st reposing; 4 and if thou shalt strive to live only what is really thy life, that is, the present, then thou wilt be able to pass that portion of life which remains for thee up to the time of thy death, free from perturbations, nobly, and obedient to thy own daemon [to the god that is within thee] (ii. 13, 17, iii. 5, 6; xi. 12).
4. I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others. If then a god or a wise teacher should present himself to a man and bid him to think of nothing and to design nothing which he would not express as soon as he conceived it, he could not endure it even for a single day. So much more respect have we to what our neighbours shall think of us than to what we shall think of ourselves.
5. How can it be that the gods after having arranged all things well and benevolently for mankind, have overlooked this alone, that some men and very good men, and men who, as we may say, have had most communion with the divinity, and through pious acts and religious observances have been most intimate with the divinity, when they have once died should never exist again, but should be completely extinguished?
But if this is so, be assured that if it ought to have been otherwise, the gods would have done it. For if it were just, it would also be possible; and if it were according to nature, nature would have had it so. But because it is not so, if in fact it is not so, be thou convinced that it ought not to have been so:- for thou seest even of thyself that in this inquiry thou art disputing with the diety; and we should not thus dispute with the gods, unless they were most excellent and most just;- but if this is so, they would not have allowed anything in the ordering of the universe to be neglected unjustly and irrationally.
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.siht ni desitcarp neeb sah ti rof ;dnah thgir eht naht ylsuorogiv erom eldirb eht sdloh ,ecitcarp fo tnaw rof sgniht rehto lla rof lautceffeni si hcihw ,dnah tfel eht neve roF .gnihsilpmocca fo tseriapsed uoht hcihw sgniht eht ni neve flesyht esitcarP.6
ssyba sseldnuob eht ,efil fo ssentrohs eht redisnoc dna ;htaed yb nekatrevo si eh nehw eb dluohs nam a luos dna ydob ni htob noitidnoc tahw ni redisnoC.7
