SENECA - College of Stoic Philosophers

EPISTLE XC.
unused, and the hand, unstained by human blood,
had turned all its hatred against wild beasts. The
men of that day, who had found in some dense
grove protection against the sun, and security against
the severity of winter or of rain in their mean hidingplaces,
spent their lives under the branches of the
trees and passed tranquil nights without a sigh.
Care vexes us in our purple, and routs us from our
beds with the sharpest of goads but how soft was
;
the sleep the hard earth bestow ed r upon the men of
that day No fretted and ! panelled ceilings hung
over them, but as they lay beneath the open sky the
stars glided quietly above them, and the firmament,
night's noble pageant, marched swiftly by, conducting
its mighty task in silence. For them by day,
as well as by night, the visions of this most glorious
abode were free and open. It was their joy to watch
the constellations as they sank from mid-heaven,
and others, again, as they rose from their hidden
abodes. What else but joy could it be to wander
among the marvels which dotted the heavens
far and wide ? But you of the present day shudder
at every sound your houses make, and as you sit
among your frescoes the slightest creak makes
you shrink in terror. They had no houses as big
as cities. The air, the breezes blowing free through
the open spaces, the flitting shade of crag or tree,
springs crystal - clear and streams not spoiled by
man's work, whether a by water-pipe or by any confinement
of the channel, but running at will, and
meadows beautiful without the use of art, amid
such scenes were their rude homes, adorned with
rustic hand. Such a dwelling was in accordance
with nature ;
therein it was a joy to live, fearing
neither the dwelling itself nor for its safety. In
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