It is our aim to live according to Nature, and to follow the example of the gods. Yet, in all their acts, what inducement have the gods other than the very principle of action20? Unless perchance you suppose that they obtain a reward for their deeds from the smoke of burnt offerings and the odor of incense! See the gigantic efforts they make every day, the great largesses they dispense; with what wealth of crops they fill the land, with what favorable winds that bear us to all shores they ruffle the seas, with what mighty rains, suddenly hurled down, they soften the soil, renew the dried sources of springs, and, flooding them with secret nourishment, give them new life! They do all these things without any reward, without attaining any advantage for themselves. Our rule also, if it would not depart from its model, should observe this principle of never proceeding to virtuous acts for pay. We should be ashamed to set a price on any benefit whatsoever — the gods are ours for nothing!