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

BOOK II, xxi, 19-xxii. inight, for tins ? Or when you went out into thecovered walk did you ever set before yourself,instead of a syllogism, some external impression andexamine this with your fellow-students? When didyou ever do that? And then you say, "Theare useless." To whom? To those whoprinciplesdo not use them properly.For instance., eye-salvesare not useless to those who rub them on when andas they ought,, and poultices are not useless,jumping-weights are not useless ;but they areuseless to some people, .and, on the other hand,useful to others. If you ask me now, ""Are oursyllogisms useful ? " I will tell you that they are,and, if you wish, I will show how " they are useful.Have they, then, helped me at all " ? Man, youdid not ask, did you? whether they are useful toyou, but whether they are useful in general? Letthe man who is suffering from dysentery ask mewhether vinegaris useful ;I will tell him that it is"useful. Is it useful, then, to me?" I will say," No. Seek first to have your discharge stopped,the little ulcers healed," So do you also, men, firstcure your ulcers, stop your discharges, be tranquil inmind, bring it free from distraction into the school ;and then you will know what power reason has.CHAPTER XXIIOf friendshipWHATEVER a man is interested in he naturallyloves. Now do men take an interest in things evil ?Not at all. Well, and do they take an interest inthings which in no respect concern them ?No, not