BOOK FOUR
That which rules within, when it is according to nature, is so affected with respect to the events
which happen, that it always easily adapts itself to that which is and is presented to it. For it
requires no definite material, but it moves towards its purpose, under certain conditions
however; and it makes a material for itself out of that which opposes it, as fire lays hold of what
falls into it, by which a small light would have been extinguished: but when the fire is strong, it
soon appropriates to itself the matter which is heaped on it, and consumes it, and rises higher
by means of this very material.
Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of
art.
Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, sea-shores, and mountains; and thou
too art wont to desire such things very much. But this is altogether a mark of the most common
sort of men, for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself. For nowhere
either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul,
particularly when he has within him such thoughts that by looking into them he is immediately in
perfect tranquility; and I affirm that tranquility is nothing else than the good ordering of the mind.
Constantly then give to thyself this retreat, and renew thyself; and let thy principles be brief and
fundamental, which, as soon as thou shalt recur to them, will be sufficient to cleanse the soul
completely, and to send thee back free from all discontent with the things to which thou
returnest. For with what art thou discontented? With the badness of men? Recall to thy mind
this conclusion, that rational animals exist for one another, and that to endure is a part of justice,
and that men do wrong involuntarily; and consider how many already, after mutual enmity,
suspicion, hatred, and fighting, have been stretched dead, reduced to ashes; and be quiet at
last.- But perhaps thou art dissatisfied with that which is assigned to thee out of the universe.-
Recall to thy recollection this alternative; either there is providence or atoms, fortuitous
concurrence of things; or remember the arguments by which it has been proved that the world is
a kind of political community, and be quiet at last.- But perhaps corporeal things will still fasten
upon thee.- Consider then further that the mind mingles not with the breath, whether moving
gently or violently, when it has once drawn itself apart and discovered its own power, and think
also of all that thou hast heard and assented to about pain and pleasure, and be quiet at
last.- But perhaps the desire of the thing called fame will torment thee.- See how soon
everything is forgotten, and look at the chaos of infinite time on each side of the present, and
the emptiness of applause, and the changeableness and want of judgement in those who
pretend to give praise, and the narrowness of the space within which it is circumscribed, and
be quiet at last. For the whole earth is a point, and how small a nook in it is this thy dwelling,
and how few are there in it, and what kind of people are they who will praise thee.
This then remains: Remember to retire into this little territory of thy own, and above all do not
distract or strain thyself, but be free, and look at things as a man, as a human being, as a
citizen, as a mortal. But among the things readiest to thy hand to which thou shalt turn, let
there be these, which are two. One is that things do not touch the soul, for they are external and
remain immovable; but our perturbations come only from the opinion which is within. The other
is that all these things, which thou seest, change immediately and will no longer be; and
constantly bear in mind how many of these changes thou hast already witnessed. The universe
is transformation:
life is opinion.
If our intellectual part is common, the reason also, in respect of which we are rational beings, is
common: if this is so, common also is the reason which commands us what to do, and what not
to do; if this is so, there is a common law also; if this is so, we are fellow-citizens; if this is so,
we are members of some political community; if this is so, the world is in a manner a state. For
of what other common political community will any one say that the whole human race are
members? And from thence, from this common political community comes also our very
intellectual faculty and reasoning faculty and our capacity for law; or whence do they come?
For as my earthly part is a portion given to me from certain earth, and that which is watery from
another element, and that which is hot and fiery from some peculiar source (for nothing comes
out of that which is nothing, as nothing also returns to non-existence), so also the intellectual
part comes from some source.
Death is such as generation is, a mystery of nature; a composition out of the same elements,
and a decomposition into the same; and altogether not a thing of which any man should be
ashamed, for it is not contrary to the nature of a reasonable animal, and not contrary to the
reason of our constitution.
It is natural that these things should be done by such persons, it is a matter of necessity; and if a
man will not have it so, he will not allow the fig-tree to have juice. But by all means bear this in
mind, that within a very short time both thou and he will be dead; and soon not even your names
will be left behind.
Take away thy opinion, and then there is taken away the complaint, "I have been harmed." Take
away the complaint, "I have been harmed," and the harm is taken away.
That which does not make a man worse than he was, also does not make his life worse, nor
does it harm him either from without or from within. The nature of that which is universally
useful has been compelled to do this.
