crilege can only be done in places
solemnly dedicated to heaven. Thus, also, the whole world is a temple of
the immortal gods, and, indeed, the only one worthy of their greatness
and splendour, and yet there is a distinction between things sacred and
profane; all things which it is lawful to do under the sky and the stars
are not lawful to do within consecrated walls. The sacrilegious man
cannot do God any harm, for He is placed beyond his reach by His divine
nature; yet he is punished because he seems to have done Him harm: his
punishment is demanded by our feeling on the matter, and even by his
own. In the same way, therefore, as he who carries off any sacred
things is regarded as sacrilegious, although that which he stole is
nevertheless within the limits of the world, so it is possible to steal
from a wise man: for in that case it will be some, not of that universe
which he possesses, but some of those things of which he is the
acknowledged owner, and which are severally his own property, which will
be stolen from him. The former of these possessions he will recognize as
his own, the latter he will be unwilling, even if he be able to possess;
he will say, as that Roman commander said, when, to reward his courage
and good service to the state, he was assigned as much land as he could
inclose in one day's ploughing. "You do not," said he, "want a citizen
who wants more than is enough for one citizen." Do you not think that it
required a much greater man to refuse this reward than to earn it? for
many have taken away the landmarks of other men's property, but no one
sets up limits to his own.

VIII. When, then, we consider that the mind of the truly wise man has
power over all things and pervades all things, we cannot help declaring
that everything is his, although, in the estimation of our common law,
it may chance that he may be rated as possessing no property whatever.
It makes a great difference whether we estimate what he owns by the
greatness of his mind, or by the public register. He would pray to be
delivered from that possession of everything of which you speak. I will
not remind you of Socrates, Chrysippus, Zeno, and other great men, all
the greater, however, because envy prevents no one from praising the
ancients. But a short time ago I mentioned Demetrius, who seems to have
been placed by nature in our times that he might prove that we could
neither corrupt him nor be corrected by him; a man of consummate wi