§9.42.1Ὅταν τινὸς ἀναισχυντίᾳ προσκόπτῃς, εὐθὺς πυνθάνου σεαυτοῦ· δύνανται οὖν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἀναίσχυντοι μὴ εἶναι;
When you are offended by anyone's shamelessness, ask yourself at once: Is it then possible for there to be no shameless people in the world?
οὐ δύνανται·
It is not possible.
μὴ οὖν ἀπαίτει τὸ ἀδύνατον·
Do not then demand the impossible.
εἷς γὰρ καὶ οὗτός ἐστιν ἐκείνων τῶν ἀναισχύντων, οὓς ἀνάγκη ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ εἶναι.
For this man too is one of those shameless people who must of necessity exist in the world.
τὸ δ’ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ πανούργου καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀπίστου καὶ παντὸς τοῦ ὁτιοῦν ἁμαρτάνοντος ἔστω σοι πρόχειρον·
Let the same thought be ready at hand for you also in the case of the knave, the untrustworthy, and everyone who commits any fault whatsoever.
ἅμα γὰρ τῷ ὑπομνησθῆναι ὅτι τὸ γένος τῶν τοιούτων ἀδύνατόν ἐστι μὴ ὑπάρχειν, εὐμενέστερος ἔσῃ πρὸς τοὺς καθ’ ἕνα.
For as soon as you remind yourself that it is impossible for such a class of people not to exist, you will be more well-disposed towards them individually.
§9.42.2εὔχρηστον δὲ κἀκεῖνο εὐθὺς ἐννοεῖν, τίνα ἔδωκεν ἡ φύσις τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἀρετὴν πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ ἁμάρτημα·
It is also useful to reflect immediately on what virtue nature has given to man against this particular fault.
ἔδωκε γὰρ ὡς ἀντιφάρμακον πρὸς μὲν τὸν ἀγνώμονα τὴν πρᾳότητα, πρὸς δὲ ἄλλον ἄλλην τινὰ δύναμιν, ὅλως δὲ ἔξεστί σοι μεταδιδάσκειν τὸν πεπλανημένον· πᾶς γὰρ ὁ ἁμαρτάνων ἀφαμαρτάνει τοῦ προκειμένου καὶ πεπλάνηται.
For she has given, as an antidote, gentleness against the ungrateful, and against another, some other power. And in general, you have the opportunity to teach better one who has gone astray; for everyone who does wrong misses his aim and has gone astray.
τί δὲ καὶ βέβλαψαι;
And in what way have you been harmed?
εὑρήσεις γὰρ μηδένα τούτων, πρὸς οὓς παροξύνῃ, πεποιηκότα τι τοιοῦτον, ἐξ οὗ ἡ διάνοιά σου χείρων ἔμελλε γενήσεσθαι·
For you will find that none of those with whom you are angry has done anything of such a kind that your mind was going to be made worse by it.
§9.42.3τὸ δὲ κακόν σου καὶ τὸ βλαβερὸν ἐνταῦθα πᾶσαν τὴν ὑπόστασιν ἔχει.
But your evil and your harm have their whole existence only in this.
τί δὲ καινὸν ἢ ξένον γέγονεν, εἰ ὁ ἀπαίδευτος τὰ τοῦ ἀπαιδεύτου πράσσει;
What is there new or strange if the uneducated man acts like an uneducated man?
ὅρα μὴ σεαυτῷ μᾶλλον ἐγκαλεῖν ὀφείλῃς, ὅτι οὐ προσεδόκησας τοῦτον τοῦτο ἁμαρτήσεσθαι·
See if you ought not rather to blame yourself for not expecting that this man would commit this fault.
σὺ γὰρ καὶ ἀφορμὰς ἐκ τοῦ λόγου εἶχες πρὸς τὸ ἐνθυμηθῆναι ὅτι εἰκός ἐστι τοῦτον τοῦτο ἁμαρτήσεσθαι, καὶ ὅμως ἐπιλαθόμενος θαυμάζεις εἰ ἡμάρτηκε.
For you had means from reason to consider that it was likely that this man would commit this fault, and yet, having forgotten, you are surprised that he did commit it.
§9.42.4μάλιστα δέ, ὅταν ὡς ἀπίστῳ ἢ ἀχαρίστῳ μέμφῃ, εἰς σεαυτὸν ἐπιστρέφου·
And above all, when you blame someone as untrustworthy or ungrateful, turn to yourself.
προδήλως γὰρ σὸν τὸ ἁμάρτημα, εἴτε περὶ τοῦ τοιαύτην τὴν διάθεσιν ἔχοντος ἐπίστευσας ὅτι τὴν πίστιν φυλάξει, εἴτε τὴν χάριν διδοὺς μὴ καταληκτικῶς ἔδωκας μηδὲ ὥστε ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς πράξεως εὐθὺς ἀπειληφέναι πάντα τὸν καρπόν.
For the fault is clearly yours, whether you trusted that a man of such a disposition would keep his promise, or whether, in bestowing a favor, you did not give it unconditionally, nor so as to receive the whole fruit from the action itself immediately.
τί γὰρ πλέον θέλεις εὖ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπον;
For what more do you want when you have done a man a service?
οὐκ ἀρκεῖ τοῦτο, ὅτι κατὰ φύσιν τὴν σήν τι ἔπραξας, ἀλλὰ τούτου μισθὸν ζητεῖς;
Is it not enough that you have done something in accordance with your nature, but do you seek a reward for this?
ὡσεὶ ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς ἀμοιβὴν ἀπῄτει, ὅτι βλέπει, ἢ οἱ πόδες, ὅτι βαδίζουσιν.
Just as if the eye should demand a recompense for seeing, or the feet for walking.
ὥσπερ γὰρ ταῦτα πρὸς τόδε τι γέγονεν, ὅπερ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν κατασκευὴν ἐνεργοῦντα ἀπέχει τὸ ἴδιον, οὕτως καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος εὐεργετικὸς πεφυκώς, ὁπόταν τι εὐεργετικὸν ἢ ἄλλως εἰς τὰ μέσα συνεργητικὸν πράξῃ, πεποίηκε, πρὸς ὃ κατεσκεύασται, καὶ ἔχει τὸ ἑαυτοῦ.
For as these exist for a particular purpose, and by acting according to their own constitution they obtain what is their own, so also man, being formed by nature to do good, whenever he does any act of benevolence or otherwise cooperates in things indifferent, has done that for which he was constituted, and has his own.