The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to prose. Volume I (of X) - Greece
History
The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to prose. Volume I (of X) - Greece
Literature -- Collections
Her death was very sodain. For those whom Caesar sent unto her ran
thither in all haste possible, and found the soldiers standing at the
gate, mistrusting nothing, nor understanding of her death. But when
they had opened the doors, they found Cleopatra stark dead, laid upon
a bed of gold, attired and arrayed in her royal robes, and one of her
two women, which was called Iras, dead at her feet: and her other
woman called Charmion half-dead, and trembling, trimming the diadem
which Cleopatra wore upon her head. One of the soldiers seeing her,
angrily said unto her: Is that well done Charmion? Very well said she
again, and meet for a princess descended from the race of so many
noble kings. She said no more, but fell down dead hard by the bed.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 105: From the "Life of Mark Antony." Translated by Sir
Thomas North.]
[Footnote 106: That is Octavius, afterward the Emperor Augustus.]
[Footnote 107: Antony's mother was Julia, sister of Julius Caesar; his
wife was Octavia, sister of Octavius, the Emperor Augustus.]
[Footnote 108: Caesarion was born in 47 B.C., and is believed to have
gone to Rome with his mother Cleopatra in the following year. It has
been pointed out that there could be no reason for putting Caesarion to
death as a possible competitor with Octavius at Rome, for tho Octavius
was only the nephew of Julius Caesar, Caesarion, his son, was not a
Roman citizen. Inasmuch, however, as it was the object of Octavius to
retain Egypt, Caesarion might have been an obstacle to him there.]
[Footnote 109: A son of the elder Dolabella by his first marriage.
Dolabella the elder married Cicero's daughter Tullia, and became one
of Caesar's murderers.]
EPICTETUS
Born, about the middle of the first century, A.D., in
Hierapolis, Phrygia; originally a slave, but became a
freedman of Epaphroditus, a favorite of the emperor Nero; a
pupil of Musonius Rufus; taught philosophy at Rome; banished
with other philosophers by Domitian and settled in
Nicopolis, Epirus, where he taught philosophy, his doctrines
being compiled by his pupil Arrian, the historian; he wrote
nothing himself.
I
OF FREEDOM[110]
He is free who lives as he likes; who is not subject to compulsion, to
restraint, or to violence; whose pursuits are unhindered, his desires
successful, his aversions unincurred. Who, then, would wish to lead a
wrong course of life? "No one." Who would live deceived, erring,
unjust, dissolute, discontented, dejected? "No one." No wicked man,
then, lives as he likes; therefore no such man is free. And who would
live in sorrow, fear, envy, pity, with disappointed desires and
unavailing aversions? "No one." Do we then find any of the wicked
exempt from these evils? "Not one." Consequently, then, they are not
free.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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