Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Book twelve. All those things atwhich thou wishest to arrive by a circuitous
road, thou canst have now ifthou dost not refuse them to thyself.
And this means if thou wilt takeno notice of all the past, and
trust the future to providence, indirectthe present only conformably to piety, and
justice conformably to piety, that thoumayest be content with the lot which is
(00:22):
assigned to THEE, for Nature designedit for THEE, and THEE for it
conformably to justice. That thou mayestalways speak the truth freely and without disguise,
and do the things which are agreeableto law and according to the worth
of each. And let neither anotherman's wickedness hinder THEE, nor opinion,
nor voice, nor yet the sensationsof the poor flesh which has grown about
(00:46):
THEE. For the passive part willlook to this. If then, whatever
the time may be, when thoushalt be near to thy departure, neglecting
everything else, thou shalt respect onlythy ruling faculty and the divinity within THEE.
And if thou shalt be afraid notbecause thou must sometime cease to live.
(01:07):
But if thou shalt fear never tohave begun to live according to nature,
then thou wilt be a man worthyof the universe which has produced thee.
And thou wilt cease to be astranger in thy native land, and
to wonder at things which happened dailyas if they were something unexpected, and
to be dependent on this or that. God sees the minds ruling principles of
(01:30):
all men, bared of the materialvesture and rind and impurities. For with
his intellectual part alone he touches theintelligence only which has flowed and been derived
from himself into these bodies. Andif thou also usest thyself to do this,
thou wilt rid thyself of thy muchtrouble. For he who regards not
the poor flesh which envelops him surelywill not trouble himself by looking after raymond
(01:55):
and dwelling, and fame and suchlike externals. And show the things are
three of which thou art composed,a little body, of little breath life
intelligence. Of these the first twoare thine, as so far as it
is thy duty to take care ofthem, but the third alone and is
properly thine. Therefore, if thoushalt separate from thyself, that is,
(02:15):
from thy understanding, whatever others door say, and whatever thou hast done
or said thyself, and whatever futurethings trouble THEE because they may happen,
And whatever in the body which envelopsTHEE, or in the breath life which
is by nature associated with the body, is attached to THEE independent of thy
will, and whatever the external circumfluentvortex whirls around. So that the intellectual
(02:40):
power, exempt from the things offate, can live pure and free by
itself doing what is just and acceptingwhat happens, and saying the truth.
If thou wilt separate, i say, from this ruling faculty the things which
are attached to it by the impressionsof sense, and the things of time
to come and of time that ispassed, and wilt make thyself like and
(03:00):
Pedocle's sphere all round and in itsjoyous rest reposing. And if thou shalt
strive to live only what is reallythy life, that is the present,
then thou wilt be able to passthat portion of life which remains for THEE
up to the time of thy death, free from perturbations, nobly and obedient
to thy own demon, to theGod that is within thee. I have
(03:22):
often wondered how it is that everyman loves himself more than all the rest
of men, but yet sets lessvalue on his own opinion of himself than
on the opinion of others. Ifthen, a god or a wise teacher
should present himself to a man andbid him to think of nothing and to
design nothing, which he would notexpress as soon as he conceived it,
(03:42):
he could not endure it even fora single day. So much more respect
have we to what our neighbors shallthink of us than to what we shall
think of ourselves. How can itbe that the Gods, after having arranged
all things well and benevolently for mankind, have overlooked this alone. That some
men, very good men, andmen, who, as we may say,
have had most communion with the Divinity, and through pious acts and religious
(04:05):
observances, have been most intimate withthe Divinity, when they have once died,
should never exist again, but shouldbe completely extinguished. But if this
is so, be assured that ifit ought to have been otherwise, the
gods would have done it. Forif it were just it would also be
possible, and if it were accordingto nature, nature would have had it's
(04:26):
so. But because it is notso, If in fact it is not
so, be thou convinced that itought not to have been so. For
thou seest ephen of thyself that inthis inquiry thou art disputing with the deity.
And we should not thus dispute withthe gods unless they were most excellent
and most just. But if thisis so, they would not have allowed
(04:47):
anything in the ordering of the universeto be neglected unjustly and irrationally. Practice
thyself even in the things which thoudispaarest of accomplishing. For even the left
hand, which ineffectual for all otherthings, and for want of practice,
holds the bridle more vigorously than theright hand, for it has been practiced
in this. Consider in what condition, both in body and soul, a
(05:11):
man should be when he is overtakenby death. And consider the shortness of
life, the boundless abyss of timepast and future, the feebleness of all
matter. Contemplate the formative principles,forms of things, bear of their coverings,
the purposes of actions. Consider whatpain is, what pleasure is,
and death and fame. Who isto himself the cause of his uneasiness.
