Meditations by Aurelius
Ref: Marcus Aurelius (300?). Meditations. From: Augustine Press (2019).
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Summary
Keep your daemon (inner guiding principle) free from violence and unharmed, superior to pains and pleasures, doing nothing without purpose, nor yet falsely and with hypocrisy; accept all that happens, and all that is allotted, as coming from within; and wait for death with a cheerful mind, as being nothing else than a dissolution of the elements of which every living being is compounded (Book 2).
A man must stand erect, not be kept erect by others (Book 3).
As a physician is always prepare to practice their skills, hone your principles and always stand ready to use them (Book 3).
Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break, but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it (Book 4).
Remember too on every occasion which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: not that this is a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune (Book 4).
Have I been made for this, to lie in the bed-clothes and keep myself warm? But this is more pleasant.- Dost thou exist then to take thy pleasure, and not at all for action or exertion? Dost thou not see the little plants, the little birds, the ants, the spiders, the bees working together to put in order their several parts of the universe? And art thou unwilling to do the work of a human being, and dost thou not make haste to do that which is according to thy nature? (Book 5).
Convert every obstacle on your path into an aid from which to help you on your path (Book 5).
If any man is able to convince me and show me that I do not think or act right, I will gladly change; for I seek the truth by which no man was ever injured. But he is injured who abides in his error and ignorance. I do my duty: other things trouble me not; for they are either things without life, or things without reason, or things that have rambled and know not the way (Book 6).
It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing, and not to be disturbed in our soul; for things themselves have no natural power to form our judgements (Book 6).
Is any man afraid of change? Why what can take place without change? (Book 7).
Wipe out the imagination. Stop the pulling of the strings. Confine thyself to the present. Understand well what happens either to thee or to another. Divide and distribute every object into the causal (formal) and the material. Think of thy last hour. Let the wrong which is done by a man stay there where the wrong was done. Direct thy attention to what is said. Let thy understanding enter into the things that are doing and the things which do them. Adorn thyself with simplicity and modesty and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that Law rules all. And it is enough to remember that Law rules all (Book 7).
Neither in your actions be sluggish nor in your conversation without method, nor wandering in your thoughts, nor let there be in your soul inward contention nor external effusion, nor in life be so busy as to have no leisure (Book 8).
Men exist for the sake of one another. Do not be offended by them. Teach them then or bear with them (Book 8).
Found your opinion on understanding and direct your conduct to the social good, and be content with all that happens- that is enough (Book 9).
Set yourself in motion according to your nature, and do not look about you to see if anyone will observe it; be content if the smallest thing goes on well, and consider such an event to be no small matter (Book 9).
If you can see the way forward clearly, then go, without turning back: but if you can’t see clearly, stop and take the best advisers. But if any other things oppose thee, go on according to thy powers with due consideration, keeping to that which appears to be just (Book 10).
Neither in writing nor in reading wilt thou be able to lay down rules for others before thou shalt have first learned to obey rules thyself (Book 11).
If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it…Do nothing inconsiderately, nor without a purpose. Make your acts in reference to a social end. Consider that soon you will be nobody and nowhere. Consider that everything is opinion and opinion is in your power (Book 12).
