Chapter 8 volume seven

1. What is evil?It is what you are used to.Keep this in mind as everything happens: it's what you're used to.You will find the same thing everywhere, up and down, that fills the history of past ages, the history of middle ages, and our own; and fills the cities and homes of the present.Something new: everything is familiar and ephemeral. 2. How can our principles die?Unless the impressions (thoughts) that correspond to them are extinguished.But it is within your power to keep fanning these thoughts into a vigorous flame.I can form an opinion about what I should have about anything.Why should I bother if I could?What is outside my mind has nothing to do with my mind. - Let this be your emotional state and you will be able to stand firm.It is within your power to restore your life, and see things the way you are used to, for that is where your life is restored.

3. Meaningless exhibitions, performances on the stage, flocks of sheep, herds of beasts, training with knives and guns, a bone thrown at a puppy, a bit of bread thrown in a fish pond, the labor and transportation of ants, the fear of frightening mice Running, manipulating puppets, things like that.It is your duty, then, to stand among these things with a good humor rather than pride, and at any rate to understand that every man is worth as much as his busyness is. 4. In conversation you must watch what is said, and in any activity you must watch what is being done.In the one case the chest should have a direct insight into the purpose to which it is directed, and in the other you should observe carefully what things signify.

5. Am I sane enough to do the job?If it does the job, then I use it in this work as a tool given by the nature of the universe.But if it is not up to it, then I either give up the work and give it to someone who can do it better (unless there is some reason why I should not do it); or I do it as well as I can. It, accepting the help of a man who can, by means of my governing principles, do what is now proper and useful to the public good.For both what I do and what I can do with another should point only to that which is useful and fit for society. 6. How many people have been forgotten after enjoying the great reputation, and how many people have died after praising the reputation of others.

7. Don't be ashamed to be helped, for it is your job to perform your duty like a warrior in a storm.So what if, because of your limp, you can't go to battle by yourself, but you can with the help of another? 8. Do not let future events bother you, for if they had to happen, you would approach them with the same rationality with which you now approach present things. 9. All things are interconnected, and this bond is sacred, and there is hardly a thing that is not connected to any other thing.Because things are cooperative, they combine to form the same universe (order).For, there is one universe of all things, one God pervasive of all things, one substance, one law, one reason common to all sane animals, one truth, if indeed there is one all from Of the same origin, sharing the same perfection of words in the same movement of reason.

10. All material things will soon disappear in the substance as a whole, all form (cause) things will soon return to the rationality of the universe, and the memory of all things will soon be drowned in time. 11. For rational animals, according to nature and according to reason are the same thing. 12. Make you stand upright, or you will be held upright. 13. Just as in those bodies the parts are a unity, so are the scattered rational beings a unity, because they are constituted for a cooperation.You will perceive this more clearly if you often say to yourself that I am a member of a system of rational beings.But if you say part, you have not yet loved people from your heart; you have not yet taken pleasure in benevolence itself; Success is doing good to yourself.

14. Let that which is to come from without fall upon that part where the effect of this coming may be felt.For those parts that feel are going to complain if they want to, but unless I think what's happening is an evil, I won't be hurt.It is within my power not to think so. 15. No matter what anyone does or says, I must still be good, just as gold, emerald or purple robes always say: Whatever one does or says, I must still be an emerald, retaining my color . 16. The ability to dominate does not bother itself, and I mean: without frightening or causing pain to oneself.But if anyone else can frighten it or cause it pain, let him do so.For the faculty itself is not led this way by its own opinion.If the body can, let it take care of itself and not suffer, and if it suffers, let it show.And the soul itself, which is subject to intimidation and pain, and which is perfectly capable of forming an opinion about these things, will suffer nothing, because it will not be biased towards such a judgment.The guiding principle itself needs nothing but itself, so it is free from disturbance and unhindered, so long as it does not disturb and hinder itself.

