FOOTNOTES

Treatment of slaves.

414.The good householder will associate on easy terms with his slaves, remembering that they too are men, made of flesh and blood as he is himself[123]. It is however a difficult matter to decide whether a master should dine with his slave. Men of the old Roman type find this a disgraceful practice, but the philosopher should decide in its favour[124]. We do not need to inquire into a man’s social position, if his character is attractive[125]. Plato has well said that we cannot find a king who is not descended from a slave, or a slave who is not descended from a king[126]; and in fact many a Roman slave was far better educated than his master[127]. Even if we do not suppose that Seneca’s rule was commonly practised in great Roman houses, the suggestion itself throws a pleasing light on the position of a Roman slave. But if the master was thus called upon to ignore differences of social position, as much might be expected of the slave. With him itwas doubtless an instinct to prize liberty, ‘the power of living as you like,’ as the dearest of possessions. Yet many a slave who won this reward by years of faithful service found that liberty delusive, and would have been wiser to stay in the home where he was valued[128].

Large families.

415.A question of pressing practical importance is that of large families (πολυπαιδία). Statesmen have always considered it best that the homes of citizens should be crowded with children; and for this reason the laws forbid abortion and the hindrance of conception; they demand fines for childlessness, and pay honours to those who bring up large families. Public opinion takes the same view; the father of many children is honoured as he goes about the city, and how charming is the sight of a mother surrounded by a swarm of children[129]! No religious procession is so imposing. For such parents every one feels sympathy, and every one is prepared to cooperate with them[130]. But nowadays even rich parents refuse to rear all their children, so that the first-born may be the richer. But it is better to have many brothers than few; and a brother is a richer legacy than a fortune. A fortune attracts enemies, but a brother helps to repel them[131].

Comfort in poverty.

416.We have now accompanied the man of mature years in his duties and his temptations: philosophy has also a word to speak with regard to his trials. It is well indeed if he is convinced that the buffets of fortune are no real evils; but this doctrine can be supplemented by other consolations. Of the most bitter of all sufferings, bereavement by the death of friends and children, we have already spoken; we may now consider two other conditions usually held to be evil, namely poverty and exile. In poverty the first comfort is in the observation that poor men are usually stronger in bodythan the rich[132], and quite as cheerful in mind[133]. Further the poor are free from many dangers which beset the rich; they can travel safely even when highwaymen are watching the road[134]. Poverty is an aid to philosophy, for a rich man, if he wishes to philosophize, must freely choose the life of the poor[135]. A poor man is not troubled by insincere friends[136]. In short, poverty is only hard for him who kicks against the pricks[137].

Comfort in exile.

417.The subject of exile has the special interest that in fact so many philosophers endured this evil. To the Stoic there is in principle no such thing as exile, since the whole world is his country; but he does not for this reason disregard other sources of consolation. Cicero was plainly miserable, not only when he was formally exiled, but also when he was away from Rome in an honourable position; Seneca at least made the attempt to bear exile more bravely. Is it then so hard to be away from one’s native place? Rome is crowded with strangers, who have come thither for pleasure or profit, study or novelty[138]. True, it is a beautiful town; but there is no place on earth so bare and unsightly, not even this Corsica to which Seneca is banished, but that some men choose it to reside in as a matter of taste[139]. Whole peoples have changed their abode, and we find Greek cities in the midst of barbarism, and the Macedonian language in India[140]; wherever he conquers the Roman dwells[141]. The exile has everywhere the company of the same stars above[142], of the same conscience within him[143]; even if he is separated from those near and dearto him, it is not for the first time, and he can still live with them in his thoughts and affections.

Old age.

418.Free or slave, rich or poor, powerful or insignificant, wherever a man stands in the order of society, old age comes at last and imperiously stops all ambitions. It is, in the general opinion, a time of sadness[144]; to associate it with pleasure is not scandalous, only because it is paradoxical[145]. Cicero’s workde Senectuteshows how old age became attractive according to Roman tradition; Seneca is hardly so successful. With the fading of hope the stimulus to effort dies away in old age[146]; but though philosophy forbids idleness, nature cries out for rest. We cannot then approve when old men follow their professional occupations with undiminished zeal[147], and we must highly blame those who cannot quit their pleasures[148]. The great boon which old age brings is leisure; for this many great men, amongst them Augustus, have longed in vain[149]. This leisure gives the opportunity of making acquaintance with great men through their books, but better still, that of making acquaintance with our own selves.

Musonius’ ‘viaticum.’

419.‘Give me,’ said one to Musonius, ‘a viaticumfor old age.’ He replied as follows:

‘The rule is the same as for youth, to live methodically and according to nature[150]. Do not grieve because you are cut off from the pleasures of youth; for man is no more born for pleasure than any other animal: indeed man alone is an image of the deity[151], and has like excellences. And do not consider the divine excellences as beyond your reach; for we have no othernotion of the gods than such as we derive from observing good men, whom therefore we call divine and godlike. He who has acquired in youth sound principles and systematic training will not be found to complain in old age of the loss of pleasures, of weakness of body, or because he is neglected by friends and acquaintance; he will carry about with him a charm against all these evils, namely his own education. But if he has not been rightly educated, he will do well to go to a friend wiser than himself, and listen to his teaching and profit by it. And specially he will ponder over death, how it comes in nature’s course to all, and therefore is no evil. With such thoughts he will be cheerful and contented, and so he will live a happy life. But let no one say that wealth brings happiness in old age; that it does not bring a contented spirit is witnessed every day by a crowd of rich old men, who are in bad temper and low spirits, and feel deeply aggrieved[152].’

Will-making.

420.When we see death before us there remains a last act to be performed. We look at the wealth which no longer belongs to us, and consider to whom it can most worthily be entrusted. We stand in the position of a judge who can no longer be bribed, and, with all the wisdom and good will that we have, we give this last verdict on those around us[153].

Death.

421.For death the whole of philosophy is a preparation; yet when it is no longer a matter of uncertain fear, but close at hand and sure, some last words are to be said. All this is in the course of nature, is according to the will of the Creator.

