BOOK VIII
30. Say thy say in the Senate or to any person whatsoever becomingly and naturally.[1] Use sound speech.
31. The court of Augustus—wife, daughter, descendants, ancestors, sister, Agrippa, kinsfolk, household, friends, Areius,[2] Maecenas, physicians, haruspices—dead, the whole court of them! Pass on then to other records and the death not of individuals but of a clan, as of the Pompeii. And that well-known epitaph, Last of his race—think over it and the anxiety shewn by the man s ancestors that they might leave a successor. But after all some one must be the last of the line—here again the dearth of a whole race!
32. Act by act thou must build up thy life, and be content, if each act as far as may be fulfils its end.[3] And there is never a man that can prevent it doing this. But there will be some impediment from without. There can be none to thy behaving justly, soberly, wisely. But what if some other exercise of activity be hindered? Well, a cheerful acceptance of the hindrance and a tactful transition to what is allowed will enable another action to be substituted that will be in keeping with the built-up life of which we are speaking.
33. Accept without arrogance, surrender without reluctance.
- ↑ Dr. Bigg does not scruple to say that Marcus spoke in such a pedantic jargon as to be unintelligible to his hearers! This is pitiable nonsense. See Fronto, ad Ant. i. 1: quanto studio quantoque favore et voluptate dicentem te audit senatus populusque Romanus; cp. ad Caes. ii. 1.
- ↑ Domestic philosopher to Augustus, as Rusticus was to Marcus. See Them. Orat. v. 63d; xiii. 173c; Sen. ad Marciam, § 4.
- ↑ Or, receives its due reward (ἀπέχει).