(05:33):
How no man is hindered by another. That everything is opinion. In the
application of thy principles, Thou mustbe like the pancratiist, not like the
gladiator. For the gladiator lets fallthe sword which he uses and is killed,
But the other always has his handand needs to do nothing else than
(05:53):
use it. See what things arein themselves, dividing them into matter,
form and purpose power. How ourman has to do nothing except what God
will approve, and to accept allthat God may give him. With respect
to that which happens conformably to nature, we ought to blame neither gods,
for they do nothing wrong, eithervoluntarily or involuntarily, nor men, for
(06:15):
they do nothing wrong except involuntarily.Consequently, we should blame nobody, how
ridiculous and what a stranger he is, who is surprised at anything which happens
in life. Either there is afatal necessity, an invincible order, or
a kind providence, or a confusionwithout a purpose and without a director booked
A four. If then there isan invincible necessity, why dost thou resist?
(06:39):
But if there is a providence,which allows itself to be propitiated,
Make thyself worthy of the help ofthe divinity. But if there is a
confusion without governor, be content thatin such a tempest thou hast in thyself
a certain ruling intelligence. And evenif the tempest carry thee away, let
it carry away the poor flesh,the poor breath, everything else, for
(07:01):
the intelligence, at least it willnot carry away. Does the light of
the lamp shine without losing its splendoruntil it is extinguished? And shall the
truth which is in thee, andjustice and temperance be extinguished before thy death.
When a man has presented the appearanceof having done wrong, say,
how then do I know if thisis a wrongful act? And even if
(07:24):
he has done it wrong, howdo I know that he has not condemned
himself? And so this is liketearing his own face. Consider that he
who would not have the bad mando wrong, is like the man who
would not have the fig tree tobear, juice in the figs, and
infants to cry, and the horseto ney, and whatever else must of
necessity be. For what must aman do who has such a character?
(07:45):
If then thou art irritable cure thisman's disposition. If it is not right,
do not do it. If itis not true, do not say
it. For let thy efforts bein everything. Always Observe what the thing
is which produces for THEE in appearance, and resolve it by dividing it into
the formal, the material, thepurpose, and the time within which it
(08:05):
must end. Perceive at last thatthou hast in THEE something better and more
divine than the things which cause thevarious effects. And as it will pull
THEE by the strings, what isthere now in my mind? Is it
fear or suspicion, or desire,or anything of the kind. First,
do nothing inconsiderately nor without a purpose. Second, and make thy acts refer
(08:28):
to nothing else than to a socialend. Consider that before long thou wilt
be nobody and nowhere, nor willany of the things exist which thou now
seest, nor any of those whoare now living. For all things are
formed by nature to change and beturned, and to perish in order that
other things in continuous succession may exist. Consider that everything is opinion, and
(08:52):
opinion is in thy power. Takeaway, then, when thou choosest thy
opinion, And like a mariner whohas doubled the promontory, thou wilt find
calm, everything stable, and awaveless bay. Any One activity, whatever
it may be, when it hasceased at its proper time, suffers no
evil because it has ceased. Norhe who has done this act does he
suffer any evil for this reason thatthe act has ceased in like manner.
(09:16):
Then the whole which consists of allthe acts, which is our life,
if it ceased at its proper time, suffers no evil for this reason that
it has ceased. Nor he whohas terminated this series at the proper time
has he been ill dealt with.But the proper time and the limit nature
fixes, sometimes, as in oldage, the peculiar nature of man,
(09:39):
but always the universal nature, bythe change of whose parts the whole universe
continues, ever young and perfect.In everything which is useful to the Universal
is always good and in season.Therefore, the termination of life for every
man is no evil, because neitheris it shameful, since it is both
independent of the will and not opposedto the general interest. But it is
(10:01):
good since it is seasonable and profitableto and congruent with the Universal. For
thus two he is move by thedeity, who has moved in the same
manner with the deity, and movetowards the same things in his mind.
These three principles thou must have inreadiness in the things which thou doest.
