Thoughts Of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (e book free reading TXT) 📖

Is Worth The Labor To

    Discover The Writer's Exact Meaning--For I Think That He Had A

    Meaning,  Though People May Not Agree What It Was. (Compare Ix.

    28.) If I Have Rightly Explained The Emperor's Meaning In This

    And Other Passages,  He Has Touched The Solution Of A Great

    Question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viii.

 

 

 

 

This Reflection Also Tends To The Removal Of The Desire Of Empty Fame,

That It Is No Longer In Thy Power To Have Lived The Whole Of Thy Life,

Or At Least Thy Life From Thy Youth Upwards,  Like A Philosopher; But

Both To Many Others And To Thyself It Is Plain That Thou Art Far From

Philosophy. Thou Hast Fallen Into Disorder Then,  So That It Is No Longer

Easy For Thee To Get The Reputation Of A Philosopher; And Thy Plan Of

Life Also Opposes It. If Then Thou Hast Truly Seen Where The Matter

Lies,  Throw Away The Thought,  How Thou Shall Seem [To Others],  And Be

Content If Thou Shalt Live The Rest Of Thy Life In Such Wise As Thy

Nature Wills. Observe Then What It Wills,  And Let Nothing Else Distract

Thee; For Thou Hast Had Experience Of Many Wanderings Without Having

Found Happiness Anywhere,--Not In Syllogisms,  Nor In Wealth,  Nor In

Reputation,  Nor In Enjoyment,  Nor Anywhere. Where Is It Then? In Doing

What Man's Nature Requires. How Then Shall A Man Do This? If He Has

Principles From Which Come His Affects And His Acts. What Principles?

Those Which Relate To Good And Bad: The Belief That There Is Nothing

Good For Man Which Does Not Make Him Just,  Temperate,  Manly,  Free; And

That There Is Nothing Bad Which Does Not Do The Contrary To What Has

Been Mentioned.

 

2. On The Occasion Of Every Act Ask Thyself,  How Is This With Respect To

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Me? Shall I Repent Of It? A Little Time And I Am Dead,  And All Is Gone.

What More Do I Seek,  If What I Am Now Doing Is The Work Of An

Intelligent Living Being,  And A Social Being,  And One Who Is Under The

Same Law With God?

 

3. Alexander And Caius[A] And Pompeius,  What Are They In Comparison With

Diogenes And Heraclitus And Socrates? For They Were Acquainted With

Things,  And Their Causes [Forms],  And Their Matter,  And The Ruling

Principles Of These Men Were The Same [Or Conformable To Their

Pursuits]. But As To The Others,  How Many Things Had They To Care For,

And To How Many Things Were They Slaves!

 

    [A] Caius Is C. Julius Caesar,  The Dictator; And Pompeius Is

    Cn. Pompeius,  Named Magnus.

 

4. [Consider] That Men Will Do The Same Things Nevertheless,  Even Though

Thou Shouldst Burst.

 

5. This Is The Chief Thing: Be Not Perturbed,  For All Things Are

According To The Nature Of The Universal; And In A Little Time Thou Wilt

Be Nobody And Nowhere,  Like Hadrianus And Augustus. In The Next Place,

Having Fixed Thy Eyes Steadily On Thy Business,  Look At It,  And At The

Same Time Remembering That It Is Thy Duty To Be A Good Man,  And What

Man's Nature Demands,  Do That Without Turning Aside; And Speak As It

Seems To Thee Most Just,  Only Let It Be With A Good Disposition And With

Modesty And Without Hypocrisy.

 

6. The Nature Of The Universal Has This Work To Do,--To Remove To That

Place The Things Which Are In This,  To Change Them,  To Take,  Them Away

Hence,  And To Carry Them There. All Things Are Change,  Yet We Need Not

Fear Anything New. All Things Are Familiar [To Us]; But The Distribution

Of Them Still Remains The Same.

 

7. Every Nature Is Contented With Itself When It Goes On Its Way Well;

And A Rational Nature Goes On Its Way Well When In Its Thoughts It

Assents To Nothing False Or Uncertain,  And When It Directs Its Movements

To Social Acts Only,  And When It Confines Its Desires And Aversions To

The Things Which Are In Its Power,  And When It Is Satisfied With

Everything That Is Assigned To It By The Common Nature. For Of This

Common Nature Every Particular Nature Is A Part,  As The Nature Of The

Leaf Is A Part Of The Nature Of The Plant; Except That In The Plant The

Nature Of The Leaf Is Part Of A Nature Which Has Not Perception Or

Reason,  And Is Subject To Be Impeded; But The Nature Of Man Is Part Of A

Nature Which Is Not Subject To Impediments,  And Is Intelligent And Just,

Since It Gives To Everything In Equal Portions And According To Its

Worth,  Times,  Substance,  Cause [Form],  Activity,  And Incident. But

Examine,  Not To Discover That Any One Thing Compared With Any Other

Single Thing Is Equal In All Respects,  But By Taking All The Parts

Together Of One Thing And Comparing Them With All The Parts Together Of

Another.

 

8. Thou Hast Not Leisure [Or Ability] To Read. But Thou Hast Leisure [Or

Ability] To Check Arrogance: Thou Hast Leisure To Be Superior To

Pleasure And Pain: Thou Hast Leisure To Be Superior To Love Of Fame,  And

Not To Be Vexed At Stupid And Ungrateful People,  Nay Even To Care For

Them.

