Asallthosewhohadarrivedatthisstateofperfection，wereequallyhappy。soallthosewhofellinthesmallestdegreeshortofit，hownearlysoevertheymightapproachtoit，wereequallymiserable。Astheman，theysaid，whowasbutaninchbelowthesurfaceofthewater，couldnomorebreathethanhewhowasanhundredyardsbelowit；sothemanwhohadnotcompletelysubduedallhisprivate，partial，andselfishpassions，whohadanyotherearnestdesirebutthatfortheuniversalhappiness，whohadnotcompletelyemergedfromthatabyssofmiseryanddisorderintowhichhisanxietyforthegratificationofthoseprivate，partial，andselfishpassionshadinvolvedhim，couldnomorebreathethefreeairoflibertyandindependency，couldnomoreenjoythesecurityandhappinessofthewiseman，thanhewhowasmostremotefromthatsituation。Asalltheactionsofthewisemanwereperfect，andequallyperfect；soallthoseofthemanwhohadnotarrivedatthissupremewisdomwerefaulty，and，assomeStoicspretended，equallyfaulty。Asonetruth，theysaid，couldnotbemoretrue，noronefalsehoodmorefalsethananother；soanhonourableactioncouldnotbemorehonourable，norashamefulonemoreshamefulthananother。Asinshootingatamark，themanwhomisseditbyaninchhadequallymisseditwithhimwhohaddonesobyahundredyards；sothemanwho，inwhattousappearsthemostinsignificantaction，hadactedimproperlyandwithoutasufficientreason，wasequallyfaultywithhimwhohaddonesoin，whattousappears，themostimportant；themanwhohaskilledacock，forexample，improperlyandwithoutasufficientreason，withhimwhohadmurderedhisfather。
Ifthefirstofthosetwoparadoxesshouldappearsufficientlyviolent，thesecondisevidentlytooabsurdtodeserveanyseriousconsideration。Itis，indeed，soveryabsurdthatonecanscarcehelpsuspectingthatitmusthavebeeninsomemeasuremisunderstoodormisrepresented。Atanyrate，I
cannotallowmyselftobelievethatsuchmenasZenoorCleanthes，men，itissaid，ofthemostsimpleaswellasofthemostsublimeeloquence，couldbetheauthors，eitherofthese，orofthegreaterpartoftheotherStoicalparadoxes，whichareingeneralmereimpertinentquibbles，anddosolittlehonourtotheirsystemthatIshallgivenofurtheraccountofthem。IamdisposedtoimputethemrathertoChrysippus，thediscipleandfollower，indeed，ofZenoandCleanthes，butwho，fromallthathasbeendelivereddowntousconcerninghim，seemstohavebeenameredialecticalpedant，withouttasteoreleganceofanykind。
Hemayhavebeenthefirstwhoreducedtheirdoctrinesintoascholasticortechnicalsystemofartificialdefinitions，divisions，andsubdivisions；oneofthemosteffectualexpedients，perhaps，forextinguishingwhateverdegreeofgoodsensetheremaybeinanymoralormetaphysicaldoctrine。Suchamanmayveryeasilybesupposedtohaveunderstoodtooliterallysomeanimatedexpressionsofhismastersindescribingthehappinessofthemanofperfectvirtue，andtheunhappinessofwhoeverfellshortofthatcharacter。
TheStoicsingeneralseemtohaveadmittedthattheremightbeadegreeofproficiencyinthosewhohadnotadvancedtoperfectvirtueandhappiness。Theydistributedthoseproficientsintodifferentclasses，accordingtothedegreeoftheiradvancement；andtheycalledtheimperfectvirtueswhichtheysupposedthemcapableofexercising，notrectitudes，butproprieties，fitnesses，decentandbecomingactions，forwhichaplausibleorprobablereasoncouldbeassigned，whatCiceroexpressesbytheLatinwordofficia，andSeneca，Ithinkmoreexactly，bythatofconvenientia。Thedoctrineofthoseimperfect，butattainablevirtues，seemstohaveconstitutedwhatwemaycallthepracticalmoralityoftheStoics。ItisthesubjectofCicero’sOffices；andissaidtohavebeenthatofanotherbookwrittenbyMarcusBrutus，butwhichisnowlost。