17. Eudaemonia (happiness) is a good god (daemon), or a good thing.So what are you doing?Oh fantasy?When you come, I implore you beyond the spirit, go, for I will not dream.But you came your way, and I'm not mad at you, I just want you to go away. 18. Is anyone afraid of change?But what can happen without change?And how could it be more pleasing to the nature of the universe or more suitable to it?Can you take a bath without firewood undergoing a change?Can you get nourishment without food undergoing a change?Can anything else useful be formed without a change?Don't you see that change is needed for you as it is for the nature of the universe?

19. All bodies are carried through the substance of the universe as through a torrent, united and co-operating with the whole by their nature, as the parts of our bodies are united and co-operated.How many Chrysippus, how many Socrates, how many Epictetus, has time swallowed up?Let you see everyone and everything with the same thought. 20. There is only one thing that troubles me, and that is the fear that I will do what my human structure does not allow, or do it in a way that it does not allow, or do it when it does not allow me to do it. 21. The time when you forget everything is near, and the time when you are forgotten by everyone is also near.

22. To love even those who do wrong things is a characteristic of human beings.If you think of them as your countrymen when they do wrong, this happens, they do it out of ignorance and unconsciousness, and you are all going to die soon, especially, the wrongdoer did not Do no harm, because he didn't make your ego worse than it was. 23. The nature of the universe outside the cosmic substance, as if the substance were wax, now molds a horse, when it breaks the horse, it makes a tree out of the material, then a man, then something else , each of which exists for only a short time.As for the container, being broken is not a trouble to it, just as being aggregated is not a trouble to it.

24. It is unnatural to frown and worry. If it is often done, the result is that all the beauty and beauty will disappear, and finally it will disappear so that it is impossible to recover.Try to conclude from this fact that it is against reason.For if even the perception of doing something wrong would disappear, what reason would survive? 25. Reason governing the whole will soon change all things you see, and other things will arise from their substance, and these things will be replaced by other things, and in this way, the world can be forever new . 26. When a person does something wrong to you, immediately consider what kind of view of good and evil he has done these wrong things.Because when you understand his concept of good and evil, you will pity him without being surprised or angry.For either you yourself would think it good to do the same thing as he did, or another thing of the same nature, and it is your duty to forgive him.But if you don't see such things as good or evil, you'll be more willing to do good to the one who is in error.

