1. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 21.8 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • endurance
Found in books: Geljon and Runia (2013), Philo of Alexandria: On Cultivation: Introduction, Translation and Commentary, 190; Morgan (2022), The New Testament and the Theology of Trust: 'This Rich Trust', 62
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21.8 וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל־נֵס וְהָיָה כָּל־הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ וָחָי׃'' None | sup>
21.8 And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live.’'' None |
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2. Xenophon, Memoirs, 1.5.4 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • endurance • endurance (karteria)
Found in books: Wilson (2012), The Sentences of Sextus, 124; Wolfsdorf (2020), Early Greek Ethics, 418
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1.5.4 ἐν συνουσίᾳ δὲ τίς ἂν ἡσθείη τῷ τοιούτῳ, ὃν εἰδείη τῷ ὄψῳ τε καὶ τῷ οἴνῳ χαίροντα μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς φίλοις καὶ τὰς πόρνας ἀγαπῶντα μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς ἑταίρους; ἆρά γε οὐ χρὴ πάντα ἄνδρα, ἡγησάμενον τὴν ἐγκράτειαν ἀρετῆς εἶναι κρηπῖδα, ταύτην πρῶτον ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ κατασκευάσασθαι;'' None | sup>
1.5.4 In social intercourse what pleasure could you find in such a man, knowing that he prefers your sauces and your wines to your friends, and likes the women Employed to entertain the guests at the banquet. better than the company? Should not every man hold self-control to be the foundation of all virtue, and first lay this foundation firmly in his soul? '' None |
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3. None, None, nan (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Cicero, on endurance of pain, • Torture, choice to endure • endurance
Found in books: Bowersock (1997), Fiction as History: Nero to Julian, 62, 63, 71; Clarke, King, Baltussen (2023), Pain Narratives in Greco-Roman Writings: Studies in the Representation of Physical and Mental Suffering. 237, 238; Langlands (2018), Exemplary Ethics in Ancient Rome, 158
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4. New Testament, 1 John, 4.1 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Spirit, modes of presence, abiding within • endurance
Found in books: Levison (2009), Filled with the Spirit, 410; Mathews (2013), Riches, Poverty, and the Faithful: Perspectives on Wealth in the Second Temple Period and the Apocalypse of John, 148
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4.1 Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε, ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν, ὅτι πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον.'' None | sup>
4.1 Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. "" None |
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5. New Testament, 1 Peter, 1.5-1.7, 2.23, 4.13, 4.19 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • endurance • hope, enduring • joy, enduring
Found in books: Hockey (2019), The Role of Emotion in 1 Peter, 128, 129, 138, 140, 220, 224, 259; Morgan (2022), The New Testament and the Theology of Trust: 'This Rich Trust', 62, 88, 111; Moss (2010), The Other Christs: Imitating Jesus in Ancient Christian Ideologies of Martyrdom, 36
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1.5 τετηρημένην ἐν οὐρανοῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς τοὺς ἐν δυνάμει θεοῦ φρουρουμένους διὰ πίστεως εἰς σωτηρίαν ἑτοίμην ἀποκαλυφθῆναι ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ. 1.6 ἐν ᾧ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὀλίγον ἄρτι εἰ δέον λυπηθέντες ἐν ποικίλοις πειρασμοῖς, 1.7 ἵνα τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως πολυτιμότερον χρυσίου τοῦ ἀπολλυμένου διὰ πυρὸς δὲ δοκιμαζομένου εὑρεθῇ εἰς ἔπαινον καὶ δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
2.23 ὃς λοιδορούμενος οὐκ ἀντελοιδόρει, πάσχων οὐκ ἠπείλει, παρεδίδου δὲ τῷ κρίνοντι δικαίως·
4.13 ἀλλὰ καθὸ κοινωνεῖτε τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παθήμασιν χαίρετε, ἵνα καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀποκαλύψει τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ χαρῆτε ἀγαλλιώμενοι.
