for? an
Extinction, or a Translation ; either of them with a propitious and contented mind. But
till that time come, what will content thee ? what else, but to worship and praise the Gods
; and to do good unto men. To bear with them, and to forbear to do them any wrong. And for
all external things belong- ing either to this thy wretched body, or life, to remember that
they are neither thine, nor in thy power. M. A. V. 27. ig:
JULY 11
A MAN must know many things first, beforehe be able truly and judiciously
to judge of another man's action. M. A. ix. i6. T F anyone tells you that such a person
speaks -?- ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you, but answer : " He
doth not know my other faults, else he would not have mentioned only these." E. M. 33. OUT
of Antisthenes. "It is a princely thingto do well, and to be ill spoken of. It is a
shameful thing that the face should be subject unto the mind, to be put into what shape it
will, and to be dressed by it as it will ; and that the mind should not bestow so much care
upon her- self, as to fashion herself, and to dress herself as best becometh her." M. A.
vii. 24. N 193
JULY 12
OLYMPIAN ZEUS doth not lift up his brow, but keeps a steady countenance,
as becomes him who is about to say? " The immutable decree No force can shake : what is,
that ought to be." Pope. " Such will I show myself to you : faithful, modest, noble,
tranquil."?What, and immortal too, and exempt from age and sickness??"No. But sickening and
dying as becomes a god. This is in my power ; this I can do. The other is not in my power,
nor can I do it." Shall I show you the sinews of a philosopher? What are they ? A desire
undisappointed : an aversion unin- curred : pursuits duly exerted : a careful resolu- tion
: an unerring assent. These you shall see. E. D. ii. 8, 4. 194
JULY 13
OHOW me that you are faithful, a man of ^ honour, steady ; show me that
you have friendly principles ; show me that your vessel is not leaky, and you shall see
that I will not stay till you have trusted your affairs to me; but I will come and entreat
you to hear an account of mine. For who would not make use of a good vessel? Who despises a
benevolent and friendly adviser? Who will not gladly receive one to share the burden of his
difficulties, and by shar- ing to make it lighter? "Well, but I trust you, and you do not
trust me." You do not really trust me : but you are a blab, and therefore can keep nothing
in. For if the former be the case, trust only me. But now, whoever you see at leisure, you
sit down by him and say : " My dear friend, there is not a man in the world that wishes me
better, or hath more kindness for me than you : I entreat you to hear my affairs." E. D.
iv. 13, 3. 195
JULY 14
WHEN one hath safely entrusted his secrets tome, shall I, in imitation of
him, trust mine to anyone who conies in my way? The case is different. I indeed hold my
tongue (supposing me to be of such a disposition), but he goes and discovers them to
everybody ; and then, when I come to find it out, if I happen to be like him, from a desire
of revenge I discover his, and asperse, and am aspersed. But, if I remember that one man
doth not hurt another, but that everyone is hurt and profited by his own actions, I indeed
keep to this, not to do anything like him ; yet, by my own talkative folly, I suffer what I
do suffer. "Ay, but it is unfair, when you have heard the secrets of your neighbour, not to
communicate anything to him in return."?"Why, did I ask you to do it, sir? Did you tell me
your affairs upon condition that I should tell you mine in return ? If you are a blab, and
believe all you meet to be friends, would you have me, too, become like you ? But what if
the case be this : that you did right in trusting your affairs to me, but it is not right
that I should trust you ? Would you have me run headlong and fall? This is just as -if I
had a sound barrel and you a leaky one, and you should come and deposit your wine with me
to put it into my barrel, and then should take it ill that in my turn I did not trust you
with my wine. No. You have a leaky barrel." E. D. iv. 13, 2, 3. 196
JULY 15
AN is made for fidelity, and whoever subverts this subverts the pecuhar
property of man. E. D. ii. 4, I. TT is good to know your own qualifications and -*- powers
; that, where you are not qualified, you may be quiet, and not angry that others have the
advantage of you in such things. E. D. ii. 6, I. A ^ THAT is the first business of one who
studies * '^ philosophy? To part with self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to
begin to learn what he hath a conceit that he already knows. E. D. ii. 17, I. 'T^HERE is
nothing more shameful than per- ^ fidious friendship. Above all things, that must be
avoided. However, true goodness, sim- plicity, and kindness cannot so be hidden, but that
as we have already said in the very eyes and countenance they will show themselves. M. A.
xi. 7. 197
JULY 1
6 T ET it not be in any man's power, to say truly -*?' of thee, that thou
art not truly simple, or, sincere and open, or not good. Let him be de- ceived whosoever he
be that shall have any such opinion of thee. For all this doth depend of thee. For who is
it that should hinder thee from being either truly simple or good ? Do thou only resolve
rather not to live, than not to be such. M. A. X. 33. HOW rotten and insincere is he, that
saith, Iam resolved to carry myself hereafter towards you with all ingenuity and
simplicity. O man, what dost thou mean ! What needs this profession of thine? It ought to
be written upon thy fore- head. M. A. xi. 14. 198
JULY 17
AT the conceit and apprehension that such andsuch a one hath sinned, thus
reason with thyself, What do I know whether this be a sin indeed, as it seems to be ? But
if it be, what do I know but that he himself hath already con- demned himself for it ? And
that is all one as if a man should scratch and tear his own face, an object of compassion
rather than of anger. M. A. xii. 12. WHEN any person doth ill by you, or speaksill of you,
remember that he acts or speaks from a supposition of its being his duty. Now, it is not
possible that he should follow what appears right to you, but what appears so to himself.
Therefore, if he judges from a wrong appearance, he is the person hurt, since he too is the
person deceived. For if anyone should suppose a true proposition to be false, the
proposition is not hurt, but he who is deceived about it. E. M. 42. 199
JULY 18
IT is better to offend seldom (owning it when we do), and act often
wisely, than to say we seldom err, and offend frequently. E. FR. 3. BUT if it be somewhat
that is amiss in thineown disposition, that doth grieve thee, mayest thou not rectify thy
moral tenets and opinions. But if it grieve thee, that thou dost not perform that which
seemeth unto thee right and just, why dost not thou choose rather to perform it than to
grieve? But somewhat that is stronger than thy- self doth hinder thee. Let it not grieve
thee then, if it be not thy fault that the thing is not performed. Yea but it is a thing of
that nature, as that thy life is not worth the while, except it may be performed. If it be
so, upon condition that thou be kindly and lovingly disposed towards all men, thou mayest
be gone. For even then, as much as at any time, art thou in a very good estate of
performance, when thou dost die in charity with those, that are an obstacle unto thy
performance. M. A. viii. 45. 200
JULY 19
THERE are some things which men confesswith ease ; others, with
difficulty. No one, for instance, will confess himself a fool, or a block- head ; but, on
the contrary, you will hear everyone say, "I wish my fortune was equal to my mind." But
they easily confess themselves fearful, and say, " I am somewhat timorous, I confess ; but
in other respects you will not find me a fool." No one will easily confess himself
intemperate in his desires ; upon no account dishonest, nor abso- lutely very envious, or
meddling ; but many con- fess themselves to have the weakness of being compassionate. E. D.
ii. 21, I. 201
JULY 20
A X /"HAT is the reason of all this ? The principal * * is, an
inconsistency and confusion in what relates to good and evil. But different people have
different inducements. In general, whatever they imagine to be base they do not absolutely
confess. Fear and compassion they imagine to belong to a well-meaning disposition ; but
stupidity to a slave. Offences against society they do not own ; but, in most faults, they
are brought to a confession chiefly from imagining that there is something involuntary in
them, as in fear and compassion. And, though a person should in some measure confess
himself intemperate in his desires, he accuses his passion, and expects for- giveness as
for an involuntary fault. But dis- honesty is not imagined to be, by any means,
involuntary. In jealousy, too, there is something, they suppose, of involuntary ; and this
likewise, in some degree, they confess. E. D. ii. 21, I. 202
JULY 21
THERE are some whom there is no convincing.So that now I think I
understand what before I did not, the meaning of that common saying, that a fool will
neither bend nor break. May it never fall to my lot to have a wise, that is an intractable,
fool for my friend. "It is all to no purpose: I am determined." So are madmen too ; but the
more strongly they are determined upon absurdities, the more need have they of hellebore.
Why will you not act like a sick person, and apply yourself to a physician ? " Sir, I am
sick. Give me your assistance : consider what I am to do. It is my part to follow your
directions." So, in the present case, I know not what I ought to do ; and I am come to
learn. E. D. ii. 15, 2. 203
JULY 22
NO ; but talk to me about other things ; for upon this I am determined."
What other things? What is of greater consequence than to convince you that it is not
sufficient to be de- termined, and to persist ? This is the tension of a madman, not of one
in health. " I will die if you compel me to this." Why so, man : what is the matter ??" I
am determined." I have a lucky escape that you are not determined to kill me. "I take no
money." Why so? "I am deter- mined." Be assured that with that very tension which you now
make use of to refuse it, you may very possibly, hereafter, have as unreasonable a
propensity to take it; and again to say, "I am determined." As in a distempered and
rheumatic body the humour tends sometimes to one part, sometimes to another ; thus it is
uncertain which way a sickly mind will incline. But if to its inclination and bent an
obstinate tension be like- wise added, the evil then becomes desperate and incurable. E. D.
ii. 15, 2. 204
JULY 23
HE, then, is an able speaker, and excels at once in exhortation and
conviction, who can discover to each man the contradiction by which he errs, and prove
clearly to him, that what he would, he doth not ; and what he would not do, that he doth.
For if that be shown, he will depart from it of his own accord : but till you have shown
it, be not surprised that he remains where he is : for he doth it on the appearance that he
acts rightly. Hence Socrates, relying on this faculty, used to say, " It is not my custom
to cite any other witness of my assertions ; but I am always contented with my opponent. I
call and summon him for my witness ; and his single evidence is instead of all others." For
he knew that if a rational soul be moved by anything, the scale must turn whether it will
or no. Show the governing faculty of reason a contradiction, and it will renounce it : but,
till you have shown it, rather blame yourself than him who is uncon- vinced. E. D. ii. 26,
2. :o5
JULY 24
"LJ* ITHER teach them, or bear with them.^ M. " A M I to blame, then,
sir, and ignorant of my -^ *- duty and of what is incumbent on me ? If this is neither to
be learnt nor taught, why do you find fault with me ? If it is to be taught, pray teach me
yourself; or, if you cannot, give me leave to learn it from those who profess to under-
stand it. Besides : do you think that I voluntarily fall into evil, and miss of good ?
Heaven forbid ! What, then, is the cause of my faults?"?Ignor- ance. "Are you not willing,
then, that I should get rid of my ignorance? Who was ever taught the art of music or
navigation by anger ? Do you expect, then, that your anger should teach me the art of
living?" E. D. i. 26, I. 206
JULY 25
WHY do not you, as we pity the blind andlame, so likewise pity those who
are blinded and lamed in their superior faculties ? Whoever, therefore, duly remembers that
the appearance of things to the mind is the standard of every action to man : that this is
either right or wrong : and, if right, he is without fault, if wrong, he himself bears the
punishment ; for that one man cannot be the person deceived, and another the sufferer :
will not be outrageous and angry at anyone ; will not revile, or reproach, or hate, or
quarrel with anyone. E. D. i. 28, 2. IS the cucumber bitter? set it away. Brambles are in
the way ? avoid them. Let this suffice. Add not presently speaking unto thyself. What serve
these things for in the world? For, this, one that is acquainted with the mysteries of
Nature, will laugh at thee for it ; as a Carpenter would or a Shoemaker, if meeting in
either of their shops with some shavings, or small remnants of their work, thou shouldst
blame them for it. M. A. viii. 48. 207
JULY 26
IN another man's mind and understanding thy evil cannot subsist, nor in
any proper temper or distemper of the natural constitution of thy body, which is but as it
were the coat, or cottage of thy soul. Wherein then, but in that part of thee, wherein the
conceit, and apprehension of any misery can subsist? Let not that part there- fore admit
any such conceit, and then all is well. Though thy body which is so near it, should either
be cut or burnt, or suffer any corruption, or putre- faction, yet let that part to which it
belongs to judge of these, be still at rest ; that is. Let her judge this, that, whatsoever
it is, that equally may happen to a wicked man, and to a good man, is neither good, nor
evil. For that which happens equally to him that lives according to Nature, and to him that
doth not, is neither according to nature, nor against it ; and by consequence, neither
good, nor bad. M. A. iv. 32. 208
JULY 27
T^OTH any man offend? It is against himself -L^ that he doth offend : why
should it trouble thee ? M. A. iv. 21. ONE thing there is, and that only, which isworth our
while in this World, and ought by as much to be esteemed ; and that is, accord- ing to
truth and righteousness, meekly and lovingly to converse with false, and unrighteous men.
M. A. vi. 42. WHEN thou wilt comfort and cheer thyself,call to mind the several gifts and
virtues of them, whom thou dost daily converse with ; as for example, the industry of the
one ; the modesty of another ; the liberality of a third ; of another some other thing. For
nothing can so much rejoice thee, as the resemblances and parallels of several virtues,
visible and eminent in the dispositions of those who live with thee. M. A. vi. 43. 209
JULY 28
A X /"HEN any shall either impeach thee with * ^ false accusations, or
hatefully reproach thee, or shall use any such carriage towards thee, get thee presently to
their minds and understandings, and look in them, and behold what manner of men they be.
Thou shalt see that there is no such occasion why it should trouble thee, what such as they
think of thee. Yet must thou love them still, for by nature they are thy friends. M. A. ix.
25. IF it were thine act and in thine own power, why wouldst thou do it ? If it were not,
whom dost thou accuse ? the atoms, or the gods? For to do either, is the part of a mad-
man. Thou must therefore blame nobody, but if it be in thy power, redress what is amiss ;
if it be not, to what end dost thou complain ? M. A. viii. 15. 210
JULY 29
WHEN thou art offended with any man's transgression, presently reflect
upon thyself, and consider what thou thyself art guilty of in the same kind. M. A. X. 30.
WHENSOEVER any man doth trespass againstthee, presently consider with thyself what it was
that he did suppose to be good, what to be evil, when he did trespass. For this when thou
knowest, thou wilt pity him ; thou wilt have no occasion either to wonder, or to be angry.
For either thou thyself dost yet live in that error and ignorance, as that thou dost
suppose either that very thing that he doth, or some other like worldly thing, to be good ;
and so thou art bound to pardon him if he have done that which thou in the like case
wouldst have done thyself. Or if so be that thou dost not any more suppose the same things
to be good or evil, that he doth ; how canst thou but be gentle unto him that is in an
error ? M. A. vii. 19. 211
JULY 30
IF you are hasty, man, let it be your exercise to bear ill language
patiently ; and when you are affronted, not to be angry. E. D. iii. 12, 2. BUT if this be
done for mere ostentation, itbelongs to one who looks out and hunts for something external,
and seeks for spectators to exclaim, " What a great man ! " Hence ApoUonius said well : "
If you have a mind to exercise your- self for your own benefit, when you are choking with
heat, take a little cold water in your mouth and spirt it out again, and tell nobody." E.
D. iii. 12, 5. A N angry countenance is much against nature, ^^ and it is oftentimes the
proper countenance of them that are at the point of death. M. A. vii. 18. 212
JULY 31
WHAT is it to be reviled, for instance? Standby a stone and revile it ;
and what will you get? If you, therefore, would hear like a stone, what would your reviler
be the better? But if the reviler hath the weakness of the reviled for an advantage ground,
then he carries his point. " Strip him."? " What do you mean by him ? " " Take my clothes ;
strip off them if you will. " I have put an affront upon you."? " Much good may it do you."
