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Meditations · Marcus Aurelius

XIV. As physicians and chirurgeons have always their instruments

ready at hand for all sudden cures; so have thou always thy dogmata

in a readiness for the knowledge of things, both divine and human:

and whatsoever thou dost, even in the smallest things that thou dost,

thou must ever remember that mutual relation, and connection

that is between these two things divine, and things human.

For without relation unto God, thou shalt never speed in any

worldly actions; nor on the other side in any divine, without some

respect had to things human.

XV. Be not deceived; for thou shalt never live to read thy

moral commentaries, nor the acts of the famous Romans and Grecians;

nor those excerpta from several books; all which thou hadst

provided and laid up for thyself against thine old age.

Hasten therefore to an end, and giving over all vain hopes,

help thyself in time if thou carest for thyself, as thou

oughtest to do. XVI. To steal, to sow, to buy, to be at rest,

to see what is to be done (which is not seen by the eyes,

but by another kind of sight:) what these words mean,

and how many ways to be understood, they do not understand.

The body, the soul, the understanding. As the senses naturally

belong to the body, and the desires and affections to the soul,

so do the dogmata to the understanding.