4.19 ὥστε καὶ οἱ πάσχοντες κατὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ πιστῷ κτίστῃ παρατιθέσθωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς ἐν ἀγαθοποιίᾳ.'' None | sup>
1.5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1.6 Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials, 1.7 that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ -- ' "
2.23 Who, when he was reviled, didn't revile back. When he suffered, didn't threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously; " "
4.13 But because you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also you may rejoice with exceeding joy. " 4.19 Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator. '' None |
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6. New Testament, Apocalypse, 1.5, 1.9, 2.9-2.10, 2.13, 5.9, 7.14-7.15, 12.11, 15.2, 17.6, 20.6, 21.2 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • endurance • endurance (ὑπομονή)
Found in books: Berglund Crostini and Kelhoffer (2022), Why We Sing: Music, Word, and Liturgy in Early Christianity, 134, 135; Lynskey (2021), Tyconius’ Book of Rules: An Ancient Invitation to Ecclesial Hermeneutics, 90; Mathews (2013), Riches, Poverty, and the Faithful: Perspectives on Wealth in the Second Temple Period and the Apocalypse of John, 149, 200; Morgan (2022), The New Testament and the Theology of Trust: 'This Rich Trust', 88, 111; Moss (2010), The Other Christs: Imitating Jesus in Ancient Christian Ideologies of Martyrdom, 39
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1.5 καὶ ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστός,ὁπρωτότοκοςτῶν νεκρῶν καὶ ὁἄρχων τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς.Τῷ ἀγαπῶντι ἡμᾶς καὶλύσαντιἡμᾶςἐκ τῶν αμαρτιῶνἡμῶν ἐν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ,
1.9 Ἐγὼ Ἰωάνης, ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν καὶ συγκοινωνὸς ἐν τῇ θλίψει καὶ βασιλείᾳ καὶ ὑπομονῇ ἐν Ἰησοῦ, ἐγενόμην ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάτμῳ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ.
2.9 Οἶδά σου τὴν θλίψιν καὶ τὴν πτωχείαν, ἀλλὰ πλούσιος εἶ, καὶ τὴν βλασφημίαν ἐκ τῶν λεγόντων Ἰουδαίους εἶναι ἑαυτούς, καὶ οὐκ εἰσίν, ἀλλὰ συναγωγὴ τοῦ Σατανᾶ. 2.10 μὴ φοβοῦ ἃ μέλλεις πάσχειν. ἰδοὺ μέλλει βάλλειν ὁ διάβολος ἐξ ὑμῶν εἰς φυλακὴν ἵναπειρασθῆτε,καὶ ἔχητε θλίψινἡμερῶν δέκα.γίνου πιστὸς ἄχρι θανάτου, καὶ δώσω σοι τὸν στέφανον τῆς ζωῆς.
2.13 Οἶδα ποῦ κατοικεῖς, ὅπου ὁ θρόνος τοῦ Σατανᾶ, καὶ κρατεῖς τὸ ὄνομά μου, καὶ οὐκ ἠρνήσω τὴν πίστιν μου καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἀντίπας, ὁ μάρτυς μου, ὁ πιστός μου, ὃς ἀπεκτάνθη παρʼ ὑμῖν, ὅπου ὁ Σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ.
5.9 καὶᾁδουσιν ᾠδὴν καινὴνλέγοντες Ἄξιος εἶ λαβεῖν τὸ βιβλίον καὶ ἀνοῖξαι τὰς σφραγῖδας αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐσφάγης καὶ ἠγόρασας τῷ θεῷ ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου ἐκ πάσης φυλῆς καὶ γλώσσης καὶ λαοῦ καὶ ἔθνους,
7.14 καὶ εἴρηκα αὐτῷ Κύριέ μου, σὺ οἶδας. καὶ εἶπέν μοι Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐρχόμενοι ἐκ τῆςθλίψεωςτῆς μεγάλης, καὶἔπλυναν τὰς στολὰς αὐτῶνκαὶ ἐλεύκαναν αὐτὰςἐν τῷ αἵματιτοῦ ἀρνίου. 7.15 διὰ τοῦτό εἰσιν ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ λατρεύουσιν αὐτῷ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς ἐν τῷ ναῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὁκαθήμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνουσκηνώσει ἐπʼ αὐτούς.
