The creator and governor of the universe has indeed prescribed the course of events, but He Himself follows them; He obeys always, He commanded but once.
7. “But why was God so unjust in the destinies he prescribed for mortals, as to send upon good men poverty, wounds, and cruel deaths”? The artisan cannot change matter; it is passive. There are some things that cannot be separated from others; they are bound together and indivisible. Sluggish natures and such as are prone to sink into slumber or into a state closely akin to slumber, are conjoined of inert elements; to form a man who is really worthy of the name a more heroic destiny is needed. His path will not be smooth; he must go up-hill and down-hill, be tossed on the waves, and guide his bark through turbid waters; in spite of changing fortune, he must hold on his way.
8. He will meet many obstacles hard to remove or surmount, but he will himself remove them and smooth his path. Gold is tried by fire; brave men by misfortune. Behold to what heights virtue may climb; thou shouldst know that it cannot go by ways that are free from dangers.
Hard is the way at first: though drawn by prancing steeds,
Slow, up the sky, the shining car proceeds;—
On land and sea I gaze from heaven’s high crest;
Fear and emotion fill my heaving breast.
Steep is the downward way, and with tight rein
I must the ardor of my steeds restrain;
E’en Tethys, wont to greet me ’neath the waves,