My first book, Novatus, had richer material to work with. It's like rolling a cart downhill — easy. Now we must tackle drier ground. The question before us is this: does anger come from deliberate choice or from impulse? In other words, does it act on its own, or is it like most passions that spring up inside us without our knowing?
My first book, Novatus, had a more abundant subject: for carriages roll easily down hill:[1] now we must proceed to drier matters. The question before us is whether anger arises from deliberate choice or from impulse, that is, whether it acts of its own accord or like the greater part of those passions which spring up within us without our knowledge.