 

9. Let No Man Any Longer Hear Thee Finding Fault With The Court Life Or

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With Thy Own (V. 16).

 

10. Repentance Is A Kind Of Self-Reproof For Having Neglected Something

Useful; But That Which Is Good Must Be Something Useful,  And The Perfect

Good Man Should Look After It. But No Such Man Would Ever Repent Of

Having Refused Any Sensual Pleasure. Pleasure Then Is Neither Good Nor

Useful.

 

11. This Thing,  What Is It In Itself,  In Its Own Constitution? What Is

Its Substance And Material? And What Its Causal Nature [Or Form]? And

What Is It Doing In The World? And How Long Does It Subsist?

 

12. When Thou Risest From Sleep With Reluctance,  Remember That It Is

According To Thy Constitution And According To Human Nature To Perform

Social Acts,  But Sleeping Is Common Also To Irrational Animals. But That

Which Is According To Each Individual's Nature Is Also More Peculiarly

Its Own,  And More Suitable To Its Nature,  And Indeed Also More Agreeable

(V. 1).

 

13. Constantly,  And,  If It Be Possible,  On The Occasion Of Every

Impression On The Soul,  Apply To It The Principles Of Physic,  Of Ethic,

And Of Dialectic.

 

14. Whatever Man Thou Meetest With,  Immediately Say To Thyself: What

Opinions Has This Man About Good And Bad? For If With Respect To

Pleasure And Pain And The Causes Of Each,  And With Respect To Fame And

Ignominy,  Death And Life,  He Has Such And Such Opinions,  It Will Seem

Nothing Wonderful Or Strange To Me If He Does Such And Such Things; And

I Shall Bear In Mind That He Is Compelled To Do So.[A]

 

    [A] Antoninus V. 16. Thucydides,  Iii 10: [Greek: En Gar Tô

    Diallassonti Tês Gnômês Kai Ai Diaphorai Tôn Ergôn

    Kathistantai].

 

15. Remember That As It Is A Shame To Be Surprised If The Fig-Tree

Produces Figs,  So It Is To Be Surprised If The World Produces Such And

Such Things Of Which It Is Productive; And For The Physician And The

Helmsman It Is A Shame To Be Surprised If A Man Has A Fever,  Or If The

Wind Is Unfavorable.

 

16. Remember That To Change Thy Opinion And To Follow Him Who Corrects

Thy Error Is As Consistent With Freedom As It Is To Persist In Thy

Error. For It Is Thy Own,  The Activity Which Is Exerted According To Thy

Own Movement And Judgment,  And Indeed According To Thy Own Understanding

Too.

 

17. If A Thing Is In Thy Own Power,  Why Dost Thou Do It? But If It Is In

The Power Of Another,  Whom Dost Thou Blame,--The Atoms [Chance] Or The

Gods? Both Are Foolish. Thou Must Blame Nobody. For If Thou Canst,

Correct [That Which Is The Cause]; But If Thou Canst Not Do This,

Correct At Least The Thing Itself; But If Thou Canst Not Do Even This,

Of What Use Is It To Thee To Find Fault? For Nothing Should Be Done

Without A Purpose.

 

18. That Which Has Died Falls Not Out Of The Universe. If It Stays Here,

It Also Changes Here,  And Is Dissolved Into Its Proper Parts,  Which Are

Elements Of The Universe And Of Thyself. And These Too Change,  And They

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Murmur Not.

 

19. Everything Exists For Some End,--A Horse,  A Vine. Why Dost Thou

Wonder? Even The Sun Will Say,  I Am For Some Purpose,  And The Rest Of

The Gods Will Say The Same. For What Purpose Then Art Thou,--To Enjoy

Pleasure? See If Common Sense Allows This.

 

20. Nature Has Had Regard In Everything No Less To The End Than To The

Beginning And The Continuance,  Just Like The Man Who Throws Up A Ball.

What Good Is It Then For The Ball To Be Thrown Up,  Or Harm For It To

Come Down,  Or Even To Have Fallen? And What Good Is It To The Bubble

While It Holds Together,  Or What Harm When It Is Burst? The Same May Be

Said Of A Light Also.

 

21. Turn It [The Body] Inside Out,  And See What Kind Of Thing It Is; And

When It Has Grown Old,  What Kind Of Thing It Becomes,  And When It Is

Diseased.

 

Short Lived Are Both The Praiser And The Praised,  And The Rememberer And

The Remembered: And All This In A Nook Of This Part Of The World; And

Not Even Here Do All Agree,  No,  Not Any One With Himself: And The Whole

Earth Too Is A Point.

 

22. Attend To The Matter Which Is Before Thee,  Whether It Is An Opinion

Or An Act Or A Word.

 

Thou Sufferest This Justly: For Thou Choosest Rather To Become Good

To-Morrow Than To Be Good To-Day.

 

23. Am I Doing Anything? I Do It With Reference To The Good Of Mankind.

Does Anything Happen To Me? I Receive It And Refer It To The Gods,  And

The Source Of All Things,  From Which All That Happens Is Derived.

 

24. Such As Bathing Appears To Thee,--Oil,  Sweat,  Dirt,  Filthy Water,

All Things Disgusting,--So Is Every Part Of Life And Everything.

 

25. Lucilla Saw Verus Die,  And Then Lucilla Died. Secunda Saw Maximus

Die,  And Then