Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/51

Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasion 1 5 wouldst highly esteem this present of his : God hath builded thee a great palace, without any danger or fear of falling down, wherein thou seest not little pieces, smaller than the chisel itself wherewith they were carved, but entire huge masses of precious stone, all fastened and fashioned after divers manners, the least piece whereof maketh thee wonder at the beauty of the same : the roof whereof shineth after one sort by day and after another by night : and wilt thou then deny that thou hast received any benefit at all ? . . . It is Nature, saith one, that communicateth and giveth me all these things. But understandest thou not that in speaking after this manner, thou only changest the name of God ? For what else is Nature but God, a divine being and reason, which by his searching assistance resideth in the world, and all the parts thereof ? . . . To bestow a favor in hope to receive another, is a con- Seneca on un- temptible and base usury. How badly soever thy former selfish giving, favors have fallen out, yet persevere thou in bestowing others. They are best hoarded in the hands of the ungrateful, whom either shame, or occasion, or imitation, may at length fashion to be grateful. Persevere continually, and cease not to be bountiful : accomplish that good work which thou hast begun, and perform the duty of a good man. Relieve this man with thy goods, another with thy credit ; that man by thy favor, this with thy good counsels and wholesome precepts. Some idea of the resemblance between the beliefs of 2. Epictetus. the Stoics and those of the Christians may be obtained from the teachings of Epictetus, a slave who for many years belonged to a member of Nero's household. By some whim of his master's, Epictetus was given a good education, and after his master's death he taught phi- losophy at Rome. He himself wrote nothing, but a devoted pupil of his Arrian has left us a conscien- tious account of his teachings, which represent the most elevated form of stoicism.