‘God opens the door and says to you, “Go.” “Go whither?” To nothing terrible, but to the place from which you came, to your friends and kinsmen, to the elements[154]. What there was in you of fire goes to fire; of earth, to earth; of air, to air; of water, to water. There is no Hades, nor Acheron, nor Cocytus, but all is full of gods and demons[155]. God has invited you; be content when he calls others to the feast in your place.’

The philosopher does not look forward to renewing his personal life, or to meeting again with parent, wife, or child. But death is a release from all his pains and troubles; and hewho has striven to live his life well will know how to meet death also at its due time[156]. If it come to him in the shipwreck, he will not scream nor blame God; if in the arena, he will not shrink from his enemy, whether man or beast. In this last short crisis he will bear witness that he accepts contentedly his mortal lot[157].

FOOTNOTES[1]‘omnia ista [monitiones, consolationes, dissuasiones, adhortationes, obiurgationes, laudationes] monitionum genera sunt’ Sen.Ep.94, 39.[2]‘eam partem philosophiae, quae dat propria cuique personae praecepta ... quidam solam receperunt, sed Ariston Stoicus e contrario hanc partem levem existimat’ib.94, 1 and 2. The Cynics gave exhortations, but without having a system for the purpose. See above, §52.[3]‘Posidonius non tantum praeceptionem, sed etiam suasionem et consolationem et exhortationem necessariam iudicat’ib.95, 65. Cf. Cic.Off.i 3, 7; Sen.Ep.94, 34.[4]‘ipsum de malis bonisque iudicium confirmatur officiorum exsecutione, ad quam praecepta perducunt’ib.[5]‘quemadmodum folia virere per se non possunt, ramum desiderant; sic ista praecepta, si sola sunt, marcent; infigi volunt sectae’ Sen.Ep.95, 59.[6]See below, §397, note 21.[7]Sen.Ep.94, 29 and 108, 8.[8]‘inest interim animis voluntas bona, sed torpet; modo deliciis et situ, modo officii inscitia’Ben.v 25, 6.[9]‘plus prodesse, si pauca praecepta sapientiae teneas, sed illa in promptu tibi et in usu sint, quam si multa quidem didiceris, sed illa non habeas ad manum’Ben.vii 1, 3; ‘We ought to exercise ourselves in small things, and beginning with them to proceed to the greater’ Epict.Disc.i 18, 18.[10]‘debet semper plus esse virium in actore quam in onere. necesse est opprimant onera, quae ferente maiora sunt’ Sen.Dial.ix 6, 4.[11]Arnim i 241.[12]‘sic certe vivendum est, tanquam in conspectu vivamus’ Sen.Ep.83, 1.[13]‘In the morning, when you feel loth to rise, fall back upon the thought “I am rising for man’s work. Why make a grievance of setting about that for which I was born, and for sake of which I have been brought into the world? Is the end of my existence to lie snug in the blankets and keep warm?”’ M. Aurel.To himselfv 1.[14]‘I obey, I follow, assenting to the words of the Commander, praising his acts; for I came when it pleased him, and I will also go away when it pleases him; and while I lived it was my duty to praise God’ Epict.Disc.iii 26, 29 and 30. See also above, §258.[15]‘minimum exercitationi corporis datum’ Sen.Ep.83, 3.[16]‘ab hac fatigatione magis quam exercitatione in frigidam descendi’ib.5.[17]‘panis deinde siccus et sine mensa prandium’ib.6.[18]‘brevissimo somno utor et quasi interiungo. satis est mihi vigilare desiisse. aliquando dormisse me scio, aliquando suspicor’ib.[19]‘nec scribere tantum nec tantum legere debemus; altera res contristabit, vires exhauriet (de stilo dico), altera solvet ac diluet’ Sen.Ep.84, 2.[20]‘nulli enim nisi audituro dicendum est’ib.29, 1.[21]‘[Diogenes et alii Cynici] libertate promiscua usi sunt et obvios monuerunt. hoc, mi Lucili, non existimo magno viro faciendum’ib.29, 1 and 3.[22]‘audebo illi mala sua ostendere’ib.4.[23]A. Gellius,N. A.xii 1. Favorinus, of whom this is related, was not himself a Stoic.[24]Sen.Ben.ii 17, 3 to 5 and 32, 1 to 4.[25]See above, §125, note 90.[26]‘at te nocturnis iuvat impallescere chartis; | cultor enim iuvenum purgatas inseris aures | fruge Cleanthea’ Pers.Sat.v 62-64; ‘quid est tamen, quare tu istas Epicuri voces putes esse, non publicas?’ Sen.Ep.8, 8.[27]‘qualis ille somnus post recognitionem sui sequitur? quam tranquillus, quam altus ac liber!’Dial.v 36, 2.[28]‘plurimum proderit pueros statim salubriter institui’ib.iv 21, 1.[29]‘tenuis ante omnia victus [sit] et non pretiosa vestis’ib.11; ‘nihil magis facit iracundos quam educatio mollis et blanda’ib.6.[30]‘if he ... eats as a modest man, this is the man who truly progresses’ Epict.Disc.i 4, 20 and 21.[31]‘veritatis simplex oratio est’ Sen.Ep.49, 12; ‘Let silence be the general rule, or let only what is necessary be said, and in a few words. Let not your laughter be much’ Epict.Manual33, 2 and 4.[32]‘loquendum est pro magnitudine rei impensius et illa adicienda—pluris quam putas obligasti’ Sen.Ben.ii 24, 4.[33]‘inbecillioribus quidem ingeniis necesse est aliquem praeire—hoc vitabis, hoc facies’Ep.94, 50.[34]‘regi ergo debet, dum incipit posse se regere’ib.51.[35]‘facilius singula insidunt circumscripta et carminis modo inclusa. ideo pueris et sententias ediscendas damus et has quas Graeci chrias vocant’ib.33, 6 and 7.[36]‘He is ridiculous who says that he wishes to begin with the matters of real life, for it is not easy to begin with the more difficult things; and we ought to use this fact as an argument to parents’ Epict.Disc.i 26, 4 and 5.[37]See above, §316.[38]‘lusus quoque proderunt. modica enim voluptas laxat animos et temperat’ Sen.Dial.iv 20, 3; ‘danda est animis remissio’ib.ix 17, 5; ‘mens ad iocos devocanda est’ib.4.[39]Chrysippus had approved of the rod: ‘caedi discentis, quamlibet receptum sit et Chrysippus non improbet, minime velim’ Quint.Inst. Or.i 3, 14. But Seneca writes quite otherwise: ‘uter praeceptor dignior, qui excarnificabit discipulos, si memoria illis non constiterit ... an qui monitionibus et verecundia emendare ac docere malit?’Clem.i 16, 2 and 3.