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BOOK ONE
From my (what I’ve learned from the people in my life): Good morals; the government of my temper; modesty; a manly character; piety and beneficence, and abstinence, not only from evil deed, but even from evil thoughts; simplicity in way of living, far removed from the habits of the rich; have good teachers at home; be neither of the green nor of the blue party; endurance of labour, and to want little, and to work with my own hands, and not to meddle with other people’s affairs, and not to be ready to listen to slander; not to busy myself about trifling things, and not to give credit to what was said by miracle-workers; not to breed quails for fighting, not to give myself up passionately to such things; and to ensure freedom of speech; and to have become intimate with philosophy; and to have been a hearer; to have desired a plank bed and skin; not to be led astray to sophistic emulation, nor to writing on speculative matters, nor to delivering myself off as a man who practices much discipline, or does benevolent acts in order to make a display; and to abstain from rhetoric, and poetry, and fine writing; and not to walk about in the house in my outdoor dress, nor to do other things of the kind; and to write my letters with simplicity; with respect to those who have offended me by words, or done me wrong, to be easily disposed to be pacified and reconciled, as soon as they have shown a readiness to be reconciled; and to read carefully, and not to be satisfied with a superficial understanding of a book; nor hastily to give my assent to those who talk overmuch; freedom of will and undeviating steadiness of purpose; and to look to nothing else, not even for a moment, except to reason; see clearly in a living example that the same man can be both most resolute and yielding, and not peevish in giving his instruction; receive from friends what are esteemed favors, without being either humbled by them or letting them pass unnoticed; a benevolent disposition, and the example of a family governed in a fatherly manner, and the idea of living conformably to nature; and gravity without affectation, and to look carefully after the interests of friends, and to tolerate ignorant persons, and those who form opinions without consideration; the faculty both of discovering and ordering, in an intelligent and methodical way, the principles necessary for life; never showing anger or any other passion, but entirely free from passion, and also most affectionate; express approbation without noisy display, and possess much knowledge without ostentation; to refrain from fault-finding, and not in a reproachful way to chide those who uttered any barbarous or solecistic or strange-sounding expression; to observe what envy, and duplicity, and hypocrisy are in a tyrant; not frequently nor without necessity to say to any one, or to write in a letter, that I have no leisure; not continually to excuse the neglect of duties required by our relation to those with whom we live, by alleging urgent occupations; not to be indifferent when a friend finds fault, even if he should find fault without reason, but to try to restore him to his usual disposition; and to be ready to speak well of teachers; love my kin, and to love truth, and to love justice; the idea of a polity in which there is the same law for all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed; I learned from him also consistency and undeviating steadiness in my regard for philosophy; and a disposition to do good, and to give to others readily, and to cherish good hopes, and to believe that I am loved by my friends; and in him I observed no concealment of his opinions with respect to those whom he condemned, and that his friends had no need to conjecture what he wished or did not wish, but it was quite plain; self-government, and not to be led aside by anything; and cheerfulness in all circumstances, as well as in illness; and a just admixture in the moral character of sweetness and dignity, and to do what was set before me without complaining. I observed that (he) thought as he speak, and that in all that he did he never had any bad intention; and he never showed amazement and surprise, and was never in a hurry, and never put off doing a thing, nor was perplexed nor dejected, nor did he ever laugh to disguise his vexation, nor, on the other hand, was he ever passionate or suspicious. He was accustomed to do acts of beneficence, and was ready to forgive, and was free from all falsehood; and he presented the appearance of a man who could not be diverted from right rather than of a man who had been improved. Mildness of temper, and unchangeable resolution in the things which he had determined after due deliberation; and no vainglory in those things which men call honours; and a love of labour and perseverance; and a readiness to listen to those who had anything to propose for the common weal; and undeviating firmness in giving to every man according to his deserts; and a knowledge derived from experience of the occasions for vigorous action and for remission; consider yourself no more than any other citizen; careful inquiry in all matters of deliberation, and his persistency, and that he never stopped his investigation through being satisfied with appearances which first present themselves; and that his disposition was to keep his friends, and not to be soon tired of them, nor yet to be extravagant in his affection; and to be satisfied on all occasions, and cheerful; and to foresee things a long way off, and to provide for the smallest without display; and to check immediately popular applause and all flattery; be ever watchful over the things which were necessary for the administration of the empire; be a good manager of the expenditure; patiently endure the blame; show sobriety in all things and firmness and never any mean thoughts or actions, nor love of novelty; be a man ripe, perfect, above flattery, able to manage his own and other mens affairs; do not be easily led; be easy in conversation, and make yourself agreeable without any offensive affectation; take reasonable care of your health; always act conformably to the institutions of your country, without showing any affectation of doing so; do not take the bath at unseasonable hours; in you nothing harsh, nor implacable, nor violent, nor, as one may say, anything carried to the sweating point; but examine all things severally, as if he had abundance of time, and without confusion, in an orderly way, vigorously and consistently; abstain from and enjoy, those things which many are too weak to abstain from, and cannot enjoy without excess; be strong enough both to bear the one and to be sober in the other is the mark of a man who has a perfect and invincible soul; take away all pride; live in a place without wanting either guards or embordered dresses, or torches and statues, and such-like show; thank the gods for giving me friends who are able by their moral character to rouse my to vigilance over myself, and who, at the same time, pleased be his respect and affectation; live according to nature. I have such a wife, so obedient, and so affectionate, and so simple; that I had abundance of good masters for my children.