E. D. i. 25, 3. WHAT is it then that should be dear unto us ?to hear a clattering noise? if
not that, then neither to be applauded by the tongues of men. For the praises of many
tongues, is in effect no better, than the clattering of so many tongues. If then neither
applause, what is there remaining that should be dear unto thee ? This I think : that in
all thy motions and actions thou be moved, and restrained according to thine own true
natural constitution and construction only. M. A. vi. 15. 213
AUGUST 1
IF you go and revile your brother, I tell you you have forgot who you
are, and what is your name. For even if you were a smith and made an ill use of the hammer,
you would have forgot the smith : and, if you have forgot the brother, and are become,
instead of a brother, an enemy do you imagine you have made no change of one thing for
another in that case? If, instead of a man, a gentle social creature, you are become a wild
beast, mischievous, insidious, biting ; have you lost nothing? But must you lose money, in
order to suffer damage ; and is there no other thing, the loss of which damages a man ? If
you were to part with your skill in grammar, or in music, would you think the loss of these
a damage? But if you part with honour, decency, and gentleness, do you think that no matter
? E. D. ii. lo, 4. 2T4
AUGUST 2
WHY is it that they have railed at you ? Be-cause every man hates what
hinders him. They would have one actor crowned, you another. They hindered you ; and you,
them. You proved the stronger. They have done what they could ; they have railed at the
person who hindered them. What would you have, then ? Would you do as you please, and not
have them even talk as they please ? Where is the wonder of all this ? Doth not the
husbandman rail at Zeus when he is hindered by him? Doth not the sailor? Do men ever cease
railing at Caesar? What then, is Zeus ignorant of this? Are not the things that are said
reported to Caesar? How then doth he act? He knows that if he was to punish all railers, he
would have nobody left to command. E. D. iii. s. 2. 215
AUGUST 3
WILL you say, Hath no one any regard forme, a man of letters ? Why, you
are wicked, and fit for no use. Just as if wasps should take it ill that no one hath any
regard for them, but all shun, and whoever can beats them down. You have such a sting, that
whoever you strike with it is thrown into troubles and pangs. What would you have us do
with you ? E. D. ii. 4, I. 216
AUGUST 4
EITHER teach them better if it be in thy power ; or if it be not,
remember that for this use, to bear with them patiently, was mild- ness and goodness
granted unto thee. The gods themselves are good unto such ; yea and in some things, (as in
matter of health, of wealth, of honour), are content often to further their en- deavours :
so good and gracious are they. And mightest thou not be so too? or, tell me, what doth
hinder thee? M. A. ix. 9. HIM that offends, teach with love and meek- ness, and show him
his error. But if thou canst not, then blame thyself, or rather not thyself neither, if thy
will and endeavours have not been wanting. M. A. X. 4. 217
AUGUST 5
T most see it, uic :er*; -.^? intj:, ^^-: ;:' tfa.e greatest ; ^ ;.:-ir:
r. :: im irfmp- 'dgtrr Htnatr rffs' ; t- ": ;..\:-.. Ijort lEL ttfae jpftgTTinipni tr z: \:
1 : . " " '. erill?"' Bj sHattring 7:-; --t::.:.-. "- ^- - ^rr ItOW
HUEOIlIIBSIl it tS. 3S 1 i : - "Oo^Jt BJOfc tj- ; : r : : - : : 1: : _ : ; t
destroyed?" -^ - --:---. /- ; r1 detMriwaitMJsii or '. '.z - - - 7- _ - - ~1
tbe most vaJhuaMe tl' " . : : t r " : . . r : ; : " ; " ? peivBd off thiii ..
.7: 't :- r". ' Yoo oo^hlt no: :- i:^r::ti ::"::.i:~ to natnane, by the - ; ..
^ : "7" r :".r: Do ool: be - ' - . ; - - - ^ sbaM tiiesc ' " ^ toacttbrns?
Wher. :r :.-' : -^ - ?-:: .^:r. : socb people :_? '' ._...; ?zi.:- ; - -'
dothe^ and y:. . . ":: ;c i'-giy with tfcr :r..z: E. D. i li 3l8
AUGUST 7
A WISE and good person neither quarrels with anyone himself
nor so far as possible, suffers another. The life of Socrates affords us an ex-
ample of this too. For he well remembered that no one is master of the ruling
faculty of another, and therefore desired nothing but what was his own. " And
what is that ? " Not that this or that person should be moved conformably to
nature, for that belongs to others ; but that while they act in their own way
as they please, he should never- theless be affected and live according to
nature. E. D. iv. 5, I. THE best kind of revenge is, not to becomelike unto
them. Let this be thy only joy, and thy only comfort, from one sociable kind
action without intermission to pass unto another, God being ever in thy mind.
M. A. vi. K, 6. I F he have sinned, his is the harm, not mine. But perchance he
hath not. M. A. ix. 37. 220
AUGUST 8
EPICTETUS being asked how a person might grieve his enemy,
answered, "By doing as well as possible himself." E. FR. 125. HE that is
unjust, is also impious. For theNature of the Universe, having made all
reasonable creatures one for another, to the end that they should do one
another good ; more or less according to the several persons and occa- sions ;
but in no wise hurt one another : it is manifest that he that doth transgress
against this her will, is guilty of impiety towards the most ancient and
venerable of all the Deities. M. A. ix. I. THOSE things that are his own, and
in his own power, he himself takes order for that they be good : and as for
those that happen unto him, he believes them to be so. M. A. iii. 4. 221
AUGUST 9
SOME are peevish and fastidious, and say, Icannot dine with
such a fellow, to be obliged to hear him all day recounting how he fought in
Mysia. " I told you, my friend, how I gained the eminence. There I am besieged
again." But another says, " I had rather get a dinner, and hear him prate as
much as he pleases." Do you compare the value of these things, and judge for
yourself; but do not let it be with depression and anxiety, and with a
supposition that you are unhappy, for no one compels you to go. E. D. i. 25, 3.
13ECEIVE temporal blessings without ostenta-A^ tion, when they are sent ; and
thou shalt be able to part with them with all readiness and facility when they
are taken from thee again. M. A. viii. 31. 222
AUGUST 10
HOW is my brother to lay aside his anger against me ? Bring
him to me, and I will tell him ? but I have nothing to say to you about his
anger. E. D. i. 15, I. AFTER this, know likewise, that you are a brother ; and
that to this character it belongs, to make concessions ; to be easily persuaded
: to use gentle language ; never to claim for yourself any of the things
dependent on choice, but cheerfully to give these, that you may have the larger
share of what is dependent on it. For consider what it is, instead of a
lettuce, for instance, or a chair, to procure for yourself a good temper ? How
great an advantage gained ! E. D. ii. 10, 3. 223
AUGUST 11
ONE prayeth how he may be rid of such a one :pray thou that
thou mayest so patiently bear with him, as that thou have no such need to be
rid of him. M. A. ix. 40. A ^7"HEN at any time thou art offended with * *
anyone's impudence, put presently this question to thyself: What? Is it then
possible, that there should not be any impudent men in the world ! Certainly it
is not possible. Desire not then that which is impossible. For this one (thou
must think), whosoever he be, is one of those impudent ones, that the world
cannot be without. So of the subtle and crafty, so of the perfidious, so of
everyone that offendeth, must thou ever be ready to reason with thyself. For
whilst in general thou dost thus reason with thyself, that the kind of them
must needs be in the world, thou wilt be the better able to use meekness
towards every particular. This also thou shalt find of very good use, upon
every such occasion, presently to consider with thy- self, what proper virtue
nature hath furnished man with, against such a vice, or to encounter with a
disposition vicious in this kind. As for example, against the unthankful, it
hath given goodness and meekness, as an antidote, and so against another
vicious in another kind some other peculiar faculty. And generally, is it not
in thy power to instruct him better, that is in an error ? M. A. ix. 43. 224
AUGUST 12
CHASTISE your passions, that they may not punish you. E. FR.
4. THERE are some punishments appointed, asby a law, for such as disobey the
divine administration. Whoever shall esteem anything good, except what depends
on choice, let him envy, let him covet, let him flatter, let him be full of
perturbation. Whoever esteems anything else to be evil, let him grieve, let him
mourn, let him lament, let him be wretched. And yet, though thus severely
punished, we cannot desist. E. D. iii. II, I. WHENSOEVER thou findest thyself,
thatthou art in danger of a relapse, and that thou art not able to master and
overcome those difficulties and temptations that present them- selves in thy
present station : get thee into any private corner, where thou mayest be better
able. Or if that will not serve, forsake even thy life rather. But so that it
be not in passion, but in a plain voluntary modest way : this being the only
commendable action of thy whole life, that .thus thou art departed, or this
having been the main work and business of thy whole life, that thou mightest
thus depart. M. A. X. 5. -'-5
AUGUST 13
IS there not a divine and powerful and inevit- able law which
exacts the greatest punishments from those who are guilty of the greatest
offences ? For what says this law? Let him who claims what doth not belong to
him be arrogant, be vain- glorious, be base, be a slave ; let him grieve, let
him envy, let him pity ; and, in a word, let him be unhappy, let him lament. E.
D. iii. 24, 2. HE that sinneth, sinneth unto himself. Hethat is unjust, hurts
himself, in that he makes himself worse than he was before. Not he only that
committeth, but he also that omitteth something, is oftentimes unjust. M. A.
ix. 4. 226
AUGUST 14
GOVERN us like reasonable creatures. Showus what is for our
interest, and we will pursue it ; show us what is against our interest, and we
will avoid it. Like Socrates, make us imitators of yourself. He was properly a
governor of men, who subjected their desires and aversions, their pursuits,
their avoidances, to himself. " Do this ; do not do that, or I will throw you
into prison." Going thus far only is not governing men like reasonable
creatures. But? " Do as Zeus hath commanded, or you will be punished. You will
be a loser." What shall I lose? Nothing more than the not doing what you ought.
You will lose your fidelity, honour, decency. Look for no greater losses than
these. E. D. iii. 7, 2. 127
AUGUST 15
IT is better, by yielding to truth, to conquer opinion ;
than, by yielding to opinion, to be de- feated by truth. E. FR.34 IF you seek
truth you will not seek to conquer by ail possible means ; and when you have
found truth, you will have a security against being con- quered. E. FR. 35.
TRUTH conquers by itself, opinions by foreignaids. E. FR. 36. THE soul
resembles a vessel filled with water :the appearances of things resemble a ray
fal- ling upon its surface. If the water is moved, the ray will seem to be
moved likewise, though it is in reality without motion. Whenever, therefore,
anvone is seized with a swimming in his head, it is not the arts and \nrtues
that are confounded, but the mind in which they are : and, if this re- cover
its composure, so will they likewise. E. D. iii. 3, 6. 22S
AUGUST 16
IF anybody shall reprove me, and shall make it apparent unto
me, that in any either opinion or action of mine I do err, I will most gladly
retract. For it is the truth that I seek after, by which I am sure that never
any man was hurt ; and as sure, that he is hurt that continueth in any error,
or ignorance whatsoever. M. A. vi. 60. TEACH them that sin better, and make it
ap-pear unto them : but be not angry with them. M. A. vL 25. W HEX thou hast
done well, and another isbenented by thy action, must thou like a very fool
look for a third thing besides, as that it may appear unto others also that
thou hast done well, or that thou raayest in time, receive one good turn for
another ? M. A. vii. 43- 229
AUGUST 17
OUCH there be, who when they have done a ^ good turn to any,
are ready to set them on the score for it, and to require retahation. Others
there be, who though they stand not upon retaha- tion, to require any, yet they
think with themselves nevertheless, that such a one is their debtor, and they
know (as their word is) what they have done. Others again there be, who when
they have done any such thing, do not so much as know what they have done ; but
are like unto the vine, which beareth her grapes, and when once she hath borne
her own proper fruit, is contented and seeks for no further recompense. As a
horse after a race, and a hunting dog when he hath hunted, and a bee when she
hath made her honey, look not for ap- plause and commendation ; so neither doth
that man that rightly doth understand his own nature when he hath done a good
turn : but from one oth proceed to do another, even as the vine after she hath
once borne fruit in her own proper season, is ready for another time. Thou
therefore must be one of them, who what they do, barely do it with- out any
further thought, and are in a manner in- sensible of what they do. M. A. 5, 6.
230
AUGUST 18
IF anyone opposes very evident truths, it is not easy to find
a reason which may persuade him to alter his opinion. This arises neither from
his own strength, nor from the weakness of his teacher: but when, after being
driven upon an absurdity, he becomes petrified, how shall we deal with him any
longer by reason ? Now there are two sorts of petrifaction : the one, a
petrifaction of the understanding ; the other, of the sense of shame, when a
person hath obstinately set himself not to assent to evident truths, nor to
quit the defence of contradictions. We all dread a bodily mortification ; and
would make use of every contrivance to avoid it : but none of us is troubled
about a mortification of the soul. And yet, indeed, even with regard to the
soul, when a person is so affected as not to apprehend or under- stand
anything, we think him in a sad condition : but where the sense of shame and
modesty is under an absolute mortification, we go so far as even to call this,
strength of mind. E. D. i. 5, I, 2. 231
AUGUST 19
DELIBERATE much before you say and do anything ; for, it will
not be in your power to recall what is said or done. E. FR. 96. REMEMBER, that
to change thy mind upon occasion, and to follow him that is able to rectify
thee, is equally ingenuous, as to find out at the first, what is right and
just, without help. For of thee nothing is required, that is beyond the ex-
tent of thine own deliberation and judgment, and of thine own understanding. M.
A. viii. 14. SOLON, when he was silent at an entertainment, being asked by
Periander whether he was silent for want of words, or from folly: "No fool,"
answered he, "can be silent at a feast." E. FR. 71. 232
AUGUST 20
IF you would give a just sentence, mind neither parties nor
pleaders, but the cause itself. E. FR. 56. THESE two rules, thou must have
always in a readiness, l-'irst do nothing at all, but what Reason proceeding
from the regal and supreme part, shall for the good and benefit of men, sug-
gest unto thee. And secondly, if any man that is present, shall be able to
rectify thee or to turn thee from some erroneous persuasion, that thou be
always ready to change thy mind, and this change to proceed, not from any
respect of any pleasure or credit thereon depending, but always from some
probable apparent ground of justice, or of some public good thereby to be
furthered ; or from some other such inducement. M. A. iv. 10. 233
AUGUST 21
SUCH is the present case. Because by speechand verbal
precepts we are to arrive at per- fection, and purify our own choice, and
rectify that faculty, of which the office is, the use of the appearances of
things ; and because for the delivery of theorems a certain manner of
expression, and some variety and subtlety of discourse, becomes necessary ;
many, captivated by these very things ?one by expression, another by
syllogisms, a third by convertible propositions, just as our traveller was by
the good inn?go no further, but sit down and waste their lives shamefully
there, as if amongst the sirens. Your business, man, was to prepare yourself
for such an use of the appearances of things as nature demands : not to be
frustrated of your desires, or incur your aversions ; never to be disappointed
or unfortunate, but free, unrestrained, uncompelled ; conformed to the
administration of Jupiter, obedient to that, finding fault with nothing, but
able to say from your whole soul the verses which begin, Conduct me, Jove ; and
thou, O Destiny. E. D. ii. 23, 4. ?34
AUGUST 22
TT E who frequently converses with others, either -?- J- in
discourse or entertainments, or in any familiar way of living, must necessarily
either become like his companions, or bring them over to his own way. For, if a
dead coal be applied to a live one, either the first will quench the last, or
the last kindle the first. Since, then, the danger is so great, caution must be
used in entering into these familiarities with the vulgar ; remembering that it
is impossible to touch a chimney-sweeper without being partaker of his soot. E.
D. iii. t6, I, TT is not thine, but another man's sin. Why J- should it trouble
thee? Let him look to it, whose sin it is. M. A. ix. i8. CHOOSE the best life ;
for custom will makeit pleasant. Attributed to Epictetus. 235
AUGUST 23
THE form of the Athenians' prayer did runthus; "O rain, rain
good Jupiter, upon all the grounds and fields that belong to the Athenians."
Either we should not pray at all, or thus absolutely and freely ; and not
everyone for himself in particular alone. M. A. V. 7. A MAN should come to
sacrifices and prayers,previously purified. But you, when you have got the
words by heart, say, "These words are sacred of themselves." E. D. iii. 21, I.
TAKE me and throw me where thou wilt : I am indifferent. For there also I shall
have that Spirit which is within me propitious ; that is well pleased and fully
contented both in that constant disposition, and with those particular actions,
which to its own proper constitution are suitable and agreeable. M. A. viii.