[40]‘fugite delicias, fugite enervatam felicitatem’ Sen.Dial.i 4, 9.[41]‘quem specularia semper ab adflatu vindicaverunt, cuius pedes inter fomenta subinde mutata tepuerunt, cuius cenationes subditus ac parietibus circumfusus calor temperavit, hunc levis aura non sine periculo stringet’ib.[42]‘audire solemus sic quorundam vitam laudari, quibus invidetur—molliter vivit hoc dicunt—mollis est’Ep.82, 2.[43]Stob. iii 29, 78 (from Musonius).[44]ib.29, 75.[45]Muson. apud Stob. ii 31, 123.[46]Muson.ib.iv 79, 25.[47]‘It is not easy to exhort weak young men; for neither is it easy to hold soft cheese with a hook’ Epict.Disc.iii 6, 9.[48]See above, §326.[49]‘See what the trainers of boys do. Has the boy fallen? Rise, they say, wrestle again till you are made strong’ Epict.Disc.iv 9, 15.[50]‘[athletis] cura est, cum fortissimis quibusque confligere’ Sen.Dial.i 2, 3.[51]‘[gladiator fortissimus] respiciens ad clamantem populum significat nihil esse et intercedi non patitur’ib.ii 16, 2.[52]‘ad hoc sacramentum adacti sumus, ferre mortalia’ib.vii 15, 7; Epict.Disc.i 14, 15 and 16.[53]See above, §33; and compare Horace in his Stoic mood: ‘nil sine magno | vita labore dedit mortalibus’Sat.i 9, 59 and 60.[54]‘quaedam praecipimus ultra modum, ut ad verum et suum redeant’ Sen.Ben.vii 22, 1; ‘We ought to oppose to this habit a contrary habit, and where there is great slipperiness in the appearances, there to oppose the habit of exercise. I am rather inclined to pleasure; I will incline to the contrary side above measure for the sake of exercise’ Epict.Disc.iii 12, 6 and 7.[55]‘interponas aliquot dies, quibus contentus minimo ac vilissimo cibo, dura atque horrida veste, dicas tibi “hoc est quod timebatur?” ... grabatus ille verus sit et sagum et panis durus ac sordidus—hoc triduo ac quatriduo fer’ Sen.Ep.18, 5 and 7; ‘quod tibi scripsi magnos viros saepe fecisse’ib.20, 13.[56]Diog. L. vii 121.[57]‘divites sumunt quosdam dies, quibus humi cenent, et remoto auro argentoque fictilibus utantur’ Sen.Dial.xii 12, 3.[58]‘contra naturam est faciles odisse munditias’ Sen.Ep.5, 4; ‘I would rather that a young man, who is making his first movements towards philosophy, should come to me with his hair carefully trimmed’ Epict.Disc.iv 11, 25.[59]‘asperum cultum et intonsum caput et neglegentiorem barbam evita. intus omnia dissimilia sint, frons populo conveniat’ Sen.Ep.5, 2.[60]‘We ought not to confound the distinctions of the sexes.... How much more becoming is the beard than the cock’s comb and the lion’s mane! For this reason we ought to preserve the signs which God has given’ Epict.Disc.i 16, 13 and 14.[61]‘Come then, Epictetus, shave yourself.’ If I am a philosopher, I answer, ‘I will not shave myself.’ ‘But I will take off your head.’ ‘If that will do you any good, take it off’ Epict.Disc.i 2, 29.[62]Stob. iii 6, 24 (from Musonius).[63]‘miscenda tamen ista et alternanda [sunt], solitudo ac frequentia’ Sen.Dial.ix 17, 3.[64]‘ita sapiens se contentus est, non ut velit esse sine amico, sed ut possit’Ep.9, 5.[65]‘proderit per se ipsum secedere; meliores erimus singuli’Dial.viii 1, 1; ‘A man ought to be prepared in a manner to be able to be sufficient for himself and to be his own companion. For Zeus dwells by himself and is tranquil by himself’ Epict.Disc.iii 13, 6 and 7.[66]‘tunc felicem esse te iudica, cum poteris vivere in publico; parietes plerumque circumdatos nobis iudicamus, non ut tutius vivamus sed ut peccemus occultius’ Sen.Ep.43, 3.[67]‘It is impossible that a man can keep company with one who is covered with soot without being partaker of the soot himself’ Epict.Disc.iii 16, 3.[68]Diog. L. vii 124.[69]‘Stoici censent sapientes sapientibus etiam ignotis esse amicos; nihil est enim virtute amabilius’ Cic.N. D.i 44, 121; so Stob. ii 7 11 i.[70]‘post amicitiam credendum est, ante amicitiam iudicandum’ Sen.Ep.3, 2.[71]Ζήνων ἐρωτηθεὶς τί ἐστι φίλος “ἄλλος ἐγώ” ἔφη Diog. L. vii 23.[72]‘Hecaton ait; ego tibi monstrabo amatorium: si vis amari, ama’ Sen.Ep.9, 6; ‘multos tibi dabo, qui non amico sed amicitia caruerunt’ib.6, 3.[73]ib.9, 8.[74]‘hoc primum philosophia promittit, sensum communem, humanitatem et congregationem’ib.5, 4; ‘nullius boni sine socio iucunda possessio est’ib.6, 4.[75]‘monemus, ut ex inimico cogitet fieri posse amicum’ib.95, 63.[76]See above, §349.[77]‘[sapiens] ducit uxorem se contentus, et liberos tollit se contentus’ Sen.Ep.9, 17; ‘If indeed you had [this purpose], you would be content in sickness, in hunger, and in death. If any among you has been in love with a charming girl, he knows that I say what is true’ Epict.Disc.iii 5, 18 and 19.[78]ἀλλὰ νὴ Δία, φασί τινες, ὅτι αὐθάδεις ὡς ἐπὶ πολὺ καὶ θρασείας εἶναι ἀνάγκη τὰς προσιούσας τοῖς φιλοσόφοις γυναῖκας Mus. apud Stob. ii 31, 126.[79]Stob. iv 22, 90.[80]Stob. iv 22, 104.[81]‘nam cum sciam spiritum illius [sc. Paulinae] in meo verti, incipio, ut illi consulam, mihi consulere. quid enim iucundius quam uxori tam carum esse, ut propter hoc tibi carior fias?’ Sen.Ep.104, 2 and 5.[82]Hom.Il.ii 25.[83]Epict.Disc.iii 22, 69 to 75.[84]Stob. iv 22, 20.[85]Stob. ii 7, 11 m.[86]Plut.Sto. rep.20, 10.[87]‘omnium horum [medicorum et praeceptorum] apud nos magna caritas, magna reverentia est’ Sen.Ben.vi 15, 1; ‘ex medico ac praeceptore in amicum transeunt’ib.16, 1.[88]Ep.88, 18 and 22.[89]Plut.Sto. rep.30, 3.[90]‘sic in vita sibi quemque petere quod pertineat ad usum, non iniquum est; alteri deripere ius non est’ Cic.Off.iii 10, 42.[91]See below, §412.[92]So too Epictetus: ‘To whose example should [the many] look except yours [the governors’]?’Disc.iii 4, 3.[93]Stob. iv 7, 67.[94]Sen.Ben.vi 32, 4.[95]Dial.iv 23, 4.[96]‘nullum tamen clementia ex omnibus magis quam regem aut principem decet’Clem.i 3, 3.