Do nothing either inconsiderately or otherwise,then as justice herself would act. But
(10:24):
with respect to what may happen tothee from without, consider that it happens
either by chance or according to providence. And thou must neither blame chance nor
accuse providence. Second, consider whatevery being is from the seed, two,
the time of its receiving a soul, and from the reception of a
soul to the giving back of thesame. And of what things every being
(10:46):
is compounded, and into what thingsit is resolved. Third, if thou
shouldst suddenly be raised up above theearth, and shouldst look down on human
things and observe the variety of them, how great it is, And at
the same time also should see ata glance how great is the number of
beings who dwell around in the airand the ether. Consider that as often
(11:09):
as thou shouldst be raised up,thou wouldst see the same things. Sameness
of form and shortness of duration.Are these things to be proud of.
Castaway opinion thou Art saved, whothen hinders THEE from casting it? It
away happen when thou Art troubled aboutanything, thou hast forgotten this, that
all things happen according to the universalnature, and forgotten at this that a
(11:30):
man's wrongful act is nothing to thee. And further, thou hast forgotten this,
that everything which happens always happened so, and will happen so, and
now happen so everywhere. Forgotten thisas to how close is the kinship between
a man and the whole human race, For it is a community not of
a little blood or seed, butof intelligence. And thou hast forgotten this
(11:50):
too, that every man's intelligence isa god and is an efflux of the
deity. And forgotten this that nothingis a man's own, but that his
child, and his body, andhis very soul came from the deity.
Forgotten this that everything is opinion.And lastly thou hast forgotten that every man
(12:11):
lives the present time only and losesonly this. And constantly bring to thy
recollection those who have complained greatly aboutanything, those who have been most conspicuous
by the greatest fame, or misfortunes, or enmities, or fortunes of any
kind. Then think where are theyall now? Smoke an ash and a
tale, or not even a tale, And let there be present to thy
(12:31):
mind also everything of this sort.How Fabius Catalinus lived in the country,
and Lucius Lupus in his gardens,and Stertinius at Bae, and Tiberius at
Caprae, and Velius Rufus or Rufusat Velia, And in fine think of
the eager pursuit and of anything conjoinedwith pride, and how worthless everything is
after which men violently strain, andhow much more philosophical. And it is
(12:56):
for a man, in the opportunitiespresented to him, to show the end
Book twelve. All those things atwhich thou wishest to arrive by a circuitous
road, thou canst have now ifthou dost not refuse them to thyself.
And this means if thou wilt takeno notice of all the past, and
trust the future to providence, indirectthe present only conformably to piety, and
justice conformably to piety, that thoumayest be content with the lot which is
(00:22):
assigned to THEE, for Nature designedit for THEE, and THEE for it
conformably to justice. That thou mayestalways speak the truth freely and without disguise,
and do the things which are agreeableto law and according to the worth
of each. And let neither anotherman's wickedness hinder THEE, nor opinion,
nor voice, nor yet the sensationsof the poor flesh which has grown about
(00:46):
THEE. For the passive part willlook to this. If then, whatever
the time may be, when thoushalt be near to thy departure, neglecting
everything else, thou shalt respect onlythy ruling faculty and the divinity within THEE.
And if thou shalt be afraid notbecause thou must sometime cease to live.
(01:07):
But if thou shalt fear never tohave begun to live according to nature,
then thou wilt be a man worthyof the universe which has produced thee.
And thou wilt cease to be astranger in thy native land, and
to wonder at things which happened dailyas if they were something unexpected, and
to be dependent on this or that. God sees the minds ruling principles of
(01:30):
all men, bared of the materialvesture and rind and impurities. For with
his intellectual part alone he touches theintelligence only which has flowed and been derived
from himself into these bodies. Andif thou also usest thyself to do this,
thou wilt rid thyself of thy muchtrouble. For he who regards not
the poor flesh which envelops him surelywill not trouble himself by looking after raymond
(01:55):
and dwelling, and fame and suchlike externals. And show the things are
three of which thou art composed,a little body, of little breath life
intelligence. Of these the first twoare thine, as so far as it
is thy duty to take care ofthem, but the third alone and is
properly thine. Therefore, if thoushalt separate from thyself, that is,
(02:15):
from thy understanding, whatever others door say, and whatever thou hast done
or said thyself, and whatever futurethings trouble THEE because they may happen,
And whatever in the body which envelopsTHEE, or in the breath life which
is by nature associated with the body, is attached to THEE independent of thy
will, and whatever the external circumfluentvortex whirls around. So that the intellectual
(02:40):
power, exempt from the things offate, can live pure and free by
itself doing what is just and acceptingwhat happens, and saying the truth.
