The Religion of Nature Delineated by William Wollaston (mystery books to read .txt) 📕

οἷός ἐστιν αὐτὸς αὑτῷ βοηθεῖν μηδὲ ἄλλῳ οὗ ἂν κήδηται: “To be injured is not the suffering of a man but of a slave, to whom death is better than life: who, if he be unjustly treated and abused, is wholly unable to help himself, and nobody else has any concern for him.” (Gorgias.) ↩

Those ἄῤῥητοι καὶ ἄπιστοι δυστυχίαι, “unspeakable and incredible calamities,” which the τελῶναι, “collectors of the taxes,” had brought upon the cities of Asia, are too many to be transcribed: but some account of them is to be seen in Plutarch’s Life of Lucullus which may serve for one instance out of thousands. It may be reckoned madness, indeed, maximas virtutes, quasi gravissima delicta, punire: “to punish the greatest virtues as if they were the greatest crimes,” as Valerius Maximus says, speaking of Phocion’s case (Facta et dicta memorabilia): but such madness has been very common, and men have suffered even for their virtue. Ochus cruelly put to death, Ocham sororem⁠ ⁠… , et patruum cum centum ampliùs filiis ac nepotibus⁠ ⁠… , nulla injuria lacessitus, sed quòd in his maximam apud Persas probitatis et fortitudinis laudem consistere videbat: “his sister Ocha⁠ ⁠… , and his uncle with a hundred of his sons and grandsons⁠ ⁠… , without being provoked by any injury, but only because he saw that they were in great reputation amongst the Persians for probity and valor.” (Ibid.) And Seneca, having recommended the example of Græcinus Julius (Julius Græcinus, according to Tacitus, the father of Julius Agricola), adds quem C. Caesar occidit ob hoc unum, quòd melior vir erat, quàm esse quemquam tyranno expediret: “whom Gaius Caesar killed for this reason only: because he was a better man than it was expedient for a tyrant that any man should be.” (De Beneficiis.) ↩

Οἱ ἀδίκοις διαβολαῖς περιπεσόντας, καὶ διὰ θυμὸν εἰς φυλακὰς παραδεδομένοι, ποτὲ μὲν αὐτοὶ, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ μετὰ πάσης συγγενείας: “Some fell, either by false accusations, or they were arbitrarily delivered up to prison, sometimes themselves only, and sometimes all their relations with them.” (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica.) ↩

Mentioned by Cicero with Phalaris. He was tyrant of Cassandria, and is represented (out of Polyænus, Stratagems in War) as φονικώτατος καὶ ὠμότατος πάντων, ὅσοι παρ᾽ Ἕλλησιν ἢ παρὰ βαρβάροις ἐτυράννησαν: “the bloodiest and most cruel of all the tyrants that ever reigned in Greece, or amongst the Barbarians.” Yet Ælian says, Ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου ὑπαναφλεγόμεεος καὶ ὁπεξαπτόμενος, ἐγίνετο φονικώτερος, κ.τ.λ.: “That, when he was heated and inflamed with wine, then he was still more bloody.” (Varia Historia.) ↩

It is said of Sylla’s peace, after Marius’s party were broken, Pax cum bello de crudelitate certavit, et vicit: “That the peace rivalled the war in cruelty, and overcame it.” (St. Augustine, The City of God.) ↩

Qui ita evisceratus, ut cruciatibus membra deessent, implorans cœlo justitiam, torvùm renidens fundato pectore mansit immobilis, etc.: “Whose bowels were torn out, in such a manner that they wanted members to torment; he called upon heaven for justice, and looking sternly with a calm countenance, he continued unmoved by his firm resolution, etc.” (Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae.) In the reign of Constantius. ↩

Mœrebantque docti quidam, quòd apud Atlanteos nati non essent, ubi memorantur somnia non videri: “Some learned men were very sorry that they were not born amongst the Atlantes, of whom it is reported that they never dream.” (Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae.) ↩

See Plutarch in The Life of Artaxerxes. ↩

Ob noxam unius omnis propinquitas perit: “All the whole neighborhood perished for the fault of one single person.” (Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae.) ↩

Scaphism (Editor’s note.) ↩

Dies deficiet, si velim numerare, quibus bonis malè evenerit: nec minùs, si commemorem, quibus improbis optimè: “The day would not hold out, if I should undertake to enumerate all the good men whom evil befell; nor would it, if I should reckon up all the wicked men that have fared best of all.” (Cicero, De Natura Deorum.) This is justly said; though I account his instances not the most apposite. ↩

Yet, according to Aristotle, he cannot be happy for all that. His opinion Diogenes Laërtius represents thus: τὴν ἀρετὴν μὴ εἶναι αὐτάρκη πρὸς εὐδαιμονίαν· προσδεῖσθαι γὰρ τῶν τε περὶ σῶμα καὶ τῶν ἐκτὸς ἀγαθῶν⁠ ⁠… τὴν μέν τοι κακίαν αὐτάρκη πρὸς κακοδαιμονίαν, κᾂν ὅτι μάλιστα παρῇ αὐτῇ τὰ ἐκτὸς ἀγαθὰ καὶ τὰ περὶ σῶμα: “Virtue is not alone sufficient to produce happiness, because external good things and things relating to the body are also necessary⁠ ⁠… but vice is of itself sufficient to produce misery, and especially if external good things and the things relating to the body are joined with it.” (Life of Aristotle.) ↩

Et vacet annales nostrorum audire laborum: “And it may be of use to hear a catalogue of our misfortunes.” (Virgil, Aeneid.) For, as Seneca says, Nulli contigit impunè nasci: “No man is born free of them.” (De Consolatione ad Marciam.) ↩

Ὅιηπερ φύλλων γενεὴ, τοιήδε καὶ ἀνδρῶν⁠ ⁠… ἡ μὲν φύει, ἡ δ᾿ ἀπολήγει: “The life of man is like the leaves of trees;⁠ ⁠… some spring forth, and others wither.” (Homer, Iliad.) This is true not only of single men, but even of cities (famous ones), kingdoms, empires. One may say the same concerning many of them, that Florus says of Veii: Laborat annalium fides, ut Veios fuisse credamus: “The credit of history is not quite sufficient to convince us that there ever was