[97]Epict.Disc.iv 1, 46 to 50.[98]ib.i 30, 1 to 7.[99]‘sapiens nunquam potentium iras provocabit, immo declinabit, non aliter quam in navigando procellam’ Sen.Ep.14, 7.[100]Dial.iii 18, 2.[101]‘exeat aula | qui volet esse pius. virtus et summa potestas | non coëunt: semper metuet, quem saeva pudebunt’ LucanPhars.viii 493 to 495.[102]Sen.Ep.77, 6, and 95, 20 and 21.[103]‘turpis, qui alto sole semisomnus iacet, cuius vigilia medio die incipit’ib.122, 1.[104]‘nihil tam damnosum bonis moribus quam in aliquo spectaculo desidere’ib.7, 2.[105]‘inimica est multorum conversatio; nemo non aliquod nobis vitium aut commendat aut imprimit aut nescientibus adlinit’ib.[106]‘vilissimus quisque tempus in aliquo circulo [terit]’Dial.i 5, 4.[107]Ep.86, 9 and 10.[108]ib.114, 9.[109]ib.122, 8.[110]‘oculos hesterna graves crapula’ib.122, 2.[111]Stob. iv 15, 18. Seneca gives a more qualified approval to country life: ‘non est per se magistra innocentiae solitudo, nec frugalitatem docent rura; sed ubi testis et spectator abscessit, vitia subsidunt, quorum monstrari et conspici fructus est’Ep.94, 69.[112]‘de cetero vide, non tantum an verum sit quod dicis, sed an ille cui dicitur veri patiens sit’Dial.v 36, 4.[113]‘moneri velle ac posse secunda virtus est; flectendus est paucis animus, sui rector optimus’Ben.v 25, 4.[114]‘gravior multo poena videtur, quae a miti viro constituitur’Clem.i 22, 3.[115]‘vincit malos pertinax bonitas’Ben.vii 31, 1.[116]‘quid tanquam tuo parcis? procurator es, in depositi causa [divitiae] sunt’Ben.vi 3, 2; ‘donabit cum summo consilio dignissimos eligens, ut qui meminerit tam expensorum quam acceptorum rationem esse reddendam’ib.23, 5.[117]‘demus ante omnia libenter, cito, sine ulla dubitatione’Ben.ii 1, 1.[118]Cic.Off.i 17, 57.[119]‘non desinemus opem ferre etiam inimicis’ Sen.Dial.viii 1, 4.[120]‘[sapiens] dabit egenti stipem (non hanc contumeliosam, qua pars maior horum qui se misericordes videri volunt, abicit et fastidit quos adiuvat contingique ab his timet) sed ut homo homini ex communi dabit’Clem.ii 6, 2.[121]‘sic demus, quomodo vellemus accipere’Ben.ii 1, 1.[122]‘nullius boni sine socio iucunda possessio est’Ep.6, 4.[123]‘servi sunt? immo homines. servi sunt? immo humiles amici’ib.47, 1; ‘animas servorum et corpora nostra | materia constare putat paribusque elementis’ Juv.Sat.xiv 16 and 17.[124]‘cognovi familiariter te cum servis tuis vivere. hoc eruditionem decet. rideo istos, qui turpe putant cum servo suo cenare’ Sen.Ep.47, 1 and 2.[125]‘refert cuius animi sit, non cuius status’Ben.iii 18, 2.[126]Ep.44, 4.[127]‘[Calvisius Sabinus] magna summa emit servos, unum qui Homerum teneret, unum qui Hesiodum. novem praeterea lyricis singulos adsignavit. magno emisse illum non est quod mireris: non invenerat, faciendos locavit’Ep.27, 6.[128]Epict.Disc.iv 1, 33 to 40.[129]But hear Epictetus on the other side: ‘Are those men greater benefactors to mankind who introduce into the world to occupy their own places two or three grunting children, or those who superintend as far as they can all mankind? Did Priamus who begat fifty worthless sons contribute more to the community than Homer?’Disc.iii 22, 77 and 78.[130]Stob. iv 24, 15 (from Musonius).[131]ib.27, 21.[132]See above, §399.[133]‘compara inter se pauperum et divitum voltus; saepius pauper et fidelius ridet’ Sen.Ep.80, 6.[134]‘etiam in obsessa via pauperi pax est’ib.14, 9.[135]‘si vis vacare animo, aut pauper sis oportet aut pauperi similis’ib.17, 5.[136]‘[paupertas] veros certosque amicos retinebit; discedet quisquis non te, sed aliud sequebatur. vel ob hoc unum amanda paupertas quod, a quibus ameris, ostendet’ib.20, 7.[137]‘paupertas nulli malum est nisi repugnanti’ib.123, 16.[138]Dial.xii 6, 2.[139]‘usque eo commutatio ipsa locorum gravis non est, ut hic quoque locus a patria quosdam abduxerit’ib.5.[140]ib.7, 1.[141]‘ubicunque vicit Romanus habitat’ib.7, 7.[142]ib.8, 6.[143]‘licet in exilium euntibus virtutes suas secum ferre’ib.8, 1.[144]‘subeunt morbi tristisque senectus’ Verg.G.iii 67 quoted by Sen.Ep.108, 29.[145]‘plena est voluptatis [senectus], si illa scias uti’ Sen.Ep.12, 4.[146]‘nihil magis cavendum est senectuti, quam ne languori se desidiaeque dedat’ Cic.Off.i 34, 123; ‘iuvenes possumus discere, possumus facilem animum et adhuc tractabilem ad meliora convertere’ Sen.Ep.108, 27.[147]‘adeone iuvat occupatum mori?’ Sen.Dial.x 20, 3. He instances an old gentleman of 90, who had consented to resign his official post at that age; but when the time came, he threw his whole household into mourning until he got his work back again.[148]‘luxuria cum omni aetate turpis, tum senectuti foedissima est’ Cic.Off.i 34, 123.[149]Sen.Dial.x 4, 1 and 2.[150]τὸ ζῆν ὁδῷ καὶ κατὰ φύσιν.[151]ἄνθρωπος μίμημα θεοῦ μόνον τῶν ἐπιγείων (see on hymn of Cleanthes, l. 5, in §97).[152]Stob.Flor.117, 8 (M).[153]‘ubi mors interclusit omnia et ad ferendam sententiam incorruptum iudicem misit, quaerimus dignissimos quibus nostra tradamus; nec quicquam cura sanctiore componimus quam quod ad nos non pertinet’ Sen.Ben.iv 11, 5.[154]‘reverti unde veneris quid grave est?’Dial.ix 11, 4.[155]Epict.Disc.iii 13, 14 and 15;ib.iv 1, 106.[156]‘male vivet quisquis nesciet bene mori’ Sen.Dial.ix 11, 4; and see above, §§298,299.[157]‘quod tam cito fit, timetis diu?’ Sen.Dial.i 6, 9; ‘puto fortiorem eum esse, qui in ipsa morte est quam qui circa mortem. mors enim admota etiam imperitis animum dedit non vitandi inevitabilia; sic gladiator tota pugna timidissimus iugulum adversario praestat et errantem gladium sibi adtemperat’Ep.30, 8; ‘the ship is sinking! what then have I to do? I do the only thing that I can, not to be drowned full of fear, nor screaming nor blaming God, but knowing that what has been produced must also perish; for I am not an immortal being’ Epict.Disc.ii 5, 11 to 13.