Consider that everything which happens, happens justly, and if thou observest carefully, thou wilt
find it to be so. I do not say only with respect to the continuity of the series of things, but with
respect to what is just, and as if it were done by one who assigns to each thing its value.
Observe then as thou hast begun; and whatever thou doest, do it in conjunction with this, the
being good, and in the sense in which a man is properly understood to be good. Keep to this in
every action.
Do not have such an opinion of things as he has who does thee wrong, or such as he wishes
thee to have, but look at them as they are in truth.
A man should always have these two rules in readiness; the one, to do only whatever the reason
of the ruling and legislating faculty may suggest for the use of men; the other, to change thy
opinion, if there is any one at hand who sets thee right and moves thee from any opinion. But
this change of opinion must proceed only from a certain persuasion, as of what is just or of
common advantage, and the like, not because it appears pleasant or brings reputation.
Hast thou reason? I have.- Why then dost not thou use it? For if this does its own work, what
else dost thou wish?
Thou hast existed as a part. Thou shalt disappear in that which produced thee; but rather thou
shalt be received back into its seminal principle by transmutation.
Many grains of frankincense on the same altar: one falls before, another falls after; but it makes
no difference.
Within ten days thou wilt seem a god to those to whom thou art now a beast and an ape, if thou
wilt return to thy principles and the worship of reason.
Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over thee. While thou
livest, while it is in thy power, be good.
How much trouble he avoids who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or
thinks, but only to what he does himself, that it may be just and pure; or as Agathon says, look
not round at the depraved morals of others, but run straight along the line without deviating from
it.
He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those
who remember him will himself also die very soon; then again also they who have succeeded
them, until the whole remembrance shall have been extinguished as it is transmitted through
men who foolishly admire and perish. But suppose that those who will remember are even
immortal, and that the remembrance will be immortal, what then is this to thee? And I say not
what is it to the dead, but what is it to the living? What is praise except indeed so far as it has a
certain utility? For thou now rejectest unseasonably the gift of nature, clinging to something
else...
Everything which is in any way beautiful is beautiful in itself, and terminates in itself, not having
praise as part of itself. Neither worse then nor better is a thing made by being praised. I affirm
this also of the things which are called beautiful by the vulgar, for example, material things and
works of art. That which is really beautiful has no need of anything; not more than law, not more
than truth, not more than benevolence or modesty. Which of these things is beautiful because it
is praised, or spoiled by being blamed? Is such a thing as an emerald made worse than it was, if
it is not praised? Or gold, ivory, purple, a lyre, a little knife, a flower, a shrub?
If souls continue to exist, how does the air contain them from eternity?- But how does the earth
contain the bodies of those who have been buried from time so remote? For as here the
mutation of these bodies after a certain continuance, whatever it may be, and their dissolution
make room for other dead bodies; so the souls which are removed into the air after subsisting
for some time are transmuted and diffused, and assume a fiery nature by being received into the
seminal intelligence of the universe, and in this way make room for the fresh souls which come
to dwell there. And this is the answer which a man might give on the hypothesis of souls
continuing to
exist. But we must not only think of the number of bodies which are thus buried, but also of the
number of animals which are daily eaten by us and the other animals. For what a number is
consumed, and thus in a manner buried in the bodies of those who feed on them! And
nevertheless this earth receives them by reason of the changes of these bodies into blood, and
the transformations into the aerial or the fiery element.
What is the investigation into the truth in this matter? The division into that which is material and
that which is the cause of form, the formal.
Do not be whirled about, but in every movement have respect to justice, and on the occasion of
every impression maintain the faculty of comprehension or understanding.
Everything harmonizes with me, which is harmonious to thee, O Universe. Nothing for me is too
early nor too late, which is in due time for thee. Everything is fruit to me which thy seasons bring,
O Nature: from thee are all things, in thee are all things, to thee all things return. The poet says,
Dear city of Cecrops; and wilt not thou say, Dear city of Zeus?
Occupy thyself with few things, says the philosopher, if thou wouldst be tranquil.- But consider if
it would not be better to say, Do what is necessary, and whatever the reason of the animal which
is naturally social requires, and as it requires. For this brings not only the tranquility which
comes from doing well, but also that which comes from doing few things. For the greatest part
of what we say and do being unnecessary, if a man takes this away, he will have more leisure
and less uneasiness. Accordingly on every occasion a man should ask himself, Is this one of the
unnecessary things? Now a man should take away not only unnecessary acts, but also,
unnecessary thoughts, for thus superfluous acts will not follow after.