43. 236
AUGUST 24
HEALTH is a good, sickness an evil. No, sir. But what ? A
right use of health is good, a wrong one evil. So that in truth it is possible
to be a gainer even by sickness. E. D. iii. 20, I. AS one who had lived, and
were now to dieby right, whatsoever is yet remaining, bestow that wholly as a
gracious overplus upon a virtuous life. Love and affect that only, whatsoever
it be that happeneth, and is by the Fates appointed unto thee. For what can be
more reasonable ? And as anything doth happen unto thee by way of cross, or
calamity, call to mind presently and set before thine eyes, the examples of
some other men, to whom the selfsame thing did once happen likewise. Well, what
did they ? They grieved ; they wondered ; they complained. And where are they
now? M. A. vii. 31. - j7
AUGUST 25
YOU will commit the fewest faults in judging,if you are
faultless in your own life. E. FR. 57. USE thyself, as often as thou seest any
mando anything, presently if it be possible to say unto thyself. What is this
man's end in this his action? But begin this course with thyself first of all,
and diligently examine thyself con- cerning whatsoever thou doest. M. A. X. 37.
PIERCE and penetrate into the estate of every- one's understanding that thou
hast to do with : as also make the estate of thine own open, and penetrable to
any other. M. A. viii. 58. 238
AUGUST 26
A LIFE entangled with fortune resembles a wintry torrent ;
for it is turbulent, and muddy, and difficult to pass, and violent, and noisy,
and of shorter continuance. A soul conversant with virtue resembles a per-
petual fountain ; for it is clear, and gentle, and potable, and sweet, and
communicative, and rich, and harmless, and innocent. E. FR. I. nPHOU must be
like a promontory of the sea, ^ against which though the waves bear con-
tinually, yet it both itself stands, and about it are those swelling waves
stilled and quieted. M. A. iv. 40. T TNSPOTTED by pleasure, undaunted by pain ;
^ free from any manner of wrong, or contumely, by himself offered unto himself
: not capable of any evil from others : a wrestler of the best sort, and for
the highest prize. M. A. iii. 4. 239
AUGUST 27
THE will of nature may be learned from those things in which
we do not differ from each other. As, when our neighbour's boy hath broken a
cup, or the like, we are presently ready to say, " These are things that will
happen." Be assured, then, that when your own cup likewise is broken, you ought
to be affected just as when another's cup was broken. Transfer this, in like
manner, to greater things. Is the child or wife of another dead ? There is no
one who would not say, " This is an accident common to man." But if anyone's
own child happens to die, it is presently, " Alas ! how wretched am I ! " But
it should be re- membered how we are affected in hearing the same thing
concerning others. E. M. 26. 240
AUGUST 28
1, TOO, the other day had an iron lamp burning before my
household deities. Hearing a noise at the window, I ran. I found my lamp was
stolen. I considered, that he who took it away did nothing unaccountable. What
then ? To- morrow, says I, you shall find an earthen one ; for a man loses only
what he hath. I have lost my coat. Ay, because you had a coat. I have a pain in
my head. Why, can you have a pain in your horns ? Why, then, are you out of
humour ? For loss and pain can be only of such things as are possessed. E. D.
i. 18, I. THOU seest that those things, which for a manto hold on in a
prosperous course, and to live a divine life, are requisite and necessary, are
not many, for the gods will require no more of any man, that shall but keep and
observe these things. M. A. ii. 2. 241
AUGUST 29
A PPEARANCES to the mind are of four kinds. ^~^ Things either
are what they appear to be ; or they neither are, nor appear to be ; or they
are, and do not appear to be ; or they are not, and yet appear to be. To form a
right judgment in all these cases, belongs only to the completely instructed.
E. D. i. 27, I. AGAINST specious appearances we must have clear preconceptions
brightened up and ready. When death appears as an evil, we ought immedi- ately
to remember that evils may be avoided, but death is necessity. /did. WHAT is
the cause of assent to anything?Its appearing to be true. It is not possible
then, to assent to what appears to be not true. Why ? Because it is the very
nature of the under- standing to agree to truth, to be dissatisfied with
falsehood, and to suspend its belief in doubtful cases. What is the proof of
this ? Persuade your- self if you can, that it is now night. Impossible.
Unpersuade yourself that it is day. Impossible. When anyone then assents to
what is false, be assured that he doth not wilfully assent to it as false ; but
what is false appears to him to be true. E. D. i. 28. I. 242
AUGUST 30
WILL you say that there is nothing inde-pendent which is in
your own power alone, and unalienable ? See, then, if you have any- thing of
this sort.?"I do not know." But, con- sider it thus : Can anyone make you
assent to a falsehood??"No one." In the topic of assent, then, you are
unrestrained and unhindered.? "Agreed." Well, and can anyone compel you to
exert your pursuits towards what you do not like ? ? " He can. For when he
threatens me with death, or fetters, he compels me to exert them." If, then,
you were to despise dying, or being fettered, would you any longer regard him
?? " No." Is despising death, then, an action in our power, or is it not ?? "
It is." Is it, therefore, in your power also to exert your pursuits towards
anything, or is it not??"Agreed that it is. But in whose power is my avoiding
anything ?" This too, is in your own.?"What then, if, when I am exerting myself
to walk, anyone should restrain me ? " What part of you can he restrain ? Can
he restrain your assent ?? " No, but my body." Ay, as he may a stone.?"Be it
so. But still I walk no more." And who told you that walking was an action of
your own that cannot be re- strained ? For I only said that your exerting your-
self towards it could not be restrained. E. D. iv. I, 11. 243
AUGUST 31
BY placing over against you the imitation ofgreat and good
men, you will conquer any appearance, and not be drawn away by it. But, in the
first place, be not hurried along with it, by its hasty vehemence : but say,
Appearance, wait for me a little. Let me see what you are, and what you
represent. Let me try you. Then, after- wards, do not suffer it to go on
drawing gay pictures of what will follow : if you do, it will lead you wherever
it pleases. But rather oppose to it some good and noble appearance, and banish
this base and sordid one. If you are habituated to this kind of exercise, you
will see what shoulders, what nerves, what sinews, you will have. But now it is
mere trifling talk, and nothing more. He is the true practitioner who exercises
himself against such appearances as these. E. D. ii. 18, 5. 244
SEPTEMBER 1
CTAY, wretch, do not be hurried away. The^ combat is great,
the achievement divine ; for empire, for freedom, for prosperity, for
tranquilHty. Remember God. Invoke Him for your aid and protector, as sailors do
Castor and Pollux in a storm. For what storm is greater than that which arises
from violent appearances, contending to overset our reason ? Indeed, what is
the storm itself, but appearance ? For, do but take away the fear of death, and
let there be as many thunders and lightnings as you please, you will find that,
in the ruling faculty, all is serenity and calm : but if you are once defeated,
and say you will get the victory another time, and then the same thing over
again ; assure yourself, you will at last be reduced to so weak and wretched a
con- dition, that you will not so much as know when you do amiss ; but you will
even begin to make defences for your behaviour, and thus verify the saying of
Hesiod : " With constant ills the dilatory strive." E. n. ii. i8, 5. 345
SEPTEMBER 2
WHETHER we ought to believe, or to dis-believe, what is said
; or whether, if we do believe, we ought to be moved by it or not ; what is it
that tells us? Is it not the faculty of choice? Again, the very faculty of
elocution, and that which ornaments discourse, if there be any such peculiar
faculty, what doth it more than merely ornament and arrange expressions, as
curlers do the hair? But whether it be better to speak or to be silent ; or
better to speak in this or in that manner ; whether this be decent or indecent
; and the season and use of each ; what is it that tells us, but the faculty of
choice ? E. D, ii, 23, I. 246
SEPTEMBER 3
WHAT then, would you have it appear andbear testimony against
itself? What means this ? If the case be thus, that which serves may be
superior to that to which it is subservient ; the horse to the rider ; the dog
to the hunter ; the in- strument to the musician ; or servants to the king.
What is it that makes use of all the rest ? Choice. What takes care of all ?
Choice. What destroys the whole man, at one time by hunger ; at another by a
rope or a precipice? Choice. Hath man, then, anything stronger than this? And
how is it possible, that what is liable to restraint should be stronger than
what is not ? What hath a natural power of hindering the faculty of sight ?
Both choice, and what depends on choice. And it is the same of the faculties of
hearing and speech. And what hath a natural power of hindering choice? Nothing
independent on itself, only its own perversion. Therefore choice alone is vice
; choice alone is virtue. E. D. ii. 23, I. 247
SEPTEMBER 4
IF these things are true, and we are not stupid or acting a
part when we say that the good or ill of man consists in choice, and that all
besides is nothing to us, why are we still troubled ? Why do we still fear?
What hath been our concern is in no one's power ; what is in the power of
others we do not regard. What embarrassment have we left? But direct me. Why
should I direct you ? Hath not God directed you? Hath He not given you what is
your own, incapable of restraint or hindrance ; and what is not your own,
liable to both ? What directions, then, what orders have you brought from Him ?
" By all methods keep what is your own : what belongs to others do not covet.
Honesty is your own ; a sense of virtuous shame is your own. Who, then, can
deprive you of these? Who can restrain you from making use of them but
yourself? And how do you do it? When you make that your concern which is not
your own, you lose what is." Having such pre- cepts and directions from God,
what sort do you still want from me? Am I better than He? More worthy of
credit? If you observe these, what others do you need? Or are not these
directions His? E. D. i. 25, I. 248
SEPTEMBER 5
THE first difference between one of the vulgarand a
philosopher is this : the one says, I am undone on the account of my child, my
brother, my father; but the other, if ever he be obliged to say, I am undone !
reflects, and adds, On account of myself. For choice cannot be restrained or
hurt by anything to which choice doth not extend, but only by itself. If,
therefore, we always would incline this way, and, whenever we are unsuccessful,
would lay the fault on our- selves, and remember that there is no cause of
perturbation and inconstancy but principle, I en- gage we should make some
proficiency. But Ave set out in a very different way, from the very beginning.
In infancy, for example, if we happen to stumble, our nurse doth not chide us,
but beats the stone. Why, what harm hath the stone done? Was it to move out of
its place for the folly of your child? Again, if we do not find something to
eat when we come out of the bath, our governor doth not try to moderate our
appetite, but beats the cook. E. D. iii. 19. 249
SEPTEMBER 6
FROM this day forv/ard, whenever we do any- thing wrong we
will impute it only to the principle from which we act ; and we will en-
deavour to remove that, and cut it up by the roots with greater care than we
would wens and tumours from the body. In like manner, we will ascribe what we
do right to the same cause ; and we will accuse neither servant, nor neighbour,
nor wife, nor children as the causes of any evils to us ; persuaded that if we
had not such principles, such consequences would not follow. Of these
principles we ourselves, and not externals, are the masters. E. D. i. II, 3.
THOROUGHLY consider, how man's life is but for a very moment of time, and so
depart meek, and contented : even as if a ripe Olive falling, should praise the
ground that bare her, and give thanks to the tree that begat her. M. A. iv. 39.
250
SEPTEMBER 7
IS that shameful to you which is not your own act ? Of which
you are not the cause ? Which hath happened to you by accident, like a fever,
or the headache? If your parents were poor, or left others their heirs, or,
though they are living, do not assist you, are these things shameful for you ?
Is this what you have learned from the philosophers ? Have you never heard,
that what is shameful is blamable ; and what is blamable deserves to be blamed
? Whom do you blame for an action not his own, which he hath not done himself?
E, D. iii. 26, I. SHAME doth not consist in not having any-thing to eat, but in
not having reason enough to exempt you from fear and sorrow. E. o, iii. 24, 7.
251
SEPTEMBER 8
"D EQUIRE not things to happen as you wish,A ^- but wish them
to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. E. M. 8. FIT and
accommodate thyself to that estate and to those occurrences, which by the
destinies have been annexed unto thee ; and love those men whom thy fate it is
to live with ; but love them truly. An instrument, a tool, an utensil,
whatsoever it be, if it be fit for the purpose it was made for, it is as it
should be, though he perchance that made and fitted it, be out of sight and
gone. But in things natural, that power which hath framed and fitted them, is
and abideth within them still : for which reason she ought also the more to be
respected, and we are the more obliged (if we may live and pass our time
accord- ing to her purpose and intention) to think that all is well with us,
and according to our own minds. After this manner also, and in this respect, it
is that he that is all in all doth enjoy his happiness. M. A. vi. 35. 252
SEPTEMBER 9
A GOOD eye must be good to see whatsoeveris to be seen, and
not green things only. For that is proper to sore eyes. So must a good ear, and
a good smell be ready for whatsoever is either to be heard, or smelt : and a
good stomach as indifferent to all kinds of food, as a millstone is, to
whatsoever she was made for, to grind. As ready therefore must a sound
understanding be for whatsoever shall happen. But he that saith, O that my
Children might live ! and, O that all men might commend me for whatsoever I do
! is an eye that seeks after green things ; or as teeth, after that which is
tender. M. A. X. 25. 253
SEPTEMBER 10
" A^rHAT, then, must my leg be lame?" And * * is it for one
paltry leg, wretch, that you accuse the world ? Why will you not give it up to
the whole? Why will you not withdraw your- self from it ? Why will you not
gladly yield it to him who gave it? And will you be angry and discontented with
the decrees of Jupiter, which he, with the Fates who spun in his presence the
thread of your birth, ordained and appointed ? Do not you know how very small a
part you are of the whole ? That is, as to body ; for as to reason you are
neither worse, nor less, than the gods. For reason is not measured by length or
height, but by principles. Will you not there- fore place your good there,
where you are equal to the gods? E. D. i. 12, 3. 254
SEPTEMBER 11
A A T^HEN a person maintains his proper station * in life, he
doth not gape after externals. What would you have, man ? " I am contented if
my desires and aversions are conformable to nature : if I manage my powers of
pursuit and avoidance, my purposes and in- tentions and assent, in the manner I
was formed to do." Why, then, do you walk as if you had swallowed a spit ? " I
could wish, moreover, to have all who meet me admire me, and all who follow me
cry out. What a great philosopher ! " Who are those by whom you would be
admired ? Are they not the very people who you used to say were mad? What,
then, would you be admired by madmen ? E. D. i.2 1. 255
SEPTEMBER 12
A^ S long as the foot doeth that which belongeth - unto it to
do, and the hand that which belongs unto it, their labour, whatsoever it be, is
not un- natural. So a man as long as he doeth that which is proper unto a man,
his labour cannot be against nature ; and if it be not against nature, then
neither is it hurtful unto him. But if it were so that happiness did consist in
pleasure : how came notorious robbers, impure abominable livers, parricides,
and tyrants, in so large a measure to have their part of pleasures ? D' M. A.
vi. 31. kOTH either the Sun take upon him to do ' that which belongs to the
rain? or his son yEsculapius that, which unto the Earth doth properly belong?
How is it with every one of the stars in particular? Though they all differ one
from another, and have their several charges and functions by themselves, do
they not all nevertheless concur and co-operate to one end? M. A. vi. 38. 256
SEPTEMBER 13
WHAT shall I do, then ?What do you do when you come out of a
ship ? Do you take away the rudder or the oars along with you ? What do you
take, then ? Your own : your bottle, and your bundle. So in the present case,
if you will remember what is your own, you will not claim what belongs to
others. Are you bid to put off your consular robe ? Well, I am in my
equestrian.?Put off that too. Well, I am naked.?Still, you raise my envy. Then
e'en take my whole body. If I can throw off a paltry body, am I any longer
afraid of a tyrant ? E. D. i. 24, 2. R 257
SEPTEMBER 14
" TS not my hand my own?" It is a part -L you, but it is by
nature clay, liable to of re- straint, to compulsion, a slave to everything
stronger than itself. And why do I say your hand ? You ought to possess your
whole body as a paltry ass with a pack-saddle on, as long as may be, as long as
it is allowed you. But if there should come a press and a soldier should lay
hold on it, let it go. Do not resist or murmur, other- wise you will be first
beat, and lose the ass after all. And, since you are to consider the body
itself in this manner, think what remains to do concerning those things which
are provided for the sake of the body. If that be an ass, the rest are bridles,
pack-saddles, shoes, oats, hay, for the ass. Let these go too. Quit them more
easily and expeditiously than the ass. E. D. iv. I, 12. 258
SEPTEMBER 15
A ND when you are thus prepared and thus -^^ exercised to
distinguish what belongs to others from your own ; what is liable to restraint
from what is not; to esteem your own property, the other not ; to keep your
desire, to keep your aversion carefully turned to this point ; whom have you
any longer to fear??"No one." For about what should you be afraid ? About what
is your own, in which consists the essence of good and evil? And who hath any
power over this? Who can take it away? Who can hinder you? No more than God can
be hindered. But are you afraid for body, for possessions, for what belongs to
others, for what is nothing to you ? And what have you been studying all this
while, but to distinguish between your own and not your own ; what is in your
power and what is not in your power ; what is liable to restraint and what is
not ? E. D. iv. I, 12. !59
SEPTEMBER 16
HE hath a stronger body, and is a betterwrestler than I. What
then ? Is he more bountiful ? is he more modest ? Doth he bear all adverse
chances with more equanimity : Or with his neighbour's offences with more
meekness and gentleness than I ? M. A. vii. 28. AVERY ridiculous thing it is,
that any manshould dispense with vice and wickedness in himself, which is in
his power to restrain ; and should go about to suppress it in others, which is
altogether impossible. M. A. vii. 41. ;6o
SEPTEMBER 17
UPON every accident, remember to turn to-wards yourself and
inquire what powers you have for making a proper use of it. If you see a
handsome person, you will find continence a power against this : if pain be
presented to you, you will find fortitude : if ill language, you will find
patience. And thus habituated, the appear- ances of things will not hurry you
away along with them. E. M. lO. BE not elated on any excellence not your own.If
a horse should be elated and say, " I am handsome," it would be supportable.
