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05 - The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius · The Philosophy Insights Collection

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In the morning, when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present,
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I am rising to the work of a human being. Why then, am
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I dissatisfied? If I am going to do the things for which I exist
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and for which I was brought into the world? Or have I been made
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for this? To lie in the bedclothes and keep myself warm? But this
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is more pleasant. Dost thou exist then to take thy pleasure, and not
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at all for action or exertion. Dost thou not see the little plants,
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the little birds, the ants, the spiders, the bees, working together
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to put in order their several parts of the universe. And art thou unwilling
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to do the work of a human being? And dost thou not make haste
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to do that which is according to thy nature? But it is necessary to
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take rest? Also it is necessary. However, Nature has fixed bounds to
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this too. She has fixed bounds both to eating and drinking. And yet
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thou goest beyond these bounds, beyond what is sufficient. Yet in thy acts
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it is not so, But thou stoppest short of what thou canst do.
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So thou lovest not thyself, For if thou didst thou wouldst love thy nature
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and her will. But those who love their several arts exhaust themselves in working
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at them, unwashed and without food. But thou valuest thine own nature less
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than the turner values the turning art, or the dancer, the dancing art
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or the lover of money values his money, or the vainglorious man his little
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glory. And such men, when they have a violent affection to a thing,
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choose neither to eat nor to sleep, rather than to perfect the things
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which they care for. But are the acts which concern society more vile in
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thy eyes and less worthy of thy labor. How easy it is to repel
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and to wipe away every impression which is troublesome or unsuitable, and immediately to
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be in all tranquility. Judge every word and deed which are according to nature
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to be fit for thee, and be not diverted by the blame which follows
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from any people, nor by their words. But if a thing is good
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to be done or said, do not consider it unworthy of thee. For
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those persons have their peculiar leading principle and follow their peculiar movement, which things
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do not thou regard, But go straight on, following thy own nature and
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the common nature, And the way of both is one. I go through
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the things which happen according to nature, and I shall fall and rest,
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breathing out my breath into that element out of which I daily draw it in,
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and falling upon that earth, out of which my father collected the seed,
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and my mother the blood, and my nurse the milk, out of
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which, during so many years I have been supplied with food and drink,
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which bears me when I tread on it, and abuse it for so many
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purposes. Thou sayest men cannot admire the sharpness of thy wits. Be it
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so, But there are many other things of which thou canst not say I
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am not formed for them by nature. Show those qualities, then, which
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are altogether in thy power, sincere gravity, endurance of labor, aversion to
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pleasure, contentment with thy portion, and with few things benevolence, frankness,
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no love of superfluity, freedom from trifling magnanimity. Dost thou not see how
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many qualities thou art immediately able to exhibit, in which there is no excuse
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of natural incapacity and unfitness. And yet thou still remainest voluntarily below the mark
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or art. Thou compelled, through being defectively furnished by nature, to murmur,
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and to be stingy, and to flatter, and to find fault with
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thy poor body, and to try to please men, and to make great
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display, and to be restless in thy mind. No by the gods,
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but thou mightest have been delivered from these things life long ago. Only if
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in truth thou canst be charged with being rather slow and dull of comprehension.
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Thou must exert thyself about this, also, not neglecting it, nor yet
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taking pleasure in thy dullness. One man, when he has done a service
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to another, is ready to set it down to his account as a favor
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conferred. Another is not ready to do this, but still in his own
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mind he thinks of the man as his debtor, and he knows what he
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has done. A third, in a manner, does not even know what
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he has done. But he is like a vine which has produced grapes,
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and seeks for nothing more after it has once produced its proper fruit. As
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a horse when he has run, a dog when he has tracked the game,
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a bee when it has made the honey So a man, when he
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has done a good act, does not call out for others to come and
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see, but he goes on to another act, as a vine goes on
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to produce again the grapes in season. Must a man then be one of
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these who, in a manner, act thus without observing it? Yes,
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but this very thing is necessary, the observation of what a man is doing.
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For it may be said it is characteristic of the social animal to perceive
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that he is working in a social manner, and indeed to wish that his
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social partner also should perceive it. It is true what thou sayest, but
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thou dost not rightly understand what is now said. And for this reason thou
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wilt become one of those of whom I spoke before, For even they are
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misled by a certain show of reason. But if thou wilt choose to understand
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the meaning of what is said, do not fear that for this reason thou
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wilt omit any social act. A prayer of the Athenians rain rain O Diarzius
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down on the plowed fields of the Athenians and on the plains. In truth,
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we ought not to pray at all, or we ought to pray in
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this simple and noble fashion. Just as we must understand when it is said
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that Esculapius prescribed to this man horse exercise, or bathing in cold water,
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or going without shoes, so we must understand it when it is said that
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the nature of the universe prescribed to this man disease or mutilation, or lass,
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or anything else of the kind. For in the first case, prescribed
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means something like this, He prescribed this for this man as a thing adapted
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to procure health. And in the second case it means that which happens to
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or suits every man is fixed in a manner for him suitably to his destiny.
