i8

BOOK I.

The question next arises, whether we ought to count metals amongstthe number of good things or class them amongst the bad. The Peripateticsregarded all wealth as a good thing, and merely spoke of externals as havingto do with neither the mind nor the body. Well, let riches be an externalthing. And, as they said, many other things may be classed as good if it isin one’s power to use them either well or ill. For good men employ them forgood, and to them they are useful. The wicked use them badly, and tothem they are harmful. There is a saying of Socrates, that just as wineis influenced by the cask, so the character of riches is like their possessors.The Stoics, whose custom it is to argue subtly and acutely, though they didnot put wealth in the category of good things, the3^ did not count it amongstthe evil ones, but placed it in that class which they term neutral. For tothem virtue alone is good, and vice alone evil. The whole of what remainsis indifferent. Thus, in their conviction, it matters not whether one be ingood health or seriously ill; whether one be handsome or deformed. Inshort:

“ Whether, sprung from Inachus of old, and thus hast livedbeneath the sun in wealth, or hast been poor and despised among men,it matters not.”

For my part, I see no reason why anything that is in itself of use shouldnot be placed in the class of good things. At all events, metals are acreation of Nature, and they supply many varied and necessary needs of thehuman race, to say nothing about their uses in adornment, which are sowonderfully blended with utility. Therefore, it is not right to degrade themfrom the place they hold among the good things. In truth, if there is abad use made of them, should they on that account be rightly called evils ?For of what good things can we not make an equally bad or good use ? Letme give examples from both classes of what we term good. Wine, by farthe best drink, if drunk in moderation, aids the digestion of food, helps toproduce blood, and promotes the juices in all parts of the body. It is of usein nourishing not only the body but the mind as well, for it disperses ourdark and gloomy thoughts, frees us from cares and anxiety, and restoresour confidence. If drunk in excess, however, it injures and prostrates thebody with serious disease. An intoxicated man keeps nothing to himself ;he raves and rants, and commits many wicked and infamous acts. Onthis subject Theognis wrote some very clever lines, which we may renderthus :

“ Wine is harmful if taken with greedy lips, but if drunk inmoderation it is wholesome.” 25

But I linger too long over extraneous matters. I must pass on to thegifts of body and mind, amongst which strength, beauty, and geniusoccur to me. If then a man, relying on his strength, toils hard to maintainhimself and his family in an honest and respectable manner, he uses thegift aright, but if he makes a living out of murder and robbery, he uses itwrongly. Likewise, too, if a lovely woman is anxious to please her husband26 Theognis. Maxims, 11., 1 . 210.