Between Heathenism and Christianity - College of Stoic Philosophers
Between Heathenism and Christianity - College of Stoic Philosophers
Between Heathenism and Christianity - College of Stoic Philosophers
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The Delay <strong>of</strong> the Deity<br />
vices, He administers to each person chastisements<br />
as medicaments, but not equally severe in all<br />
nor at one <strong>and</strong> the same time.<br />
cases<br />
For that the healing<br />
art when applied to the soul is called right <strong>and</strong> right<br />
eousness <strong>and</strong> is the greatest <strong>of</strong> all arts, Pindar in addi<br />
tion to thous<strong>and</strong>s <strong>of</strong> others, affirms, when he calls God<br />
the ruler <strong>and</strong> custodian <strong>of</strong> the whole universe, the<br />
master builder, for the reason that He is the guard<br />
ian <strong>of</strong> justice according to which it shall be de<br />
termined when <strong>and</strong> how <strong>and</strong> to what degree every<br />
wicked man is to be punished. And <strong>of</strong> this art Plato<br />
says that Minos the son <strong>of</strong> Jove was a student, as it<br />
is not possible to properly dispense justice, or to<br />
recognize what is just unless one has learned <strong>and</strong><br />
acquired a knowledge <strong>of</strong> the same. Not even the<br />
laws that men enact have always their clear <strong>and</strong><br />
plain justification <strong>and</strong> some enactments even seem at<br />
first sight ridiculous. For instance, in Lacedaemon,<br />
the ephors, immediately upon taking <strong>of</strong>fice, issue an<br />
edict that no one is to wear a mustache <strong>and</strong> that<br />
the laws are to be obeyed in order that none may feel<br />
their severity. The Romans inflict a slight blow<br />
with a twig upon those whom they intend to emanci<br />
pate; <strong>and</strong> when they make a will<br />
they bequeath their<br />
property to some persons as their heirs, but sell it to<br />
others, which seems to be absurd. But most absurd one<br />
would think the law <strong>of</strong> Solon to be to the effect that<br />
he shall<br />
be deprived <strong>of</strong> civil rights, who, when there<br />
are parties <strong>and</strong> factions in the state,<br />
take sides with<br />
neither. In short, one could name many anomalies<br />
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