[1]‘omnia ista [monitiones, consolationes, dissuasiones, adhortationes, obiurgationes, laudationes] monitionum genera sunt’ Sen.Ep.94, 39.

[2]‘eam partem philosophiae, quae dat propria cuique personae praecepta ... quidam solam receperunt, sed Ariston Stoicus e contrario hanc partem levem existimat’ib.94, 1 and 2. The Cynics gave exhortations, but without having a system for the purpose. See above, §52.

[3]‘Posidonius non tantum praeceptionem, sed etiam suasionem et consolationem et exhortationem necessariam iudicat’ib.95, 65. Cf. Cic.Off.i 3, 7; Sen.Ep.94, 34.

[4]‘ipsum de malis bonisque iudicium confirmatur officiorum exsecutione, ad quam praecepta perducunt’ib.

[5]‘quemadmodum folia virere per se non possunt, ramum desiderant; sic ista praecepta, si sola sunt, marcent; infigi volunt sectae’ Sen.Ep.95, 59.

[6]See below, §397, note 21.

[7]Sen.Ep.94, 29 and 108, 8.

[8]‘inest interim animis voluntas bona, sed torpet; modo deliciis et situ, modo officii inscitia’Ben.v 25, 6.

[9]‘plus prodesse, si pauca praecepta sapientiae teneas, sed illa in promptu tibi et in usu sint, quam si multa quidem didiceris, sed illa non habeas ad manum’Ben.vii 1, 3; ‘We ought to exercise ourselves in small things, and beginning with them to proceed to the greater’ Epict.Disc.i 18, 18.

[10]‘debet semper plus esse virium in actore quam in onere. necesse est opprimant onera, quae ferente maiora sunt’ Sen.Dial.ix 6, 4.

[11]Arnim i 241.

[12]‘sic certe vivendum est, tanquam in conspectu vivamus’ Sen.Ep.83, 1.

[13]‘In the morning, when you feel loth to rise, fall back upon the thought “I am rising for man’s work. Why make a grievance of setting about that for which I was born, and for sake of which I have been brought into the world? Is the end of my existence to lie snug in the blankets and keep warm?”’ M. Aurel.To himselfv 1.

[14]‘I obey, I follow, assenting to the words of the Commander, praising his acts; for I came when it pleased him, and I will also go away when it pleases him; and while I lived it was my duty to praise God’ Epict.Disc.iii 26, 29 and 30. See also above, §258.

[15]‘minimum exercitationi corporis datum’ Sen.Ep.83, 3.

[16]‘ab hac fatigatione magis quam exercitatione in frigidam descendi’ib.5.

[17]‘panis deinde siccus et sine mensa prandium’ib.6.

[18]‘brevissimo somno utor et quasi interiungo. satis est mihi vigilare desiisse. aliquando dormisse me scio, aliquando suspicor’ib.