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BOOK TWO
The nature of the good is beautiful, and of the bad, ugly.
Consider that you are an old man; no longer let yourself be a slave, no longer be pulled by the strings like a puppet to unsocial movements, no longer be dissatisfied with your present lot, or shrink from your future.
When it is your time to march towards death, do so cheerfully, truly, and from thy heart thankful to the gods.
A limit of time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go and you will go, and it will never return.
Every moment think steadily, act with dignity, feel affection, and relieve yourselves from negative thinking. Perform every act of life as if it were your last. Lay aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason and be content with the life and path you’ve been given.
Those who do not observe the movements of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy. This you must always bear in mind, what is the nature of the whole, and what is my nature, and how this is related to that, and what kind of a part it is of what kind of a whole.
Always consider what is your nature, what is the nature of the whole, and how they are related.
Offences committed through desire are more blameable than those which are committed through anger. For he who is excited by anger seems to turn away from reason with a certain pain and unconscious contraction; but offences committed through desire, being overpowered by pleasure, seems to be in a manner more intemperate and more womanish in his offences.
Man’s abstractive power of reflection resolves everything into their parts all the things which present themselves to the imagination in it, he will then consider it to be nothing else than an operation of nature; and if anyone is afraid of an operation of nature, he is a child.
Keep your daemon (your inner guiding principle, the highest part of the soul) pure from passion and thoughtlessness, and dissatisfaction.
The present is the only thing of which a man can be deprived.
When the soul does violence to itself:
1) When it becomes an abscess and, as it were, a tumor on the universe.
2) When it turns away from any man, or even moves towards him with the intention of injuring.
3) When it is overpowered by pleasure or by pain.
4) When it says anything insincerely and untruly.
5) When it allows any act or movement to be without an aim, and does anything thoughtlessly and without considering what it is, it being right that even the smallest things be done with reference to an end.
Keep your daemon (inner guiding principle) free from violence and unharmed, superior to pains and pleasures, doing nothing without purpose, nor yet falsely and with hypocrisy; accept all that happens, and all that is allotted, as coming from within; and wait for death with a cheerful mind, as being nothing else than a dissolution of the elements of which every living being is compounded.
Nothing is evil which is according to nature.
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BOOK THREE
What is such a person doing, and why, and what is he saying, and what is he thinking of, and what is he contriving, and whatever else of the kind makes us wander away from the observation of our own ruling power.
Every rational animal is his kinsman, and that to care for all men is according to man's nature; and a man should hold on to the opinion not of all, but of those only who confessedly live according to nature.
Let the deity within be your guardian, manly and of ripe age, and engaged in matter political, and a Roman, and a ruler, who has taken his post like a man waiting for the signal which summons him from life, and ready to go, having need neither of oath nor of any man's testimony. Be cheerful also, and seek not external help nor the tranquility which others give. A man must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.
Choose the better, and hold to it. That which is useful is the better.
Never value anything as profitable to yourself which shall compel you to break your promise, to lose your self-respect, to hate any man, to suspect, to curse, to act the hypocrite, to desire anything which needs walls and curtains.
Examine everything methodically and truly and in accordance with its value and place with reference to the whole.
If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you should be bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which you utter, thou wilt live happy.
As a physician is always prepare to practice their skills, hone your principles and always stand ready to use them.
Come to thy own aid, if you care at all for thyself, while it is in thy power.
Body, soul, intelligence: to the body belong sensations, to the soul appetites, to the intelligence principles.
Don’t be pulled by the strings of desire, which belongs to wild beasts and women.
A good man is pleased and content regardless of what happens to him and the threads which life have spun for him. A good man doesn’t lie nor do anything contrary to justice.
Come to the end of your life tranquil, ready to depart, without any compulsion, and perfectly reconciled to your lot.
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BOOK FOUR
Do everything with purpose.
Nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul…Tranquility then, is the good ordering of the mind. Constantly give yourself this retreat, and renew thyself.
