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

ION PROVIDENCE, iv. 13-16biidies of sailors are hardy from buffeting the sea,tb.e hands of farmers are callous, the soldier's muscleshave the strength to hurl weapons, and the legs of;i runner are nimble. In each, his staamchest memberis the one that he has exercised. /By enduring illsthe mind attains contempt for the endurance ofthem ;you will know what this can accomphsh inour own case, if you will observe how much thepeoples that are destitute and, by reason of theirwant, more sturdy, secure by toil. Consider all thetribes whom Roman civilization does not reach—mean the Germans and all the nomad tribes thatassail us along the Danube. They are oppressed byeternal winter and a gloomy sky, the barren soilgrudges them support, they keep off the rain withthatch or leaves, they range over ice-bound marshes,and hunt wild beasts for food. Are they unhappy,do you think ? There is no unhappiness for thosewhom habit has brought back to nature.** For whatthey begin from necessity becomes gradually apleasure. They have no homes and no restingplacesexcept those wliich weariness allots for theday ; their food is mean and must be got by thehand ; terrible harshness of climate, bodies unclothed,—suchfor countless tribes is the life whichseems to you so calamitous ! Why, then, do youwonder that good men are shaken in order that theymay grow strong ? No tree becomes rooted andsturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by itsvery tossing it tightens its grip and plants its rootsmore securely ; the fragile trees are those that havegrown in a sunny valley. It is, therefore, to theadvantage even of good men, to the end that theymay be unafraid, to live constantly amidst alarmsVOL. I D 33