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For this is what we mean when we say that things are suitable to
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us, as the workmen say of squared stones in walls or the pyramids,
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that they are suitable when they fit them to one another in some kind of
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connection. For there is altogether one fitness, harmony. And as the universe
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is made up out of all bodies to be such a body as it is,
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so out of all existing causes, necessity, destiny is made up to
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be such a cause as it is. And even though those who are completely
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ignorant understand what I mean. For they say it necessity Destiny brought this to
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such a person. This then was brought, and this was prescribed to him.
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Let us then receive these things as well as those which Esculopius prescribes.
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Many, as a matter of course, even among his prescriptions are disagreeable,
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but we accept them in the hope of health. Let the perfecting and accomplishment
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of the things which the common nature judges to be good be judged by THEE
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to be of the same kind as thy health. And so accept everything which
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happens, even if it seemed disagreeable, because it leads to this to the
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health of the universe, and to the prosperity and felicity of Zeus the universe.
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For he would not have brought on any man what he has brought if
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it were not useful for the whole. Neither does the nature of anything,
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whatever it may be, cause anything which is not suitable to that which is
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directed by it. For two reasons, then it is right to be content
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with that which happens to THEE. The one because it was done for THEE
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and prescribed for THEE, and in a manner had reference to THEE originally from
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the most ancient causes spun with thy destiny and the other. Because even that
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which comes severely to every man is to the power which administers the universe a
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cause of felicity and perfection, nay, even of its very continuance. For
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the integrity of the whole is mutilated. If thou cuttest off anything whatever from
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the conjunction and the continuity, either of the parts or of the causes,
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and thou dost cut off as far as it is in thy power, when
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thou art dissatisfied, and in a manner triest to put anything out of the
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way, be not disgusted, nor discouraged, nor dissatisfied if thou dost not
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succeed in doing everything according to right principles. But when thou hast failed,
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return back again and be content if the greater part of what thou doest is
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consistent with man's nature and love, this to which thou returnest. And do
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not return to Philosophy as if she were a master. But act like those
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who have sore eyes, and apply a bit of sponge and egg, or
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as another applies a plaster or drenching with water. For thus thou wilt not
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fail to obey reason when thou wilt repose in it. And remember that philosophy
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requires only the things which thy nature requires, But thou wouldst have something else
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which is not according to nature. It may be objected, why what is
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more agreeable than this which I am doing? But is not this the very
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reason why pleasure deceives us? And consider if magnanimity, freedom, simplicity,
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equanimity, piety are not more agreeable, For what is more agreeable than wisdom
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itself? When thou thinkest of the security and the happy course of all things
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which depend on the faculty of understanding and knowledge, things are in such a
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kind of envelopment that they have seemed to philosophers, not a few, nor
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those common philosophers altogether unintelligible. Nay even to the stoics themselves. They seem
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difficult to understand, And all our assent is changeable, For where is the
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man who never changes carry thy thoughts? Then to the objects themselves, and
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consider how short lived they are and worthless, and that they may be in
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the possession of a filthy wretch, or a whore or a robber. Then
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turn to the morals of those who live with thee and it is hardly possible
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to endure even the most agreeable of them, to say nothing of the man
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being hardly able to endure himself in such darkness, then, and dirt,
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and in so constant a flux, both of substance and of time, and
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of motion and of things moved. What there is worth being highly prized or
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even an object of serious pursuit, I cannot imagine. But on the contrary,
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it is a man's duty to comfort himself and to wait for the natural
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dissolution, and not to be vexed at the delay, but to rest in
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these principles only, the one that nothing will happen to me which is not
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conformable to the nature of the universe, and the other that it is in
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my power never to act contrary to my God and demon. For there is
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no man who will compel me to do this. About what am I now
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employing my own soul? On every occasion I must ask myself this question and
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inquire, what have I now in this part of me which they call the
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ruling principle? And whose soul have I now? That of a child,
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or of a young man, or of a feeble woman, or of a
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tyrant or of a domestic animal or of a wild beast. What kind of
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things the those are which appear good to the many? We may learn even
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from this, For if any man should conceive certain things as being really good,
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such as prudence, temperance, justice, fortitude, he would not,
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after having first conceived these, endure to listen to anything which should not be
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in harmony with what is really good. But if a man has first conceived
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as good the things which appear to the many to be good, he will
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listen and readily receive as very applicable that which was said by the comic writer.