But when you are elated, and say, " I have a handsome horse," know that you are
elated on what is, in fact, only the good of the horse. E. M. 6. 261
SEPTEMBER 18
T T E is a man of sense who doth not grieve for J- J- what he
hath not, but rejoices in what he hath. E. FR. 124. HE that hath broken off the
bonds of the body,and perceiving that in a very Httle while he must of
necessity bid the World farewell, and leave all these things behind him, he
wholly applied himself, as to righteousness in all his actions, so to the
common Nature in all things that should happen unto him. And contenting himself
with these two things, to do all things justly, and what- soever God doth send
to like well of it : what others shall either say or think of him, or shall do
against him, he doth not so much as trouble his thoughts with it. To go on
straight, whither right and reason directed him, and by so doing to follow Ood,
was the only thing that he did mind, that, his only business and occupation. M.
A. X. 10. 262
SEPTEMBER 19
nPHE more rarely the objects of pleasure occur, ^ the more
delightful they are. E. FR. 49. T ET not that chief commanding part of thy soul
-L^ be ever subject to any variation through any corporal either pain or
pleasure, neither suffer it to be mixed with these, but let it both circum-
scribe itself, and confine those affections to their own proper parts and
members. But if at any time they do reflect, and rebound upon the mind and
understanding (as in an united and compacted body it must needs ;) then must
thou not go about to resist sense and feeling, it being natural. How- ever let
not thy understanding to this natural sense and feeling, which whether unto our
flesh pleasant or painful, is unto us nothing properly, add an opinion of
either good or bad, and all is well. M. A. V. 20. 263
SEPTEMBER 20
T3ASSIGN is produced no otherwise than by a -- disappointment
of the desires, and an incur- ring of the aversions. It is this which
introduces perturbations, tumults, misfortunes, and calamities; this is the
spring of sorrow, lamentation, and envy ; this renders us envious, and emulous,
and incapable of hearing reason. E. D. iii. 2, 2. THIS faculty in particular we
have receivedfrom nature, that whatsoever doth oppose itself unto her, and doth
withstand her in her purposes and intentions, she doth, though against its will
and intention, bring it about to herself, to serve herself of it in the
execution of her own destined ends ; and so by this though not in- tended
co-operation of it with herself makes it part of herself whether it will or no.
So may every reasonable Creature, what crosses or impediments soever it meets
with in the course of this mortal life, it may use them as fit and proper
objects, to the furtherance of whatsoever it intended, and ab- solutely
proposed unto itself as its natural end and happiness. M. A. viii. ^;^. 264
SEPTEMBER 21
" T7OR what purpose have I received these -T things ? " ?To
use them. " How long ? " ? As long as he who lent them pleases. If, then, they
are not necessary, do not attach yourself to them, and they will not be so ; do
not tell yourself that they are necessary, and they are not. This should be our
study from morning till night, beginning from the least and frailest things,
from an earthen vessel, from a glass. Afterwards, proceed to a suit of clothes,
a dog, a horse, an estate ; from thence to yourself, body, parts of the body,
children, wife, brothers. Look everywhere around you, and throw them from
yourself. Correct your principles. See that nothing cleave to you which is not
your own ; nothing grow to you that may give you pain when it is torn away. And
say, when you are daily exercising yourself as you do here, not that you act
the philosopher (admit this to be an insolent title), but that you are
asserting your freedom. For this is true freedom. This is the freedom that
Diogenes gained from Antisthenes, and declared it was impossible that he should
ever after be a slave to anyone. E. D. iv. I, 13. 265
SEPTEMBER 22
WHAT room is there, then, for quarrelling toa person thus
disposed ? For doth he wonder at anything that happens ? Doth it appear new to
him ? Doth not he expect worse and more grievous injuries from bad people than
happen to him ? Doth he not reckon it so much gained, as they come short of the
last extremities ? Such a one hath reviled you.?You are much obliged to him
that he hath not struck you.? But he hath struck you too. ? You are much
obliged to him that he hath not wounded you too.?But he hath wounded you
too.?You are much obliged to him that he hath not killed you. For when did he
ever learn, or from whom, that he is a gentle, that he is a social animal, that
the very injury itself is a great mischief to the injurious ? As, then, he hath
not learned these things, nor believes them, why should he not follow what
appears for his interest ? Your neigh- bour hath thrown stones. What then ? Is
it any fault of yours ? But your goods are broken. What then ? Are you a piece
of furniture ? No, but your essence consists in the faculty of choice. E. D.
iii. 5, 2. 266
SEPTEMBER 23
\^7"HAT behaviour, then, is assigned you in * ^ return ? If
you consider yourself as a wolf ?to bite again, to throw more stones. But if
you ask the question as a man, examine your treasure ; see what faculties you
have brought into the world with you. Are they dispositions to ferocity ? to
revenge ? When is a horse miserable ? When he is deprived of his natural
faculties. Not when he cannot crow, but when he cannot run. And a dog ? not
when he cannot fly, but when he cannot hunt. Is not a man, then, also unhappy
in the same manner ? Not he who cannot strangle lions, (for he hath received no
faculties for this purpose from nature) but who hath lost his rectitude of
mind, and fidelity. Such a one is the person who ought to be publicly lamented
for the misfortunes into which he is fallen. E. T). iii. 5, 2. 267
SEPTEMBER 24
FROM some high place as it were to look down,and to behold
here flocks, and there sacrifices, without number ; and all kind of navigation
; some in a rough and stormy sea, and some in a calm : the general differences,
or different estates of things, some, that are now first upon being ; the
several and mutual relations of those things that are together; and some other
things that are at their last. Their Uves also, who were long ago, and theirs
who shall be hereafter, and the present estate and life of those many nations
of Barbarians that are now in the world, thou must likewise consider in thy
mind. And how many there be, who never so much as heard of thy Name, how many
that will soon forget it ; how many who but even now did commend thee, within a
very little while perchance will speak ill of thee. So that neither fame, nor
honour, nor anything else that this world doth afford, is worth the while. The
sum then of all; Whatsoever doth happen unto thee, whereof God is the cause, to
accept it con- tentedly : whatsoever thou doest, whereof thou thyself art the
cause, to do it justly : which will be, if both in thy resolution and in thy
action thou have no further end, than to do good unto others, as being that,
which by thy natural constitution, as a man, thou art bound unto. M. A. ix. 29.
268
SEPTEMBER 25
LET not things future trouble thee. For if necessity so
require that they come to pass, thou shalt (whensoever that is) be provided for
them with the same reason, by which whatsoever is now present, is made both
tolerable and accept- able unto thee. All things are linked and knitted
together, and the knot is sacred, neither is there anything in the world, that
is not kind and natural in regard of any other thing, or, that hath not some
kind of reference, and natural correspondence with whatsoever is in the world
besides. For all things are ranked together, and by that decency of its due
place and order that each particular doth observe, they all concur together to
the making of one and the same orderly composition. M. A. vii. 6. A S several
members are in one body united, so ^^ are reasonable creatures, in a body
divided and dispersed, all made and prepared for one common operation. M. A.
vii. ID. THAT which is not good for the beehive,cannot be good for the bee. M.
A. vi. 49. 269
SEPTEMBER 26
LET us see your principles. For is it not evi-dent that you
consider your own choice as nothing, but look out for something external and
independent on it ? As, what such a one will say of you, and what you shall be
thought : whether a man of letters, whether to have read Chrysippus or
Antipater ; for, if Archedemus too, you have everything you wish. Why are you
still solicitous, lest you should not show us what you are ? Will you let me
tell you what you have showed us that you are ? A mean, discontented,
passionate, cowardly fellow ; complaining of everything ; ac- cusing everybody
; perpetually restless ; good for nothing. This you have showed us. E. D. iii.
2, 5. ?7o
SEPTEMBER 27
A A 7HAT is this, that now my fancy is set upon ? ^^ of what
things doth it consist ? how long can it last ? which of all the virtues, is
the proper virtue for this present use ? as whether meekness, fortitude, truth,
faith, sincerity, contentedness, or any of the rest ? Of everything therefore
thou must use thyself to say. This immediately comes from God, This by that
fatal connection and con- catenation of things, or (which almost comes to one)
by some coincidental casualty. And as for this, it proceeds from my neighbour,
my kinsman, my fellow : through his ignorance indeed, because he knows not what
is truly natural unto him : But I know it, and therefore carry myself towards
him according to the natural law of fellowship ; that is kindly, and justly. As
for those things that of themselves are altogether indifferent, as in my best
judgment I conceive everything to deserve more or less, so I carry myself
towards it. M. A. iii. 12. 271
SEPTEMBER 28
CAST away from thee opinion, and thou art safe. And what is
it that hinders thee from casting of it away ? When thou art grieved at
anything, hast thou forgotten that all things happen according to the Nature of
the Universe ; and that him only it concerns, who is in fault; and more- over,
that what is now done, is that which from ever hath been done in the world, and
will ever be done, and is now done everywhere : how nearly all men are allied
one to another by a kindred not of blood, nor of seed, but of the same mind.
Thou hast also forgotten that every man's mind, par- takes of the Deity, and
issueth from thence ; and that no man can properly call anything his own, no
not his son, nor his body, nor his life ; for that they all proceed from that
One who is the giver of all things : that all things are but opinion ; that no
man lives properly, but that very instant of time which is now present. And
therefore that no man whensoever he dieth can properly be said to lose any
more, than an instant of time. M. A. xii. 19. 272
SEPTEMBER 29
"DUT show me that he who hath the worst prin- -L' ciples gets
the advantage over him who hath the better. You never will show it, nor
anything like it : for the law of nature and of God is this : Let the better be
always superior to the worse. In what? In that wherein it is better. One body
is stronger than another : many than one ; and a thief than one who is not a
thief. Thus I, too, lost my lamp because the thief was better at keeping awake
than I. But he bought a lamp at the price of being a thief, a rogue, and a wild
beast. This seemed to him a good bargain, and much good may it do him ! E. D.
i. 29, 4. 273
SEPTEMBER 30
OH, wretched I ! to whom this mischance ishappened ! nay,
happy I, to whom this thing being happened, I can continue without grief;
neither wounded by that which is present, nor in fear of that which is to come.
For as for this, it might have happened unto any man, but any man having such a
thing befallen him, could not have continued without grief. Why then should
that rather be an unhappiness, than this a happiness? But however, canst thou,
O man ! term that un- happiness, which is no mischance to the nature of man !
Canst thou think that a mischance to the nature of man, which is not contrary
to the end and will of his nature? What then hast thou learned is the will of
man's nature? Doth that then which hath happened unto thee, hinder thee from
being just? or magnanimous? or temperate? or wise? or circumspect ? or true? or
modest ? or free ? or from anything else of all those things in the present
enjoying and possession whereof the nature of man (as then enjoying all that is
proper unto her,) is fully satisfied ? M. A. iv. 41. 274
OCTOBER 1
WHEN any alarming news is brought you, al- ways have it at
hand that no news can be brought you concerning what is in your own choice. Can
anyone bring you news that your opinions or desires are ill conducted ? By no
means ; but that somebody is dead. What is that to you, then ? That somebody
speaks ill of you. And what is that to you, then ? E. D. iii. i8, I. AS for
praise and commendation, view theirmind and understanding, what estate they are
in ; what kind of things they fly, and what things they seek after : and that
as in the sea-side, what- soever was before to be seen, is by the continual
succession of new heaps of sand cast up one upon another, soon hid and covered
; so in this life, all former things by those which immediately succeed. M. A.
vii. 22. 275
OCTOBER 2
WHENEVER anyone exceeds moderation,the most delightful things
may become the most undelightful. E. FR. 50. IF you are struck by the
appearance of any promised pleasure, guard yourself against being hurried away
by it ; but let the affair wait your leisure, and procure yourself some delay.
Then bring to your mind both points of time : that in which you shall enjoy the
pleasure, and that in which you will repent and reproach yourself after you
have enjoyed it ; and set before you, in op- position to these, how you will
rejoice and applaud yourself if you abstain. And even though it should appear
to you a seasonable gratification, take heed that its enticing and agreeable
and attractive force may not subdue you ; but set in opposition to this how
much better it is to be conscious of having gained so great a victory. E. M.
34. 276
OCTOBER 3
IV/r EN are disturbed, not by things, but by the ^^ '
principles and notions which they form con- cerning things. Death, for
instance, is not terrible, else it would have appeared so to Socrates. But the
terror consists in our notion of death that it is terrible. When therefore we
are hindered, or dis- turbed, or grieved, let us never impute it to others, but
to ourselves ; that is, to our own principles. It is the action of an
uninstructed person to lay the fault of his own bad condition upon others ; of
one entering upon instruction to lay the fault on himself; and of one perfectly
instructed, neither on others nor on himself. E. M. q. 277
OCTOBER 4
SOCRATES used very properly to call these things vizards :
for, as masks appear shocking and formidable to children, from their inexperi-
ence, we are affected in like manner, with regard to things, for no other
reason than as children are with regard to vizards. For what is a child ? Ig-
norance. What is a child ? Want of learning ; for, so far as the knowledge of
children extends, they are not inferior to us. What is death ? A vizard. Turn
it, and be convinced. See, it doth not bite. This little body and spirit must
be separated (as they formerly were) either now, or hereafter : why, then, are
you displeased if it be now ? For if not now, if will be hereafter. E. D. ii.
I, 3. 278
OCTOBER 5
NEVER either praise or blame any person onaccount of outward
actions that are common to all, but on the account of principles. These are the
peculiar property of each individual, and the things which make actions good or
bad. E. D. iv. 4, 5. IS it not a cruel thing to forbid men to affect those
things, which they conceive to agree best with their own natures, and to tend
most to their own proper good and behoof? But thou after a sort deniest them
this liberty, as often as thou art angry with them for their sins. For surely
they are led unto those sins whatsoever they be, as to their proper good and
commodity. But it is not so (that wilt object perchance). Thou therefore teach
them better, and make it appear unto them : but be not thou angry with them. M.
A. vi. 25. 279
OCTOBER 6
IN a voyage, for instance, casting my eyes down upon the
ocean below, and looking round me and seeing no land, I am out of my wits, and
im- agine that if I should be shipwrecked I must swallow all that ocean ; nor
doth it once enter my head, that three pints are enough to do my busi- ness.
What is it then that alarms me? The ocean ? No, but my own principle. Again, in
an earthquake, I imagine the city is going to fall upon me ; but is not one
Uttle stone enough to knock my brains out? What is it then that op- presses and
puts us out of our wits ? Why, what else but our principles? E. D. ii. 16, 3.