27. Don't keep thinking about what you don't have and what you have, but think about what you think is the best, and then think about how eagerly you would pursue them if you didn't have them.At the same time note however that you have not yet loved them so much that you have accustomed yourself to respect them so much that it troubles you when you do not have them. 28. Return to yourself.The governing principle of reason has this nature to be content with itself when it does what is right, and thus guarantees tranquility. 29. Dispel illusions.Don't be led by them.Limit yourself to the present.To understand well what happens to you or to another, divide each object into a causal (formal) and a material.Thinking of your last moments.Let the wrong things done by a person stay where they are. 30. You have to pay attention to what you say.Let your understanding go inside what is being done and the people who are doing it. 31. Adorn yourself with simplicity, modesty, and indifference to things that have nothing to do with virtue and evil.Love humans.Follow the gods.Law rules all, says the poet, - it is enough to remember that Law rules all. 32. Regarding death: it is either a dissolution or a disintegration into atoms, or nothingness, it is either destruction or change. 33. Regarding pain: the unbearable pain takes our life, but the pain of the long-lasting pain is bearable; Bad.As for the parts (of the body) damaged by pain, let them have an opinion on pain if they can. 34. Regarding fame: Pay attention to the sympathy of those who pursue fame, observe who they are, what things they avoid, and what things they pursue.Think of the pile of sand that builds up to bury the sand of the past, so that what goes first in life is quickly overshadowed by what comes later. 35. Quote from Plato: Do ​​you think the man who has a sublime mind and sees all time and the whole thinks that human life is a great thing?That's impossible, he said. - Then such a mind would not regard death as evil, certainly not. 36. Quoted from Antisthenes: It is the destiny of a king to do good and be badly reputed. 37. For the face, when the mind issues orders, it only obeys itself, regulates and stabilizes itself, which is a bad thing, and for the mind, it is not regulated and calmed by itself, which is also a bad thing. 38. It is wrong to annoy ourselves because of things, because they have nothing to do with you. 39. Facing the immortal God will make us happy. 40. Life must be reaped like ripe ears of wheat. One is born and another dies. 41. If the gods don't care about me and my children, there is a reason for doing so. 42. Because goodness is with me, justice is with me. 43. Don't join in the crying of others, don't have too strong feelings. 44. Quote from Plato: But I will give this man a satisfactory answer, which is: You say it badly, if you think that a man who is good at all things should calculate the probability of life or death, rather than prefer to be in All he does is to see whether he is doing right, whether he is doing the work of a good man. 45. O Athenians, for it is true that wherever a man finds himself, he thinks it is best for him, or where a master has placed him.It seemed to me that he should linger there, resigned to the chance, and face the lowly office he deserved, without thinking of death or anything else. 46. ​​My good friend, consider whether that noble and kind thing is something different from saving and being saved; for a man who lives so long or so long, at least a real , consider, if it is not a thing to depart from this thought: there must not be any love of life, but of these things one must entrust them to the gods, and believe what Fortune says, no one Having escaped his fate, the next question is how he can best spend the time he has to live. 47. Look around the movement of the planets, as if you are moving with them, constantly considering the transmutation and changes of the elements, because this kind of thinking will wash away the filth of earthly life. 48. This is a good saying of Plato: He who talks about people should also observe the world as if looking down from some higher place. , life and death, the tumult of courts, barren lands, barbarous peoples of all kinds, feasts, mourning, marketplaces, a mingling of things, and an orderly association of nations. 49. Think about the past, such great changes in political hegemony.You can also foresee what is going to happen.Because they must be similar in form, they cannot deviate from the orderly track of what is happening now, so thinking about human life in forty years is the same as thinking about human life in ten thousand years.Because how can you see more than that? 50. What grows from the earth will return to the earth, and what is born from the divine seed will return to heaven.It is either the disintegration of the mutual bonds of the atoms; or a similar dissolution of the insentient elements. 51. With food, wine, and cunning magic tricks, creeping through the narrow passages to escape death, and the breeze sent from heaven, we must bear, and go about without complaint. 52. A man may be better at throwing his opponent down, but he is not kinder and more humble; he is not better trained to deal with all that happens, nor to take more seriously the faults of his neighbor. 53. Where any work can be done in accordance with divine and human reason, there is nothing to be afraid of, because we can benefit ourselves by successful and continuing activities according to our structure, while in There is no doubt that there will be no harm in this kind of place. 54. On any occasion, these are within your power: piously acquiesce to your present conditions; treat those around you fairly; strive to perfect your present thinking skills, without careful examination. Let anything sneak into the mind. 55. You do not look around to discover the guiding principles of others, but pay attention directly to the nature that guides you, to the nature of the universe expressed through what happens to you and your own through the actions that must be done by you. nature.And every being ought to do what is in its constitution, and all other things are constituted for rational beings, and among irrational things lower things exist for higher things, but rational animals are exist for each other. The first principle, then, in the constitution of man is the principle of friendship.The second is not to succumb to the temptations of the body.For the body is only a special place in which rational beings and intellectual activities determine their limits; do not be overwhelmed by the movements of the senses or appetites, for both are animal, while the intellectual activities acquire a kind of supremacy and do not allow themselves to be dominated by others. Movement is overridden.Keep a sound reason, for it is naturally formed to use all things.The third thing in the structure of rationality is: get rid of errors and deceptions.Then hold fast to the governing power of these principles to go straight, and it will have what is its own. 56. Thinking that you are going to die, that you are going to end your life at a certain moment in the present, then spend the time left for you according to your nature. 