The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius - College of Stoic Philosophers

288 L^LIUS; OR,
heart and what difference will remain, I do not say
between man and brute, but between man and a mere
inanimate clod ? Away then with those austere philo
sophers who represent virtue as hardening the soul
against all the softer impressions of humanity. The fact,
certainly, is much otherwise a
; truly good man is
upon
many occasions extremely susceptible of tender senti
ments, and his heart expands with joy or shrinks with
sorrow, as good or ill fortune accompanies his friend.
Upon the whole, then, it may fairly be concluded, that as
in the case of virtue, so in that of friendship, those painful
sensations which may sometimes be produced by the one,
as well as by the other, are equally insufficient for ex
cluding either of them from taking possession of our
bosoms.
There is a charm in virtue, as I have already had
occasion to remark, that by a secret and irresistible bias
draws the general affection of those persons towards each
other in whom it
appears to reside, and this instantaneous
goodwill is mutually attended with a desire of entering
into a nearer and more intimate correspondence ;
senti
ments which, at length, by a natural and necessary
consequence, give rise to particular friendships.
Strange,
indeed, would it be that exalted honours, magnificent
mansions, or sumptuous apparel, not to mention other
splendid objects of general admiration, should have
power to captivate the greater part of our species, and
that the beauty of a virtuous mind, capable of meeting
our affection with an equal return, should not have
sufficient allurements to inspire the most ardent passion.
I said capable of meeting our affection with an equal
return ; for nothing, surely, can be more delightful
than to live in a constant interchange and vicissitude of
reciprocal good offices. If we add to this, as with truth
we may, that a similitude of manners is the most powerful
of all attractions, it must be granted that the virtuous