known all
about him, would have agreed with Seneca when he gives as a reason for
suicide, that the eternal law, whatever he means, has made nothing
better for us than this, that it has given us only one way of entering
into life and many ways of going out of it. The ways of going out indeed
are many, and that is a good reason for a man taking care of himself.[A]

[A] See Plinius H.N. ii., c. 7; Seneca, De Provid. c. 6; and
Ep. 70: "Nihil melius aeterna lex," &c.

Happiness was not the direct object of a Stoic's life. There is no rule
of life contained in the precept that a man should pursue his own
happiness. Many men think that they are seeking happiness when they are
only seeking the gratification of some particular passion, the strongest
that they have. The end of a man is, as already explained, to live
conformably to nature, and he will thus obtain happiness, tranquillity
of mind, and contentment (iii. 12; viii. 1, and other places). As a
means of living conformably to nature he must study the four chief
virtues, each of which has its proper sphere: wisdom, or the knowledge
of good and evil; justice, or the giving to every man his due;
fortitude, or the enduring of labor and pain; and temperance, which is
moderation in all things. By thus living conformably to nature the Stoic
obtained all that he wished or expected. His reward was in his virtuous
life, and he was satisfied with that. Some Greek poet long ago wrote:--

"For virtue only of all human things
Takes her reward not from the hands of others.
Virtue herself rewards the toils of virtue."

Some of the Stoics indeed expressed themselves in very arrogant, absurd
terms, about the wise man's self-sufficiency; they elevated him to the
rank of a deity.[A] But these were only talkers and lecturers, such as
those in all ages who utter fine words, know little of human affairs,
and care only for notoriety. Epictetus and Antoninus both by precept and
example labored to improve themselves and others; and if we discover
imperfections in their teaching, we must still honor these great men who
attempted to show that there is in man's nature and in the constitution
of things sufficient reason for living a virtuous life. It is difficult
enough to live as we ought to live, difficult even for any man to live
in such a way as to satisfy himself, if he exercises only in a moderate
degree the power of reflecting upon and reviewing his own conduct; and
if all