nor to say or do anything which does him injury, to yield to him in
all things and give way, cooperating with him as far as you can. After
this know that you are a brother also, and that to this character it
is due to make concessions; to be easily persuaded, to speak good of
your brother, never to claim in opposition to him any of the things
which are independent of the will, but readily to give them up, that
you may have the larger share in what is dependent on the will. For
see what a thing it is, in place of a lettuce, if it should so happen,
or a seat, to gain for yourself goodness of disposition. How great
is the advantage.
Next to this, if you are senator of any state, remember that you are
a senator: if a youth, that you are a youth: if an old man, that you
are an old man; for each of such names, if it comes to be examined,
marks out the proper duties. But if you go and blame your brother, I
say to you, "You have forgotten who you are and what is your name." In
the next place, if you were a smith and made a wrong use of the
hammer, you would have forgotten the smith; and if you have
forgotten the brother and instead of a brother have become an enemy,
would you appear not to have changed one thing for another in that
case? And if instead of a man, who is a tame animal and social, you
are become a mischievous wild beast, treacherous, and biting, have you
lost nothing? But, you must lose a bit of money that you may suffer
damage? And does the loss of nothing else do a man damage? If you
had lost the art of grammar or music, would you think the loss of it a
damage? and if you shall lose modesty, moderation and gentleness, do
you think the loss nothing? And yet the things first mentioned are
lost by some cause external and independent of the will, and the
second by our own fault; and as to the first neither to have them
nor to lose them is shameful; but as to the second, not to have them
and to lose them is shameful and matter of reproach and a
misfortune. What does the pathic lose? He loses the man. What does
he lose who makes the pathic what he is? Many other things; and he
also loses the man no less than the other. What does he lose who
commits adultery? He loses the modest, the temperate, the decent,
the citizen, the neighbour. What does he lose who is angry?
Something else. What does the coward lose? Something else. No man is
bad without suffering some loss and damage. If then you look for the
damage in the loss of money only, all these men receive no harm or
damage; it may be, they have even profit and gain, when they acquire a
bit of money by any of these deeds. But consider that if you refer
everything to a small coin, not even he who loses his nose is in
your opinion damaged. "Yes," you say, "for he is mutilated in his
body." Well; but does he who has lost his smell only lose nothing?
Is there, then, no energy of the soul which is an advantage to him who
possesses it, and a damage to him who has lost it? "Tell me what
sort you mean." Have we not a natural modesty? "We have." Does he
who loses this sustain no damage? is he deprived of nothing, does he
part with nothing of the things which belong to him? Have we not
naturally fidelity? natural affection, a natural disposition to help
others, a natural disposition to forbearance? The man then who