ld
shall come out of thy wife's womb, so be ready for the time when thy
soul shall fall out of this envelope.[A] But if thou requirest also a
vulgar kind of comfort which shall reach thy heart, thou wilt be made
best reconciled to death by observing the objects from which thou art
going to be removed, and the morals of those with whom thy soul will no
longer be mingled. For it is no way right to be offended with men, but
it is thy duty to care for them and to bear with them gently; and yet to
remember that thy departure will not be from men who have the same
principles as thyself. For this is the only thing, if there be any,
which could draw us the contrary way and attach us to life,--to be
permitted to live with those who have the same principles as ourselves.
But now thou seest how great is the trouble arising from the discordance
of those who live together, so that thou mayst say, Come quick, O death,
lest perchance I, too, should forget myself.

[A] Note 1 of the Philosophy, p. 76.

4. He who does wrong does wrong against himself. He who acts unjustly
acts unjustly to himself, because he makes himself bad.

5. He often acts unjustly who does not do a certain thing; not only he
who does a certain thing.

6. Thy present opinion founded on understanding, and thy present conduct
directed to social good, and thy present disposition of contentment with
everything which happens+--that is enough.

7. Wipe out imagination; check desire: extinguish appetite: keep the
ruling faculty in its own power.

8. Among the animals which have not reason one life is distributed; but
among reasonable animals one intelligent soul is distributed: just as
there is one earth of all things which are of an earthly nature, and we
see by one light, and breathe one air, all of us that have the faculty
of vision and all that have life.

9. All things which participate in anything which is common to them all,
move towards that which is of the same kind with themselves. Everything
which is earthy turns towards the earth, everything which is liquid
flows together, and everything which is of an aerial kind does the
same, so that they require something to keep them asunder, and the
application of force. Fire indeed moves upwards on account of the
elemental fire, but it is so ready to be kindled together with all the
fire which is here, that even every substance which is somewhat dry is
easily ignited, because there is less mingled with it of