If our intellectual part is common, the reason also, in respect of which we are rational beings, is common: if this is so, common also is the reason which commands us what to do, and what not to do; if this is so, there is a common law also; if this is so, we are fellow-citizens; if this is so, we are members of some political community; if this is so, the world is in a manner a state. For of what other common political community will any one say that the whole human race are members? And from thence, from this common political community comes also our very intellectual faculty and reasoning faculty and our capacity for law; or whence do they come?
Be good in everything you do.
Always practice two rules- 1) abide by the law and 2) be ready to change your opinion.
Within ten days thou wilt seem a god to those to whom thou art now a beast and an ape, if thou wilt return to thy principles and the worship of reason.
Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.
How much trouble he avoids who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only to what he does himself, that it may be just and pure; or as Agathon says, look not round at the depraved morals of others, but run straight along the line without deviating from it.
The greatest part of what we say and do are unnecessary. Identify which acts and thoughts are unnecessary and remove them, because they lead to superfluous acts.
If he is a stranger to the universe who does not know what is in it, no less is he a stranger who does not know what is going on in it. He is a runaway, who flies from social reason; he is blind, who shuts the eyes of the understanding; he is poor, who has need of another, and has not from himself all things which are useful for life. He is an abscess on the universe who withdraws and separates himself from the reason of our common nature through being displeased with the things which happen, for the same nature produces this, and has produced thee too.
Make yourself neither a tyrant nor a slave of any man.
Act justly, be social, do not lie, accept gladly all that happens.
Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web.
Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away too.
Always observe how ephemeral and worthless human things are, and what was yesterday a little sickness, tomorrow will be death. Pass then through this little space of time conformably, and end thy journey in content, just as an olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing nature who produced it, and thanking the tree on which it grew.
Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break, but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it.
Continue (on your path) free from pain, neither crushed by the present nor fearing the future.
Remember too on every occasion which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: not that this is a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune.
Say and do everything in conformity with the soundest reason.
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BOOK FIVE
Have I been made for this, to lie in the bed-clothes and keep myself warm? But this is more pleasant.- Dost thou exist then to take thy pleasure, and not at all for action or exertion? Dost thou not see the little plants, the little birds, the ants, the spiders, the bees working together to put in order their several parts of the universe? And art thou unwilling to do the work of a human being, and dost thou not make haste to do that which is according to thy nature?
If a thing is good to be done or said, do not consider it unworthy of thee.
Follow your own nature and follow the common nature, as they are the same.
Practice sincerity, gravity, endurance of labour, aversion to pleasure, contentment with your portion and with few things, benevolence, frankness, no love of superfluity, freedom from trifling magnanimity.
When a man performs a good act, he does not call out for others to come and see, but he goes on to another act, as a vine goes on to produce again the grapes in season.
What is more agreeable than wisdom itself?
About what am I now employing my own soul? On every occasion I must ask myself this question, and inquire, what have I now in this part of me which they call the ruling principle? And whose soul have I now? That of a child, or of a young man, or of a feeble woman, or of a tyrant, or of a domestic animal, or of a wild beast?
Convert every obstacle on your path into an aid from which to help you on your path.
In the case of every appearance of harm apply this rule: if the state is not harmed by this, neither am I harmed.
Consider if you have ever behaved in such a way that one may say: Never has he wronged a man in deed or word.
Assign yourself good fortune, which is good disposition of the soul, good emotions, good actions.
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BOOK SIX
Always consider the peculiar quality of everything around you and do not let its value escape you.
The best way to avenge a misdeed is to not become like the wrong doer.
If you are compelled to emotion, quickly return yourself and do not continue out of tune longer than the compulsion lasts.
Move and restrain yourself in conformity with your constitution. For every art aims at this, that the thing which has been made should be adapted to the work for which it has been made; and both the vine-planter who looks after the vine, and the horse-breaker, and he who trains the dog, seek this end.
If any man is able to convince me and show me that I do not think or act right, I will gladly change; for I seek the truth by which no man was ever injured. But he is injured who abides in his error and ignorance. I do my duty: other things trouble me not; for they are either things without life, or things without reason, or things that have rambled and know not the way.
Death is a cessation of the impressions through the senses, and of the pulling of the strings which move the appetites, and of the discursive movements of the thoughts, and of the service to the flesh. It is a shame for the soul to be first to give way in this life, when thy body does not give way.