Try how the life of the good man suits thee, the life of him who is satisfied with his portion out of
the whole, and satisfied with his own just acts and benevolent disposition.
Hast thou seen those things? Look also at these. Do not disturb thyself. Make thyself all
simplicity. Does any one do wrong? It is to himself that he does the wrong. Has anything
happened to thee? Well; out of the universe from the beginning everything which happens has
been apportioned and spun out to thee. In a word, thy life is short. Thou must turn to profit the
present by the aid of reason and justice. Be sober in thy relaxation.
Either it is a well-arranged universe or a chaos huddled together, but still a universe. But can a
certain order subsist in thee, and disorder in the All? And this too when all things are so
separated and diffused and sympathetic.
A black character, a womanish character, a stubborn character, bestial, childish, animal, stupid,
counterfeit, scurrilous, fraudulent, tyrannical.
If he is a stranger to the universe who does not know what is in it, no less is he a stranger who
does not know what is going on in it. He is a runaway, who flies from social reason; he is blind,
who shuts the eyes of the understanding; he is poor, who has need of another, and has not from
himself all things which are useful for life. He is an abscess on the universe who withdraws and
separates himself from the reason of our common nature through being displeased with the
things which happen, for the same nature produces this, and has produced thee too: he is a
piece rent asunder from the state, who tears his own soul from that of reasonable animals,
which is one.
The one is a philosopher without a tunic, and the other without a book: here is another half
naked: Bread I have not, he says, and I abide by reason.- And I do not get the means of living out
of my learning, and I abide by my reason.
Love the art, poor as it may be, which thou hast learned, and be content with it; and pass
through the rest of life like one who has intrusted to the gods with his whole soul all that he has,
making thyself neither the tyrant nor the slave of any man.
Consider, for example, the times of Vespasian. Thou wilt see all these things, people marrying,
bringing up children, sick, dying, warring, feasting, trafficking, cultivating the ground, flattering,
obstinately arrogant, suspecting, plotting, wishing for some to die, grumbling about the present,
loving, heaping up treasure, desiring counsulship, kingly power. Well then, that life of these
people no longer exists at all. Again, remove to the times of Trajan. Again, all is the same. Their
life too is gone. In like manner view also the other epochs of time and of whole nations, and see
how many after great efforts soon fell and were resolved into the elements. But chiefly thou
shouldst think of those whom thou hast thyself known distracting themselves about idle things,
neglecting to do what was in accordance with their proper constitution, and to hold firmly to this
and to be content with it. And herein it is necessary to remember that the attention given to
everything has its proper value and proportion. For thus thou wilt not be dissatisfied, if thou
appliest thyself to smaller matters no further than is fit.
The words which were formerly familiar are now antiquated: so also the names of those who
were famed of old, are now in a manner antiquated, Camillus, Caeso, Volesus, Leonnatus, and
a little after also Scipio and Cato, then Augustus, then also Hadrian and Antoninus. For all things
soon pass away and become a mere tale, and complete oblivion soon buries them. And I say
this of those who have shone in a wondrous way. For the rest, as soon as they have breathed
out their breath, they are gone, and no man speaks of them. And, to conclude the matter, what
is even an eternal remembrance? A mere nothing. What then is that about which we ought to
employ our serious pains? This one thing, thoughts just, and acts social, and words which never
lie, and a disposition which gladly accepts all that happens, as necessary, as usual, as flowing
from a principle and source of the same kind.
Willingly give thyself up to Clotho, one of the Fates, allowing her to spin thy thread into whatever
things she pleases.
Everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that
which is remembered.
Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that
the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make
new things like them. For everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be.
But thou art thinking only of seeds which are cast into the earth or into a womb: but this is a very
vulgar notion.
Thou wilt soon die, and thou art not yet simple, not free from perturbations, nor without suspicion
of being hurt by external things, nor kindly disposed towards all; nor dost thou yet place wisdom
only in acting justly.
Examine men's ruling principles, even those of the wise, what kind of things they avoid, and
what kind they pursue.
