Ch. 27
In how many ways appearances exist, and what aids we should provide against them.
APPEARANCES are to us in four ways: for either things
appear as they are; or they are not, and do not even
appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or
they are not, and yet appear to be. Further, in all these
cases to form a right judgment (to hit the mark) is the
office of an educated man. But whatever it is that annoys
(troubles) us, to that we ought to apply a remedy. If the
sophisms of Pyrrho174 and of the Academics are what annoys
(troubles), we must apply the remedy to them. If it is
the persuasion of appearances, by which some things
appear to be good, when they are not good, let us seek a
remedy for this. If it is habit which annoys us, we must
try to seek aid against habit. What aid then can we find
against habit? The contrary habit. You hear the ignorant say: That unfortunate person is dead: his father and
mother are overpowered with sorrow;175 he was cut off by
an untimely death and in a foreign land. Hear the contrary way of speaking: Tear yourself from these expressions: oppose to one habit the contrary habit; to sophistry
oppose reason, and the exercise and discipline of reason;
against persuasive (deceitful) appearances we ought to have
manifest praecognitions (προλήψεις) cleared of all impurities
and ready to hand.
When death appears an evil, we ought to have this rule
in readiness, that it is fit to avoid evil things, and that
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death is a necessary thing. For what shall I do, and
where shall I escape it? Suppose that I am not Sarpedon,176
the son of Zeus, nor able to speak in this noble way: I
will go and I am resolved either to behave bravely
myself or to give to another the opportunity of doing so;
if I cannot succeed in doing any thing myself, I will not
grudge another the doing of something noble.Suppose
that it is above our power to act thus; is it not in our
power to reason thus? Tell me where I can escape death:
discover for me the country, show me the men to whom I
must go, whom death does not visit. Discover to me a
charm against death. If I have not one, what do you wish
me to do? I cannot escape from death. Shall I not escape
from the fear of death, but shall I die lamenting and
trembling? For the origin of perturbation is this, to
wish for something, and that this should not happen.
Therefore if I am able to change externals according to
my wish, I change them; but if I can not, I am ready to
tear out the eyes of him who hinders me. For the nature
of man is not to endure to be deprived of the good, and
not to endure the falling into the evil. Then at last, when
I am neither able to change circumstances nor to tear out
the eyes of him who hinders me, I sit down and groan, and
abuse whom I can, Zeus and the rest of the gods. For if
they do not care for me, what are they to me?Yes, but
you will be an impious man.In what respect then will
it be worse for me than it is now?To sum up, remember
this that unless piety and your interest be in the same
thing, piety cannot be maintained in any man. Do not
these things seem necessary (true)?
Let the followers of Pyrrho and the Academics come
and make their objections. For I, as to my part, have no
leisure for these disputes, nor am I able to undertake the
defence of common consent (opinion).177 If I had a suit even
about a bit of land, I would call in another to defend my
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interests. With what evidence then am I satisfied? With
that which belongs to the matter in hand.178 How indeed
perception is effected, whether through the whole body or
any part, perhaps I cannot explain: for both opinions perplex me. But that you and I are not the same, I know
with perfect certainty. How do you know it? When I
intend to swallow any thing, I never carry it to your mouth,
but to my own. When I intend to take bread, I never lay
hold of a broom, but I always go to the bread as to a
mark.179 And you yourselves (the Pyrrhonists), who take
away the evidence of the senses, do you act otherwise?
Who among you, when he intended to enter a bath, ever
went into a mill?
What then? Ought we not with all our power to hold to
this also, the maintaining of general opinion,180 and fortifying ourselves against the arguments which are directed
against it? Who denies that we ought to do this? Well,
he should do it who is able, who has leisure for it; but as
to him who trembles and is perturbed and is inwardly
broken in heart (spirit), he must employ his time better
on something else.
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