Page:The Emperor Marcus Antoninus - His Conversation with Himself.djvu/416

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Marcus Antoninus's

As for Pretence, and Hypocrisy, 'tis all Stuff; For nothing is more Scandalous than a Man that is Proud of his Humility.

XXVIII. To those that ask me the reason of my being so earnest in Religious Worship; did I ever fee any of the Gods? Or which way am I convinc'd of the certainty of their Existence? In the first place, I answer, that the Gods are not Invisible:[1] But granting they were, the Objection would signify nothing; For I never had a sight of my own Soul, and yet I have a great value for't; because 'tis discoverable by its Operations. And thus by my constant Experience of the Power of the Gods, I have a Proof of their Being, and a reason for my Veneration.

XXIX. The best Provision for a happy Life, is to dissect every Thing, view it on all Sides, and Divide it into Matter and Form. To practise Honesty in good earnest, and speak Truth from the very Soul of you: And when you have done this, live easy and chearful; And crowd one Good Action so close to another, that there may not be the least Empty, or Insignificant space between them.

XXX. The Light of the Sun is but one and the same, tho' tis divided by the In-terposition

  1. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, were Gods in the Opinion of the Stoicks.