Empathy and reactions

“If we see a man in grief, we say, ‘It is all over with him’;
if we see a Consul, we say, ‘Happy man’;
if we see an exile, ‘Poor fellow’;
or a poverty-stricken person, ‘Wretched man, he has nothing with which to get a bite to eat.’
These, then, are the vicious judgements which we ought to eradicate; this is the subject upon which we ought to concentrate our efforts.

Why,
what is weeping and sighing?
A judgement.

What is misfortune?
A judgement.

What are strife, disagreement, fault-finding, accusing, impiety, foolishness?
They are all judgements, and that, too, judgements about things
that lie outside the province of moral purpose, assumed to be good or evil. Let a man but transfer his judgements to matters that lie within the province of the moral purpose, and I guarantee that he will be steadfast, whatever be the state of things about him.”