52. You have it in your power to form no opinion about this or that, and so to have peace of mind. Things material have no power to form our opinions for us.
53. Accustom yourself to attend closely to what is said by others, and as far as possible to penetrate into the mind of the speaker.
54. What profits not the swarm profits not the bee.
55. If the sailors revile their pilot, or the sick their physician, whom will they follow or obey? And how will the one secure safety to the crew, or the other health to the patients?
56. How many who entered the world with me are already departed!
57. To the jaundiced, honey seems bitter; and water is a thing of dread to those bitten by mad dogs. To boys a ball is a glorious thing. Why, then, am I angry? Has error in the mind less power than a little bile in the jaundiced, or a little poison in him who is bitten?
58. No man can prevent you from living according to the plan of your nature; and nothing can befall you which is contrary to the plan of the nature of the Universe.
59. Consider what men are; whom they seek to please; what they expect to gain, and how they go about to compass their ends. Think how soon eternity will shroud all things, and how much is already shrouded.
END OF THE SIXTH BOOK.