Moral essays. With an English translation by J.W. Basore

ON ANGER, III. XXXV. 3-xxxvi. 1mass-meeting ? You do not have ears only for thepurpose of listening to melodious sounds, soft andsweetly drawn and all in harmony ;you should alsolend ear to laughter and weeping, to soft words andbitter, to happiness and sorrow, to the voices of menand the roars and barking of animals. Poor fellow !why do you shudder at the shouting of a slave, atthe rattling of bronze, or the banging of a door ?Although you are so sensitive, you have to hsten tothunder. And all this which I have said about theears you may apply as well to the eyes, which if theyare not well schooled suffer not less from squeamishness.They are offended by a spot, by dirt, bytarnished silver, and by a pool that is not transparentto the bottom. These same eyes, forsooth, thatcannot tolerate marble unless it is mottled andpohshed ^vith recent rubbing, that cannot tolerate atable unless it is marked by many a vein, that athome would see under foot only pavements morecostly than gold—these eyes when outside willbehold, all unmoved, rough and muddy paths anddirty peoplej as are most of those they meet, andtenement walls crumbled and cracked and out ofline. Why is it, then, that we are not offended onthe street, yet are annoyed at home, except that inthe one case we are in an unruffled and tolerant stateof mind, and in the other are peevish and faultfinding?All our senses ought to be trained to endurance.They are naturally long-suffering, if only the minddesists from weakening them. This should besummoned to give an account of itself every day.Sextius had this habit, and when the day was overand he had retired to his nightly rest, he would put339