12.11 καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐνίκησαν αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀρνίου καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς μαρτυρίας αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἠγάπησαν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἄχρι θανάτου·
15.2 Καὶ εἶδον ὡς θάλασσαν ὑαλίνην μεμιγμένην πυρί, καὶ τοὺς νικῶντας ἐκ τοῦ θηρίου καὶ ἐκ τῆς εἰκόνος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ ἑστῶτας ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν τὴν ὑαλίνην, ἔχοντας κιθάρας τοῦ θεοῦ.
17.6 καὶ εἶδον τὴν γυναῖκα μεθύουσαν ἐκ τοῦ αἵματος τῶν ἁγίων καὶ ἐκ τοῦ αἵματος τῶν μαρτύρων Ἰησοῦ.
20.6 μακάριος καὶ ἅγιος ὁ ἔχων μέρος ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῇ πρώτῃ· ἐπὶ τούτων ὁ δεύτερος θάνατος οὐκ ἔχει ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλʼ ἔσονταιἱερεῖς τοῦ θεοῦκαὶ τοῦ χριστοῦ, καὶ βασιλεύσουσιν μετʼ αὐτοῦ τὰ χίλια ἔτη.
21.2 καὶτὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν Ἰερουσαλὴμκαινὴν εἶδον καταβαίνουσαν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἡτοιμασμένηνὡς νύμφην κεκοσμημένηντῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς.'' None | sup>
1.5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood;' "
1.9 I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God's Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ." 2.9 "I know your works, oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.' "2.10 Don't be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life." 2.13 "I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan\'s throne is. You hold firmly to my name, and didn\'t deny my faith in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
5.9 They sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the book, And to open its seals: For you were killed, And bought us for God with your blood, Out of every tribe, language, people, and nation,
7.14 I told him, "My lord, you know."He said to me, "These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb\'s blood. 7.15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.' "
12.11 They overcame him because of the Lamb's blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn't love their life, even to death." 15.2 I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who overcame the beast, and his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
17.6 I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement.
20.6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years.
21.2 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband.'' None |
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7. New Testament, Hebrews, 12.1 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Paul endurance and suffering • Peter, endurance and suffering • endurance
Found in books: Morgan (2022), The New Testament and the Theology of Trust: 'This Rich Trust', 79; Moss (2010), The Other Christs: Imitating Jesus in Ancient Christian Ideologies of Martyrdom, 40
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12.1 Τοιγαροῖν καὶ ἡμεῖς, τοσοῦτον ἔχοντες περικείμενον ἡμῖν νέφος μαρτύρων, ὄγκον ἀποθέμενοι πάντα καὶ τὴν εὐπερίστατον ἁμαρτίαν, διʼ ὑπομονῆς τρέχωμεν τὸν προκείμενον ἡμῖν ἀγῶνα,'' None | sup>
12.1 Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, '' None |
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8. New Testament, Romans, 3.21, 3.23, 3.26 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • endurance
Found in books: Morgan (2022), The New Testament and the Theology of Trust: 'This Rich Trust', 63, 88, 110, 112; Moss (2010), The Other Christs: Imitating Jesus in Ancient Christian Ideologies of Martyrdom, 109
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3.21 νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ πεφανέρωται, μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν,
3.23 πάντες γὰρ ἥμαρτον καὶ ὑστεροῦνται τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ,
3.26 ἐν τῇ ἀνοχῇ τοῦ θεοῦ, πρὸς τὴν ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν δίκαιον καὶ δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἐκ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ.'' None | sup>
3.21 But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets;
3.23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;
3.26 to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time; that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus. '' None |
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9. New Testament, John, 1.32-1.33 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Spirit, modes of presence, abiding within • Spirit, modes of presence,, abiding/remaining
Found in books: Frey and Levison (2014), The Holy Spirit, Inspiration, and the Cultures of Antiquity Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 334, 340; Levison (2009), Filled with the Spirit, 416