280
OCTOBER 7
"/^^UR wall is secure, we have provisions for a ^-^ very long
time, and every other preparation." These are what render a city fortified and
im- pregnable, but nothing but its principles render the human soul so. For
what wall is so strong, what body so impenetrable, or what possession so
unalienable, or what dignity so secured against stratagems ? All things else,
everywhere else, are mortal, easily reduced ; and whoever in any degree fixes
his mind upon them, must necessarily be subject to perturbation, despair,
terrors, lamenta- tions, disappointed desires, and incurred aversions. E. D.
iv. 5, 3. THE things or objects themselves, reach notunto the soul, but stand
without still, and quiet, and that it is from the opinion only which is within,
that all the tumult and all the trouble doth proceed. M. A. iv. 3. 281
OCTOBER 8
/^UTWARD pomp and appearance, is a great ^-^ juggler ; and
then especially art thou most in danger to be beguiled by it, when (to a man's
thinking) thou most seemest to be employed about matters of moment. M. A. 6, 4.
TDUBLIC shows and solemnities with much -^ pomp and vanity, stage plays, flocks
and herds ; conflicts and contentions : a bone thrown to a company of hungry
curs ; a bait for greedy fishes ; the painfulness, and continual burden-
bearing of wretched ants, the running to and fro of terrified mice : little
puppets drawn up and down with wires and nerves : these be the objects of the
World. M. A. 7, 3. 282
OCTOBER 9
THE best kind of revenge is, not to becomelike unto them. M.
A. 6, 5. LET this be thy only joy, and thy only comfort,from one sociable kind
action without inter- mission to pass unto another, God being ever in thy mind.
M. A. 6. CHARITABLE actions, and a holy disposition, is the only fruit of this
earthly life. M. A. 6, 27. TAKE heed lest at any time thou stand so affected,
though towards unnatural lived men, as ordinary men are commonly one towards
an- other. M. A. 7, 36. 283
OCTOBER 10
CONSIDER well whether magnanimity rather, and true liberty,
and true simplicity, and equanimity, and holiness ; whether these be not most
kind and natural. M. A. V. 9. ATI 7HAT is the use that now at this present I *
make of my soul? Thus from time to time and upon all occasions thou must put
this ques- tion to thyself, what is now that part of mine which they call the
rational mistress part, employed about ; Whose soul do I now properly possess ?
a child's ? or a youth's? a woman's? or a tyrant's? some brute, or some wild
beast's soul ? M. A. V. II. SUCH as thy thoughts and ordinary cogitations are,
such will thy mind be in time. For the soul doth as it were receive its
tincture from the fancies, and imaginations. Dye it therefore and thoroughly
soak it with the assiduity of these cogitations. M. A. V. 15. 284
OCTOBER 11
H EREIN doth consist happiness of Ufe, fora man to know
thoroughly the true nature of everything ; What is the matter, and what is the
form of it : with all his heart and soul, ever to do that which is just, and to
speak the truth. What then remaineth but to enjoy thy life in a course and
coherence of good actions, one upon another immediately succeeding, and never
in- terrupted, though for never so little a while ? M. A. xii. 22. HE that is
endowed with true magnanimity,who hath accustomed himself to the con-
templation both of all times, and of all things in general ; can this mortal
life (thinkest thou) seem any great matter unto him ? It is not possible ;
answered he. Then neither will such a one account death a grievous thing? By no
means. M. A. vii. 23. 285
OCTOBER 12
TO live happily is an inward power of the soul,when she is
affected with indifference, towards those things that are by their nature
indifferent. M. A. xi. 15. TT is in thy power absolutely to exclude all J-
manner of conceit and opinion, as concerning this matter ; and by the same
means, to exclude all grief and joy from thy soul. For as for the things and
objects themselves, they of themselves have no such power, whereby to beget and
force upon us any opinion at all. M. A. vi. 47. "T^OST thou grieve that thou
dost weigh but so ^-^ many pounds, and not 300rather? Just as much reason hast
thou to grieve that thou must live but so many years, and not longer. For as
for bulk and substance thou dost content thyself with that proportion of it
that is allotted unto thee, so shouldst thou for time. M. A. vi. 45. 286
OCTOBER 13
IF, then, the things independent on choice are neither good
nor evil ; and all that do depend on choice are in our own power, and can
neither be taken away from us, nor given to us, unless we please; what room is
there left for solicitude? But we are solicitous about this paltry body or
estate of ours, or about the determination of Caesar, and not at all about
anything internal. Are we ever solicitous not to take up a false opinion ? No,
for this is in our own power. Or not to exert our pursuits contrary to nature ?
No, nor this neither. When, therefore, you see any- one pale with solicitude,
as the physician pro- nounces from the complexion that such a patient is
disordered in the spleen, another in the liver, so do you likewise say, this
man is disordered in his desires and aversions, he cannot walk steady, he is in
a fermentation. For nothing else changes the complexion or causes a trembling
or sets the teeth a-chattering. E. D. ii. 13, 2. 287
OCTOBER 14
T^HUS are we too affected. What do we J- admire? Externals.
For what do we strive ? Externals. And are we, then, in any doubt how we come
to fear and be solicitous? What is the consequence, then, when we esteem the
things that are brought upon us to be evils? We cannot but fear ; we cannot but
be solicitous. And then we say, " O Lord God, how shall I avoid solici- tude !
" Have you not hands, fool ? Hath not God made them for you ? Sit down now and
pray that your nose may not run ! Wipe it rather, and do not murmur. Well : and
hath He given you nothing in the present case? Hath not He given you patience?
Hath not He given you magnanimity ? Hath not He given you fortitude? When you
have such hands as these, do you still seek for somebody to wipe your nose? But
we neither study nor regard these things. E. D. ii. 16, 2. 288
OCTOBER 15
THE condition and characteristic of a vulgarperson is, that
he never expects either benefit or hurt from himself, but from externals. The
condition and characteristic of a philosopher is, that he expects all hurt and
benefit from himself. The marks of a proficient are, that he censures no one,
praises no one, blames no one, accuses no one, says nothing concerning himself
as being anybody, or knowing anything : when he is, in any instance, hindered
or restrained, he accuses himself; and, if he is praised, he secretly laughs at
the person who praises him ; and, if he is cen- sured, he makes no defence. E.
M. 48. 289
OCTOBER 16
OF things, some are in our power and othersnot. In our power
are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in one word, whatever are our own
actions. Not in our power are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one
word, whatever are not our own actions. Now, the things in our power are by
nature free, unrestrained, unhindered ; but those not in our power, weak,
slavish, restrained, belonging to others. Remember, then, that if you suppose
things by nature slavish to be free, and what belongs to others your own, you
will be hindered ; you will lament ; you will be disturbed ; you will find
fault both with gods and men. But if you suppose that only to be your own which
is your own, and what belongs to others such as it really is, no one will ever
compel you ; no one will restrain you ; you will find fault with no one ; you
will accuse no one ; you will do no one thing against your will ; no one will
hurt you ; you will not have an enemy, for you will suffer no harm. E. M. I.
2go
OCTOBER 17
"\ X /"HEN you have lost anything external, have * * this
always at hand, what you have got instead of it ; and, if that be of more
value, do not by any means say, "I am a loser"; whether it be a horse for an
ass, an ox for a sheep, a good action for a piece of money, a due composedness
of mind for a dull jest, or modesty for indecent discourse. By continually
remembering this, you will preserve your character such as it ought to be.
Otherwise consider that you are spending your time in vain ; and all that you
are now applying your mind to, you are going to spill and overset. And there
needs but little and a small deviation from reason to destroy and overset all.
A pilot doth not need the same apparatus to over- set a ship as to save it ;
but, if he turns it a little to the wind, it is lost : even if he should not do
it by design, but only for a moment be thinking of something else, it is lost.
Such is the case here too. If you do but nod a little, all that you have
hitherto collected is gone. E. D. iv. 3, I. 39T
OCTOBER 18
FOR, amidst perturbations and griefs and fears, and
disappointed desires and incurred aver- sions, how can there be any entrance
for happi- ness ? And, where there are corrupt principles, there must all these
things necessarily be. E. D. iii. 22, 6. EVERY particular nature hath content,
whenin its own proper course it speeds. A reasonable nature doth then speed,
when first in matter of fancies and imaginations, it gives no consent to that
which is either false or un- certain. Secondly, when in all its motions and
resolutions it takes its level at the common good only, and that it desireth
nothing, and fiieth from nothing, but what is in its own power to compass or
avoid. And lastly, when it willingly and gladly embraceth, whatsoever is dealt
and appointed unto it by the common Nature. M. A. viii. 6. 292
OCTOBER 19
KEEP yourself awake. It is no inconsiderable matter you have
to guard, but modesty, fidelity, constancy, enjoyment, exemption from grief,
fear, perturbation ; in short, freedom. For what will you sell these? Consider
what the purchase is worth.?"But shall I not get such a thing instead of it ? "
?Consider, if you do get it, what it is that you obtain for the other. I have
decency ; another the office of a tribune : I have modesty ; he has the
proetorship. E. D. iv. 3, I. JUSTICE cannot be preserved, if either we settle
our minds and affections upon worldly things ; or be apt to be deceived, or
rash, and inconstant. M. A. xi. 9. 293
OCTOBER 20
T^HE great point is to leave to each thing its J- own proper
faculty, and then to see what the value of that faculty is, and to learn what
is the principal thing ; and upon every occasion, to follow that and to make it
the chief object of our attention ; to consider other things as trifling in
comparison of this ; and yet, as far as we are able, not to neglect even these.
We ought, for instance, to take care of our eyes ; but not as of the principal
thing, but only on account of the principal ; because that will no otherwise
preserve its own nature, than by making a due estimation of the rest, and
preferring some to others. What is the usual practice, then? That of a
traveller, who, returning into his own country, and meeting on the road with a
good inn, being pleased with the inn, should remain at the inn. Have you forgot
your intention, man ? You were not travelling to this place, but only through
it. " But this a fine place." And how many other fine inns are there, and how
many pleasant fields? But only to be passed through in your way. The business
is, to return to your country, to relieve the anxieties of your family, to
perform the duties of a citizen, to marry, have children, and go through the
public offices. For you did not set out to choose the finest places, but to
return to live in that where you were born, and of which you are appointed a
citizen. E. D. ii. 23, 3. 294
OCTOBER 21
FOR, without strong and constant exercise, it is not possible
to preserve our desire undisap- pointed, and our aversion unincurred ; and
there- fore, if we suffer it to be externally employed on things independent on
choice, be assured that your desire will neither gain its object, nor your
aversion avoid it. And, because habit hath a powerful influence, and we are
habituated to apply our desire and aversion to externals only, we must oppose
one habit to another, and where the appearances are most slippery, there oppose
exercise. I am in- clinable to pleasure. I will bend myself beyond a due
proportion to the other side for the sake of exercise. E. D. iii. 12, I, 2.
AFTERWARDS you will venture into the lists at some proper season, by way of
trial, if at all, to see whether appearances get the better of you as much as
they used to do. But at first, fly from what is stronger than you. E. D. iii.
12, 2. 295
OCTOBER 22
T ET thy chief fort and place of defence be, a -L-' mind free
from passions. A stronger place, (whereunto to make his refuge, and so to
become impregnable) and better fortified than this, hath no man. M. A. viii.
46. A ND in thy passions, take it presently to thy -^^ consideration, that to
be angry, is not the part of a man, but that to be meek and gentle, as it
savours of more humanity, so of more man- hood. That in this, there is strength
and nerves, or vigour and fortitude ; whereof anger and in- dignation is
altogether void. For the nearer everything is unto dispassionateness, the
nearer it is unto power. And as grief doth proceed from weakness, so doth
anger. For both, both he that is angry and that grieveth, have received a
wound, and cowardly have as it were yielded themselves unto their affections.
M. A. xi. 16. 296
OCTOBER 23
TIME delivers fools from grief; and reason, wise men. E. FR.
123. AS a pig that cries and flings when his throatis cut, fancy to thyself
everyone to be, that grieves for any worldly thing and takes on. Such a one is
he also, who upon his bed alone, doth bewail the miseries of this our mortal
life. And remember this, that unto reasonable creatures only it is granted that
they may willingly and freely submit unto Providence : but absolutely to
submit, is a necessity imposed upon all creatures equally. M. A. X. 28. ANY
person may live happily in poverty ; butfew in wealth and power. E. FR. 128.
297
OCTOBER 24
TRY also how a good man's life ; (of one, whois well pleased
with those things whatsoever, which among the common changes and chances of
this world fall to his own lot and share ; and can live well contented and
fully satisfied in the justice of his own proper present action, and in the
goodness of his disposition for the future :) will agree with thee. Thou hast
had experience of that other kind of life : make now trial of this also.
Trouble not thyself any more henceforth, reduce thyself unto perfect
simplicity. M. A. iv. 21. EVEN as if any of the gods should tell thee,thou
shall certainly die to-morrow, or next day, thou wouldst not, except thou wert
ex- tremely base, and pusillanimous, take it for a great benefit, rather to die
the next day after, than to-morrow ; (for alas what is the difference !) so,
for the same reason, think it no great matter to die rather many years after,
than the very next day. M. A. iv. 38. 298
OCTOBER 25
GIVE what Thou wilt, and take away what Thou wilt, saith he
that is well taught and truly ?modest, to Him that gives, and takes away. And
it is not out of a stout, and peremptory resolution, that he saith it, but in
mere love, and humble submission. M. A. X. 16. NEVER say of anything, " I have
lost It" ; but " I have restored it." Is your child dead ? It is restored. Is
your wife dead? She is re- stored. Is your estate taken away? Well, and is not
that likewise restored ? " But he who took it away is a bad man." What is it to
you by whose hands He, who gave it, hath demanded it back again? While He gives
you to possess it, take care of it ; but as of something not your own, as
passengers do of an inn. E. M. II. 299
OCTOBER 26
O MORTALS, whither are you hurrying?What are you about ? Why
do you tumble up and down, wretches, Uke bhnd men ? You are going a wrong way,
and have forsaken the right. You seek prosperity and happiness in a wrong
place, where it is not ; nor do you give credit to another who shows you where
it is. Why do you seek it without ? It is not in ?body : if you do not believe
me, look upon Myro, look upon OfeUius. It is not in wealth : if you do not
believe me, look upon Croesus, look upon the rich of the present age, how full
of lamentation their life is. It is not in power ; for, otherwise, they who
have been twice and thrice consuls must be happy, but they are not." E. D. iii.
22, 3. 300
OCTOBER 27
WHEN a person is possessed of some eitherreal or imagined
superiority, unless he hath been well instructed, he will necessarily be puffed
up with it. A tyrant, for instance, says : " I am supreme over all."?And what
can you do for me ? Can you exempt my desires from dis- appointment ? How
should you ? For do you never incur your own aversions ? Are your own pursuits
infallible ? Whence should you come by that privilege ? Pray, on shipboard, do
you trust to yourself, or to the pilot ? In a chariot, to whom but the driver ?
And to whom in all other arts ? Just the same. In what then, doth your power
consist ? ? " All men pay regard to me." So do I to my desk. I wash it and wipe
it ; and drive a nail for the service of my oil flask.? " What then, are these
things to be valued beyond me ? "?No : but they are of some use to me, and
therefore I pay regard to them. W'hy, do not I pay regard to an ass ? Do not I
wash his feet ? Do not I clean him ? Do not you know that everyone pays regard
to himself, and to you, just as he doth to an ass ? For who pays regard to you
as a man ? Show that. Who would wish to be like you ? E. D. i. 19, I. 301
OCTOBER 28
T AM better than you, for my father hath been -*- consul. I
have been a tribune, says another, and not you. If we were horses, would you
say, My father was swifter than yours ? I have abundance of oats and hay, and
fine trappings ? What now, if while you were saying this, I should answer, " Be
it so. Let us run a race, then " ? Is there nothing in man analogous to a race
in horses, by which it may be known which is better or worse ? Is there not
honour, fidelity, justice ? Show yourself the better in these, that you may be
the better, as a man. But if you tell me you can kick violently, I will tell
you again that you value yourself on the property of an ass. E. D. iii. 15, 5.