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Thus even the many perceive the difference. For were it not so,
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this saying would not offend, and would not be rejected in the first case,
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while we receive it when it is said of wealth and of the means
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which further luxury and fame, as said fitly and wittily. Go on,
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then, and ask if we should that tell you and think those things to
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be good to which, after their first conception in the mind, the words
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of the comic writer might be aptly applied. That he who has them through
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pure abundance has not a place to ease himself. In I am composed of
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the formal and the material, and neither of them will perish into non existence,
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as neither of them came into existence out of non existence. Every part
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of me then will be reduced by change into some part of the universe,
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and that again will change into another part of the universe, and so on
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forever. And by consequence of such a change, I too exist, and
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those who begot me, and so on forever in the other direction. For
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nothing hinders us from saying so, even if the universe is administered according to
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to definite periods of revolution. Reason and the reasoning art philosophy are powers which
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are sufficient for themselves and for their own works. They move, then from
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a first principle, which is their own, and they make their way to
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the end which is proposed to them. And this is the reason why such
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acts are named cator thosais, or right acts, which word signifies that they
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proceed by the right road. None of these things ought to be called a
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man's which do not belong to a man as man. They are not required
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of a man, nor does man's nature promise them, nor are they the
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means of man's nature attaining its end. Neither, then, does the end
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of man lie in these things. Nor yet that which aids to the accomplishment
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of this end, and that which aims towards this end, is that which
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is good. Besides, if any of these things did belong to man,
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it would not be right for a man to despise them and to set himself
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against them. Nor would a man be worthy of praise who showed that he
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did not want these things, Nor would he who stinted himself in any of
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them be good, if indeed these things were good. But now the more
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of these things a man deprives himself of, or of other things like them,
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or even when he is deprived of any of them, the more patiently
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he endures the loss. Just in the same degree he is a better man.
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Such as are thy habitual thoughts, Such also will be the character of
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thy mind, For the soul is dyed by the thoughts. Die it then,
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with a continuous series of such thoughts as these. For instance, that
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where a man can live there, he can also live well. But he
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must live in a palace well, then he can also live well in a
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palace. And again, consider that for whatever purpose each thing has been constituted,
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for this it has been constituted, and toward this it is carried,
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And its end is in that toward which it is carried. And where the
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end is, there also is the advantage and the good of each thing.
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Now, the good for the reasonable animal is society, for that we are
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made for society has been shown above. Is it not plain that the inferior
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exists for the sake of the superior. But the things which have life are
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superior to those which have not life, And of those which have life,
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the superior are those which have reason to seek. What is impossible is madness.
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And it is possible that the bad should not do something of this kind.
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Nothing happens to any man which he is not formed by nature to bear.
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The same things happen to another, And either because he does not see
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that they have happened, or because he would show a great spirit, he
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is firm and remains unharmed. It is a shame, then, that ignorance
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and conceit should be stronger than wisdom. Things themselves touch not the soul,
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not in the least degree. Nor have they admission to the soul. Nor
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can they turn or move the soul. But the soul turns and moves itself.
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Alone, and whatever judgments it may think proper to make, such,
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it makes for itself the things which present themselves to it. In one respect,
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man is the nearest thing to me, so far as I must do
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good to men and injure them. But so far as some men make themselves
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obstacles to my proper acts, man becomes to me one of the things which
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are indifferent, no less than the sun, or wind, or a wild
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beast. Now it is true that these may impede my action, but they
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are no impediments to my effects and disposition, which have the power of acting
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conditionally and changing. For the mind converts and changes every hindrance to its activity
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into an aid. And so that which is a hindrance is made a furtherance
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to an act. And that which is an obstacle on the road helps us
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on this road. Reverence that which is best in the universe, and this
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is that which makes use of all things and directs all things. And in
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like manner, also reverence that which is best in thyself. And this is
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of the same kind as that for in thyself. Also that which makes use
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of everything else is this, and thy life is directed by this. That
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which does no harm to the state, does no harm to the citizen.
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In the case of every appearance of harm, apply this rule. If the
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state is not harmed by this, neither am I harmed. But if the
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state is harmed, thou must not be angry with him who does harm to
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the state. Show him where his error is. Often think of the rapidity
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with which things pass by and disappear, both the things which are and the
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things which are produced. For substance is like a river in a continual flow,
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and the activities of things are in constant change, and the causes work
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in infinite varieties. And there is hardly anything which stands still. And consider
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this which is near to thee, this boundless abyss of the past and of
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the future, in which all things disappear. How then, is he not
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a fool who is puffed up with such things, or plagued about them,
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or makes himself miserable, for they vex him only for a time, and
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a short time. Think of the universal substance of which thou hast a very
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small portion, and of universal time, of which a short and indivisible interval
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has been assigned to thee, and of that which is fixed by destiny.
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And how small a part of it, Thou art does another do me wrong?
