Chapter 4. Constantine’s Admirable Bodily Gifts

¹ This same City, having given wings to your body as well, shaped it fit for any task, and made it an unhindered servant to the workings of your soul. It is neither heavy in you, nor sluggish, nor slow to move, nor in need of much spurring; nor, on the other hand, is it so quick to move beyond what is fitting that it darts about uncontrollably. Rather, escaping the excess of both extremes, it is established within the bounds of the mean. For where one must mount a horse and train oneself in frequent riding, wheel the spear this way and that with skillful turns and warlike maneuvers—there your body is lightest of all; and further, in the hunt, to outride all the others, to outrun the men, and bring down a beast whose very carcass another boy your age could not bear to look at; to shoot arrows from a galloping horse and still hit the mark—all these are marks of your agility. And again, the dignity of your walk, the measured cadence of your speech, your thoughtful bearing in all things, so like a philosopher’s, and your freedom from the wild, unreasoning whirling about of those seized by frenzy[1] — all this shows the harmony of the elements in you, tempered like a balance by the hand of the Almighty.