Keep thyself then simple, good, pure, serious, free from affectation, a friend of justice, a worshipper of the gods, kind, affectionate, strenuous in all proper acts.
Do everything as a disciple of Antoninus. Remember his constancy in every act which was conformable to reason, and his evenness in all things, and his piety, and the serenity of his countenance, and his sweetness, and his disregard of empty fame, and his efforts to understand things; and how he would never let anything pass without having first most carefully examined it and clearly understood it; and how he bore with those who blamed him unjustly without blaming them in return; how he did nothing in a hurry; and how he listened not to calumnies, and how exact an examiner of manners and actions he was; and not given to reproach people, nor timid, nor suspicious, nor a sophist; and with how little he was satisfied, such as lodging, bed, dress, food, servants; and how laborious and patient; and how he was able on account of his sparing diet to hold out to the evening, not even requiring to relieve himself by any evacuations except at the usual hour; and his firmness and uniformity in his friendships; and how he tolerated freedom of speech in those who opposed his opinions; and the pleasure that he had when any man showed him anything better; and how religious he was without superstition.
Asia, Europe are corners of the universe: all the sea a drop in the universe; Athos a little clod of the universe: all the present time is a point in eternity. All things are little, changeable, perishable. All things come from thence, from that universal ruling power either directly proceeding or by way of sequence. And accordingly the lion's gaping jaws, and that which is poisonous, and every harmful thing, as a thorn, as mud, are after-products of the grand and beautiful. Do not then imagine that they are of another kind from that which thou dost venerate, but form a just opinion of the source of all.
Pass your life in truth and justice, with a benevolent disposition even to liars and unjust men.
He who loves fame considers another man's activity to be his own good; and he who loves pleasure, his own sensations; but he who has understanding, considers his own acts to be his own good.
It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing, and not to be disturbed in our soul; for things themselves have no natural power to form our judgements.
Accustom thyself to attend carefully to what is said by another, and as much as it is possible, be in the speaker's mind.
That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee.
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BOOK SEVEN
The things which are external to my mind have no relation at all to my mind.- Let this be the state of your affects, and stand erect.
Every man is worth as much as the things are worth about which he busies himself.
Be not ashamed to be helped.
There is one universe made up of all things, and one God who pervades all things, and one substance, and one law, one common reason in all intelligent animals, and one truth.
Is any man afraid of change? Why what can take place without change?
When a man has wronged you, consider with what opinion about good or evil he has done wrong. When you see this, you will pity him and will no longer let it bother or anger you.
Wipe out the imagination. Stop the pulling of the strings. Confine thyself to the present. Understand well what happens either to thee or to another. Divide and distribute every object into the causal (formal) and the material. Think of thy last hour. Let the wrong which is done by a man stay there where the wrong was done. Direct thy attention to what is said. Let thy understanding enter into the things that are doing and the things which do them. Adorn thyself with simplicity and modesty and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that Law rules all. And it is enough to remember that Law rules all.
Consider that as the heaps of sand piled on one another hide the former sands, so in life the events which go before are soon covered by those which come after.
The prime principle in man's constitution is the social. And the second is not to yield to the persuasions of the body. And the third is to live free from error and from deception.
Resolve to be a good man in every act which thou doest.
The art of life is more like the wrestler's art than the dancer's, in respect of this, that it should stand ready and firm to meet onsets which are sudden and unexpected. Constantly observe who those are whose approbation thou wishest to have, and what ruling principles they possess.
Pain is neither intolerable nor everlasting, if thou bearest in mind that it has its limits, and if thou addest nothing to it in imagination: and remember this too, that we do not perceive that many things which are disagreeable to us are the same as pain, such as excessive drowsiness, and the being scorched by heat, and the having no appetite. When then thou art discontented about any of these things, say to thyself, that thou art yielding to pain.
It is very possible to be a divine man and to be recognized as such by no one. Always bear this in mind; and another thing too, that very little indeed is necessary for living a happy life.
The perfection of moral character consists in this, in passing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited nor torpid nor playing the hypocrite.
