has probably rendered priceless help to us who come
afterwards. The insane ages have often done service for the sane, the
harsh and suffering ages for the gentle and well-to-do.

_Sophrosyne_, however we try to translate it, temperance, gentleness,
the spirit that in any trouble thinks and is patient, that saves and not
destroys, is the right spirit. And it is to be feared that none of these
fourth-century leaders, neither the fierce bishops with their homilies
on Charity, nor Julian and Sallustius with their worship of Hellenism,
came very near to that classic ideal. To bring back that note of
Sophrosyne I will venture, before proceeding to the fourth-century Pagan
creed, to give some sentences from an earlier Pagan prayer. It is cited
by Stobaeus from a certain Eusebius, a late Ionic Platonist of whom
almost nothing is known, not even the date at which he lived.[197:1] But
the voice sounds like that of a stronger and more sober age.

'May I be no man's enemy,' it begins, 'and may I be the friend
of that which is eternal and abides. May I never quarrel with
those nearest to me; and if I do, may I be reconciled quickly.
May I never devise evil against any man; if any devise evil
against me, may I escape uninjured and without the need of
hurting him. May I love, seek, and attain only that which is
good. May I wish for all men's happiness and envy none. May I
never rejoice in the ill-fortune of one who has wronged
me. . . . When I have done or said what is wrong, may I never
wait for the rebuke of others, but always rebuke myself until
I make amends. . . . May I win no victory that harms either me
or my opponent. . . . May I reconcile friends who are wroth
with one another. May I, to the extent of my power, give all
needful help to my friends and to all who are in want. May I
never fail a friend in danger. When visiting those in grief
may I be able by gentle and healing words to soften their
pain. . . . May I respect myself. . . . May I always keep tame
that which rages within me. . . . May I accustom myself to be
gentle, and never be angry with people because of
circumstances. May I never discuss who is wicked and what
wicked things he has done, but know good men and follow in
their footsteps.'

There is more of it. How unpretending it is and yet how searching! And
in the whole there is no petition for any mat