If thou wilt separate, i say, from this ruling faculty the things which
are attached to it by the impressionsof sense, and the things of time
to come and of time that ispassed, and wilt make thyself like and
(03:00):
Pedocle's sphere all round and in itsjoyous rest reposing. And if thou shalt
strive to live only what is reallythy life, that is the present,
then thou wilt be able to passthat portion of life which remains for THEE
up to the time of thy death, free from perturbations, nobly and obedient
to thy own demon, to theGod that is within thee. I have
(03:22):
often wondered how it is that everyman loves himself more than all the rest
of men, but yet sets lessvalue on his own opinion of himself than
on the opinion of others. Ifthen, a god or a wise teacher
should present himself to a man andbid him to think of nothing and to
design nothing, which he would notexpress as soon as he conceived it,
(03:42):
he could not endure it even fora single day. So much more respect
have we to what our neighbors shallthink of us than to what we shall
think of ourselves. How can itbe that the Gods, after having arranged
all things well and benevolently for mankind, have overlooked this alone. That some
men, very good men, andmen, who, as we may say,
have had most communion with the Divinity, and through pious acts and religious
(04:05):
observances, have been most intimate withthe Divinity, when they have once died,
should never exist again, but shouldbe completely extinguished. But if this
is so, be assured that ifit ought to have been otherwise, the
gods would have done it. Forif it were just it would also be
possible, and if it were accordingto nature, nature would have had it's
(04:26):
so. But because it is notso, If in fact it is not
so, be thou convinced that itought not to have been so. For
thou seest ephen of thyself that inthis inquiry thou art disputing with the deity.
And we should not thus dispute withthe gods unless they were most excellent
and most just. But if thisis so, they would not have allowed
(04:47):
anything in the ordering of the universeto be neglected unjustly and irrationally. Practice
thyself even in the things which thoudispaarest of accomplishing. For even the left
hand, which ineffectual for all otherthings, and for want of practice,
holds the bridle more vigorously than theright hand, for it has been practiced
in this. Consider in what condition, both in body and soul, a
(05:11):
man should be when he is overtakenby death. And consider the shortness of
life, the boundless abyss of timepast and future, the feebleness of all
matter. Contemplate the formative principles,forms of things, bear of their coverings,
the purposes of actions. Consider whatpain is, what pleasure is,
and death and fame. Who isto himself the cause of his uneasiness.
(05:33):
How no man is hindered by another. That everything is opinion. In the
application of thy principles, Thou mustbe like the pancratiist, not like the
gladiator. For the gladiator lets fallthe sword which he uses and is killed,
But the other always has his handand needs to do nothing else than
(05:53):
use it. See what things arein themselves, dividing them into matter,
form and purpose power. How ourman has to do nothing except what God
will approve, and to accept allthat God may give him. With respect
to that which happens conformably to nature, we ought to blame neither gods,
for they do nothing wrong, eithervoluntarily or involuntarily, nor men, for
(06:15):
they do nothing wrong except involuntarily.Consequently, we should blame nobody, how
ridiculous and what a stranger he is, who is surprised at anything which happens
in life. Either there is afatal necessity, an invincible order, or
a kind providence, or a confusionwithout a purpose and without a director booked
A four. If then there isan invincible necessity, why dost thou resist?
(06:39):
But if there is a providence,which allows itself to be propitiated,
Make thyself worthy of the help ofthe divinity. But if there is a
confusion without governor, be content thatin such a tempest thou hast in thyself
a certain ruling intelligence. And evenif the tempest carry thee away, let
it carry away the poor flesh,the poor breath, everything else, for
(07:01):
the intelligence, at least it willnot carry away. Does the light of
the lamp shine without losing its splendoruntil it is extinguished? And shall the
truth which is in thee, andjustice and temperance be extinguished before thy death.
When a man has presented the appearanceof having done wrong, say,
how then do I know if thisis a wrongful act? And even if
(07:24):
he has done it wrong, howdo I know that he has not condemned
himself? And so this is liketearing his own face. Consider that he
who would not have the bad mando wrong, is like the man who
would not have the fig tree tobear, juice in the figs, and
infants to cry, and the horseto ney, and whatever else must of
necessity be. For what must aman do who has such a character?