302
OCTOBER 29
I AM a better man than you, says one, for I have many
estates, and you are pining with hunger. I have been consul, says another; I am
a governor, a third ; and I have a fine head of hair, says a fourth. Yet one
horse doth not say to another, " I am better than you, for I have a great deal
of hay and a great deal of oats ; and I have a gold bridle and embroidered
trappings"; but, "I am swifter than you." And every creature is better or
worse, from its own good or bad qualities. Is man, then, the only creature
which hath no natural good quality ? And must we consider hair, and clothes,
and ancestors to judge of him ? E. FR. 13. 303
OCTOBER 30
" T)UT I am rich," you may say, "as well as -L/ other
people." What, richer than Agamemnon ? " But I am handsome too." What,
handsomer than Achilles ? " But I have fine hair too." Had not Achilles finer
and brighter ? Yet he neither combed it nicely, nor curled it. " But I am
strong too." Can you lift such a stone, then, as Hector or Ajax ? " But I am of
a noble family too." Is your mother a goddess, or your father de- scended from
Zeus ? And what good did all this do to Achilles, when he sat crying for a
girl? E. D. ii. 24, 2. 304
OCTOBER 31
AX 7"HEN you see another in power, set against * * it that
you have the advantage of not want- ing power. When you see another rich, see
what you have instead of riches ; for, if you have nothing in their stead, you
are miserable. But, if you have the advantage of not needing riches, know that
you have something more than he hath, and of far greater value. E. D. iv. 9, I.
TAKE heed, lest that whilst thou dost settle thy contentment in things present,
thou grow in time so to overprize them, as that the want of them (whensoever it
shall so fall out) should be a trouble and a vexation unto thee. M. A. vii. 20.
u 305
NOVEMBER 1
WHEN the Governor of Epirus had exertedhimself indecently in
favour of a comedian, and was, upon that account, publicly railed at ; and,
when he came to hear it, was highly dis- pleased with those who railed at him :
Why, w^hat harm, says Epictetus, have these people done ? They have favoured a
player, which is just what you did. E. D. iii. 4, I. THESE reasonings are
unconnected: "I am richer than you, therefore I am better"; " I am more
eloquent than you, therefore I am better." The connection is rather this : " I
am richer than you, therefore my property is greater than yours " ; "I am more
eloquent than you, therefore my style is better than yours." But you after all
own neither property nor style. E. M. 44. 306
NOVEMBER 2
Tl EMEMBER that it is not only the desire of -*-^ riches and
power that makes us mean and subject to others, but even of quiet and leisure,
and learning and travelling. E. D. iv. 4, I. '"PHOU hast no opportunity to
read. What -*- then ? Hast thou not time and opportunity to exercise thyself,
not to wrong thyself; to strive against all carnal pleasures and pains, and to
get the upper hand of them ; to contemn honour and vainglory ; and not only not
to be angry with them, whom towards thee thou dost find insensible and
unthankful, but also to have a care of them still, and their welfare ? M. A.
viii. 8. 307
NOVEMBER 3
IT is impossible but that habits and faculties must either be
first produced, or strengthened and increased, by corresponding actions. Hence
the philosophers derive the growth of all infirmi- ties. When you once desire
money, for example, if a degree of reasoning sufficient to produce a sense of
the evil be applied, the desire ceases, and the governing faculty of the mind
regains its author- ity : whereas, if you apply no remedy, it returns no more
to its former state ; but, being again excited by a corresponding appearance,
it kindles at the desire more quickly than before, and, by frequeiit
repetitions, at last becomes callous : and by this infirmity is the love of
money fixed. E. D. ii. 13, 2. 308
NOVEMBER 4
A PERSON was talking with me to-day aboutthe priesthood of
Augustus. I say to him, Let the thing alone, friend : you will be at great
expense for nothing. " But my name," says he, "will be written in the annals."
Will you stand by, then, and tell those who read them, " I am the person whose name is written there ? " But, if you
could tell everyone so now, what will you do when you are dead?? " My name
will remain." ?Write it upon a stone and it will remain just as well. But,
pray, what remembrance will there be of you out of Nicopolis?? "But I shall
wear a crown of gold."? If your heart is quite set upon a crown, take and
put on one of roses, for it will make the prettier appearance. E. D. i. 19,
5. 509
NOVEMBER 5
WHEN I hear anyone congratulated on thefavour of Caesar,
I say, What hath he got? ?"A province."?Hath he, then, got such princi-
ples, too, as he ought to have ??"A public charge." ?Hath he, then, got
with it the knowledge how to use it too? If not, why should I be thrust
about any longer to get in ? Someone scatters nuts and figs. Children
scramble and quarrel for them, but not men, for they think them
trifles.?Provinces are distributing. Let children look to it.?Money. Let
children look to it. Military command, a consulship. Let children scramble
for them. Let these be shut out, be beat, kiss the hands of the giver, of
his slaves. But to me they are but mere figs and nuts.? " What, then, is to
be done ? " If you miss them, while he is throwing them, do not trouble
yourself about it ; but if a fig should fall into your lap, take it and eat
it, for one may pay so much regard even to a fig. But if I am to stoop and
throw down one, or be thrown down by another, and flatter those who are got
in, a fig is not worth this, nor any other of the things which are not
really good, and which the philoso- phers have persuaded me not to esteem
as good. E. D. iv. 7, 4. 310
NOVEMBER 6
NO one who is a lover of money, a lover of pleasure, or a
lover of glory, is likewise a lover of mankind ; but only he who is a lover
of virtue. E. FR. lO. THAT which doth not hurt the city, itself, can- not
hurt any Citizen. This rule thou must remember to apply and make use of
upon every conceit and apprehension of wrong. If the whole City be not hurt
by this, neither am I certainly. And if the whole be not, why should I make
it my private grievance? Art not thou then a very fool, who for these
things, art either puffed up with pride, or distracted with cares, or canst
find in thy heart to make such moans as for a thing that would trouble thee
for a very long time? Consider the whole Universe, whereof thou art but a
very little part, and the whole age of the world together, whereof but a
short and very momentary portion is allotted unto thee, and all the Fates
and Destinies together, of which how much is it that comes to thy part and
share ! Again : Another doth trespass against me. Let him look to that. He
is master of his own dis- position, and of his own operation. M. A. v. 19.
311
NOVEMBER 7
RICHES are not among the number of things which are good
; prodigality is of the number of those which are evil ; Tightness of mind,
of those which are good. Now, rightness of mind invites to frugality and
the acquisition of things that are good ; but riches invite to prodigality,
and seduce from rightness of mind. It is dilificult, therefore, for a rich
person to be right-minded, or a right- minded person rich. E. FR. i8. FROM
the gods I received that I had goodGrandfathers, and Parents, a good
Sister, good masters, good domestics, loving kinsmen, almost all that I
have ; and that I never through haste, and rashness transgressed against
any of them, notwithstanding that my disposition was such, as that such a
thing (if occasion had been) might very well have been committed by me, but
that it was the mercy of the gods, to prevent such a concurring of matters
and occasions, as might make me to incur this blame. M. A. i. 14. 312
NOVEMBER 8
AS when you see a viper, or an asp, or a scor- pion, in
an ivory or gold box, you do not love or think it happy on account of the
magnificence of the materials in which it is enclosed, but shun and detest
it because it is of a pernicious nature ; so likewise, when you see vice
lodged in the midst of wealth and the swelling pride of fortune, be not
struck by the splendour of the materials with which it is surrounded, but
despise the base alloy of its manners. E. FR. 17. IS this then a thing of
that worth, that for it my soul should suffer, and become worse than it
was? as either basely dejected, or disordinately affected, or confounded
within itself, or terrified? What can there be, that thou shouldst so much
esteem ? M. A. viii. 44. 113
NOVEMBER 9
DO you not often see little dogs caressing and playing
with each other, that you would say nothing could be more friendly ; but,
to learn what this friendship is, throw a bit of meat between them, and you
will see. Do you too throw a bit of an estate betwixt you and your son, and
you will see that he will quickly wish you underground, and you him : and
then you, no doubt, on the other hand, will exclaim, What a son have I
brought up ! He would bury me alive ! Throw in a pretty girl, and the old
fellow and the young one will both fall in love with her ; or let fame or
danger intervene, the words of the father of Admetus will be yours : You
hold life dear ; doth not your father too ? Do you suppose that he did not
love his own child when he was a little one ? That he was not in agonies
when he had a fever, and often wished to undergo that fever in his stead ?
But, after all, when the trial comes home, you see what expres- sions he
uses. Were not Eteocles and Polynices born of the same mother and of the
same father ? Were they not brought up, and did they not live and eat and
sleep, together? Did not they kiss and fondle each other ? So that anyone
who saw them would have laughed at all the paradoxes which philosophers
utter about love. And yet, when a kingdom, like a bit of meat, was thrown
betwixt them, see what they say, and how eagerly they wish to kill each
other. E. D. ii. 22, I. 314
NOVEMBER 10
HENCE depends every movement both of God and man ; and
hence good is pre- ferred to every obligation, however near. My connection
is not with my father, but with good.? Are you so hard-hearted? ?Such is my
nature, and such is the coin which God hath given me. If, therefore, good
is made to be anything but fair and just, away go father, and brother, and
country, and everything. What ! Shall I overlook my own good and give it up
to you ? For what ? " I am your father." But not my good. "I am your
brother." But not my good. But, if we place it in a right choice, good will
consist in an observ- ance of the several relations of life ; and then, he
who gives up some externals acquires good. E. D. iii. 3, 2. 315
NOVEMBER 11
VT'OUR father deprives you of your money, but JL he doth
not hurt you. Your brother will possess as much larger a portion of land
than you as he pleases ; but will he possess more honour, more fidelity,
more fraternal affection ? Who can throw you out of this possession ? Not
even Jupiter, for, indeed, it is not his will ; but he hath put this good
into my own power, and given it me like his own, uncompelled, unrestrained,
and unhindered. But when anyone hath a coin different from this, for his
coin whoever shows it to him may have whatever is sold for it in return. A
thievish proconsul comes into the province : what coin doth he use? Silver.
Show it him, and carry off what you please. An adulterer comes : what coin
doth he use ? Women. Take the coin, says one, and give me this trifle. "
Give it me, and it is yours." Another is fond of hunt- ing : give him a
fine nag or a puppy ; and, though with sighs and groans, he will sell you
for it what you will, for he is inwardly compelled by another who hath
constituted this coin. E. D. iii. 3, 2. 316
NOVEMBER 12
I HAVE often wondered, how it should come to pass, that
every man loving himself best, should more regard other men's opinions
concern- ing himself, than his own. M. A. xii. 3. WHAT are their minds and
understanding; andwhat the things that they apply themselves unto ; what do
they love, and what do they work for? Fancy to thyself the estate of their
souls openly to be seen. When they think they hurt them shrewdly, whom they
speak ill of; and when they think they do them a very good turn, whom they
commend and extol : O how full are they then of conceit and opinion ! M. A.
ix. 32. 3'7
NOVEMBER 13
T F a person had delivered up your body to any- -*- one
whom he met in his way, you would certainly be angry. And do you feel no
shame in delivering up your own mind to be disconcerted and confronted by
anyone who happens to give you ill language? E. M. 28. AIT"HAT pain soever
thou art in, let this * * presently come to thy mind, that it is not a
thing whereof thou needest to be ashamed, neither is it a thing whereby thy
understanding, that hath the government of all, can be made W'orse. M. A.
vii. 35. " 'T^HE philosophers talk paradoxes." ^ And are there not
paradoxes in other arts ? What is more paradoxical than the pricking any-
one's eye to make him see ? If a person was to tell this to one ignorant of
surgery, would not he laugh at him? Where is the wonder then, if in
philosophy too, many truths appear paradoxes to the ignorant ! E. D. i. 25,
4. 318
NOVEMBER 14
THINK thyself fit and worthy to speak, or todo anything,
that is according to Nature, and let not the reproach, or report of some
that may ensue upon it, ever deter thee. If it be right and honest to be
spoken or done, undervalue not thyself so much, as to be discouraged from
it. As for them, they have their own rational over- ruling part, and their
own proper inclination : which thou must not stand and look about to take
notice of, but go on straight. M. A. V. 3. 319
NOVEMBER 15
WHAT says Antisthenes, then ? Have younever heard ? " It
is kingly, O Cyrus, to do well, and to be ill spoken of." My head is well,
and all around me think it aches. What is that to me ? I am free from a
fever ; and they compassionate me as if I had one. " Poor soul, what a long
while have you had this fever ! " I say, too, with a dismal countenance,
Ay, indeed, it is now a long time that I have been ill.? " What can be the
consequence, then ? " What pleases God. And at the same time I secretly
laugh at them who pity me. What forbids, then, but that the same may be
done in the other case? I am poor, but I have right principles concerning
poverty. What is it to me, then, if people pity me for my poverty? I am not
in power, and others are ; but I have such opinions as I ought to have
concerning power, and the want of power. E. D. iv. 6, 3. 320
NOVEMBER 16
LET them see to it who pity me. But I amneither hungry,
nor thirsty, nor cold. But, because they are hungry and thirsty, they sup-
pose me to be so too. What can I do for them, then ? Am I to go about
making proclamation, and saying, Do not deceive yourselves, good people, I
am very well : I regard neither poverty, nor want of power, nor anything
else, but right principles. These I possess unrestrained. I care for
nothing further.?But what trifling is this ? How have I right principles
when I am not contented to be what I am, but am out of my wits how I shall
appear??But others will get more, and be preferred to me.?Why, what is more
reasonable than that they who take pains for anything should get most in
that particular in which they take pains ? They have taken pains for power;
you, for right principles. E. I), iv. 6, 3. 321
NOVEMBER 17
SUPPOSE I should prove to you that you are deficient in
what is most necessary and im- portant to happiness, and that hitherto you
have taken care of everything, rather than your duty ; and, to complete
all, that you understand neither what God or man or good or evil means?
That you are ignorant of all the rest, perhaps, you may bear to be told ;
but if I prove to you that you are ignorant even of yourself, how will you
bear with me, and how will you have patience to stay and be convinced ? Not
at all. You will im- mediately be offended and go away. And yet what injury
have I done you ? unless a looking- glass injures a person not handsome,
when it shows him to himself such as he is. Or unless a physician can be
thought to affront his patient when he says to him, " Do you think, sir,
that you ail nothing? You have a fever. Eat no meat to-day, and drink
water." Nobody cries out here, " What an intolerable affront ! " But if you
say to anyone, Your desires are in a fermentation ; your aversions are low
; your in- tentions contradictory ; your pursuits not con- formable to
nature ; your opinions rash and mistaken ; he presently goes away, and
complains he is affronted. E. D. ii. 14, 3. 322
NOVEMBER 18
TF you possess many things, you still want ^ others ; so
that, whether you will or not, you are poorer than I. What, then, do I
want? What you have not : constancy, a mind con- formable to nature, and a
freedom from per- turbation. Patron or no patron, what care I ? But you do.