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BOOK EIGHT
This is the chief thing: Be not perturbed, for all things are according to the nature of the universal; and in a little time you wilt be nobody and nowhere.
Remember that it is your duty to be a good man; and speak justly with a good disposition and with modesty and without hypocrisy.
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.
Let no man any longer hear thee finding fault with the court life or with thy own.
Attend to the matter which is before thee, whether it is an opinion or an act or a word.
Identify the nature of all things and use each according to its value.
Speak using plain discourse.
It is thy duty to order thy life well in every single act; and if every act does its duty, as far as is possible, be content.
If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs thee, but thy own judgement about it.
The mind which is free from passions is a citadel.
Neither in your actions be sluggish nor in your conversation without method, nor wandering in your thoughts, nor let there be in your soul inward contention nor external effusion, nor in life be so busy as to have no leisure.
Men exist for the sake of one another. Do not be offended by them. Teach them then or bear with them.
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BOOK NINE
He who pursues pleasure as good, and avoids pain as evil, is guilty of impiety.
Be neither careless nor impatient nor contemptuous with respect to death, but to wait for it as one of the operations of nature.
Found your opinion on understanding and direct your conduct to the social good, and be content with all that happens- that is enough.
Wipe out imagination: check desire: extinguish appetite: keep the ruling faculty in its own power.
Not in passivity, but in activity lie the evil and the good of the rational social animal, just as his virtue and his vice lie not in passivity, but in activity.
Penetrate inwards into men's leading principles, and thou wilt see what judges thou art afraid of, and what kind of judges they are of themselves.
It is your duty to leave another man's wrongful act there where it is.
Consider that the ruling faculty of others is akin to your own.
Set yourself in motion according to your nature, and do not look about you to see if anyone will observe it; be content if the smallest thing goes on well, and consider such an event to be no small matter.
Towards the gods, then, now become at last simpler and better.
Never desert philosophy in any events that may befall us, nor hold trifling talk either with an ignorant man or with one unacquainted with nature, is a principle of all schools of philosophy.
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BOOK TEN
Be satisfied with thy present condition.
Observe what your nature requires, then accept it and live it.
If a man is mistaken, instruct him kindly and show him his error.
Whether the universe is a concourse of atoms, or nature is a system, let this first be established, that I am a part of the whole which is governed by nature; next, I am in a manner intimately related to the parts which are of the same kind with myself. Inasmuch as I am a part, I shall be discontented with none of the things which are assigned to me out of the whole; for nothing is injurious to the part, if it is for the advantage of the whole.
By remembering that I am a part of such a whole, I shall be content with everything that happens.
Rational is the discriminating attention to every several thing and freedom from negligence. Equanimity is the voluntary acceptance of the things which are assigned to thee by the common nature; Magnanimity is the elevation of the intelligent part above the pleasurable or painful sensations of the flesh, and above that poor thing called fame, and death, and all such things…Work hard to become good, modest, true, rational, a man of equanimity, and magnanimous; and if you fail at one of them, quickly return to them.
Prepare for all possible outcomes so that you are prepared for dealing with the circumstances of anything that happens to you. This is where confidence is created. Maintain and conceal this confidence.
If you can see the way forward clearly, then go, without turning back: but if you can’t see clearly, stop and take the best advisers. But if any other things oppose thee, go on according to thy powers with due consideration, keeping to that which appears to be just.
No longer talk at all about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but be such.
When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to thyself and reflect in what like manner you err yourself.
Intelligence and reason are able to go through everything that opposes them.
Accustom thyself as much as possible on the occasion of anything being done by any person to inquire with thyself, For what object is this man doing this? But begin with thyself, and examine thyself first.
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BOOK ELEVEN
Have I done something for the general interest? Well then I have had my reward. Let this always be present to thy mind, and never stop doing such good.
In justice the other virtues have their foundation.
Nothing is more disgraceful than a wolfish friendship (false friendship). Avoid this most of all.
Ten Principles
1) If all things are not mere atoms, it is nature which orders all things: if this is so, the inferior things exist for the sake of the superior, and these for the sake of one another.
2) Consider what kind of men they are at table, in bed, and so forth: and particularly, under what compulsions in respect of opinions they are; and as to their acts, consider with what pride they do what they do.