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Let him look to it. He has his own disposition, his own
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activity. I now have what the universal nature wills me to have, and
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I do what my nature now wills me to do. Let the part of
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thy soul which leads and governs, be undisturbed by the movements in the flesh,
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whether of pleasure or of pain, and let it not unite with them,
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but let it circumscribe itself and limit those effects to their parts. But
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when these effects rise up to the mind by virtue of that other sympathy that
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naturally exists in a body which is all one, then thou must not strive
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to resist the sensation, for it is natural. But let not the ruling
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part of itself add to the sensation the opinion that it is either good or
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bad. Live with the gods, and he does live with the gods,
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who constantly shows to them that his own soul is satisfied with that which is
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assigned to him, and that it does all that the demon wishes, which
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Zeus have given to every man for his guardian and dad guide a portion of
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himself. And this is every man's understanding and reason. Art Thou angry with
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him whose armpits stink, Art thou angry with him whose mouth smells? Thou,
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what good will this anger do thee? He has such a mouth,
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he has such armpits. It is necessary that such an emanation must come from
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such things. But the man has reason, it will be said, and
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he is able if he takes pains to discover wherein he offends. I wish
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THEE well of thy discovery. Well then, and thou hast reason by thy
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rational faculty, stir up his rational faculty, show him his error, admonish
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him, For if he listens, thou wilt cure him. And there is
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no need of anger, as thou intendest to live when thou art gone up,
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So it is in thy power to live here. But if men do
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not permit THEE, then get away out of life. Yet, so as
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if thou wert suffering no harm, the house is smoky, and I quit
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it, Why dost thou think that this is any trouble? But so long
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as nothing of the kind drives me out, I remain am free, and
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no man shall hinder me from doing what I choose. And I choose to
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do what is according to the nature of the rational and social animal. The
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intelligence of the universe is social. Accordingly, it has made the inferior things
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for the sake of the superior, and it has fitted the superior to one
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another. Thou seest how it has subordinated, coordinated, and assigned to everything
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its proper portion, and has brought together into conquord with one another the things
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which are the best. How hast thou behaved hitherto to the gods, thy
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parents, brethren, children, teachers, to those who looked after thy infancy,
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to thy friends, kinsfolk, to thy slaves. Consider if thou hast
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hitherto behaved to all in such a way that this may be said of THEE
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never has wronged a man in deed or word. And call to recollection,
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both how many things thou hast passed through, and how many things thou hast
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been able to endure, and that the history of thy life is now complete
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and thy service is ended, And how many beautiful things thou hast seen,
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and how many pleasures and pains thou hast despised, And how many things called
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honorable thou hast spurned, And to how many ill minded folks thou hast shown
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a kind disposition, I do unskilled and ignorant souls disturb him who has skill
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and knowledge. What soul then has skill and knowledge, That which knows beginning
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and end, and knows the reason, which pervades all substance, and through
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all time, by fixed periods, administers the universe. Soon, very soon,
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thou wilt be ashes or a skeleton, and either a name or not
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even a name. But name is sound and echo. And the things which
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are much valued in life are empty and rotten and trifling, and like little
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dogs biting one another, and little children quarreling, laughing, and then straightway
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weeping. But fidelity and modesty, and justice and truth are fled up to
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Olympus from the widespread earth. What then is there which still detains thee here?
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If the objects of sense are easily changed and never stand still, and
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the organs of perception are dull and easily receive false impressions, and the poor
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soul itself is an exhalation from blood. But to have good repute amid such
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a world as this is an empty thing, why then dost thou not wait
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in tranquility for thy end, whether it is extinction or removal to another state,
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And until that time comes. What is sufficient? Why what else then,
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to venerate the gods and bless them, and to do good to men,
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and to practice tolerance and self restraint. But as to everything which is
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beyond the limits of the poor flesh and breath, to remember that this is
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neither thine nor in thy power. Thou canst pass thy life in an equable
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flow of happiness. If thou canst go by the right way, and think
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and act in the right way. These two things are common both to the
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soul of God and to the soul of man, and to the soul of
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every rational being. Not to be hindered by another, and to hold good,
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to consist in the disposition to justice and the practice of it, and
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in this to let thy desire find its termination. If this is neither my
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own badness nor an effect of my own badness, and the commonwealth is not
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endured, why am I troubled about it? And what is the harm to
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the commonwealth? Do not be carried along inconsiderately by the appearance of things,
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but give help to all according to thy ability and their fitness. And if
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they should have sustained loss in matters which are indifferent, do not imagine this
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to be a damage, for it is a bad habit. But as the
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old man, when he went away, asked back his foster child's top,
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remembering that it was a top, so do thou in this case. Also
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when thou art calling out on the rostra, hast thou forgotten man? What
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these things are? Yes? But they are objects of great concern to these
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people. Wilt thou too then be made a fool for these things? I
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was once a fortunate man, but I lost it. I know not how.
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But fortunate means that a man has a sign to himself a good fortune.
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And a good fortune is good disposition of the soul, good emotions,
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good actions,