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to learn with accuracy, not having come within the snares. For you would have seen, if it were possible to see without danger, a great confusion of opposites, laughter mixed with tears and grief mingled with joys, death everywhere present in what happens through expectations and touching upon each of the things that give pleasure. Whenever the bridegroom sees the beloved face, immediately the fear of separation enters in with it; and if he hears the sweetest voice, he will also consider that he will one day not hear it; and when he is gladdened by the sight of beauty, then most of all he shudders at the expectation of grief; if he should consider the things precious to youth and all that is eagerly pursued by the foolish, such as an eye gleaming in its eyelids and an eyebrow arched over the eye and a cheek in a sweet and elegant smile and a lip blooming with its natural redness, and hair mixed with gold and deep, gleaming around the head in a varied braid, and all that fleeting splendor, then certainly, if he has even a little capacity for reasoning, he also considers this in his soul: that such beauty will one day depart, having dissolved, and will be reduced to nothingness, becoming loathsome and hideous bones instead of what now appears, bearing no trace, no memorial, no remnant of its present bloom.

3.4 If he should think on these and such things, will he live in gladness? Will he trust in the good things present to him as if they will always remain? Or is it clear from these things that, just as in the deceptions of dreams, he will be at a loss and have an unbelieving attitude toward life, attending to appearances as if they belonged to others, understanding completely, if he has any examination of realities, that nothing of the things that appear in life appears as it is, but according to deceptive phantasms it shows us some things in place of others, mocking with hopes those who gape at it, and through the error of appearances it conceals itself, until it is suddenly convicted in its changes of being something other than the human hope which arises in the foolish through deception. Of what pleasure, then, will the sweet things of life seem worthy to the one who considers these things? When will one who thinks these things be truly pleased and gladdened by the good things that seem to be present to him? Is he not, being always disturbed by the fear of change, insensible to the enjoyment of present things?

3.5 I leave aside omens and dreams and auguries and such trifles, all of which are observed out of vain habit and suspected for the worse. But the time of labor pains overtakes the girl, and the matter is considered not the birth of a child, but the arrival of death, and the death of the pregnant one is expected through the childbirth. And often they were not deceived by this evil prophecy, but before celebrating the birthday feast, before tasting any of the good things hoped for, they at once transformed their joy into a lament. Still burning with affection, just reaching the height of their desires, not yet having perceived the sweetest things in life, as by the phantasm of some dream, they were separated at once from all that was in their hands. And what follows upon these things? The bridal chamber is plundered by the household as if by enemies, and death is adorned by the tomb instead of the bridal chamber. Upon these things are useless callings-out and vain beating of hands, remembrances of the former life, curses against those who advised the marriage, reproaches against the friends who did not prevent it, the parents are much blamed whether they happen to be surviving or not, indignation against human life, accusation of all nature, many reproaches even against the divine economy itself and

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ἀκριβείας μαθεῖν, μὴ ἐντὸς τῶν ἀρκύων γενόμενον. Εἶδες γὰρ ἄν, εἴπερ ἰδεῖν ἀκινδύνως ἐξῆν, πολλὴν τῶν ἐναντίων τὴν σύγχυσιν, γέλωτα δακρύοις ἐμπεφυρμένον καὶ λύπην εὐφροσύναις συμμεμιγμένην, πανταχοῦ τοῖς γινομένοις συμπαρόντα διὰ τῶν ἐλπίδων τὸν θάνατον καὶ ἑκάστου τῶν καθ' ἡδονὴν ἐφαπτόμενον. Ὅταν ἴδῃ ὁ νυμφίος τὸ ἀγα πώμενον πρόσωπον, εὐθὺς πάντως καὶ ὁ φόβος τοῦ χωρι σμοῦ συνεισέρχεται· κἂν ἀκούσῃ τῆς ἡδίστης φωνῆς, καὶ τὸ μὴ ἀκούσεσθαί ποτε ἐννοήσει· καὶ ὅταν εὐφρανθῇ τῇ θεωρίᾳ τοῦ κάλλους, τότε μάλιστα φρίττει τὴν προσδοκίαν τοῦ πένθους· ἐὰν τὰ τίμια τῇ νεότητι καὶ ὅσα παρὰ τῶν ἀνοήτων σπουδάζεται κατανοήσῃ, οἷον ὀφθαλμὸν τοῖς βλεφάροις λάμποντα καὶ ὀφρῦν περικεχυμένην τῷ ὄμματι καὶ παρειὰν ἐν ἡδεῖ καὶ γλαφυρῷ μειδιάματι καὶ χεῖλος ἐπηνθισμένον τῷ φυσικῷ ἐρυθήματι, κόμην τε χρυσομιγῆ καὶ βαθεῖαν τῷ ποικίλῳ τῆς ἐμπλοκῆς τῇ κεφαλῇ περι στίλβουσαν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν πρόσκαιρον ἀγλαΐαν ἐκείνην, τότε πάντως, κἂν μικρὸν αὐτῷ προσῇ τοῦ λογίζεσθαι κἀκεῖνο τῇ ψυχῇ ἐννοεῖ, ὅτι τοῦτο μὲν τὸ τοιοῦτον κάλλος οἰχήσεταί ποτε διαρρυὲν καὶ εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν περιστήσεται, ὀστέα βδελυρά τε καὶ εἰδεχθῆ ἀντὶ τοῦ νῦν φαινομένου γενόμενον, οὐδὲν ἴχνος, οὐδὲν μνημόσυνον, οὐδὲν λείψανον τοῦ παρόντος ἄνθους ἐπιφερόμενον.

