Take care then to do nothing like a wild beast; but if you do, you
have lost the character of a man; you have not fulfilled your promise.
See that you do nothing like a sheep; but if you do, in this case
the man is lost. What then do we do as sheep? When we act
gluttonously, when we act lewdly, when we act rashly, filthily,
inconsiderately, to what have we declined? To sheep. What have we
lost? The rational faculty. When we act contentiously and harmfully
and passionately, and violently, to what have we declined? To wild
beasts. Consequently some of us are great wild beasts, and others
little beasts, of a bad disposition and small, whence we may say, "Let
me be eaten by a lion." But in all these ways the promise of a man
acting as a man is destroyed. For when is a conjunctive proposition
maintained? When it fulfills what its nature promises; so that the
preservation of a complex proposition is when it is a conjunction of
truths. When is a disjunctive maintained? When it fulfills what it
promises. When are flutes, a lyre, a horse, a dog, preserved? What
is the wonder then if man also in like manner is preserved, and in
like manner is lost? Each man is improved and preserved by
corresponding acts, the carpenter by acts of carpentry, the grammarian
by acts of grammar. But if a man accustoms himself to write
ungrammatically, of necessity his art will be corrupted and destroyed.
Thus modest actions preserve the modest man, and immodest actions
destroy him: and actions of fidelity preserve the faithful man, and
the contrary actions destroy him. And on the other hand contrary
actions strengthen contrary characters: shamelessness strengthens
the shameless man, faithlessness the faithless man, abusive words
the abusive man, anger the man of an angry temper, and unequal
receiving and giving make the avaricious man more avaricious.
For this reason philosophers admonish us not to be satisfied with
learning only, but also to add study, and then practice. For we have
long been accustomed to do contrary things, and we put in practice
opinions which are contrary to true opinions. If then we shall not
also put in practice right opinions, we shall be nothing more than the
expositors of the opinions of others. For now who among us is not able
to discuss according to the rules of art about good and evil things?
"That of things some are good, and some are bad, and some are
indifferent: the good then are virtues, and the things which
participate in virtues; and the are the contrary; and the
indifferent are wealth, health, reputation." Then, if in the midst
of our talk there should happen some greater noise than usual, or some
of those who are present should laugh at us, we are disturbed.
Philosopher, where are the things which you were talking about? Whence
did you produce and utter them? From the lips, and thence only. Why
then do you corrupt the aids provided by others? Why do you treat
the weightiest matters as if you were playing a game of dice? For it
is one thing to lay up bread and wine as in a storehouse, and
another thing to eat. That which has been eaten, is digested,
distributed, and is become sinews, flesh, bones, blood, healthy
colour, healthy breath. Whatever is stored up, when you choose you can
readily take and show it; but you have no other advantage from it