• Book 8
• Book 7
• Book 6
• Book 5
• Book 4
• Book 3: In Carnuntum
• Book 2: On the River Gran, Among the Quadi
• Book 1: Debts and Lessons
• Geneisis Post

    Injustice is a kind of blasphemy. Nature designed rational beings for each other's sake: to help -- not harm -- one another, as they deserve. To transgress its will, then, is to blaspheme against the oldest of the gods.     And to lie is to blaspheme against it too. Because "nature" means the nature of that which is. And that which is and that which is the case are closely linked, so that nature is synonymous with Truth -- the source of all true things. To lie deliberately is to blaspheme -- the liar commits deceit, and thus injustice. And likewise to lie without realizing it. Because the involuntary liar disrupts the harmony of nature -- it's order. He is in conflict with the way the world is structured. As anyone is who deviates toward what is opposed to the truth -- even against his will. Nature gave him the resources to distinguish between true an false. And he neglected them, and now can't tell the difference.     And to pursue pleasure as good, and flee from pain as evil -- that too is blasphemous. Someone who does that is bound to find himself constantly reproaching nature -- complaining that it doesn't treat the good and bad as they deserve, but often lets the bad enjoy pleasure and the things that produce it, and makes th good suffer pain, and the things that produce pain. And moreover, to fear pain is to fear something that's bound to happen, the world being what it is -- and that again is blasphemy. While if you pursue pleasure, you can hardly avoid wrongdoing -- which is manifestly blasphemous.     Some things nature is indifferent to; if it privileged one over the other it would hardly have created both. And if we want to follow nature, to be of one mind with it, we need to share its indifference. To privilege pleasure over pain -- life over death, fame over anonymity -- is clearly blasphemous. Nature certainly doesn't.     And when I say that nature is indifferent to them, I mean that they happen indifferently, at different times, to the things that exist and the things that come into being after them, through some ancient decree of Providence -- the decree by which from some initial starting point it embarked on the creation that we know, by laying down principles of what was to come and determining the generative forces: existence and change, and their successive stages.

    When you run up against someone else's shamelessness, ask yourself this: Is a world without shamelessness possible?     No.     Then don't ask the impossible. There have to be shameless people in the world. This is one of them.     The same for someone vicious or untrustworthy, or with any other defect. Remembering that the whole class has to exist will make you more tolerant of its members.     Another useful point to bear in mind: What qualities has nature given us to counter that defect? As an antidote to unkindness it gave us kindness. And other qualities to balance other flaws.     And when others stray off course, you can always try to set them straight, because every wrongdoer is doing something wrong -- doing something the wrong way.     And how does it injure you anyway? You'll find that none of the people you're upset about has done anything that could do damage to your mind. But that's all that "harm" or "injury" could mean. Yes, boorish people do boorish things. What's strange or unheard-of about that? Isn't it yourself you should reproach -- for not anticipating that they'd act this way? The logos gave you the means to see it -- that a given person would act a given way -- but you paid no attention. And now you're astonished that he's gone and done it. So when you call someone "untrustworthy" or "ungrateful," turn the reproach on yourself. It was you who did wrong. By assuming that someone with those traits deserved your trust. Or by doing them a favor and expecting something in return, instead of looking to the action itself for your reward. What else did you expect from helping someone out? Isn't it enough that you've done what your nature demands? You want a salary for it too? As if your eyes expected a reward for seeing, or your feet for walking. That's what they were made for. By doing what they were designed to do, they're performing their function. Whereas humans were made to help others. And when we do help others -- or help them to do something --we're doing what were designed for. We perform our function.