[19]‘nec scribere tantum nec tantum legere debemus; altera res contristabit, vires exhauriet (de stilo dico), altera solvet ac diluet’ Sen.Ep.84, 2.

[20]‘nulli enim nisi audituro dicendum est’ib.29, 1.

[21]‘[Diogenes et alii Cynici] libertate promiscua usi sunt et obvios monuerunt. hoc, mi Lucili, non existimo magno viro faciendum’ib.29, 1 and 3.

[22]‘audebo illi mala sua ostendere’ib.4.

[23]A. Gellius,N. A.xii 1. Favorinus, of whom this is related, was not himself a Stoic.

[24]Sen.Ben.ii 17, 3 to 5 and 32, 1 to 4.

[25]See above, §125, note 90.

[26]‘at te nocturnis iuvat impallescere chartis; | cultor enim iuvenum purgatas inseris aures | fruge Cleanthea’ Pers.Sat.v 62-64; ‘quid est tamen, quare tu istas Epicuri voces putes esse, non publicas?’ Sen.Ep.8, 8.

[27]‘qualis ille somnus post recognitionem sui sequitur? quam tranquillus, quam altus ac liber!’Dial.v 36, 2.

[28]‘plurimum proderit pueros statim salubriter institui’ib.iv 21, 1.

[29]‘tenuis ante omnia victus [sit] et non pretiosa vestis’ib.11; ‘nihil magis facit iracundos quam educatio mollis et blanda’ib.6.

[30]‘if he ... eats as a modest man, this is the man who truly progresses’ Epict.Disc.i 4, 20 and 21.

[31]‘veritatis simplex oratio est’ Sen.Ep.49, 12; ‘Let silence be the general rule, or let only what is necessary be said, and in a few words. Let not your laughter be much’ Epict.Manual33, 2 and 4.

[32]‘loquendum est pro magnitudine rei impensius et illa adicienda—pluris quam putas obligasti’ Sen.Ben.ii 24, 4.

[33]‘inbecillioribus quidem ingeniis necesse est aliquem praeire—hoc vitabis, hoc facies’Ep.94, 50.

[34]‘regi ergo debet, dum incipit posse se regere’ib.51.

[35]‘facilius singula insidunt circumscripta et carminis modo inclusa. ideo pueris et sententias ediscendas damus et has quas Graeci chrias vocant’ib.33, 6 and 7.

[36]‘He is ridiculous who says that he wishes to begin with the matters of real life, for it is not easy to begin with the more difficult things; and we ought to use this fact as an argument to parents’ Epict.Disc.i 26, 4 and 5.

[37]See above, §316.

[38]‘lusus quoque proderunt. modica enim voluptas laxat animos et temperat’ Sen.Dial.iv 20, 3; ‘danda est animis remissio’ib.ix 17, 5; ‘mens ad iocos devocanda est’ib.4.

[39]Chrysippus had approved of the rod: ‘caedi discentis, quamlibet receptum sit et Chrysippus non improbet, minime velim’ Quint.Inst. Or.i 3, 14. But Seneca writes quite otherwise: ‘uter praeceptor dignior, qui excarnificabit discipulos, si memoria illis non constiterit ... an qui monitionibus et verecundia emendare ac docere malit?’Clem.i 16, 2 and 3.

[40]‘fugite delicias, fugite enervatam felicitatem’ Sen.Dial.i 4, 9.

[41]‘quem specularia semper ab adflatu vindicaverunt, cuius pedes inter fomenta subinde mutata tepuerunt, cuius cenationes subditus ac parietibus circumfusus calor temperavit, hunc levis aura non sine periculo stringet’ib.

[42]‘audire solemus sic quorundam vitam laudari, quibus invidetur—molliter vivit hoc dicunt—mollis est’Ep.82, 2.

[43]Stob. iii 29, 78 (from Musonius).

[44]ib.29, 75.

[45]Muson. apud Stob. ii 31, 123.

[46]Muson.ib.iv 79, 25.

[47]‘It is not easy to exhort weak young men; for neither is it easy to hold soft cheese with a hook’ Epict.Disc.iii 6, 9.

[48]See above, §326.

[49]‘See what the trainers of boys do. Has the boy fallen? Rise, they say, wrestle again till you are made strong’ Epict.Disc.iv 9, 15.

[50]‘[athletis] cura est, cum fortissimis quibusque confligere’ Sen.Dial.i 2, 3.

[51]‘[gladiator fortissimus] respiciens ad clamantem populum significat nihil esse et intercedi non patitur’ib.ii 16, 2.

[52]‘ad hoc sacramentum adacti sumus, ferre mortalia’ib.vii 15, 7; Epict.Disc.i 14, 15 and 16.

[53]See above, §33; and compare Horace in his Stoic mood: ‘nil sine magno | vita labore dedit mortalibus’Sat.i 9, 59 and 60.

[54]‘quaedam praecipimus ultra modum, ut ad verum et suum redeant’ Sen.Ben.vii 22, 1; ‘We ought to oppose to this habit a contrary habit, and where there is great slipperiness in the appearances, there to oppose the habit of exercise. I am rather inclined to pleasure; I will incline to the contrary side above measure for the sake of exercise’ Epict.Disc.iii 12, 6 and 7.

[55]‘interponas aliquot dies, quibus contentus minimo ac vilissimo cibo, dura atque horrida veste, dicas tibi “hoc est quod timebatur?” ... grabatus ille verus sit et sagum et panis durus ac sordidus—hoc triduo ac quatriduo fer’ Sen.Ep.18, 5 and 7; ‘quod tibi scripsi magnos viros saepe fecisse’ib.20, 13.

[56]Diog. L. vii 121.

[57]‘divites sumunt quosdam dies, quibus humi cenent, et remoto auro argentoque fictilibus utantur’ Sen.Dial.xii 12, 3.

[58]‘contra naturam est faciles odisse munditias’ Sen.Ep.5, 4; ‘I would rather that a young man, who is making his first movements towards philosophy, should come to me with his hair carefully trimmed’ Epict.Disc.iv 11, 25.

[59]‘asperum cultum et intonsum caput et neglegentiorem barbam evita. intus omnia dissimilia sint, frons populo conveniat’ Sen.Ep.5, 2.

