“The wise man, in so far as he is regarded as such, is scarcely at all disturbed in spirit, but being conscious of himself, and of God, and of things, by a certain eternal necessity, never ceases to be, but always possesses true acquiescence of his spirit. If the way which I have pointed out as leading to this result seems exceedingly hard, it may

“Keep death and exile before your eyes each day, along with everything that seems terrible—by doing so, you’ll never have a base thought nor will you have excessive desire.” —EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION

« Le genre humain, dit Lucrèce, travaille sans profit, en pure perte, toujours, et se consume en de vains soucis14. » Pour les épicuriens dont parle Cicéron, les hommes sont malheureux par suite des désirs immenses et creux de la richesse, de la gloire, de la domination. « Un jour, trop tard, les hommes s’aperçoivent que c’est inutilement qu’ils se