1.Wilt thou， then， my soul， never be good and simple and one and naked， more manifest than the body which surrounds thee？ Wilt thou never enjoy an affectionate and contented disposition？ Wilt thou never be full and without a want of any kind， longing for nothing more， nor desiring anything， either animate or inanimate， for the enjoyment of pleasures？ Nor yet desiring time wherein thou shalt have longer enjoyment， or place， or pleasant climate， or society of men with whom thou mayest live in harmony？ But wilt thou be satisfied with thy present condition， and pleased with all that is about thee， and wilt thou convince thyself that thou hast everything and that it comes from the gods， that everything is well for thee， and will be well whatever shall please them， and whatever they shall give for the conservation of the perfect living being， the good and just and beautiful， which generates and holds together all things， and contains and embraces all things which are dissolved for the production of other like things？ Wilt thou never be such that thou shalt so dwell in community with gods and men as neither to find fault with them at all， nor to be condemned by them？
2.Observe what thy nature requires， so far as thou art governed by nature only： then do it and accept it， if thy nature， so far as thou art a living being， shall not be made worse by it.
And next thou must observe what thy nature requires so far as thou art a living being. And all this thou mayest allow thyself， if thy nature， so far as thou art a rational animal， shall not be made worse by it. But the rational animal is consequently also a political （social） animal. Use these rules， then， and trouble thyself about nothing else.
3.Everything which happens either happens in such wise as thou art formed by nature to bear it， or as thou art not formed by nature to bear it. If， then， it happens to thee in such way as thou art formed by nature to bear it， do not complain， but bear it as thou art formed by nature to bear it. But if it happens in such wise as thou art not formed by nature to bear it， do not complain， for it will perish after it has consumed thee. Remember， however， that thou art formed by nature to bear everything， with respect to which it depends on thy own opinion to make it endurable and tolerable， by thinking that it is either thy interest or thy duty to do this.
4.If a man is mistaken， instruct him kindly and show him his error. But if thou art not able， blame thyself， or blame not even thyself.
5.Whatever may happen to thee， it was prepared for thee from all eternity； and the implication of causes was from eternity spinning the thread of thy being， and of that which is incident to it.
6.Whether the universe is a concourse of atoms， or nature is a system， let this first be established， that I am a part of the whole which is governed by nature； next， I am in a manner intimately related to the parts which are of the same kind with myself. For remembering this， in as much as I am a part， I shall be discontented with none of the things which are assigned to me out of the whole； for nothing is injurious to the part， if it is for the advantage of the whole. For the whole contains nothing which is not for its advantage； and all natures indeed have this common principle， but the nature of the universe has this principle besides， that it cannot be compelled even by any external cause to generate anything harmful to itself. By remembering， then， that I am a part of such a whole， I shall be content with everything that happens. And inasmuch as I am in a manner intimately related to the parts which are of the same kind with myself， I shall do nothing unsocial， but I shall rather direct myself to the things which are of the same kind with myself， and I shall turn an my efforts to the common interest， and divert them from the contrary. Now， if these things are done so， life must flow on happily， just as thou mayest observe that the life of a citizen is happy， who continues a course of action which is advantageous to his fellow-citizens， and is content with whatever the state may assign to him.
7.The parts of the whole， everything， I mean， which is naturally comprehended in the universe， must of necessity perish； but let this be understood in this sense， that they must undergo change. But if this is naturally both an evil and a necessity for the parts， the whole would not continue to exist in a good condition， the parts being subject to change and constituted so as to perish in various ways. For whether did nature herself design to do evil to the things which are parts of herself， and to make them subject to evil and of necessity fall into evil， or have such results happened without her knowing it？ Both these suppositions， indeed， are incredible. But if a man should even drop the term Nature （as an efficient power）， and should speak of these things as natural， even then it would be ridiculous to affirm at the same time that the parts of the whole are in their nature subject to change， and at the same time to be surprised or vexed as if something were happening contrary to nature， particularly as the dissolution of things is into those things of which each thing is composed. For there is either a dispersion of the elements out of which everything has been compounded， or a change from the solid to the earthy and from the airy to the aerial， so that these parts are taken back into the universal reason， whether this at certain periods is consumed by fire or renewed by eternal changes. And do not imagine that the solid and the airy part belong to thee from the time of generation. For all this received its accretion only yesterday and the day before， as one may say， from the food and the air which is inspired. This， then， which has received the accretion， changes， not that which thy mother brought forth. But suppose that this which thy mother brought forth implicates thee very much with that other part， which has the peculiar quality of change， this is nothing in fact in the way of objection to what is said.
