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

BOOK I. xxn. iS-xxm. 5will come along., and then he will shake his head andsay, " Listen to me, my son ;one ought of course tophilosophize, but one ought also to keep one's head ;this is all nonsense. You learn a syllogism from thephilosophers, but you know better than thephilosophers what you ought to do." Man, why,then, do you censure me, if I know ? What shallI say to this slave ? If I hold my peace, the fellowbursts with indignation. So I must " say, Forgiveme as you would lovers I am not;my own master ;I am mad."CHAPTER XXIIIIn answer ioEpicurusEVEN Epicurus understands that we are by naturesocial beings, but having once set our good in thehusk which we wear, he cannot go on and say anythinginconsistent with this. For, he next insistsemphatically upon the principle that we oughtneither to admire nor to accept anything that isdetached from the nature of the good and he is;right in so doing. But how, then, can we still besocial beings, if affection for our own children is nota natural sentiment? Why do you dissuade thewise man from bringing up children ?Why are youafraid that sorrow will come to him on their account ?What, does sorrow come to him on account of hishouse-slave Mouse ? l Well, what does it matterto him if his little Mouse in his home begins tocry? Nay he knows, that if once a child is born,UH Bentlcy saw (of. Trans. Amor. Philol. Assoc., LIL, 451).There is no evidence to support the common explanationthat/ KpicuruH had compared children to mice. 149