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

Nor Hatred.

 

21. 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.

 

22. 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.

 

23. As To The Animals Which Have No Reason,  And Generally All Things

And Objects,  Do Thou,  Since Thou Hast Reason And They Have None,  Make

Use Of Them With A Generous And Liberal Spirit. But Towards Human

Beings,  As They Have Reason,  Behave In A Social Spirit. And On All

Occasions Call On The Gods,  And Do Not Perplex Thyself About The Length

Of Time In Which Thou Shalt Do This; For Even Three Hours So Spent Are

Sufficient.

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24. Alexander The Macedonian And His Groom By Death Were Brought To The

Same State; For Either They Were Received Among The Same Seminal

Principles Of The Universe,  Or They Were Alike Dispersed Among The

Atoms.

 

25. Consider How Many Things In The Same Indivisible Time Take Place In

Each Of Us,--Things Which Concern The Body And Things Which Concern The

Soul: And So Thou Wilt Not Wonder If Many More Things,  Or Rather All

Things Which Come Into Existence In That Which Is The One And All,  Which

We Call Cosmos,  Exist In It At The Same Time.

 

26. If Any Man Should Propose To Thee The Question,  How The Name

Antoninus Is Written,  Wouldst Thou With A Straining Of The Voice Utter

Each Letter? What Then If They Grow Angry,  Wilt Thou Be Angry Too? Wilt

Thou Not Go On With Composure And Number Every Letter? Just So Then In

This Life Also Remember That Every Duty Is Made Up Of Certain Parts.

These It Is Thy Duty To Observe,  And Without Being Disturbed Or Showing

Anger Towards Those Who Are Angry With Thee,  To Go On Thy Way And

Finish That Which Is Set Before Thee.

 

27. How Cruel It Is Not To Allow Men To Strive After The Things Which

Appear To Them To Be Suitable To Their Nature And Profitable! And Yet In

A Manner Thou Dost Not Allow Them To Do This,  When Thou Art Vexed

Because They Do Wrong. For They Are Certainly Moved Towards Things

Because They Suppose Them To Be Suitable To Their Nature And Profitable

To Them. But It Is Not So. Teach Them Then,  And Show Them Without Being

Angry.

 

28. 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

(Ii. 12).

 

29. It Is A Shame For The Soul To Be First To Give Way In This Life,

When Thy Body Does Not Give Way.

 

30. Take Care That Thou Art Not Made Into A Caesar,  That Thou Art Not

Dyed With This Dye; For Such Things Happen. 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. Strive To Continue To Be Such As Philosophy Wished To Make Thee.

Reverence The Gods,  And Help Men. Short Is Life. There Is Only One Fruit

Of This Terrene Life--A Pious Disposition And Social 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

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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. Imitate All This,  That Thou Mayest Have As Good A

Conscience,  When Thy Last Hour Comes,  As He Had (I. 16).

 

31. Return To Thy Sober Senses And Call Thyself Back; And When Thou Hast

Roused Thyself From Sleep And Hast Perceived That They Were Only Dreams

Which Troubled Thee,  Now In Thy Waking Hours Look At These [The Things

About Thee] As Thou Didst Look At Those [The Dreams].

 

32. I Consist Of A Little Body And A Soul. Now To This Little Body All

Things Are Indifferent,  For It Is Not Able To Perceive Differences. But

To The Understanding Those Things Only Are Indifferent Which Are Not The

Works Of Its Own Activity. But Whatever Things Are The Works Of Its Own

Activity,  All These Are In Its Power. And Of These However Only Those

Which Are Done With Reference To The Present; For As To The Future And

The Past Activities Of The Mind,  Even These Are For The Present

Indifferent.

 

33. Neither The Labor Which The Hand Does Nor That Of The Foot Is

Contrary To Nature,  So Long As The Foot Does The Foot's Work And The

Hand The Hand's. So Then Neither To A Man As A Man Is His Labor Contrary

To Nature,  So Long As It Does The Things Of A Man. But If The Labor Is

Not Contrary To His Nature,  Neither Is It An Evil To Him.

 

34. How Many Pleasures Have Been Enjoyed By Robbers,  Patricides,

Tyrants.

 

35. Dost Thou Not See How The Handicrafts-Men Accommodate Themselves Up

To A Certain Point To Those Who Are Not Skilled In Their

Craft--Nevertheless They Cling To The Reason [The Principles] Of Their

Art,  And Do Not Endure To Depart From It? Is It Not Strange If The

Architect And The Physician Shall Have More Respect To The Reason [The

Principles] Of Their Own Arts Than Man To His Own Reason,  Which Is

Common To Him And The Gods?

 

36. 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 (Vii. 75).

 

37. He Who Has Seen Present Things Has Seen All,  Both Everything Which

Has Taken Place From All Eternity And Everything Which Will Be For Time

Without End; For All Things Are Of One Kin And Of One Form.

 

38. Frequently Consider The Connection Of All Things In The Universe And

Their Relation To One Another. For In A Manner All Things Are Implicated

With One Another,  And All In This Way Are Friendly To One Another; For

One Thing Comes In Order After Another,  And This Is By Virtue Of The +

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Active Movement And Mutual Conspiration And The Unity Of The Substance

(Ix. 1).

 

39. Adapt Thyself To The Things With Which Thy Lot Has Been Cast: And

The Men Among Whom Thou Hast Received Thy Portion,  Love Them,  But Do It

Truly [Sincerely].

 

40. Every Instrument,  Tool,  Vessel,  If It Does That For Which It Has

Been Made,  Is Well,  And Yet He Who Made It Is Not There. But In The

Things Which Are Held Together By Nature There Is Within,  And There

Abides In Them The Power Which Made Them; Wherefore The More Is It Fit

To Reverence This Power,  And To Think,  That,  If Thou Dost Live And Act

According To Its Will,  Everything In Thee Is In Conformity To

Intelligence. And Thus Also In The Universe The Things Which Belong To

It Are In Conformity To Intelligence.

 

41. Whatever Of The Things Which Are Not Within Thy Power Thou Shalt

Suppose To Be Good For Thee Or Evil,  It Must Of Necessity Be That,  If

Such A Bad Thing Befall Thee,  Or The Loss Of Such A Good Thing,  Thou

Wilt Not Blame The Gods,  And Hate Men Too,  Those Who Are The Cause Of

The Misfortune Or The Loss,  Or Those Who Are Suspected Of Being Likely

To Be The Cause; And Indeed We Do Much Injustice Because We Make A

Difference Between These Things [Because We Do Not Regard These Things

As Indifferent+].[A] But If We Judge Only Those Things Which Are In Our

Power To Be Good Or Bad,  There Remains No Reason Either For Finding

Fault With God Or Standing In A Hostile Attitude To Man.[B]

 

    [A] Gataker Translates This "Because We Strive To Get These

    Things," Comparing The Use Of [Greek: Diapheresthai] In V. I,  And X.

    27,  And Ix. 38,  Where It Appears That His Reference Should Be

    Xi. 10. He May Be Right In His Interpretation,  But I Doubt.

 

    [B] Cicero,  De Natura Deorum. Iii. 32.

 

42. We Are All Working Together To One End,  Some With Knowledge And

Design,  And Others Without Knowing What They Do; As Men Also When They

Are Asleep,  Of Whom It Is Heraclitus,  I Think,  Who Says That They Are

Laborers And Co-Operators In The Things Which Take Place In The

Universe. But Men Co-Operate After Different Fashions: And Even Those

Co-Operate Abundantly,  Who Find Fault With What Happens And Those Who

Try To Oppose It And