I am richer than you. I am not anxious what Caesar will think of me. I
flatter no one on that account. This I have, instead of silver and gold
plate. You have your vessels of gold; but your discourse, your principles,
your assents, your pursuits, your desires, of mere earthenware. When I have
all these con- formable to nature, why should not I bestow some study upon
my reasoning too ? E. D. iii. 9, I, 2. 323
NOVEMBER 19
I AM at leisure. My mind is under no dis- traction. In
this freedom from distraction, what shall I do ? Have I anything more be-
coming a man than this ? You, when you have nothing to do, are restless ;
you go to the theatre, or perhaps to bathe. Why should not the philo-
sopher polish his reasoning ? You have fine crystal and myrrhin vases ; I
have acute forms of reasoning. To you, all you have appears little ; to me,
all I have great. Your appetite is insatiable; mine is satisfied. When
children thrust their hand into a narrow jar of nuts and figs, if they fill
it they cannot get it out again ; then they fall a-crying. Drop a few of
them and you will get out the rest. And do you too drop your desire ; do
not covet many things, and you will get some. E. D. iii. 9, I, 2. 324
NOVEMBER 20
" T)UT how is it possible that a man worth -L' nothing,
naked, without house or home, squaHd, unattended, who belongs to no
country, can lead a prosperous life?"?See, God hath sent us one to show, in
fact, that it is possible. " Take notice of me, that I am without a
country, without a house, without an estate, without a servant ; I lie on
the ground ; no wife, no children, no coat, but only earth and heaven and
one sorry cloak. And what do I want ? Am not I without sorrow, without
fear? Am not I free? Did any of you ever see me disappointed of my desire,
or incurring my aversion ? Did I ever blame God or man ? Did I ever accuse
anyone? Hath any of you seen me look discontented ? How do I treat those
whom you fear, and of whom you are struck with awe ? Is it not like sorry
slaves ? Who that sees me doth not think that he sees his own king and
master ? " This is the language, this the character, this the undertaking,
of a Cynic. E. D. iii. 22, 5. "125
NOVEMBER 21
WHATSOEVER thou dost hereafter aspire unto, thou mayest
even now enjoy and possess, if thou dost not envy thyself thine own
happiness. And that will be, if thou shalt forget all that is past, and for
the future, refer thyself wholly to the divine providence, and shalt bend
and apply all thy present thoughts and intentions, to holiness and
righteousness. To holiness, in accepting willingly whatsoever is sent by
the divine providence, as being that which the nature of the Universe hath
appointed unto thee, which also hath appointed thee for that, whatsoever it
be. To righteousness, in speaking the Truth freely, and without ambiguity ;
and in doing all things justly and discreetly. Now in this good course, let
not other men's either wickedness, or opinion, or voice hinder thee : no,
nor the sense of this thy pampered mass of flesh : for let that which
suffers, look to itself M. A. xii. I. 326
NOVEMBER 22
IT vexes me, say you, to be pitied. Is this your affair,
then, or theirs who pity you ? And further : How is it in your power to
prevent it ?? " It is, if I show them that I do not need pity." But are you
now in such a condition as not to need pity, or are you not ?? " I think I
am. But these people do not pity me for what, if anything, would deserve
pity?my faults ; but for poverty and want of power, and sicknesses, and
deaths, and other things of that kind." Are you, then, prepared to convince
the world that none of these things is in reality an evil ; but that it is
possible for a person to be happy, even when he is poor and without honours
and power ? Or are you prepared to appear to them rich and powerful ? The
last of these is the part of an arrogant, silly, worthless fellow. E. D.
iv. 6, I. 327
NOVEMBER 23
IT is a thing very possible, that a man should be a very
divine man, and yet be altogether unknown. This thou must ever be mindful
of, as of this also, that a man's true happiness doth con- sist in very few
things. And that although thou dost despair, that thou shalt ever be a good
either Logician, or Naturalist, yet thou art never the further off by it
from being either liberal, or modest, or charitable, or obedient unto God.
M. A. vii. 38. WILL any contemn me ? let him look to that, upon what
grounds he does it : my care shall be that I may never be found either
doing, or speaking anything that doth truly deserve con- tempt. Will any
hate me ? let him look to that. I for my part will be kind and loving unto
all. M. A. xi. 12. 328
NOVEMBER 24
O UFUS used to say, If you are at leisure to J-V praise
me, I speak to no purpose. And indeed he used to speak in such a manner
that each of us who heard him supposed that some person had accused us to
him ; he so hit upon what was done by us, and placed the faults of everyone
before his eyes. E. u. iii. 23, I. T^OTH a philosopher apply to people to
hear -L^ him? Doth he not attract those who are fitted to receive benefit
from him, in the same manner as the sun or their necessary food doth ? What
physician applies to anybody to be cured by him ? Ibid. IT is more
necessary for the soul to be cured than the body ; for it is better to die
than to live ill. E. FR. 87. 329
NOVEMBER 25
A^rHEN we see anyone handle an axe awk- * * wardly, we do
not say, "Where is the use of this art ? See how ill carpenters perform."
But we say the very contrary, "This man is no carpenter, for he handles an
axe awkwardly." So, if we hear anyone sing badly, we do not say, "Observe
how musicians sing," but rather, "This fellow is no musician." It is with
regard to philo- sophy alone that people are thus affected. When they see
anyone acting contrary to the profession of a philosopher, they do not take
away his title ; but laying it down that he is a philosopher, and then
assuming from the very fact that he behaves indecently, they infer that
philosophy is of no use. "What, then, is the reason of this?" Because we
pay some regard to the preconception which we have of a carpenter and a
musician and so of other artists, but not of a philosopher, which being
thus vague and confused, we judge of it only from external appearances. And
of what other art do we take up our judgment from the dress? E. D. iv. 8,
I. 330
NOVEMBER 26
AS you would not wish to sail in a large and finely
decorated and gilded ship, and sink ; so neither is it eligible to inhabit
a grand and sumptuous house, and be in a storm of passions and cares. E.
FR. II. AS I bear in mind that I am a part of such anUniverse, I shall not
be displeased with any- thing that happens. And as I have relation of
kindred to those parts that are of the same kind and nature that I am, so I
shall be careful to do nothing that is prejudicial to the community, but in
all my deliberations shall they that are of my kind ever be ; and the
common good, that, which all my intentions and resolutions shall drive
unto, as that which is contrary unto it, I shall by all means endeavour to
prevent and avoid. These things once so fixed and concluded, as thou
wouldst think him an happy citizen, whose con- stant study and practice
were for the good and benefit of his fellow citizens, and the carriage of
the city such towards him, that he were well pleased with it ; so must it
needs be with thee, that thou shalt live a happy life. M. A. X. 6. 331
NOVEMBER 27
YOU will confer the greatest benefits on your city, not
by raising the roofs, but by exalting the souls of your fellow-citizens.
For it is better that great souls should live in small habitations than
that abject slaves should burrow in great houses. E. FR. 76. AN unmusical
person is a child in music ; anilliterate person, a child in learning ; and
an untaught one, a child in life. E. D. iii. 19, I. AS it is better to lie
straitened for room upona little couch in health, than to toss upon a wide
bed in sickness : so it is better to contract yourself within the compass
of a small fortune and be happy, than to have a great one and be wretched.
E. F. 21. IT is not poverty that causes sorrow, but covetous desires ; nor
do riches deliver from fear, but reasoning. If therefore you acquire a
habit of reasoning, you will neither desire riches nor complain of poverty.
E. FR.
NOVEMBER 28
CHOOSE rather to punish your appetites than to be
punished by them. E. FR. 108. WHEN you have shut your doors, and
darkenedyour room, remember never to say that you are alone, for you are
not ; but God is within, and your genius is within ; and what need have
they of Hght to see what you are doing? To this (jod you Hkewise ought to
swear such an oath as the soldiers do unto Cffisar. For do they, in order
to receive their pay, swear to prefer before all things the safety of C^sar
; and will you not swear, who have received so many and so great favours,
or if you have sworn, will you not stand to it ? And what must you swear?
Never to disobey, nor accuse, nor murmur at any of the things appointed by
him, nor unwillingly to do or suffer anything necessary. Is this oath like
the former ? In the first, persons swear not to honour any other be- yond
Cffisar; in the last, beyond all, to honour themselves. E. D. i. 14, I. 333
NOVEMBER 29
IT is better to admonish than reproach ; for the one is
mild and friendly, the other harsh and affronting ; and the one corrects
the faulty, the other only convicts them. E. FR. 102. ALL men are made one
for another : eitherthen teach them better, or bear with them. M. A. viii.
56. IN general every faculty is dangerous to weak and uninstructed persons
; as being apt to render them arrogant and elated. For by what method can
one persuade a young man who excels in these kinds of study that he ought
not to be an appendix to them, but they to him ? E. D. i. 8, I. 334
NOVEMBER 30
CERTAINLY there is nothing better than for a man to
confine himself to necessary actions ; to such and so many only, as reason
in a nature that knows itself born for society, will command and enjoin.
This will not only procure that cheerfulness, which from the goodness, but
that also, which from the paucity of actions doth usually proceed. For
since it is so, that most of those things, which we either speak or do, are
unnecessary ; if a man shall cut them off, it must needs follow that he
shall thereby gain much leisure, and save much trouble, and therefore at
every action a man must privately by way of admonition suggest unto
himself, What? may not this that now I go about, be of the number of
unnecessary actions? Neither must he use him- self to cut off actions only,
but thoughts and im- aginations also, that are unnecessary ; for so will
unnecessary consequent actions the better be prevented and cut off. M. A.
iv. 20. 335
DECEMBER 1
NATURE has given man one tongue, but two -' ^ ears, that
we may hear twice as much as we speak. Attributed to Epictetus. A^T'HETHER
thou speak in the Senate, or * * whether thou speak to any particular
person, let thy speech be always grave and modest. But thou must not openly
and vulgarly observe that sound and exact form of speaking, concerning that
which is truly good and truly evil, the vanity of the world and of worldly
men, which otherwise truth and reason both prescribe. M. A. viii. 27. LET
not your laughter be much, nor often, nor profuse. E. M. 33. USE thyself
when any man speaks unto thee,so to hearken unto him, as that in the
interim, thou give not way to any other thoughts \ that so thou mayest (as
far as is possible) seem fixed and fastened to his very soul, whosoever he
be that speaks unto thee. 336
DECEMBER 2
AS we say commonly, The physician has pre-scribed unto
this man, riding ; unto another, cold baths ; unto a third, to go bare foot
: so it is alike to say, The Nature of the Universe hath prescribed unto
this man sickness, or blindness, or some loss, or damage or some such
thing. For as there, when we say of a physician, that he hath prescribed
anything, our meaning is, that he hath appointed this for that, as
subordinate and conducing to health. M. A. V. 8. ' I ""HEY who have a good
constitution of body J- support heats and colds ; and so they who have a
right constitution of soul bear the attacks of anger, grief, and immoderate
joy, and the other passions. E. FR. 15. 337
DECEMBER 3
THE time of a man's life is as a point ; thesubstance of
it ever flowing, the sense ob- scure ; and the whole composition of the
body, tending to corruption. His soul is restless, fortune uncertain, and
fame doubtful : to be brief, as a stream so are all things belonging to the
body ; as a dream, or as a smoke, so are all that belong unto the soul. Our
life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage. Fame after life, is no better
than oblivion. What is it then that will adhere and follow ? Only one
thing, Philosophy. And philosophy doth consist in this, for a man to
preserve that Spirit which is within him, from all manner of contumelies
and injuries, and above all pains or pleasures ; never to do anything
either rashly, or feignedly, or hypocritically : wholly to depend from
himself, and his own proper actions : all things that happen unto him to
embrace con- tentedly, as coming from Him from whom He Himself also came;
and above all things, with all meekness and a calm cheerfulness, to expect
death, as being nothing else, but the resolution of those Elements, of
which every creature is composed. And if the Elements themselves suffer
nothing by this their perpetual conversion of one into another, that
dissolution, and alteration, which is so common unto all, why should it be
feared by any? Is not this according to nature? But nothing that is
according to Nature, can be evil. M. A. ii. 15. 33S
DECEMBER 4
'THE soul compasseth the whole world, and J- penetrateth
into the Vanity, and mere out- side (wanting substance and solidity) of it,
and stretcheth herself unto the infiniteness of eternity ; and the
revolution or restoration of all things after a certain period of time, to
the same state and place as before, she fetcheth about, and doth comprehend
in herself; and considers withal, and sees clearly this, that neither they
that shall follow us, shall see any new thing, that we have not seen, nor
they that went before, anything more than we : but that he that is once
come to forty (if he have any wit at all) can in a manner (for that they
are all of one kind,) see all things, both past and future. As proper is it
and natural to the soul of man, to love her neighbour, to be true and
modest. M. A. xi. I. 339
DECEMBER 5
WHEN children cry if their nurse happensto be absent for
a Uttle while, give them a cake, and they forget their grief. Shall we com-
pare you to these children, then ? No, indeed. For I do not desire to be
pacified by a cake, but by right principles. And what are they? Such as a
man ought to study all day long, so as not to be attached to what doth not
belong to him ; neither to a friend, to a place, an academy, nor even to
his own body, but to remember the law and to have that constantly before
his eyes. And what is the divine law? To preserve in- violate what is
properly our own, not to claim what belongs to others ; to use what is
given us, and not desire what is not given us ; and, when anything is taken
away, to restore it readily, and to be thankful for the time you have been
per- mitted the use of it, and not cry after it, like a child for its nurse
and its mamma. E. D. ii. i6, 3. 340
DECEMBER 6
"POR a man to be proud and high conceited, ^ that he is
not proud and high conceited, is of all kinds of pride and presumption the
most intolerable. M. A. xii. 20. A X 7"HEN you have brought yourself to
supply * ^ the necessities of your body at a small price, do not pique
yourself upon it ; nor, if you drink water, be saying upon every occasion,
" I drink water." But first consider how much more spar- ing and patient of
hardship the poor are than we. But if at any time you would inure yourself
by exercise to labour, and bearing hard trials, do it for your own sake,
and not for the world ; do not grasp statues, but, when you are violently
thirsty, take a little cold water in your mouth, and spurt it out and tell
nobody. E. M. 47. IF you would be well spoken of, learn to speak well of
others. And, when you have learned to speak well of them, endeavour
likewise to do well to them ; and thus you will reap the fruit of being
well spoken of by them. E. FR. 6. 341
DECEMBER 7
OMY soul, the time I trust will be, when thoushalt be
good, simple, single, more open and visible, than that body by which it is
enclosed. Thou wilt one day be sensible of their happiness, whose end is
love, and their affections dead to all worldly things. Thou shalt one day
be full, and in want of no external thing : not seeking pleasure from
anything, either living or insensible, that this World can afford ; neither
wanting time for the continuation of thy pleasure, nor place and
opportunity, nor the favour either of the weather or of men. When thou
shalt have con- tent in thy present estate, and all things present shall
add to thy content : when thou shalt per- suade thyself, that thou hast all
things ; all for thy good, and all by the providence of the gods : and of
things future also shalt be as confident, that all will do well, as tending
to the mainten- ance and preservation in some sort, of his perfect welfare
and happiness, who is perfection of life, of goodness, and beauty ; Who
begets all things, and containeth all things in himself, and in him- self
doth recollect all things from all places that are dissolved, that of them
he may beget others again like unto them. Such one day shall be thy
disposition, that thou shalt be able, both in regard of the gods, and in
regard of men, so to fit and order thy conversation, as neither to complain
of them at any time, for anything that they do ; nor to do anything
thyself, for which thou mayest justly be condemned. M. A. X. I. 342
DECEMBER 8
AS concerning pain : that which is intolerableis soon
ended by death ; and that which holds long must needs be tolerable. M. A.
vii. 22. WHATSOEVER doth happen unto thee, thouart naturally by thy natural
constitution either able, or not able, to bear. If thou beest able, be not
offended, but bear it according to thy natural constitution, or as nature
hath enabled thee. If thou beest not able, be not offended. For it will
soon make an end of thee, and itself, (whatsoever it be) at the same time
end with thee. But remember, that whatsoever by the strength of opinion,
grounded upon a true apprehension of both true profit and duty, thou canst
conceive tolerable : that thou art able to bear by thy natural
constitution. M. A. X. 3. 343
DECEMBER 9
ir\0 not you know that both sickness and death -*->' must
overtake us? At what employment? The husbandman at his plough ; the sailor
on his voyage. At what employment would you be taken ? For, indeed, at what
employment ought you to be taken? If there is any better employment at
which you can be taken, follow that. For my own part, I would be taken en-
gaged in nothing, but in the care of my own faculty of choice ; how to
render it undisturbed, unrestrained, uncompelled, free. I would be found
studying this, that I may be able to say to God, " Have I transgressed Thy
commands ? Have I perverted the powers, the senses, the preconceptions
which Thou hast given me ? Have I ever accused Thee, or censured Thy
dispensations ?" E. D. iii. 5, I. 344
DECEMBER 10
" T HAVE been sick, because it was Thy pleasure ; -?- and
so have others, but I willingly. I have been poor, it being Thy will, but
with joy. I have not been in power, because it was not Thy will ; and power
I have never desired. Hast Thou ever seen me out of humour upon this
account? Have I not always approached thee with a cheerful countenance,
prepared to execute Thy commands and the significations of Thy will ? Is it
Thy pleasure that I should depart from this assembly? I depart. I give Thee
all thanks that Thou hast thought me worthy to have a share in it with Thee
; to behold Thy works, and to join with Thee in comprehending Thy
administration." Let death overtake me while I am thinking, while I am
writing, while I am reading such things as these. E. D. iii. q. i. 345
DECEMBER 11
AX WHEREVER I go it will be well with me * * there, for
it was well with me here, not on account of the place, but of the
principles which I shall carry away with me, for no one can deprive me of
these ; on the contrary, they alone are my property, and cannot be taken
away, and retaining them suffices me wherever I am or whatever I do. " But
it is now time to die."?What is it that you call dying? Do not talk of the
thing in a tragedy strain, but say, as the truth is, that it is time for a
compound piece of matter to be resolved back into its original. And where
is the terror of this ? What part of the world is going to be lost? What is
going to happen new or prodigious ? Is it for this that a tyrant is
formidable ? Is it on this account that the swords of his guards seem so
large and sharp ? Try these things upon others. For my part I have examined
the whole. No one hath an authority over me. God hath made me free ; I know
His commands ; after this no one can enslave me. E. D. iv. 7, 3. 346
DECEMBER 12
'"PHIS is the work, if any, that ought to employ L your
master and preceptor, if you had one ; that you should come to him, and say
: " Epictetus, we can no longer bear being tied down to this paltry body,
feeding and resting and cleaning it, and hurried about with so many low
cares on its account. Are not these things indifferent, and nothing to us,
and death no evil ? Are not we relations of God, and did we not come from
Him ? Suffer us to go back thither from whence we came ; suffer us, at
length, to be delivered from these fetters, that chain and weigh us down.