57. Love the things that only happen to you, the thread of fate that is spun only for you, because what is more suitable for you than this? 58. In the face of everything that has happened, recall those people, the same thing happened to them, how troubled they were, seeing these things as strange, dissatisfied with them, and where are they now? Woolen cloth?nowhere to be found.So why would you want to act the same way?Why do you not leave these anxieties alien to nature to those who cause them and are moved by them?Why don't you fully focus on taking advantage of what's happening to you in the right way?For then you will put them to good use, and they will feed your work.Just listen to yourself, resolve to be a good person in all you do, and remember... 59. Watch your heart.The wellspring of goodness is within, and if you dig, it will gurgle forth. 60. The body should be simple, showing no disorder either in movement or posture.For what reason and propriety the mind expresses in the countenance, should also be manifested in the whole body.But all these things should be done without affectation. 61. In this respect, the art of living is more like the art of the gladiator than of the dancer: that is, it should stand firm, ready to deal with sudden attacks. 62. Always observe those whom you wish to applaud, and see what governing principles they possess.For then you will not condemn those who involuntarily offend you, nor will you seek their approval, provided you see the source of their opinions and tastes. 63. Philosophers say that every soul involuntarily deviates from truth, and therefore equally involuntarily from justice, temperance, charity, and similar qualities.It is necessary to keep this in mind all the time, because then you will be kinder to everyone. 64. In every pain let the thought arise that there is no disgrace in it, and it does not corrupt the governing intellect, because it does not impair the intellect in so far as it is rational or social.Indeed, these words of Epicurus can help you in times of great pain: Pain is not unbearable or eternal, provided you remember that it has its limits, provided you add nothing to it in your imagination. , also keep this in mind, we are not aware of it, we perceive as pain many things that make us uncomfortable, like extreme sleepiness, heat and loss of appetite.Then when you are dissatisfied with these things, you say to yourself, I am suffering. 65. Be careful not to feel the ungrateful people as they feel others. 66. How do we know that Telagus is inferior to Socrates in character?For it was not enough that Socrates had a nobler death; debated wiser men more skillfully; Nobler; he strutted down the street--although the truth of that fact one might well doubt.We should also inquire: What kind of soul did Socrates possess, whether he could be content to be just to men and pious to the gods, not unprofitably tormented by men's sins, and at the same time subject himself to no one? His ignorance, which does not regard anything that befalls him from the universe as strange, as intolerable, does not allow his reason to resonate with the inclinations of poor flesh. 67. Nature has not so mixed your intellect and bodily structure as to deny you the power to determine yourself, and to subject all that is yourself to you; for it is very difficult to be a divine being without being possible.Always keep this in mind: very little indeed is needed to lead a happy life.Do not give up the hope of becoming a free, humble, friendly, and God-obedient man just because you have no hope of becoming a dialectician and adept in the field of natural knowledge. 68. It is within your power to live free from all pressure in the greatest peace of mind, even if all the world cry out against you with all its might; The individual pieces of the skin were torn to shreds.For the mind, amidst all obstacles, asserts itself in tranquility, in a correct judgment of all that surrounds it, in a direct application of the objects presented to it so that this judgment can What comes into its sight says: You do exist (is an entity), yet you can appear differently in people's opinion; this use will also say to what falls into its hands: You are me What is being pursued, for what appears to me is always the matter for intellectual and political virtue, in a word, for the training of the art that belongs to man or to God.For everything that happens has a connection either with God or with man, by no means new and elusive, but useful and convenient work material. 69. The perfection of moral character consists in living each day as if it were the last, neither reacting violently to stimuli nor being insensitive or hypocritical. 70. Immortal gods are not troubled, because they have to endure such people continuously for so long, and many wicked people among them, and besides, God cares about them in every way.But, as someone doomed to die soon, are you tired of putting up with villains, and also when you're one of them? 71. It is a ridiculous thing for a person: he does not run away from his own evil - which is indeed possible; he wants to escape from the evil of others - and this is impossible. 72. Whichever rational and political (social) faculty finds (itself) neither intellectual nor social, it rightly judges (itself) to be inferior to itself. 73. When you do a good deed and another person benefits from it, why do you seek a third thing besides this like a fool-get a reputation for doing a good deed or get a reward Woolen cloth? 74. No one is tired of receiving useful things.And acting according to nature is useful.Then don't get tired of receiving useful things from others doing these things. 75. The nature of Daquan moves to produce the universe.And everything that now happens, either as a result or as a succession, or even the main thing to which the movement of the cosmic governing power itself is directed, is not governed by rational principles.If you remember this, it will make you more peaceful in many things.