After experience had taught me that all the usual things of common life are vain and frivolous, and that I saw that all the things I feared and desired contained nothing in themselves of good or evil except insofar as my mind was moved by them, I finally asked myself whether there could be found a true good, capable of communicating its goodness, and by which the mind alone, rejecting all else, would be affected; and further, whether such a good could be attained. I mean: that the mind, being affected by it, would have the power of rejecting all other goods and enjoying this one alone and ceaselessly, with perpetual contentment.

I asked myself why it happens that I am not happy, why the greater part of mankind rarely is, and why men love so ardently things that cannot give them this happiness. I first recognized that the cause lies in the fact that the mind is troubled and led astray by goods which, not only do not satisfy it once they are possessed, but are often the cause of many evils; and above all, that these goods can be lost, so that we must continually fear losing them. As for glory and honor, they are a great obstacle to our felicity, for the love of glory can never be satisfied. It is not the passions themselves that prevent us from being happy, but the goods in question: pleasure, riches, glory.

As for pleasure, when the mind enjoys it—that is, while it enjoys it—it is in error and takes delight in itself; but after that enjoyment an immense sadness seizes it; and if this sadness does not seize it, then the enjoyment continuing, the mind has become entirely passive, and, though other passions do not occupy the first place within it, it is in a state of complete blindness, and its happiness is feeble. Moreover, this pleasure envelops souls more completely than any other passion, so that however often one enjoys it, one is always weary and disgusted. As for riches, they have never made anyone's heart beat, except in the desires of the body; but he who loves riches can never have enough, and he who possesses them always fears losing them. As for glory, after the body it is what most burdens the mind. For the man who enjoys it is not granted a honor as constant as he desires; hence he is sad to have been despised, all the more so since glory lies entirely in the opinion of others.

But to love a thing that perishes, like all those we have just named, is the mark of a mind tormented in some way by passion. For these goods are never continuous and stable, and passion is never tranquil. On the contrary, he who loves an eternal and infinite thing enjoys with his whole heart and soul the love itself, without ever feeling the least sadness, or the least boding of misfortune.

But food and drink are necessary; the body needs clothing, and man does not live by bread alone. Therefore these things must be acquired, but without becoming the goal of our activity. Hence I sought above all a new rule of life: to devote my labor, if possible, to the acquisition of the knowledge of nature such as it is in itself, and to strive to raise the human capacity to that highest degree of perfection. I saw that everything I proposed to myself was an evil or a good according as it helped or hindered this goal, and that the best thing to acquire was that which led to this end. Hence I directed myself toward this single goal: to acquire such a nature, and to use the rest of human society as a means, not for my profit and pleasure, but so that it might labor with me to acquire and enjoy this good.

Therefore the first part of this method is to form the understanding, or to make it capable of perceiving things in the manner required by the goal I have just indicated; and the perfection of this manner is to perceive things clearly and distinctly. But since it is not within human capacity to perceive everything clearly and distinctly, the understanding must be able to perceive things according to their order. Hence the purpose of this treatise is to seek the means the understanding needs to perfect the knowledge of pure being, and not to be tormented by the desires and passions of the body.

We must also, while we seek these means, take care of our health; for this, knowledge is required, and the possession of things that hinder or help the goal. Hence the true rule is to join company with men of goodwill, to learn from them, and to love them. So long, therefore, as this goal is not attained, we lack, so to speak, something, and are necessarily incomplete. But if we attain it, then we shall enjoy continually a supreme and eternal contentment, with which the body, together with the joy that accompanies it, will be filled. This enjoyment and this peace of mind are not born of the favor of fortune, but of knowledge alone, and of the capacity of the mind; so that when the mind reaches this degree of perfection, it enjoys fully and continually a true and supreme contentment.