those by night. And because this is so I thought you were the bravest of
men, enjoying, as you did, so great strength of intellect, so great
power in speaking. But it seems that you, startled out of yourself by
having failed contrary to your hope and deserts, have been drawn back a
little from the goal of real bravery. This loss, however, you will
recover immediately, and as your circumstances are such, with a good
physical state and a good spiritual, I cannot see what there is to
distress you."

[-23-] At the end of this speech of his Cicero rejoined:--"There seems
to you, then, to be no great evil in dishonor and exile and not living
at home nor being with your friends, but instead being expelled with
violence from your country, existing in a foreign land, and wandering
about with the name of exile, causing laughter to your enemies and
disgrace to your connections."

"Not a trace of evil, so far as I can see," declared Philiscus. "There
are two elements of which we are constituted,--soul and body,--and
definite blessings and evils are given to each of the two by Nature
herself. Now if there should be any failure in these details, it might
properly be considered hurtful and base, but if all should be right it
would be advantageous rather. This, at the outset, is your condition.
Those things which you mentioned, cases of dishonor among them, and
everything else of the sort are disgraceful and evil only through law
and a kind of notion, and work no injury to either body or soul. What
body could you cite that has fallen sick or perished and what spirit
that has grown wickeder or even more ignorant through dishonor and exile
and anything of that sort? I see none. And the reason is that no one of
these accidents is by nature evil, just as neither honorable position
nor residence in one's country is by nature excellent, but whatever