Page:Discourses of Epictetus.djvu/480



[Virtue then should be desired by all men more than wealth which is dangerous to the foolish; for the wickedness of men is increased by wealth. And the more a man is without sense, the more violent is he in excess, for he has the means of satisfying his mad desire for pleasures.]

What we ought not to do, we should not even think of doing.

Deliberate much before saying or doing anything, for you will not have the power of recalling what has been said or done.

Every place is safe to him who lives with justice.

Crows devour the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them. But flatterers destroy the souls of the living and blind their eyes.

The anger of an ape and the threats of a flatterer should be considered as the same.

Listen to those who wish to advise what is useful, but not to those who are eager to flatter on all occasions; for the first really see what is useful, but the second look to that which agrees with the opinion of those who possess power, and imitating the shadows of bodies they assent to what is said by the powerful.