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to be inclined, it would be well to take care of this also and to guard equally against the excesses of either, neither burying the mind through excessive flesh, nor again making it faint and abased by adventitious weaknesses and occupied with bodily pains, but to remember the wise command that equally forbade deviation to the right and to the contrary. And I heard a medical man explaining the things of his art, that our body is composed of four elements not of like kind but contrarily disposed: hot and cold, wet and dry. 22.2 Therefore, care must be taken for the equilibrium of the qualities for the maintenance of health, if their account has any truth in it, not inducing an excess or a deficiency in any part of which we are composed by irregularity in diet. For just as the driver of a chariot, if he should be in charge of horses that are not in agreement, neither urges on the swift one with the whip nor holds back the slow one with the reins, nor again does he allow the wayward or unruly one to be carried away unbridled by its own impulses into disorder, but he directs one, checks another, and touches another with the whip, until he produces in them all a single accord for the race; in the same way our mind also, which has the reins of the body under its control, will neither devise additions of heat for that which is excessive in warmth during the time of youth, nor will it add chilling and withering things to that which is chilled through affliction or age, and in the case of the other qualities it will similarly hearken to the scripture: 'that the much might not have too much, nor the little have too little,' but by cutting away the excess in either, it will take care to add what is lacking and will equally guard against the uselessness of the body in either direction, neither training his own flesh to be unruly and difficult to rein in through excessive comfort, nor preparing it to be sickly and enfeebled and powerless for its necessary service through immoderate hardship. This is the most perfect aim of self-control, not to look to the hardship of the body, but to the ease of the soul's ministrations.

23.t Chapter 23 That it is necessary for one who the precision of this life

wishing to learn must be taught by one who has succeeded. 23.1 But as for the particulars, both how one who is in the philosophy ought to live

having chosen to live in this, and what things to guard against and in what practices to train himself, the measures of self-control and manner of living and the whole life that is suited to such a purpose, for anyone who desires to learn with precision, there are indeed written instructions that teach these things, but more effective than teaching from words is guidance through deeds, and there is no difficulty attached to the matter, such as needing to undergo a long journey or much sailing to find a teacher, but 'The word is near you,' says the apostle, the grace is from the hearth. Here is the workshop of the virtues, in which such a life, advancing toward the highest point of precision, has been purified. And there is great opportunity to be taught this heavenly way of life through deeds, both from those here who are silent and those who speak, since every word, when considered apart from deeds, even if it happens to be embellished as much as possible, is like a lifeless image showing forth some blooming character in dyes and colors; but he who does and teaches, as the Gospel somewhere says,

