Volume 1 - Discourses - Books I - II - College of Stoic Philosophers

BOOK I. xix. 2S-xx. 6"of Nicopolis? 1 CfBut I shall wear a crown of gold/'"If you desire a crown at all, take a crown of 'rosesand putit on ; you will look much more elegant inthat."CHAPTER XXHow Ike reasoning faculty contemplates itselfEVERY art and faculty makes certain things thespecial object of its contemplation. Now when theart or faculty itself is of like kind with what itcontemplates,, it becomes inevitably self-contemplativebut when it is of unlike kind, it cannot;contemplate itself. For example, the art of leatherworkinghas to do with hides, but the art itself isaltogether different from the material of hides, whereforeit is not self-contemplative. Again, the art ofgrammar has to do with written speechit is not,;therefore, also itself written speech,is it? Not atall. For this reason it cannot contemplate itself.Well then, for what purpose have we received reasonfrom nature ? For the proper use of external impressions.What, then, is reason itself? Somethingcomposed out of a certain kind of external impressions.Thus it comes naturally to be also selfcontemplative.Once more, what are the things thatwisdom has been given us to contemplate ? Thingsgood, bad, and neither good nor bad. What, then,is wisdom itself ? A good. And what Anis folly ?evil. Do you see, then, that wisdom inevitably comessingle notary, contained many names of witnesses, eponymousmagistrates, supervising officials, and tho like. A priest ofAugustus would naturally be called in often to sign formaldocuments in one capacity or another.'37