3.4 Εἰ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα διανοοῖτο, ἆρ' ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ βιώσεται; Ἆρα πιστεύσει τοῖς παροῦσιν αὐτῷ χρηστοῖς ὡς ἀεὶ παραμένουσιν; Ἢ δῆλον ἐκ τούτων, ὅτι καθάπερ ἐν ταῖς τῶν ὀνείρων ἀπάταις ἀμηχανήσει καὶ ἀπίστως πρὸς τὸν βίον ἕξει, ὡς ἀλλοτρίοις προσέχων τοῖς φαινο μένοις, συνιεὶς πάντως, εἴπερ ἔχοι τινὰ τῶν ὄντων ἐπίσκεψιν, ὅτι οὐδὲν τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ φαινομένων ὡς ἔστι φαίνεται, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὰς ἀπατηλὰς φαντασίας ἕτερα ἀνθ' ἑτέρων ἡμῖν προδείκνυσι διαπαίζων ταῖς ἐλπίσι τοὺς πρὸς αὐτὸν κεχηνότας, καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν φαινομένων πλάνης συγκα λύπτων αὐτὸς ἑαυτόν, ἕως ἂν ἀθρόως ἐν ταῖς μεταβολαῖς ἐλεγχθῇ ἄλλο τι ὢν παρὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἐλπίδα τὴν διὰ τῆς ἀπάτης τοῖς ἀνοήτοις ἐγγινομένην. Ποίας οὖν ἡδονῆς ἄξια τῷ ταῦτα λογιζομένῳ φανεῖται τὰ ἡδέα τοῦ βίου; Πότε ἡσθήσεται κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ὁ ταῦτα φρονῶν καὶ τοῖς δοκοῦσιν αὐτῷ παρεῖναι χρηστοῖς εὐφρανθήσεται; Οὐκ ἀεὶ τῷ φόβῳ τῆς μεταβολῆς ταραττόμενος ἀνεπαίσθη τον ἔχει τὴν τῶν παρόντων ἀπόλαυσιν;

3.5 Ἐῶ σημεῖα καὶ ὀνείρους καὶ κληδόνας καὶ τοὺς τοιούτους λήρους, πάντα ὑπὸ ματαίας συνηθείας παρα τηρούμενα καὶ πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ὑποπτευόμενα. Ἀλλὰ καιρὸς ὠδίνων τὴν παῖδα καταλαμβάνει καὶ οὐχὶ παιδὸς γένεσις, ἀλλὰ θανάτου παρουσία τὸ πρᾶγμα νομίζεται καὶ θάνατος τῆς κυοφορούσης διὰ τοῦ τόκου ἐλπίζεται. Πολ λάκις δὲ καὶ τῆς πονηρᾶς ταύτης μαντείας οὐ διεψεύσθησαν, ἀλλὰ πρὶν ἑορτάσαι τὴν γενέθλιον ἑορτήν, πρίν τινος τῶν κατ' ἐλπίδας ἀγαθῶν ἀπογεύσασθαι, εὐθὺς εἰς θρῆνον τὴν χαρὰν μεθηρμόσαντο. Ἔτι τῷ φίλτρῳ ζέοντες, ἄρτι τοῖς πόθοις ἀκμάζοντες, οὔπω τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον ἡδίστων λαβόντες τὴν αἴσθησιν, ὥσπερ τινὸς ἐνυπνίου φαντασίᾳ, πάντων ἀθρόως τῶν ἐν χερσὶν ἐχωρίσθησαν. Τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τού τοις οἷα; Πορθεῖται μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ὡς ὑπὸ πολε μίων ὁ θάλαμος, καλλωπίζεται δὲ ἀντὶ τοῦ θαλάμου διὰ τοῦ τάφου ὁ θάνατος. Ἀνακλήσεις ἐπὶ τούτων ἀνόνητοι καὶ μάταιοι χειρῶν κρότοι, ἀναμνήσεις τοῦ προτέρου βίου, κατάραι κατὰ τῶν συμβουλευσάντων τὸν γάμον, μέμψεις κατὰ τῶν μὴ κωλυσάντων φίλων, ἐν αἰτίᾳ πολλῇ οἱ γονεῖς ἄν τε περιόντες τύχωσιν ἄν τε καὶ μή, ἀγα νάκτησις κατὰ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς, κατηγορία πάσης τῆς φύσεως, κατ' αὐτῆς τῆς θείας οἰκονομίας μέμψεις πολλαὶ καὶ