36

ἐπικλίνεσθαι, καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι καὶ τούτου ποιεῖ σθαι τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ τὰς ἐξ ἑκατέρων ἀμετρίας ἐπίσης παραφυλάττεσθαι, μήτε διὰ πολυσαρκίας καταχωννύντας τὸν νοῦν μηδ' αὖ πάλιν ταῖς ἐπεισάκτοις ἀσθενείαις ἐξίτηλον αὐτὸν καὶ ταπεινὸν ποιεῖν καὶ περὶ τοὺς σωματικοὺς πόνους ἠσχολημένον, μεμνῆσθαι δὲ τοῦ σοφοῦ παραγγέλματος τοῦ ἐπίσης ἀπειρηκότος τήν τε ἐπὶ τὰ δεξιὰ καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ ἐναντία παρατροπήν. Ἤκουσα δέ τινος ἰατρικοῦ τὰ ἐκ τῆς τέχνης διεξιόντος, ὅτι ἐκ τεσσάρων ἡμῖν οὐχ ὁμοειδῶν στοιχείων ἀλλ' ἐναντίως διακειμένων τὸ σῶμα συγκέκραται, θερμοῦ τε καὶ ψυχροῦ, ὑγροῦ τε καὶ ξηροῦ. 22.2 Προνοητέον τοίνυν τῆς ἰσοκρατείας τῶν ποιοτήτων πρὸς τὴν τῆς ὑγείας διαμονήν, εἴπερ τι ἀληθὲς αὐτῶν ὁ λόγος ἔχει, μηδενὶ μέρει τῶν ἐξ ὧν συνεστήκαμεν ἢ πλεονα σμὸν ἢ ἐλάττωσιν ἐκ τῆς κατὰ τὴν δίαιταν ἀνωμαλίας ἐπάγοντες. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ τοῦ ἅρματος ἐπιστάτης, εἰ μὴ συμφωνούντων ἐπιστατοίη τῶν πώλων, οὔτε τὸν ὀξὺν ἐπισπέρχει τῇ μάστιγι οὔτε τὸν βραδὺν κατάγχει ταῖς ἡνίαις, οὐδ' αὖ πάλιν τὸν ἐνδιάστροφον ἢ δυσήνιον ἄνετον ἐᾷ ταῖς οἰκείαις ὁρμαῖς εἰς ἀταξίαν ἐκφέρεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν εὐθύνει, τὸν δὲ ἀνακόπτει, τοῦ δὲ καθικνεῖται διὰ τῆς μάστιγος, ἕως ἂν μίαν τοῖς πᾶσι τὴν πρὸς τὸν δρόμον σύμπνοιαν ἐμποιήσῃ· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος νοῦς ὁ τὰς τοῦ σώματος ἡνίας ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν ἔχων οὔτε πλεονάζοντι τῷ θερμῷ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς νεότητος τὰς τῆς πυρώσεως προσθήκας ἐπινοήσει, οὔτε κατεψυγμένῳ διὰ πάθος ἢ χρόνον τὰ ψύχοντα καὶ τὰ μαραίνοντα πλεονάσει, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ποιοτήτων ὁμοίως τῆς γραφῆς ἀκούσεται· «ἵνα μήτε τὸ πολὺ πλεονάσῃ μήτε τὸ ὀλίγον ἐλαττώσῃ», ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐν ἑκατέρῳ ἄμετρον περικόπτων τῆς τοῦ ἐνδέοντος προσθήκης ἐπιμελήσεται καὶ ἐπίσης τὴν ἐφ' ἑκάτερα τοῦ σώματος ἀχρηστίαν φυλάξεται, μήτε δι' ὑπερβαλλούσης εὐπαθείας ἄτακτον καὶ δυσήνιον τὴν σάρκα ἑαυτοῦ ἐπασκήσας, μήτε διὰ τῆς ἀμέτρου κακοπαθείας νοσώδη καὶ λελυμένην καὶ ἄτονον πρὸς τὴν ἀναγκαίαν ὑπηρεσίαν παρασκευάσας. Οὗτος ὁ τελεώτατος τῆς ἐγκρατείας σκοπός, οὐχὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ σώματος βλέπειν κακοπάθειαν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ψυχικῶν διακονημάτων εὐκολίαν.

23.t Κεφάλαιον κγʹ Ὅτι χρὴ τὸν τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τοῦ βίου τούτου

μαθεῖν βουλόμενον παρὰ τοῦ κατορθώσαντος διδάσκεσθαι. 23.1 Τὰ δὲ καθ' ἕκαστον, ὅπως τε χρὴ βιοτεύειν τὸν ἐν τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ

ταύτῃ ζῆν προελόμενον καὶ τίνα φυλάττεσθαι καὶ τίσιν ἐπιτηδεύμασιν ἀσκεῖν ἑαυτόν, ἐγκρατείας μέτρα καὶ διαγωγῆς τρόπον καὶ πάντα τὸν ἐπιβάλλοντα τῷ τοιούτῳ σκοπῷ βίον, ὅτῳ φίλον δι' ἀκριβείας μαθεῖν, εἰσὶ μὲν καὶ ἔγγραφοι διδασκαλίαι ταῦτα διδάσκουσαι, ἐνεργεστέρα δὲ τῆς ἐκ τῶν λόγων διδαχῆς ἡ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐστὶν ὑφήγησις, καὶ οὐδεμία πρόσεστι δυσκολία τῷ πράγματι, ὡς δεῖν ἢ μακρὰν ὁδοιπορίαν ἢ ναυτιλίαν πολλὴν ὑποστάντας ἐπιτυχεῖν τοῦ παιδεύοντος, ἀλλ' «Ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆμα», φησὶν ὁ ἀπόστολος, ἀπὸ τῆς ἑστίας ἡ χάρις. Ἐνταῦθα τὸ τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐργαστήριον, ἐν ᾧ πρὸς τὸ ἀκρότα τον τῆς ἀκριβείας ὁ τοιοῦτος βίος προϊὼν ἐκκεκάθαρται. Καὶ πολλή ἐστιν ἐξουσία καὶ σιωπώντων ἐνταῦθα καὶ φθεγγομένων τὴν οὐράνιον ταύτην πολιτείαν διὰ τῶν ἔργων διδάσκεσθαι, ἐπεὶ καὶ πᾶς λόγος δίχα τῶν ἔργων θεωρού μενος, κἂν ὅτι μάλιστα κεκαλλωπισμένος τύχῃ, εἰκόνι ἔοικεν ἀψύχῳ ἐν βαφαῖς καὶ χρώμασιν εὐανθῆ τινα χαρακτῆρα προδεικνυούσῃ· ὁ δὲ ποιῶν καὶ διδάσκων, καθώς φησί που τὸ εὐαγγέλιον,