Here thieves and robbers, and courts of judicature, and those who are
called tyrants, seem to have some power over us, on account of the body and
its possessions. Suffer us to show them, that they have no power." And in
this case it would be my part to answer : " My friends, wait for God, till
He shall give the signal, and dismiss you from this service ; then return
to Him. For the present, be content to remain in this post where He has
placed you. The time of your abode here is short, and easy to such as are
disposed like you. For what tyrant, what robber, what thief, or what courts
of judicature are formidable to those who thus account the body and its
possessions as nothing? Stay. Depart not inconsiderately." E. D. i. 8, 3.
347
DECEMBER 13
T ET it be thy earnest and incessant care as a ?*?' Roman
and a man to perform whatsoever it is that thou art about, with true and
unfeigned gravity, natural affection, freedom and justice : and as for all
other cares, and imaginations, how thou mayest ease thy mind of them. Which
thou shalt do ; if thou shalt go about every action as thy last action,
free from all vanity, all passionate and wilful aberration from reason, and
from all hypocrisy, and self-love, and dis- like of those things, which by
the fates, or ap- pointment of God, have happened unto thee. M. A. 2, 7.
348
DECEMBER 14
I MUST die: and must I die groaning too?? Be fettered.
Must it be lamenting too ?? Exiled. And what hinders me, then, but that I
may go smiling, and cheerful, and serene ? ? " Betray a secret."? I will
not betray it ; for this is in my own power.?"Then I will fetter you."?What
do you say, man ? Fetter me ? You will fetter my leg ; but not Jupiter
himself can get the better of my choice. " I will throw you into prison : I
will behead that paltry body of yours." Did I ever tell you, that I alone
had a head not liable to be cut off ? ? These things ought philosophers to
study ; these ought they daily to write ; and in these to exercise
themselves. E. D. i. I, 6. I WILL dine first, and when the hour comes, then
I will die. How ? As becomes one who restores what is not his own. E. D. i.
I, 7. 349
DECEMBER 15
T F I can achieve nothing myself, I will not envy -^
another the honour of doing some gallant action. But suppose this to be a
strain too high for us ; are not we capable at least of arguing thus??Where
shall I fly from death? Show me the place; show me the people to whom I may
have recourse, whom death doth not overtake. Show me the charm to avoid it.
If there be none, what would you have me do? I cannot escape death; but
cannot I escape the dread of it ? Must I die trembling and lamenting ? For
the origin of the disease is wishing for some- thing that is not obtained.
In consequence of this, if I can bring over externals to my own
inclination, I do it; if not, I want to tear out the eyes of whoever
hinders me. For it is the nature of man not to bear the being deprived of
good ; not to bear the falling into evil. And so, at last, when I can
neither bring over things to my own inclination, nor tear out the eyes of
him who hinders me, I sit down and groan, and revile him whom I can; Zeus,
and the rest of the gods. E. D. i. 27, I. 350
DECEMBER 16
THAT soul which is ever ready, even now presently (if
need be) from the body, whether by way of Extinction, or Dispersion, or
Continuation in another place and estate to be separated, how blessed, and
happy is it ! M. A. xi. 3. HOW many of them who came into the worldat the
same time when I did, are already gone out of it ? M. A. vi. 51. /^UR life
is reaped like a ripe ear of corn. M. A. vii. 25. WAIT until thy soul shall
fall off from thatoutward cloak or skin, wherein as a child in the womb it
lieth involved and shut up. M. A. ix. 3. 351
DECEMBER 17
THUS Demetrius said to Nero : "You sentenceme to death ;
and nature, you ! " If I place my admiration on body, I give myself up for
a slave ; if on an estate, the same ; for I immediately betray myself how I
may be taken. Just as when a snake pulls in his head, I say, strike that
part of him which he guards : and be you assured, that whatever you show a
desire to guard, there your master will attack you. Remember but this, whom
will you any longer flatter or fear ? E. D. i. 25, 3. " "DUT your head will
be taken off." And will -L) his own always remain on ; or yours, who obey
him ?? " But you will be thrown out un- buried." If I am the corpse, I
shall be thrown out ; but if I am something else than the corpse, speak
more handsomely, as the thing is, and do not think to fright me. These
things are frightful to children and fools. E. D. iv. 7, 5. 352
DECEMBER 18
LET that of Heraclitus never be out of thy mind, that the
death of earth, is water, and the death of water, is air ; and the death of
air, is fire ; and so on the contrary. Remember him also who was ignorant
whither the way did lead, and how that Reason being the thing, by which all
things in the world are administered, and which men are continually and
most inwardly conver- sant with : yet is the thing, which ordinarily they
are most in opposition with, and how those things which daily happen among
them, cease not daily to be strange unto them, and that we should not
either speak, or do anything as men in their sleep, by opinion and bare
imagination : for then we think we speak and do, and that we must not be as
children, who follow their father's example ; for best reason alleging
barely this : As by tradition from our forefathers we have received it. M.
A. iv. 37. 353
DECEMBER 19
AS for death, if there be any gods, it is no ^~^ grievous
thing to leave the society of men. The gods will do thee no hurt thou
mayest be sure. But if it be so that there be no gods, or that they take no
care of the world, why should I desire to live in a world void of gods, and
of all divine providence ? M. A. ii. 8TTE that feareth Death, either
feareth that he -L ^ shall have no sense at all, or that his senses will
not be the same. Whereas, he should rather comfort himself, that either no
sense at all, and so no sense of evil ; or if any sense, then another life,
and so no death properly, M. A. viii. 55. nPHOU must not in matter of
death, carry thy- -L self scornfully, but as one that is well pleased with
it, as being one of those things that Nature hath appointed. M. A. ix. 3.
354
DECEMBER 20
nnO look back upon things of former ages, as -- upon the
manifold changes and conversions of several monarchies and commonwealths.
We may also foresee things future, for they shall all be of the same kind ;
neither is it possible that they should leave the tune, or break the
consort that is now begun, as it were, by these things that are now done
and brought to pass in the World. It comes all to one therefore, whether a
man be a spectator of the things of this life but forty years, or whether
he see them ten thousand years to- gether : for what shall he see more?
"And as for those parts that came from the Earth, they shall return unto
the Earth again ; and those that came from Heaven, they also shall return
unto those heavenly places." M. A. vii. 27. 355
DECEMBER 21
THE brass pot and the earthen pitcher, as thefable says,
are an unsuitable match. E. D. iii. 12, 2. IF you wish your children, and
your wife, and your friends to live for ever, you are stupid ; for you wish
things to be in your power which are not so, and what belongs to others to
be your own. So likewise, if you wish your servant to be with- out fault,
you are a fool ; for you wish vice not to be vice, but something else. But,
if you wish to have your desires undisappointed, this is in your own power.
Exercise, therefore, what is in your power. He is the master of every other
person who is able to confer or remove whatever that person wishes either
to have or to avoid. Who- ever, then, would be free, let him wish nothing,
let him decline nothing, which depends on others, else he must necessarily
be a slave. E. M. 14. ;56
DECEMBER 22
INCE, at all events, one must die, one must ^^-^
necessarily be found doing something, either tilling, or digging, or
trading, or serving a consul- ship, or sick of an indigestion or a flux. At
what employment, then, would you have death find you? For my part, I would
have it be some humane, beneficent, public-spirited, gallant action. But if
I cannot be found doing any such great things, yet, at least, I would be
doing what I am incap- able of being restrained from, what is given me to
do, correcting myself, improving that faculty which makes use of the
appearances of things, to procure tranquillity, and render to the several
relations of life their due ; and, if I am so fortunate, advanc- ing to the
third topic, a security of judging right. If death overtakes me in such a
situation, it is enough for me if I can stretch out my hands to God and
say, " The opportunities which Thou hast given me of comprehending and
following the rules of Thy administration I have not neglected. As far as
in me lay, I have not dishonoured Thee. See how I have used my perceptions,
how my pre- conceptions. Have I at any time found fault with Thee ? Have I
been discontented at Thy dispensa- tions, or wished them otherwise ? Have I
trans- gressed the relations of life ? I thank Thee that Thou hast brought
me into being. I am satisfied with the time that I have enjoyed the things
whxh Thou hast given me. Receive them back again, and assign them to
whatever place Thou wilt ; for they were all Thine, and Thou gavest them to
me." E. D. iv. Q. 2. 357
DECEMBER 23
IT were indeed more happy and comfortable, for a man to
depart out of this World, having lived all his life long clear from all
falsehood, dissimula- tion, voluptuousness, and pride. But if this can- not
be, yet is it some comfort for a man joyfully to depart as weary, and out
of love with those ; rather than to desire to live, and to continue long in
those wicked courses. Hath not yet experience taught thee to fly from the
plague? For a far greater plague is the corruption of the mind, than any
certain change and distemper of the common air can be. This is a plague of
creatures, as they are living creatures ; but that of men as they are men
or reasonable. M. A. ix. 2. TOYS and fooleries at home ; wars abroad
;sometimes terror, sometimes torpor, or stupid sloth : this is thy daily
slavery. M. A. X. 9. 558
DECEMBER 24
/"^AN death be terrible to him, to whom that ^^-^ only
seems good, which in the ordinary course of nature is seasonable ? to him,
to whom, whether his actions be many or few, so they be all good, is all
one ; and who whether he behold the things of the world being always the
same either for many years, or for few years only, is altogether
indifferent? O man! as a Citizen thou hast lived, and conversed in this
great City the World. Whether just for so many years, or no, what is it
unto thee? Thou hast lived (thou mayest be sure) as long as the Laws, and
Orders of the City required ; which may be the common comfort of all. Why
then should it be grievous unto thee, if (not a Tyrant, nor an unjust
Judge, but) the same nature that brought thee in, doth now send thee out of
the world? As if the Prjetor should fairly dismiss him from the stage, whom
he had taken in to act a while. Oh, but the play is not yet at an end,
there are but three Acts yet acted of it? Thou hast well said : for in
matter of life, three Acts is the whole Play. Now to set a certain time to
every man's acting, belongs unto Him only, who as first He was of thy
composition, so is now the cause of thy dissolution. As for thyself, thou
hast to do with neither. Go thy ways then well pleased and con- tented :
for so is He that dismisseth thee. M. A. xii. 27. 359
DECEMBER 25
XJOW hast thou carried thyself hitherto towards -"- -'
the Gods ? towards thy Parents ? towards thy Brethren ? towards thy Wife ?
towards thy Children ? towards thy Masters ? thy foster Fathers ? thy
Friends ? thy Domestics ? thy Servants ? Is it so with thee, that hitherto
thou hast neither by word nor deed wronged any of them ? Remember withal
through how many things thou hast already passed, and how many thou hast
been able to endure ; so that now the Legend of thy life is full, and thy
charge is accomplished. Again, how many truly good things have certainly by
thee been discerned? how many pleasures, how many pains hast thou passed
over with contempt ? how many things ex- ternally glorious hast thou
despised ? towards how many perverse unreasonable men, hast thou carried
thyself kindly, and discreetly ? M. A. V. 25. 360
DECEMBER 26
T^EATH is a cessation from the impressions of -*--' the
senses, the tyranny of the passions, the errors of the mind, and the
servitude of the body. M. A. vi. 26. T S any man so foolish as to fear
change, to which J- all things that once were not owe their being ? And
what is it, that is more pleasing and more familiar to the nature of the
Universe ? How couldst thou thyself use thy ordinary hot baths, should not
the wood that heateth them first be changed ? How couldst thou receive any
nourish- ment from those things that thou hast eaten, if they should not be
changed ? Can anything else almost (that is useful and profitable) be
brought to pass without change ? How then dost not thou perceive, that for
thee also, by death, to come to change, is a thing of the very same nature,
and as necessary for the nature of the Universe ? M. A. vii. 15. 361
DECEMBER 27
THE time when thou shalt have forgotten all things, is at
hand. And that time also is at hand, when thou thyself shalt be forgotten
by all. Whilst thou art, apply thyself to that especially which unto man as
he is a man, is most proper and agreeable, and that is, for a man even to
love them that transgress against him. This shall be, if at the same time
that any such thing doth happen, thou call to mind, that they are thy
Kinsmen ; that it is through ignorance and against their wills that they
sin ; and that within a very short while after, both thou and he shall be
no more. But above all things, that he hath not done thee any hurt ; for
that by him thy mind and understanding is not made worse or more vile than
it was before. M. A. vii. i6. 362
DECEMBER 28
IF thou shouldst live 3000, or as many as 10,000 of
years, yet remember this, that man can part with no Ufe properly, save with
that little part of life, which he now lives : and that which he lives, is
no other, than that which at every instant he parts with. That then which
is longest of duration, and that which is shortest, come both to one
effect. For although in regard of that which is already past there may be
some inequality, yet that time which is now present and in being, is equal
unto all men. And that being it which we part with whensoever we die, it
doth manifestly appear, that it can be but a moment of time, that we then
part with. For as for that which is either past or to come, a man cannot be
said properly to part with it. For how should a man part with that which he
hath not? E. D. ii. 12. 363
DECEMBER 29
A 1/"HY are ears of corn produced, if it be not to * ^
ripen ? and why do they ripen, if not to be reaped ? For they are not
separate individuals. If they were capable of sense, do you think they
would wish never to be reaped ? It would be a curse upon ears of corn not
to be reaped : and we ought to know, that it would be a curse upon man not
to die ; like that of not ripening, and not being reaped. Since, then, it
is necessary for us to be reaped, and we have, at the same time, under-
standing to know it, are we angry at it ? E. D. ii. 6, 2. 364
DECEMBER 30
"jVrO great thing is brought to perfection sud- -' ^
denly, when not so much as a bunch of grapes or a fig is. If you tell me
that you would at this minute have a fig, I will answer you, that there
must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. Is then
the fruit of a fig- tree not brought to perfection suddenly, and in one
hour : and would you possess the fruit of the human mind in so short a
time, and without trouble ? I tell you, expect no such thing. E. D. i. 15,
2. \ X T^ORD after word, every one by itself, must * * the things that are
spoken be conceived and understood ; and so the things that are done, pur-
pose after purpose, every one by itself likewise, M. A. vii. 4. 365
DECEMBER 31
WHERE, then, is the great good or evil ofman? Where his
difiference is. If this is preserved, and remains well fortified, and
neither honour, fidelity, nor judgment is destroyed, then he himself is
preserved likewise ; but when any of these are lost and demoHshed, he
himself is lost also. In this do all great events consist. Paris, they say,
was undone, because the Greeks invaded Troy and laid it waste, and his
family were slain in battle. By no means ; for no one is undone by an
action not his own. All that was only laying waste the nests of storks. But
his true undoing was, when he lost the modest, the faithful, the
hospitable, and the decent char- acter. When was Achilles undone? When
Patroclus died? By no means. But when he gave himself up to rage ; when he
wept over a girl; when he forgot that he came there not to get mistresses,
but to fight. This is human undoing; this is the siege; this the overthrow:
our right principles are ruined, when these are destroyed. E. D. i. 28, 4.
366