eived by his intelligence.

V

There is no rational life, therefore, without intelligence and things
are good only in so far as they assist man to enjoy that life of the
mind which is determined by intelligence. Those things alone, on the
other hand, we call evil which hinder man from perfecting his reason and
enjoying a rational life.

VI

But because all those things of which man is the efficient cause are
necessarily good, it follows that no evil can happen to man except from
external causes, that is to say, except in so far as he is a part of the
whole of Nature, whose laws human nature is compelled to obey--compelled
also to accommodate himself to this whole of Nature in almost an
infinite number of ways.

VII

It is impossible that a man should not be a part of Nature and follow
her common order; but if he be placed amongst individuals who agree with
his nature, his power of action will by that very fact be assisted and
supported. But if, on the contrary, he be placed amongst individuals who
do not in the least agree with his nature, he will scarcely be able
without great change on his part to accommodate himself to them.

VIII

Anything that exists in Nature which we judge to be evil or able to
hinder us from existing and enjoying a rational life, we are allowed to
remove from us in that way which seems the safest; and whatever, on the
other hand, we judge to be good or to be profitable for the preservation
of our being or the enjoyment of a rational life, we are permitted to
take for our use and use in any way we may think proper; and absolutely,
every one is allowed by the highest right of Nature to do that which he
believes contributes to his own profit.

IX

Nothing, therefore, can agree better with the nature of any object than
other individuals of the same kind, and so (see Sec. VII) there is nothing
more profitable to man for the preservation of his being and the
enjoyment of a rational life than a man who is guided by reason. Again,
since there is no single thing we know which is more excellent than a
man who is guided by reason, it follows that there is nothing by which a
person can better show how much skill and talent he possesses than by so
educating men that at last they will live under the direct authority of
reason.

X

In so far as men are carried away by envy or any emotion of hatred
towards one another, so far are they contrary to one another, and
consequently so mu