Categoria: Enéada-I-4

THE WISE MAN REMAINS UNATTACHED. 16. If the virtuous man were not located in this elevated life of intelligence; if on the contrary he were supposed to be subject to the blows of fate, and if we feared that they would overtake him, our ideal would no longer be that of the virtuous man such…

15. Let us now imagine two wise men, the first of whom possesses everything that heart can wish for, while the other is in a contrary position. Shall they be said to be equally happy? Yes, if they be equally wise. Even if the one possessed physical beauty, and all the other advantages that do…

MAN BECOMES WISE BY ESTABLISHING A SPIRITUAL PREPONDERANCE. 14. Man, and specially the virtuous man, is constituted not by the composite of soul and body, as is proved by the soul’s power to separate herself from the body, and to scorn what usually are called “goods.” It would be ridiculous to relate happiness to the…

IN THE VIRTUOUS MAN THE PART THAT SUFFERS IS THE HIGHER; THEREFORE HE REALLY DOES NOT SUFFER AS DO THOSE WHO SUFFER CHIEFLY PHYSICALLY. 13. The actions of the virtuous man could not be hindered by fortune, but they may vary with the fluctuations of fortune. All will be equally beautiful, and, perhaps, so much…

INTELLIGENCE IS NOT DEPENDENT ON CONSCIOUSNESS. 10. The reason that intelligence remains hidden is just because it is not felt; only by the means of this feeling can this activity be felt; but why should intelligence cease to act (merely because it was not felt) ? On the other hand, why could the soul not…

WISDOM IS NONE THE LESS HAPPY FOR BEING UNCONSCIOUS OF ITSELF. 9. It may further be objected that the wise man might lose consciousness, if overwhelmed by disease, or the malice of magic. Would he still remain happy? Either he will remain virtuous, being only fallen asleep; in which case he might continue to be…

NO MISFORTUNE IS TOO GREAT TO BE CONQUERED BY VIRTUE. 8. If the griefs that he himself undergoes are great, he will support them as well as he can; if they exceed his power of endurance, they will carry him off (as thought Seneca). In either case, he will not, in the midst of his…

EVILS WHICH THE WISE MAN CAN SUPPORT WITHOUT DISTURBANCE OF HIS HAPPINESS. 7. Why then does the happy man desire to enjoy the presence of these advantages, and the absence of their contraries? It must be because they contribute, not to his happiness, but to his existence; because their contraries tend to make him lose…

LIVING WELL NEED NOT BE EXTENDED EVEN TO ALL ANIMALS. 2. Those who deny the privilege of living well to plants, because these lack sensation, are not on that account obliged to grant it to all animals. For, if sensation consist in the knowledge of the experienced affection, this affection must already be good before…