[60]‘We ought not to confound the distinctions of the sexes.... How much more becoming is the beard than the cock’s comb and the lion’s mane! For this reason we ought to preserve the signs which God has given’ Epict.Disc.i 16, 13 and 14.

[61]‘Come then, Epictetus, shave yourself.’ If I am a philosopher, I answer, ‘I will not shave myself.’ ‘But I will take off your head.’ ‘If that will do you any good, take it off’ Epict.Disc.i 2, 29.

[62]Stob. iii 6, 24 (from Musonius).

[63]‘miscenda tamen ista et alternanda [sunt], solitudo ac frequentia’ Sen.Dial.ix 17, 3.

[64]‘ita sapiens se contentus est, non ut velit esse sine amico, sed ut possit’Ep.9, 5.

[65]‘proderit per se ipsum secedere; meliores erimus singuli’Dial.viii 1, 1; ‘A man ought to be prepared in a manner to be able to be sufficient for himself and to be his own companion. For Zeus dwells by himself and is tranquil by himself’ Epict.Disc.iii 13, 6 and 7.

[66]‘tunc felicem esse te iudica, cum poteris vivere in publico; parietes plerumque circumdatos nobis iudicamus, non ut tutius vivamus sed ut peccemus occultius’ Sen.Ep.43, 3.

[67]‘It is impossible that a man can keep company with one who is covered with soot without being partaker of the soot himself’ Epict.Disc.iii 16, 3.

[68]Diog. L. vii 124.

[69]‘Stoici censent sapientes sapientibus etiam ignotis esse amicos; nihil est enim virtute amabilius’ Cic.N. D.i 44, 121; so Stob. ii 7 11 i.

[70]‘post amicitiam credendum est, ante amicitiam iudicandum’ Sen.Ep.3, 2.

[71]Ζήνων ἐρωτηθεὶς τί ἐστι φίλος “ἄλλος ἐγώ” ἔφη Diog. L. vii 23.

[72]‘Hecaton ait; ego tibi monstrabo amatorium: si vis amari, ama’ Sen.Ep.9, 6; ‘multos tibi dabo, qui non amico sed amicitia caruerunt’ib.6, 3.

[73]ib.9, 8.

[74]‘hoc primum philosophia promittit, sensum communem, humanitatem et congregationem’ib.5, 4; ‘nullius boni sine socio iucunda possessio est’ib.6, 4.

[75]‘monemus, ut ex inimico cogitet fieri posse amicum’ib.95, 63.

[76]See above, §349.

[77]‘[sapiens] ducit uxorem se contentus, et liberos tollit se contentus’ Sen.Ep.9, 17; ‘If indeed you had [this purpose], you would be content in sickness, in hunger, and in death. If any among you has been in love with a charming girl, he knows that I say what is true’ Epict.Disc.iii 5, 18 and 19.

[78]ἀλλὰ νὴ Δία, φασί τινες, ὅτι αὐθάδεις ὡς ἐπὶ πολὺ καὶ θρασείας εἶναι ἀνάγκη τὰς προσιούσας τοῖς φιλοσόφοις γυναῖκας Mus. apud Stob. ii 31, 126.

[79]Stob. iv 22, 90.

[80]Stob. iv 22, 104.

[81]‘nam cum sciam spiritum illius [sc. Paulinae] in meo verti, incipio, ut illi consulam, mihi consulere. quid enim iucundius quam uxori tam carum esse, ut propter hoc tibi carior fias?’ Sen.Ep.104, 2 and 5.

[82]Hom.Il.ii 25.

[83]Epict.Disc.iii 22, 69 to 75.

[84]Stob. iv 22, 20.

[85]Stob. ii 7, 11 m.

[86]Plut.Sto. rep.20, 10.

[87]‘omnium horum [medicorum et praeceptorum] apud nos magna caritas, magna reverentia est’ Sen.Ben.vi 15, 1; ‘ex medico ac praeceptore in amicum transeunt’ib.16, 1.

[88]Ep.88, 18 and 22.

[89]Plut.Sto. rep.30, 3.

[90]‘sic in vita sibi quemque petere quod pertineat ad usum, non iniquum est; alteri deripere ius non est’ Cic.Off.iii 10, 42.

[91]See below, §412.

[92]So too Epictetus: ‘To whose example should [the many] look except yours [the governors’]?’Disc.iii 4, 3.

[93]Stob. iv 7, 67.

[94]Sen.Ben.vi 32, 4.

[95]Dial.iv 23, 4.

[96]‘nullum tamen clementia ex omnibus magis quam regem aut principem decet’Clem.i 3, 3.

[97]Epict.Disc.iv 1, 46 to 50.

[98]ib.i 30, 1 to 7.

[99]‘sapiens nunquam potentium iras provocabit, immo declinabit, non aliter quam in navigando procellam’ Sen.Ep.14, 7.

[100]Dial.iii 18, 2.

[101]‘exeat aula | qui volet esse pius. virtus et summa potestas | non coëunt: semper metuet, quem saeva pudebunt’ LucanPhars.viii 493 to 495.

[102]Sen.Ep.77, 6, and 95, 20 and 21.

[103]‘turpis, qui alto sole semisomnus iacet, cuius vigilia medio die incipit’ib.122, 1.

[104]‘nihil tam damnosum bonis moribus quam in aliquo spectaculo desidere’ib.7, 2.

[105]‘inimica est multorum conversatio; nemo non aliquod nobis vitium aut commendat aut imprimit aut nescientibus adlinit’ib.

[106]‘vilissimus quisque tempus in aliquo circulo [terit]’Dial.i 5, 4.

[107]Ep.86, 9 and 10.

[108]ib.114, 9.

[109]ib.122, 8.

[110]‘oculos hesterna graves crapula’ib.122, 2.

[111]Stob. iv 15, 18. Seneca gives a more qualified approval to country life: ‘non est per se magistra innocentiae solitudo, nec frugalitatem docent rura; sed ubi testis et spectator abscessit, vitia subsidunt, quorum monstrari et conspici fructus est’Ep.94, 69.