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1.32 Καὶ ἐμαρτύρησεν Ἰωάνης λέγων ὅτι Τεθέαμαι τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον ὡς περιστερὰν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἔμεινεν ἐπʼ αὐτόν· 1.33 κἀγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν, ἀλλʼ ὁ πέμψας με βαπτίζειν ἐν ὕδατι ἐκεῖνός μοι εἶπεν Ἐφʼ ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καὶ μένον ἐπʼ αὐτόν, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ·'' None | sup>
1.32 John testified, saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. ' "1.33 I didn't recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me, 'On whomever you will see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' "' None |
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10. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Torture, choice to endure • endurance
Found in books: Clarke, King, Baltussen (2023), Pain Narratives in Greco-Roman Writings: Studies in the Representation of Physical and Mental Suffering. 238; Wilson (2012), The Sentences of Sextus, 357
| 1.9 IF the things are true which are said by the philosophers about the kinship between God and man, what else remains for men to do than what Socrates did? Never in reply to the question, to what country you belong, say that you are an Athenian or a Corinthian, but that you are a citizen of the world ( κόσμιος ). For why do you say that you are an Athenian, and why do you not say that you belong to the small nook only into which your poor body was cast at birth? Is it not plain that you call yourself an Athenian or Corinthian from the place which has a greater authority and comprises not only that small nook itself and all your family, but even the whole country from which the stock of your progenitors is derived down to you? He then who has observed with intelligence the administration of the world, and has learned that the greatest and supreme and the most comprehensive community is that which is composed of men and God, and that from God have descended the seeds not only to my father and grandfather, but to all beings which are generated on the earth and are produced, and particularly to rational beings—for these only are by their nature formed to have communion with God, being by means of reason conjoined with him—why should not such a man call himself a citizen of the world, why not a son of God, and why should he be afraid of anything which happens among men? Is kinship with Caesar (the emperor) or with any other of the powerful in Rome sufficient to enable us to live in safety, and above ( contempt and without any fear at all? and to have God for your maker ( ποιητήν ), and father and guardian, shall not this release us from sorrows and fears? But a man may say, Whence shall I get bread to eat when I have nothing? And how do slaves, and runaways, on what do they rely when they leave their masters? Do they rely on their lands or slaves, or their vessels of silver? They rely on nothing but themselves; and food does not fail them. In our present society there are thousands who rise in the morning and know not how they shall find something to eat. Some find their food by fraud and theft, some receive it as a gift from others, and some look out for any work that they can find and get their pittance by honest labour. You may see such men everywhere, if you will keep your eyes open. Such men, who live by daily labour, live an heroic life, which puts to shame the well-fed philosopher and the wealthy Christian. Epictetus has made a great misstatement about irrational animals. Millions die annually for want of sufficient food; and many human beings perish in the same way. We can hardly suppose that he did not know these facts. Compare the passage in Matthew (vi. 25–34). It is said, v. 26: Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? The expositors of this passage may be consulted. And shall it be necessary for one among us who is a philosopher to travel into foreign parts, and trust to and rely on others, and not to take care of himself, and shall he be inferior to irrational animals and more cowardly, each of which being self-sufficient, neither fails to get its proper food, nor to find a suitable way of living, and one conformable to nature? I indeed think that the old man ought to be sitting here, not to contrive how you may have no mean thoughts nor mean and ignoble talk about yourselves, but to take care that there be not among us any young men of such a mind, that when they have recognised their kinship to God, and that we are fettered by these bonds, the body, I mean, and its possessions, and whatever else on account of them is necessary to us for the economy and commerce of life, they should intend to throw off these things as if they were burdens painful and intolerable, and to depart to their kinsmen. But this is the labour that