What is evil to thee does not subsist in the ruling principle of another; nor yet in any turning and
mutation of thy corporeal covering. Where is it then? It is in that part of thee in which subsists
the power of forming opinions about evils. Let this power then not form such opinions, and all is
well. And if that which is nearest to it, the poor body, is burnt, filled with matter and rottenness,
nevertheless let the part which forms opinions about these things be quiet, that is, let it judge
that nothing is either bad or good which can happen equally to the bad man and the good. For
that
which happens equally to him who lives contrary to nature and to him who lives according to
nature, is neither according to nature nor contrary to nature.
Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and
observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being;
and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all
things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the
web.
Thou art a little soul bearing about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say.
It is no evil for things to undergo change, and no good for things to subsist in consequence of
change.
Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a
thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried
away too.
Everything which happens is as familiar and well known as the rose in spring and the fruit in
summer; for such is disease, and death, and calumny, and treachery, and whatever else
delights fools or vexes them.
In the series of things those which follow are always aptly fitted to those which have gone
before; for this series is not like a mere enumeration of disjointed things, which has only a
necessary sequence, but it is a rational connection: and as all existing things are arranged
together harmoniously, so the things which come into existence exhibit no mere succession, but
a certain wonderful relationship.
Always remember the saying of Heraclitus, that the death of earth is to become water, and the
death of water is to become air, and the death of air is to become fire, and reversely. And think
too of him who forgets whither the way leads, and that men quarrel with that with which they are
most constantly in communion, the reason which governs the universe; and the things which
daily meet with seem to them strange: and consider that we ought not to act and speak as if we
were asleep, for even in sleep we seem to act and speak; and that we ought not, like children
who learn from their parents, simply to act and speak as we have been taught.
If any god told thee that thou shalt die to-morrow, or certainly on the day after to-morrow, thou
wouldst not care much whether it was on the third day or on the morrow, unless thou wast in the
highest degree mean-spirited- for how small is the difference?- So think it no great thing to die
after as many years as thou canst name rather than to-morrow.
Think continually how many physicians are dead after often contracting their eyebrows over the
sick; and how many astrologers after predicting with great pretensions the deaths of others; and
how many philosophers after endless discourses on death or immortality; how many heroes
after killing thousands; and how many tyrants who have used their power over men's lives with
terrible insolence as if they were immortal; and how many cities are entirely dead, so to speak,
Helice and Pompeii and Herculaneum, and others innumerable. Add to the reckoning all whom
thou hast known, one after another. One man after burying another has been laid out dead, and
another buries him: and all this in a short time. To conclude, always observe how ephemeral
and worthless human things are, and what was yesterday a little mucus to-morrow will be a
mummy or ashes. Pass then through this little space of time conformably to nature, and end thy
journey in content, just as an olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing nature who produced it, and
thanking the tree on which it grew.
Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break, but it stands firm and tames
the fury of the water around it.
Unhappy am I because this has happened to me.- Not so, but happy am I, though this has
happened to me, because I continue free from pain, neither crushed by the present nor fearing
the future. For such a thing as this might have happened to every man; but every man would not
have continued free from pain on such an occasion. Why then is that rather a misfortune than
this a good fortune? And dost thou in all cases call that a man's misfortune, which is not a
deviation from man's nature? And does a thing seem to thee to be a deviation from man's
nature, when it is not contrary to the will of man's nature? Well, thou knowest the will of nature.
Will then this which has happened prevent thee from being just, magnanimous, temperate,
prudent, secure against inconsiderate opinions and falsehood; will it prevent thee from having
modesty, freedom, and
everything else, by the presence of which man's nature obtains all that is its own? Remember
too on every occasion which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: not that this is a
misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune.
It is a vulgar, but still a useful help towards contempt of death, to pass in review those who have
tenaciously stuck to life. What more then have they gained than those who have died early?
Certainly they lie in their tombs somewhere at last, Cadicianus, Fabius, Julianus, Lepidus, or
any one else like them, who have carried out many to be buried, and then were carried out
themselves. Altogether the interval is small between birth and death; and consider with how
much trouble, and in company with what sort of people and in what a feeble body this interval is
laboriously passed. Do not then consider life a thing of any value. For look to the immensity of
time behind thee, and to the time which is before thee, another boundless space. In this infinity
then what is the difference between him who lives three days and him who lives three
generations?
Always run to the short way; and the short way is the natural: accordingly say and do everything
in conformity with the soundest reason. For such a purpose frees a man from trouble, and
warfare, and all artifice and ostentatious display.