The men I just mentioned get either no reward at all or one that doesn't match their constant effort. What does a person really gain by using their mind to walk on a tightrope? Or to carry heavy loads on their shoulders? Or to stay awake when they need sleep? Or to dive to the ocean floor? Yet their patient work makes all these things possible — for tiny rewards. Shouldn't we then use patience too, when such a prize awaits us: the unbroken calm of a happy life? What a great blessing it is to escape from anger, the worst of all evils, and along with it from frenzy, cruelty, and madness — anger's companions.
The men whom I have just mentioned gain either no reward or one that is unworthy of their unwearied application; for what great thing does a man gain by applying his intellect to walking upon a tight rope? or to placing great burdens upon his shoulders? or to keeping sleep from his eyes? or to reaching the bottom of the sea? and yet their patient labour brings all these things to pass for a trifling reward. Shall not we then call in the aid of patience, we whom such a prize awaits, the unbroken calm of a happy life? How great a blessing is it to escape from anger, that chief of all evils, and therewith from frenzy, ferocity, cruelty, and madness, its attendants?