BOOK III. IX. 19-X. 1
For, I have plenty of leisure; my mind is not being dragged this way and that. What shall I do, seeing there is nothing that disturbs me? What have I which more becomes a man than this? You and your kind when you have nothing to do are restless, 20go to the theatre, or wander up and down aimlessly. Why should not the philosopher develop his own reason? You turn to vessels of crystal, I to the syllogism called "The Liar";[1] you to myrrhine ware,[2] I to the syllogism called "The Denyer."[3] Everything that you already have seems small in your sight, but everything that I have seems important to me. Your strong desire is insatiate, mine is already satisfied. The same thing happens to the children who put their hand down into a narrow-necked jar and try to take out figs and nuts: if they get their hand full, they can't get it out, and then they cry. Drop a few and you will get it out. And so do you too drop your desire; do not set your heart upon many things and you will obtain.[4][† 1]
CHAPTER X
How ought we to bear our illnesses?
When the need arises for each separate judgement, we ought to have it ready; at lunch our judgements about lunch, at the bath our judgements about a bath, in bed our judgements about a bed.
- ↑ See note in II. 17, 34.
- ↑ Highly coloured and very expensive glass.
- ↑ The exact nature of this argument is unknown, although Chrysippus wrote two works on the subject (Diog. Laert. 7, 197), and it is casually mentioned also by Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5, 11.
- ↑ See critical note.
- ↑ οἴσεις. Wolf plausibly suggested εὐροήσεις, "you will prosper," for this extremely abrupt and obscure locution.