[112]‘de cetero vide, non tantum an verum sit quod dicis, sed an ille cui dicitur veri patiens sit’Dial.v 36, 4.

[113]‘moneri velle ac posse secunda virtus est; flectendus est paucis animus, sui rector optimus’Ben.v 25, 4.

[114]‘gravior multo poena videtur, quae a miti viro constituitur’Clem.i 22, 3.

[115]‘vincit malos pertinax bonitas’Ben.vii 31, 1.

[116]‘quid tanquam tuo parcis? procurator es, in depositi causa [divitiae] sunt’Ben.vi 3, 2; ‘donabit cum summo consilio dignissimos eligens, ut qui meminerit tam expensorum quam acceptorum rationem esse reddendam’ib.23, 5.

[117]‘demus ante omnia libenter, cito, sine ulla dubitatione’Ben.ii 1, 1.

[118]Cic.Off.i 17, 57.

[119]‘non desinemus opem ferre etiam inimicis’ Sen.Dial.viii 1, 4.

[120]‘[sapiens] dabit egenti stipem (non hanc contumeliosam, qua pars maior horum qui se misericordes videri volunt, abicit et fastidit quos adiuvat contingique ab his timet) sed ut homo homini ex communi dabit’Clem.ii 6, 2.

[121]‘sic demus, quomodo vellemus accipere’Ben.ii 1, 1.

[122]‘nullius boni sine socio iucunda possessio est’Ep.6, 4.

[123]‘servi sunt? immo homines. servi sunt? immo humiles amici’ib.47, 1; ‘animas servorum et corpora nostra | materia constare putat paribusque elementis’ Juv.Sat.xiv 16 and 17.

[124]‘cognovi familiariter te cum servis tuis vivere. hoc eruditionem decet. rideo istos, qui turpe putant cum servo suo cenare’ Sen.Ep.47, 1 and 2.

[125]‘refert cuius animi sit, non cuius status’Ben.iii 18, 2.

[126]Ep.44, 4.

[127]‘[Calvisius Sabinus] magna summa emit servos, unum qui Homerum teneret, unum qui Hesiodum. novem praeterea lyricis singulos adsignavit. magno emisse illum non est quod mireris: non invenerat, faciendos locavit’Ep.27, 6.

[128]Epict.Disc.iv 1, 33 to 40.

[129]But hear Epictetus on the other side: ‘Are those men greater benefactors to mankind who introduce into the world to occupy their own places two or three grunting children, or those who superintend as far as they can all mankind? Did Priamus who begat fifty worthless sons contribute more to the community than Homer?’Disc.iii 22, 77 and 78.

[130]Stob. iv 24, 15 (from Musonius).

[131]ib.27, 21.

[132]See above, §399.

[133]‘compara inter se pauperum et divitum voltus; saepius pauper et fidelius ridet’ Sen.Ep.80, 6.

[134]‘etiam in obsessa via pauperi pax est’ib.14, 9.

[135]‘si vis vacare animo, aut pauper sis oportet aut pauperi similis’ib.17, 5.

[136]‘[paupertas] veros certosque amicos retinebit; discedet quisquis non te, sed aliud sequebatur. vel ob hoc unum amanda paupertas quod, a quibus ameris, ostendet’ib.20, 7.

[137]‘paupertas nulli malum est nisi repugnanti’ib.123, 16.

[138]Dial.xii 6, 2.

[139]‘usque eo commutatio ipsa locorum gravis non est, ut hic quoque locus a patria quosdam abduxerit’ib.5.

[140]ib.7, 1.

[141]‘ubicunque vicit Romanus habitat’ib.7, 7.

[142]ib.8, 6.

[143]‘licet in exilium euntibus virtutes suas secum ferre’ib.8, 1.

[144]‘subeunt morbi tristisque senectus’ Verg.G.iii 67 quoted by Sen.Ep.108, 29.

[145]‘plena est voluptatis [senectus], si illa scias uti’ Sen.Ep.12, 4.

[146]‘nihil magis cavendum est senectuti, quam ne languori se desidiaeque dedat’ Cic.Off.i 34, 123; ‘iuvenes possumus discere, possumus facilem animum et adhuc tractabilem ad meliora convertere’ Sen.Ep.108, 27.

[147]‘adeone iuvat occupatum mori?’ Sen.Dial.x 20, 3. He instances an old gentleman of 90, who had consented to resign his official post at that age; but when the time came, he threw his whole household into mourning until he got his work back again.

[148]‘luxuria cum omni aetate turpis, tum senectuti foedissima est’ Cic.Off.i 34, 123.

[149]Sen.Dial.x 4, 1 and 2.

[150]τὸ ζῆν ὁδῷ καὶ κατὰ φύσιν.

[151]ἄνθρωπος μίμημα θεοῦ μόνον τῶν ἐπιγείων (see on hymn of Cleanthes, l. 5, in §97).

[152]Stob.Flor.117, 8 (M).

[153]‘ubi mors interclusit omnia et ad ferendam sententiam incorruptum iudicem misit, quaerimus dignissimos quibus nostra tradamus; nec quicquam cura sanctiore componimus quam quod ad nos non pertinet’ Sen.Ben.iv 11, 5.

[154]‘reverti unde veneris quid grave est?’Dial.ix 11, 4.

[155]Epict.Disc.iii 13, 14 and 15;ib.iv 1, 106.

[156]‘male vivet quisquis nesciet bene mori’ Sen.Dial.ix 11, 4; and see above, §§298,299.

[157]‘quod tam cito fit, timetis diu?’ Sen.Dial.i 6, 9; ‘puto fortiorem eum esse, qui in ipsa morte est quam qui circa mortem. mors enim admota etiam imperitis animum dedit non vitandi inevitabilia; sic gladiator tota pugna timidissimus iugulum adversario praestat et errantem gladium sibi adtemperat’Ep.30, 8; ‘the ship is sinking! what then have I to do? I do the only thing that I can, not to be drowned full of fear, nor screaming nor blaming God, but knowing that what has been produced must also perish; for I am not an immortal being’ Epict.Disc.ii 5, 11 to 13.

Back to Index Next