its
receiving a soul, and from the reception of a soul to the giving back of
the same, and of what things every being is compounded, and into what
things it is resolved. Third, if thou shouldst suddenly be raised up
above the earth, and shouldst look down on human things, and observe the
variety of them how great it is, and at the same time also shouldst see
at a glance how great is the number of beings who dwell all around in
the air and the ether, consider that as often 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?

25. Cast away opinion: thou art saved. Who then hinders thee from
casting it away?

26. When thou art troubled about anything, thou hast forgotten this,
that all things happen according to the universal nature; and forgotten
this, that a 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 happens so everywhere; forgotten this too,
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, but of intelligence. And
thou hast forgotten this too, that every man's intelligence is a god and
is an efflux of the Deity;[A] and forgotten this, that nothing is a
man's own, but that his child and his body and his very soul came from
the Deity; forgotten this, that everything is opinion; and lastly thou
hast forgotten that every man lives the present time only, and loses
only this.

[A] See Epictetus, ii. 8, 9, etc.

27. Constantly bring to thy recollection those who have complained
greatly about anything, those who have been most conspicuous by the
greatest fame or misfortunes or enmities or fortunes of any kind: then
think where are they all now? Smoke and ash and a tale, or not even a
tale. And let there be present to thy mind also everything of this sort,
how Fabius Catellinus lived in the country, and Lucius Lupus in his
gardens, and Stertinius at Briae, and Tiberius at Capreae, and Velius
Rufus [or Rufus at Velia]; and in fine think of the eager pursuit of
anything conjoined with pride;[A] and how worthless everything is after
which men violently strain; and how much more philosophical it is for a
man in the opportunities presented to him to show himself just,
temperate, obedient to the gods, and to do this with all simplicity: for
the pride which is