 The truly wise man is therefore expected to accept the law of necessity (lex necessitatis) with steadfastness and mental fortitude While realizing “that man is but a dream of a shadow,” he should show disdain for the course of human events by cultivating constantia: “the upright and immovable mental strength, which is neither lifted up nor depressed by external or accidental circumstances” (De constantia I.4). The mother of this constancy is patience, which is governed by reason. Reason (ratio) — as opposed to false opinions — is nothing other than a true judgment concerning things both human and divine. It is this internal transformation — based on the essential Stoic attributes of reason, freedom from the emotions, patience in adversity and subjection to God’s will — which makes it possible to live contentedly amid the inevitable decay and turmoil of the world.