Ninth， consider that a good disposition is invincible， if it be genuine， and not an affected smile and acting a part. For what will the most violent man do to thee， if thou continuest to be of a kind disposition towards him， and if， as opportunity offers， thou gently admonishest him and calmly correctest his errors at the very time when he is trying to do thee harm， saying， Not so， my child： we are constituted by nature for something else： I shall certainly not be injured， but thou art injuring thyself， my child.- And show him with gentle tact and by general principles that this is so， and that even bees do not do as he does， nor any animals which are formed by nature to be gregarious. And thou must do this neither with any double meaning nor in the way of reproach， but affectionately and without any rancour in thy soul； and not as if thou wert lecturing him， nor yet that any bystander may admire， but either when he is alone， and if others are present...
Remember these nine rules， as if thou hadst received them as a gift from the Muses， and begin at last to be a man while thou livest. But thou must equally avoid flattering men and being veied at them， for both are unsocial and lead to harm. And let this truth be present to thee in the excitement of anger， that to be moved by passion is not manly， but that mildness and gentleness， as they are more agreeable to human nature， so also are they more manly； and he who possesses these qualities possesses strength， nerves and courage， and not the man who is subject to fits of passion and discontent. For in the same degree in which a man"s mind is nearer to freedom from all passion， in the same degree also is it nearer to strength： and as the sense of pain is a characteristic of weakness， so also is anger. For he who yields to pain and he who yields to anger， both are wounded and both submit.
But if thou wilt， receive also a tenth present from the leader of the Muses （Apollo）， and it is this- that to expect bad men not to do wrong is madness， for he who expects this desires an impossibility. But to allow men to behave so to others， and to expect them not to do thee any wrong， is irrational and tyrannical.
19.There are four principal aberrations of the superior faculty against which thou shouldst be constantly on thy guard， and when thou hast detected them， thou shouldst wipe them out and say on each occasion thus： this thought is not necessary： this tends to destroy social union： this which thou art going to say comes not from the real thoughts； for thou shouldst consider it among the most absurd of things for a man not to speak from his real thoughts. But the fourth is when thou shalt reproach thyself for anything， for this is an evidence of the diviner part within thee being overpowered and yielding to the less honourable and to the perishable part， the body， and to its gross pleasures.