3) if men do rightly what they do, we ought not to be displeased; but if they do not right, it is plain that they do so involuntarily and in ignorance. For as every soul is unwillingly deprived of the truth.
4) Consider that thou also doest many things wrong, and that thou art a man like others; and even if thou dost abstain from certain faults, still thou hast the disposition to commit them.
5) Consider that thou dost not even understand whether men are doing wrong or not, for many things are done with a certain reference to circumstances. A man must learn a great deal to enable him to pass a correct judgement on another man's acts.
6) Consider when thou art much vexed or grieved, that man's life is only a moment, and after a short time we are all laid out dead.
7) It is not men's acts which disturb us, for those acts have their foundation in men's ruling principles, but it is our own opinions which disturb us. Take away these opinions then, and resolve to dismiss thy judgement about an act as if it were something grievous, and thy anger is gone.
8) Consider how much more pain is brought on us by the anger and vexation caused by such acts than by the acts themselves, at which we are angry and vexed.
9) Consider that a good disposition is invincible, if it be genuine, and not an affected smile and acting a part. For what will the most violent man do to thee, if thou continuest to be of a kind disposition towards him, and if, as opportunity offers, thou gently admonishest him and calmly correctest his errors at the very time when he is trying to do thee harm, saying, Not so, my child: we are constituted by nature for something else: I shall certainly not be injured, but thou art injuring thyself, my child.- And show him with gentle tact and by general principles that this is so. And thou must do this neither with any double meaning nor in the way of reproach, but affectionately and without any rancor in thy soul; and not as if thou wert lecturing him, nor yet that any bystander may admire, but either when he is alone, and if others are present...And let this truth be present to thee in the excitement of anger, that to be moved by passion is not manly, but that mildness and gentleness, as they are more agreeable to human nature, so also are they more manly; and he who possesses these qualities possesses strength, nerves and courage, and not the man who is subject to fits of passion and discontent.
10) Expecting bad men not to do wrong is madness, for he who expects this desires an impossibility. But to allow men to behave so to others, and to expect them not to do thee any wrong, is irrational and tyrannical.
Neither in writing nor in reading wilt thou be able to lay down rules for others before thou shalt have first learned to obey rules thyself.
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BOOK TWELVE
You are composed of a little body, a little breath (life), and little intelligence.
Be obedient to your daemon (to the god that is within thee).
If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it…Do nothing inconsiderately, nor without a purpose. Make your acts in reference to a social end. Consider that soon you will be nobody and nowhere. Consider that everything is opinion and opinion is in your power.
Maintain these three principles in readiness: 1) act just and accept the outcome; 2) understand the nature, role, and life of all things; 3) we are all of the same form and our live short in duration.
How close is the kinship between a man and the whole human race, for it is a community, not of a little blood or seed, but of intelligence…every man's intelligence is a god, and is an efflux of the deity.
Every man lives the present time only, and loses only this.
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Terminology
Affectation: Behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial and designed to impress.
Antoninus Pius (‘Titus’) (19 Sep, 86-7 Mar, 161): Roman Emperor from 138-161; one of the five good Emperors. His reign is notable for the peaceful state of the Empire, with no major revolts or military incursions during this time, and for his governing without ever leaving Italy.
Catorthoseis: Right acts.
Chaldeans (‘Chaldea’): A people who dwelt in S. Babylonia, namely the area extending along the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Desert. They were a people apparently in character much akin to the Arabs of the adjoining districts, and living, like them, a wandering and predatory life.
Impious: Not showing respect or reverence, especially for a god.
Lamiae: The opinions of the many according to Socrates (‘Bugbears to frighten children’).
Pankration: An unarmed combat sport introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BCE. Athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, such as kicking, holds, joint locks, and chokes on the ground, making it similar to modern MMA.
Phalaris: The Tyrant of Akragas (modern Agrigento) in Sicily in Magna Graecia, from ~570-554 BCE.
Vainglory: Inordinate pride in oneself or one’s achievements; excessive vanity.
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Chronology
648 BCE: Pankration, an unarmed combat sport, is introduced into the Greek Olympic Games. Athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, such as kicking, holds, joint locks, and chokes on the ground, making it similar to modern MMA (Meditations by Aurelius, Wiki).
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