your teacher and instructor ought to be employed upon, if he really were what he should be. You should come to him and say, Epictetus, we can no longer endure being bound to this poor body, and feeding it and giving it drink, and rest, and cleaning it, and for the sake of the body complying with the wishes of these and of those. Are not these things indifferent and nothing to us; and is not death no evil? And are we not in a manner kinsmen of God, and did we not come from him? Allow us to depart to the place from which we came; allow us to be released at last from these bonds by which we are bound and weighed down. Here there are robbers and thieves and courts of justice, and those who are named tyrants, and think that they have some power over us by means of the body and its possessions. Permit us to show them that they have no power over any man. And I on my part would say, Friends, wait for God: when He shall give the signal and release you from this service, then go to Him; but for the present endure to dwell in this place where He has put you: short indeed is this time of your dwelling here, and easy to bear for those who are so disposed: for what tyrant or what thief, or what courts of justice, are formidable to those who have thus considered as things of no value the body and the possessions of the body? Wait then, do not depart without a reason. Something like this ought to be said by the teacher to ingenuous youths. But now what happens? The teacher is a lifeless body, and you are lifeless bodies. When you have been well filled to-day, you sit down and lament about the morrow, how you shall get something to eat. Wretch, if you have it, you will have it; if you have it not, you will depart from life. The door is open. Upton has referred to the passages of Epictetus in which this expression is used, i. 24, 20; i. 25, 18; ii. 1, 19, and others; to Seneca, De Provid. c. 6, Ep. 91; to Cicero, De Fin. iii. 18, where there is this conclusion: e quo apparet et sapientis esse aliquando officium excedere e vita, quum beatus sit; et stulti manere in vita quum sit miser. Compare Matthew vi. 31: Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things, etc. Why do you grieve? where does there remain any room for tears? and where is there occasion for flattery? why shall one man envy another? why should a man admire the rich or the powerful, even if they be both very strong and of violent temper? for what will they do to us? We shall not care for that which they can do; and what we do care for, that they cannot do. How did Socrates behave with respect to these matters? Why, in what other way than a man ought to do who was convinced that he was a kinsman of the gods? If you say to me now, said Socrates to his judges, we will acquit you on the condition that you no longer discourse in the way in which you have hitherto discoursed, nor trouble either our young or our old men, I shall answer, you make yourselves ridiculous by thinking that, if one of our commanders has appointed me to a certain post, it is my duty to keep and maintain it, and to resolve to die a thousand times rather than desert it; but if God has put us in any place and way of life, we ought to desert it. Socrates speaks like a mar who is really a kinsman of the gods. But we think about ourselves, as if we were only stomachs, and intestines, and shameful parts; we fear, we desire; we flatter those who are able to help us in these matters, and we fear them also. A man asked me to write to Rome about him, a man who, as most people thought, had been unfortunate, for formerly he was a man of rank and rich, but had been stripped of all, and was living here. I wrote on his behalf in a submissive manner; but when he had read the letter, he gave it back to me and said, I wished for your help, not your pity: no evil has happened to me. Thus also Musonius Rufus, in order to try me, used to say: This and this will befall you from your master; and when I replied that these were things which happen in the ordinary course of human affairs. Why then, said he, should I ask him for anything when I can obtain it from you? For, in fact, what a man has from himself, it is superfluous and foolish to receive from another?s Shall I then, who am able to receive from myself greatness of soul and a generous spirit, receive from you land and money or a magisterial office? I hope not: I will not be so ignorant about my own possessions. But when a man is cowardly and mean, what else must be done for him than to write letters as you would about a corpse. Please to grant us the body of a certain person and a sextarius of poor blood. For such a person is, in fact, a carcase and a sextarius (a certain quantity) of blood, and nothing more. But if he were anything more, lie would know that one man is not miserable through the means of another.'' None |
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