Thoughts Of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (novels to read for beginners .TXT) 📗

Story 3 (The Thoughts Of Marcus Aurelius Antonius) Pg 37

To Have Desired A Plank Bed And Skin,  And Whatever Else Of The Kind

Belongs To The Grecian Discipline.

 

    [A] In The Works Of Justinus There Is Printed A Letter To One

    Diognetus,  Whom The Writer Names "Most Excellent." He Was A

    Gentile,  But He Wished Very Much To Know What The Religion Of

    The Christians Was,  What God They Worshipped,  And How This

    Worship Made Them Despise The World And Death,  And Neither

    Believe In The Gods Of The Greeks Nor Observe The Superstition

    Of The Jews; And What Was This Love To One Another Which They

    Had,  And Why This New Kind Of Religion Was Introduced Now And

    Not Before. My Friend Mr. Jenkins,  Rector Of Lyminge In Kent,

    Has Suggested To Me That This Diognetus May Have Been The Tutor

    Of M. Antoninus.

 

7. From Rusticus[A] I Received The Impression That My Character Required

Improvement And Discipline; And From Him I Learned Not To Be Led Astray

To Sophistic Emulation,  Nor To Writing On Speculative Matters,  Nor To

Delivering Little Hortatory Orations,  Nor To Showing Myself Off As A Man

Who Practises 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,  Like The

Letter Which Rusticus Wrote From Sinuessa To My Mother; And 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; And I Am Indebted To Him For

Being Acquainted With The Discourses Of Epictetus,  Which He Communicated

To Me Out Of His Own Collection.

 

    [A] Q. Junius Rusticus Was A Stoic Philosopher,  Whom Antoninus

    Valued Highly,  And Often Took His Advice (Capitol. _M. Antonin_.

    Iii).

 

    Antoninus Says,  [Greek: Tois Epiktêteiois Hypomnêmasin] Which

    Must Not Be Translated,  "The Writings Of Epictetus," For

    Epictetus Wrote Nothing. His Pupil Arrian,  Who Has Preserved

    For Us All That We Know Of Epictetus,  Says,  [Greek: Tauta

    Epeirathên Hypomnêmata Emautô Diaphylaxai Tês Ekeinou Dianoias]

    (_Ep. Ad. Gell_.)

 

8. From Apollonius[A] I Learned Freedom Of Will And Undeviating

Steadiness Of Purpose; And To Look To Nothing Else,  Not Even For A

Moment,  Except To Reason; And To Be Always The Same,  In Sharp Pains,  On

The Occasion Of The Loss Of A Child,  And In Long Illness; And To See

Clearly In A Living Example That The Same Man Can Be Both Most Resolute

And Yielding,  And Not Peevish In Giving His Instruction; And To Have Had

Before My Eyes A Man Who Clearly Considered His Experience And His Skill

In Expounding Philosophical Principles As The Smallest Of His Merits;

And From Him I Learned How To Receive From Friends What Are Esteemed

Favors,  Without Being Either Humbled By Them Or Letting Them Pass

Unnoticed.

 

    [A] Apollonius Of Chalcis Came To Rome In The Time Of Pius To

    Be Marcus' Preceptor. He Was A Rigid Stoic.

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9. From Sextus,[A] 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:+ He Had The Power Of Readily

Accommodating Himself To All,  So That Intercourse With Him Was More

Agreeable Than Any Flattery; And At The Same Time He Was Most Highly

Venerated By Those Who Associated With Him: And He Had The Faculty Both

Of Discovery And Ordering,  In An Intelligent And Methodical Way,  The

Principles Necessary For Life; And He Never Showed Anger Or Any Other

Passion,  But Was Entirely Free From Passion,  And Also Most Affectionate;

And He Could Express Approbation Without Noisy Display,  And He Possessed

Much Knowledge Without Ostentation.

 

10. From Alexander[B] The Grammarian,  To Refrain From Fault-Finding,  And

Not In A Reproachful Way To Chide Those Who Uttered Any Barbarous Or

Solecistic Or Strange-Sounding Expression; But Dexterously To Introduce

The Very Expression Which Ought To Have Been Used,  And In The Way Of

Answer Or Giving Confirmation,  Or Joining In An Inquiry About The Thing

Itself,  Not About The Word,  Or By Some Other Fit Suggestion.

 

11. From Fronto[C] I Learned To Observe What Envy And Duplicity And

Hypocrisy Are In A Tyrant,  And That Generally Those Among Us Who Are

Called Patricians Are Rather Deficient In Paternal Affection.

 

12. From Alexander The Platonic,  Not Frequently Nor Without Necessity To

Say To Any One,  Or To Write In A Letter,  That I Have No Leisure; Nor

Continually To Excuse The Neglect Of Duties Required By Our Relation To

Those With Whom We Live,  By Alleging Urgent Occupations.

 

13. From Catulus[D] 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,  As

It Is Reported Of Domitius And Athenodotus; And To Love My Children

Truly.

 

    [A] Sextus Of Chaeronea,  A Grandson Of Plutarch,  Or Nephew,  As

    Some Say; But More Probably A Grandson.

 

    [B] Alexander Was A Grammaticus,  A Native Of Phrygia. He Wrote

    A Commentary On Homer; And The Rhetorician Aristides Wrote A

    Panegyric On Alexander In A Funeral Oration.

 

    [C] M. Cornelius Fronto Was A Rhetorician,  And In Great Favor

    With Marcus. There Are Extant Various Letters Between Marcus

    And Fronto.

 

    [D] Cinna Catulus,  A Stoic Philosopher.

 

14. From My Brother[A] Severus,  To Love My Kin,  And To Love Truth,  And

To Love Justice; And Through Him I Learned To Know Thrasea,  Helvidius,

Cato,  Dion,  Brutus;[B] And From Him I Received 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

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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.

 

    [A] The Word Brother May Not Be Genuine. Antoninus Had No

    Brother. It Has Been Supposed That He May Mean Some Cousin.

    Schultz In His Translation Omits "Brother," And Says That This

    Severus Is Probably Claudius Severus,  A Peripatetic.

 

    [B] We Know,  From Tacitus (_Annal._ Xiii.,  Xvi. 21; And Other

    Passages),  Who Thrasea And Helvidius Were. Plutarch Has Written

    The Lives Of The Two Catos,  And Of Dion And Brutus. Antoninus

    Probably Alludes To Cato Of Utica,  Who Was A Stoic.

 

15. From Maximus[A] I Learned 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 Everybody Believed That He Thought As He Spoke,  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. I Observed,  Too,  That No Man Could Ever

Think That He Was Despised By Maximus,  Or Ever Venture To Think Himself

A Better Man. He Had Also The Art Of Being Humorous In An Agreeable

Way.+

 

    [A] Claudius Maximus Was A Stoic Philosopher,  Who Was Highly

    Esteemed Also By Antoninus Pius,  Marcus' Predecessor. The

    Character Of Maximus Is That Of A Perfect Man. (See Viii. 25.)

 

16. In My Father[A] I Observed Mildness Of Temper,  And Unchangeable

Resolution In The Things Which He Had Determined After Due Deliberation;

And No Vain-Glory In Those Things Which Men Call Honors; And A Love Of

Labor 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.

And I Observed That He Had Overcome All Passion For Boys; And He

Considered Himself No More Than Any Other Citizen;[B] And He Released

His Friends From All Obligation To Sup With Him Or To Attend Him Of

Necessity When He Went Abroad,  And Those Who Had Failed To Accompany

Him,  By Reason Of Any Urgent Circumstances,  Always Found Him The Same. I

Observed Too His Habit Of 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

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Affection; And To Be Satisfied On