Discourses - Book I   

such a man blames any one, does the man care for the blame? and if
he praises any one, is the man elated, when in such small matters as
an hypothetical syllogism he who praises cannot see what is consequent
on the hypothesis?
This then is the beginning of philosophy, a man's perception of
the state of his ruling faculty; for when a man knows that it is weak,
then he will not employ it on things of the greatest difficulty. But
at present, if men cannot swallow even a morsel, they buy whole
volumes and attempt to devour them; and this is the reason why they
vomit them up or suffer indigestion: and then come gripings, defluxes,
and fevers. Such men ought to consider what their ability is. In
theory it is easy to convince an ignorant person; but in the affairs
of real life no one offers himself to be convinced, and we hate the
man who has convinced us. But Socrates advised us not to live a life
which is not subjected to examination.

CHAPTER 27

In how many ways appearances exist, and what aids we should
provide against them

Appearances to us in four ways: for either things appear as they
are; or they are not, and do not even appear to be; or they are, and
do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Further,
in all these cases to form a right judgement is the office of an
educated man. But whatever it is that annoys us, to that we ought to
apply a remedy. If the sophisms of Pyrrho and of the Academics are
what annoys, we must apply the remedy to them. If it is the persuasion
of appearances, by which some things appear to be good, when they
are not good, let us seek a remedy for this. If it is habit which
annoys us, we must try to seek aid against habit. What aid then can we
find against habit, The contrary habit. You hear the ignorant say:
"That unfortunate person is dead: his father and mother are
overpowered with sorrow; he was cut off by an untimely death and in
a foreign land." Here the contrary way of speaking: tear yourself from
these expressions: oppose to one habit the contrary habit; to
sophistry oppose reason, and the exercise and discipline of reason;
against persuasive appearances we ought to have manifest
precognitions, cleared of all impurities and ready to hand.
When death appears an evil, we ought to have this rule in readiness,
that it is fit to avoid evil things, and that death is a necessary
thing. For what shall I do, and where shall I escape it? Suppose
that I am not Sarpedon, the son of Zeus, nor able to speak in this
noble way: "I will go and I am resolved either to behave bravely
myself or to give to another the opportunity of doing so; if I
cannot succeed in doing anything myself, I will not grudge another the
doing of something noble." Suppose that it is above our power to act
thus; is it not in our power to reason thus? Tell me where I can
escape death: discover for me the country, show me the men to whom I
must go, whom death does not visit. Discover to me a charm against