(07:45):
If then thou art irritable cure thisman's disposition. If it is not right,
do not do it. If itis not true, do not say
it. For let thy efforts bein everything. Always Observe what the thing
is which produces for THEE in appearance, and resolve it by dividing it into
the formal, the material, thepurpose, and the time within which it
(08:05):
must end. Perceive at last thatthou hast in THEE something better and more
divine than the things which cause thevarious effects. And as it will pull
THEE by the strings, what isthere now in my mind? Is it
fear or suspicion, or desire,or anything of the kind. First,
do nothing inconsiderately nor without a purpose. Second, and make thy acts refer
(08:28):
to nothing else than to a socialend. Consider that before long thou wilt
be nobody and nowhere, nor willany of the things exist which thou now
seest, nor any of those whoare now living. For all things are
formed by nature to change and beturned, and to perish in order that
other things in continuous succession may exist. Consider that everything is opinion, and
(08:52):
opinion is in thy power. Takeaway, then, when thou choosest thy
opinion, And like a mariner whohas doubled the promontory, thou wilt find
calm, everything stable, and awaveless bay. Any One activity, whatever
it may be, when it hasceased at its proper time, suffers no
evil because it has ceased. Norhe who has done this act does he
suffer any evil for this reason thatthe act has ceased in like manner.
(09:16):
Then the whole which consists of allthe acts, which is our life,
if it ceased at its proper time, suffers no evil for this reason that
it has ceased. Nor he whohas terminated this series at the proper time
has he been ill dealt with.But the proper time and the limit nature
fixes, sometimes, as in oldage, the peculiar nature of man,
(09:39):
but always the universal nature, bythe change of whose parts the whole universe
continues, ever young and perfect.In everything which is useful to the Universal
is always good and in season.Therefore, the termination of life for every
man is no evil, because neitheris it shameful, since it is both
independent of the will and not opposedto the general interest. But it is
(10:01):
good since it is seasonable and profitableto and congruent with the Universal. For
thus two he is move by thedeity, who has moved in the same
manner with the deity, and movetowards the same things in his mind.
These three principles thou must have inreadiness in the things which thou doest.
Do nothing either inconsiderately or otherwise,then as justice herself would act. But
(10:24):
with respect to what may happen tothee from without, consider that it happens
either by chance or according to providence. And thou must neither blame chance nor
accuse providence. Second, consider whatevery being is from the seed, two,
the time of its receiving a soul, and from the reception of a
soul to the giving back of thesame. And of what things every being
(10:46):
is compounded, and into what thingsit is resolved. Third, if thou
shouldst suddenly be raised up above theearth, and shouldst look down on human
things and observe the variety of them, how great it is, And at
the same time also should see ata glance how great is the number of
beings who dwell around in the airand the ether. Consider that as often
(11:09):
as thou shouldst be raised up,thou wouldst see the same things. Sameness
of form and shortness of duration.Are these things to be proud of.
Castaway opinion thou Art saved, whothen hinders THEE from casting it? It
away happen when thou Art troubled aboutanything, thou hast forgotten this, that
all things happen according to the universalnature, and forgotten at this that a
(11:30):
man's wrongful act is nothing to thee. And further, thou hast forgotten this,
that everything which happens always happened so, and will happen so, and
now happen so everywhere. Forgotten thisas to how close is the kinship between
a man and the whole human race, For it is a community not of
a little blood or seed, butof intelligence. And thou hast forgotten this
(11:50):
too, that every man's intelligence isa god and is an efflux of the
deity. And forgotten this that nothingis a man's own, but that his
child, and his body, andhis very soul came from the deity.
Forgotten this that everything is opinion.And lastly thou hast forgotten that every man
(12:11):
lives the present time only and losesonly this. And constantly bring to thy
recollection those who have complained greatly aboutanything, those who have been most conspicuous
by the greatest fame, or misfortunes, or enmities, or fortunes of any
kind. Then think where are theyall now? Smoke an ash and a
tale, or not even a tale, And let there be present to thy
(12:31):
mind also everything of this sort.How Fabius Catalinus lived in the country,
and Lucius Lupus in his gardens,and Stertinius at Bae, and Tiberius at
Caprae, and Velius Rufus or Rufusat Velia, And in fine think of
the eager pursuit and of anything conjoinedwith pride, and how worthless everything is
after which men violently strain, andhow much more philosophical. And it is
(12:56):
for a man, in the opportunitiespresented to him, to show the end
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