1.That which holds the mastery within us,when it is in accordance w ith Nature,is so disposed towards what befalls,that it can always adap t itself with ease to what is possible and granted us.For it is wedded to no definite material,but,though in the pursuit of its high aims it works under reservations,yet it converts into material for itself any o bstacle that it meets with,just as fire when it gets the mastery of wha t is thrown in upon it.A little flame would have been stifled by it,bu t the blazing fire instantly assimilates what is cast upon it and,consu ming it,leaps the higher in consequence.
2.Take no act in hand aimlessly or otherwise than in accordance with the true principles perfective of the art.
3.Men seek out retreats for themselves in the country,by the seasid e,on the mountains,and thou too art wont to long intensely for such th ings.But all this is unphilosophical to the last degree,when thou cans t at a moment's notice retire into thyself.For nowhere can a man find a retreat more full or peace or more free from care than his own soul-a bove all if he have that within him,a steadfast look at which and he is at once in all good ease,and by good ease I mean nothing other than goo d order.Make use then of this retirement continually and regenerate thy self.Let thy axioms be short and elemental,such as,when set before th ee,will at once rid thee of all trouble,and send thee away with no dis content at those things to which thou art returning.
For with what art thou discontented?The wickedness of men?Take thi s conclusion to heart,that rational creatures have been made for one an other;that forbearance is part of justice;that wrong-doing is involunt ary;and think how many ere now,after passing their lives in implacable enmity,suspicion,hatred,and at daggers drawn with one another,have b een laid out and burnt to ashes-think of this,I say,and at last stay thy fretting.But art thou discontented with thy share in the whole?Rec all the alternative:Either Providence or Atoms!and the abundant proofs there are that the Universe is as it were a state.But is it the affecti ons of the body that shall still lay hold on thee?Bethink thee that the Intelligence,when it has once abstracted itself and learnt its own powe r,has nothing to do with the motions smooth or rough of the vital breat h.Bethink thee too of all that thou hast heard and subscribed to about pleasure and pain.