Sallustius: Quotes about the world

Sallustius is Roman philosopher and writer. Explore interesting quotes on world.
Sallustius: 112   quotes 3   likes

“All this care for the world, we must believe, is taken by the Gods without any act of will or labor.”

Sallustius

IX. On Providence, Fate, and Fortune.
On the Gods and the Cosmos
Context: All this care for the world, we must believe, is taken by the Gods without any act of will or labor. As bodies which possess some power produce their effects by merely existing: e. g. the sun gives light and heat by merely existing; so, and far more so, the providence of the Gods acts without effort to itself and for the good of the objects of its forethought. This solves the problems of the Epicureans, who argue that what is divine neither has trouble itself nor gives trouble to others.

God , World

“Those who believe in the destruction of the world, either deny the existence of the Gods, or, while admitting it, deny God's power.
Therefore he who makes all things by his own power makes all things subsist together with himself.”

Sallustius

XIII. How things eternal are said to be made.
On the Gods and the Cosmos
Context: Those who believe in the destruction of the world, either deny the existence of the Gods, or, while admitting it, deny God's power.
Therefore he who makes all things by his own power makes all things subsist together with himself. And since his power is the greatest power he must needs be the maker not only of men and animals, but of Gods, men, and spirits. And the further removed the first God is from our nature, the more powers there must be between us and him. For all things that are very far apart have many intermediate points between them.

God , World

“One may call the world a myth, in which bodies and things are visible, but souls and minds hidden.”

Sallustius

III. Concerning myths; that they are divine, and why.
On the Gods and the Cosmos
Context: One may call the world a myth, in which bodies and things are visible, but souls and minds hidden. Besides, to wish to teach the whole truth about the Gods to all produces contempt in the foolish, because they cannot understand, and lack of zeal in the good, whereas to conceal the truth by myths prevents the contempt of the foolish, and compels the good to practice philosophy.

World , Soul

“Souls that have lived in virtue are in general happy, and when separated from the irrational part of their nature, and made clean from all matter, have communion with the gods and join them in the governing of the whole world.”

Sallustius

XXI. That the Good are happy, both living and dead.
On the Gods and the Cosmos
Context: Souls that have lived in virtue are in general happy, and when separated from the irrational part of their nature, and made clean from all matter, have communion with the gods and join them in the governing of the whole world. Yet even if none of this happiness fell to their lot, virtue itself, and the joy and glory of virtue, and the life that is subject to no grief and no master are enough to make happy those who have set themselves to live according to virtue and have achieved it.

God , World , Soul , Nature

“Of the Gods some are of the world, cosmic, and some above the world, hypercosmic.”

Sallustius

VI. On Gods Cosmic and Hypercosmic.
On the Gods and the Cosmos
Context: Of the Gods some are of the world, cosmic, and some above the world, hypercosmic. By the cosmic I mean those who make the cosmos. Of the hypercosmic Gods some create essence, some mind, and some soul.

God , World

“Of the cosmic Gods some make the world be, others animate it, others harmonize it, consisting as it does of different elements; the fourth class keep it when harmonized.”

Sallustius

VI. On Gods Cosmic and Hypercosmic.
On the Gods and the Cosmos

God , World , Animals

“The elements, though they can be changed, cannot be destroyed. Again, everything destructible is changed by time and grows old. But the world through all these years has remained utterly unchanged.”

Sallustius

XVII. That the World is by nature Eternal.
On the Gods and the Cosmos

World , Change , Time

“Again, if the world is destroyed, it must needs either be destroyed according to nature or against nature. Against nature is impossible, for that which is against nature is not stronger than nature. If according to nature, there must be another nature which changes the nature of the world: which does not appear.”

Sallustius

XVII. That the World is by nature Eternal.
On the Gods and the Cosmos

World , Nature , Appearance , Change

“Theological myths suit philosophers, physical and psychic suit poets, mixed suit religious initiations, since every initiation aims at uniting us with the world and the Gods.”

Sallustius

IV. That the species of myth are five, with examples of each.
On the Gods and the Cosmos

God , World

“Suppose it is said that there are evil spirits: — if they have their power from the Gods, they cannot be evil; if from elsewhere, the Gods do not make all things. If they do not make all things, then either they wish to or cannot, or they can and do not wish; neither of which is consistent with the idea of god. We may see, therefore, from these arguments, that there is no positive evil in the world.
It is in the activities of men that the evils appear, and that not of all men nor always.”

Sallustius

XII. The origin of evil things; and that there is no positive evil.
On the Gods and the Cosmos

Men , God , World , Idea

“Nor need the fact that rejections of god have taken place in certain parts of the earth and will often take place hereafter, disturb the mind of the wise: both because these things do not affect the Gods, just as we saw that worship did not benefit them; and because the soul, being of middle essence, cannot be always right; and because the whole world cannot enjoy the providence of the Gods equally, but some parts may partake of it eternally, some at certain times, some in the primal manner, some in the secondary.”

Sallustius

XVIII. Why there are rejections of God, and that God is not injured.
On the Gods and the Cosmos

God , World , Soul , Time

“If when matter is destroyed other matter takes its place, the new matter must come either from something that is or from something that is not. If from that-which-is, as long as that-which-is always remains, matter always remains. But if that-which-is is destroyed, such a theory means that not the world only but everything in the universe is destroyed.
If again matter comes from that-which-is-not: in the first place, it is impossible for anything to come from that which is not; but suppose it to happen, and that matter did arise from that which is not; then, as long as there are things which are not, matter will exist. For I presume there can never be an end of things which are not.”

Sallustius

XVII. That the World is by nature Eternal.
On the Gods and the Cosmos

World , Universe