If you begin by admiring little things,Schweig. says that in the reading ἐὰν φαυμάζῃς τὰ μικρὰ πρῶτον the word πρῶτον is wanting in four MSS., and that Schow omitted πρῶτον, and that he has followed Schow. But ποῶτον is in Schweig.’s text. you will not be thought worthy of great things: but if you despise the little, you will be greatly admired.

Nothing is smaller (meaner) than love of pleasure, and love of gain and pride. Nothing is superior to magnani- mity, and gentleness, and love of mankind, and beneficence.

They bring forward (they name, they mention) the peevish philosophers (the Stoics), whose opinion it is that pleasure is not a thing conformable to nature, but is a thing which is consequent on the things which are conformable to nature, as justice, temperance, freedom. What then? is the soul pleased and made tranquil by the pleasures of the body which are smaller, as Epicurus says; and is it not pleased with its own good things, which are the greatest? And indeed nature has given to me modesty, and I blush much when I think of saying any thing base (indecent). This motion (feeling) does not permit me to make (consider) pleasure the good and the end (purpose) of life.See Schweig.’s note.

In Rome the women have in their hands Plato’s Polity (the Republic), because it allows (advises) the women to be common, for they attend only to the words of Plato, not to his meaning. Now he does not recommend marriage and one man to cohabit with one woman, and then that the women should be common: but he takes away such a marriage, and introduces another kind of marriage. And in fine, men are pleased with finding excuses for their faults. Yet philosophy says that we ought not to stretch out even a finger without a reason.See Schweig.’s note.

Of pleasures those which occur most rarely give the greatest delight.