Nothing is sweeter than to stand upon the serene heights of wisdom, the strongholds fortified by the teachings of the wise, and from there to look down upon the others, watching them from afar.

You will see them wandering aimlessly, scattered in their search for the path of life, struggling in contests of intelligence and quarrelling over rank and distinction.

You will see them striving with immense effort, day and night, to climb to the highest positions of power and to gain control over everything.

O miserable human minds, O blinded hearts!

Through what a dark and troubled existence, through how many dangers, does this brief span of your lives pass!

Do you not see that Nature desires nothing more for the person whose body is free from pain than a mind that can enjoy life openly, without fear and without anxiety?

Therefore, we recognise that the nature of the body requires very little: only those things that remove every form of suffering.