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

Story 3 (The Thoughts Of Marcus Aurelius Antonius) Pg 98

Before,  Keeping To This Main Point,  How The Mind,  While Participating In

Such Movements As Go On In The Poor Flesh,  Shall Be Free From

Perturbations And Maintain Its Proper Good. Nor Did I,  He Says,  Give The

Physicians An Opportunity Of Putting On Solemn Looks,  As If They Were

Doing Something Great,  But My Life Went On Well And Happily. Do,  Then,

The Same That He Did Both In Sickness,  If Thou Art Sick,  And In Any

Other Circumstances; For Never To Desert Philosophy In Any Events That

May Befall Us,  Nor To Hold Trifling Talks Either With An Ignorant Man Or

With One Unacquainted With Nature,  Is A Principle Of All Schools Of

Philosophy; But To Be Intent Only On That Which Thou Art Now Doing And

On The Instrument By Which Thou Doest It.

 

42. When Thou Art Offended With Any Man's Shameless Conduct,  Immediately

Ask Thyself,  Is It Possible,  Then,  That Shameless Men Should Not Be In

The World? It Is Not Possible. Do Not,  Then,  Require What Is Impossible.

For This Man Also Is One Of Those Shameless Men Who Must Of Necessity Be

In The World. Let The Same Considerations Be Present To Thy Mind In The

Case Of The Knave,  And The Faithless Man,  And Of Every Man Who Does

Wrong In Any Way. For At The Same Time That Thou Dost Remind Thyself

That It Is Impossible That Such Kind Of Men Should Not Exist,  Thou Wilt

Become More Kindly Disposed Towards Every One Individually. It Is Useful

To Perceive This,  Too,  Immediately When The Occasion Arises,  What Virtue

Nature Has Given To Man To Oppose To Every Wrongful Act. For She Has

Given To Man,  As An Antidote Against The Stupid Man,  Mildness,  And

Against Another Kind Of Man Some Other Power. And In All Cases It Is

Possible For Thee To Correct By Teaching The Man Who Is Gone Astray; For

Every Man Who Errs Misses His Object And Is Gone Astray. Besides,

Wherein Hast Thou Been Injured? For Thou Wilt Find That No One Among

Those Against Whom Thou Art Irritated Has Done Anything By Which Thy

Mind Could Be Made Worse; But That Which Is Evil To Thee And Harmful Has

Its Foundation Only In The Mind. And What Harm Is Done Or What Is There

Strange,  If The Man Who Has Not Been Instructed Does The Acts Of An

Uninstructed Man? Consider Whether Thou Shouldst Not Rather Blame

Thyself,  Because Thou Didst Not Expect Such A Man To Err In Such A Way.

For Thou Hadst Means Given Thee By Thy Reason To Suppose That It Was

Likely That He Would Commit This Error,  And Yet Thou Hast Forgotten And

Art Amazed That He Has Erred. But Most Of All When Thou Blamest A Man As

Faithless Or Ungrateful,  Turn To Thyself. For The Fault Is Manifestly

Thy Own,  Whether Thou Didst Trust That A Man Who Had Such A Disposition

Would Keep His Promise,  Or When Conferring Thy Kindness Thou Didst Not

Confer It Absolutely,  Nor Yet In Such Way As To Have Received From Thy

Very Act All The Profit. For What More Dost Thou Want When Thou Hast

Done A Man A Service? Art Thou Not Content That Thou Hast Done Something

Conformable To Thy Nature,  And Dost Thou Seek To Be Paid For It? Just As

If The Eye Demanded A Recompense For Seeing,  Or The Feet For Walking.

For As These Members Are Formed For A Particular Purpose,  And By Working

According To Their Several Constitutions Obtain What Is Their Own;[A] So

Also As Man Is Formed By Nature To Acts Of Benevolence,  When He Has Done

Anything Benevolent Or In Any Other Way Conducive To The Common

Interest,  He Has Acted Conformably To His Constitution,  And He Gets What

Is His Own.

 

    [A] [Greek: Apechei To Idion]. This Sense Of [Greek: Apechein]

Story 3 (The Thoughts Of Marcus Aurelius Antonius) Pg 99

    Occurs In Xi. 1,  And Iv. 49; Also In St. Matthew,  Vi. 2,

    [Greek: Apechousi Ton Misthon],  And In Epictetus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

X.

 

 

 

 

Wilt Thou,  Then,  My Soul,  Never Be Good And Simple And One And Naked,

More Manifest Than The Body Which Surrounds Thee? Wilt Thou Never Enjoy

An Affectionate And Contented Disposition? Wilt Thou Never Be Full And

Without A Want Of Any Kind,  Longing For Nothing More,  Nor Desiring

Anything,  Either Animate Or Inanimate,  For The Enjoyment Of Pleasures?

Nor Yet Desiring Time Wherein Thou Shalt Have Longer Enjoyment,  Or

Place,  Or Pleasant Climate,  Or Society Of Men With Whom Thou Mayst Live

In Harmony? But Wilt Thou Be Satisfied With Thy Present Condition,  And

Pleased With All That Is About Thee,  And Wilt Thou Convince Thyself That

Thou Hast Everything,  And That It Comes From The Gods,  That Everything

Is Well For Thee,  And Will Be Well Whatever Shall Please Them,  And

Whatever They Shall Give For The Conservation Of The Perfect Living

Being,[A] The Good And Just And Beautiful,  Which Generates And Holds

Together All Things,  And Contains And Embraces All Things Which Are

Dissolved For The Production Of Other Like Things? Wilt Thou Never Be

Such That Thou Shalt So Dwell In Community With Gods And Men As Neither

To Find Fault With Them At All,  Nor To Be Condemned By Them?

 

    [A] That Is,  God (Iv. 40),  As He Is Defined By Zeno. But The

    Confusion Between Gods And God Is Strange.

 

2. Observe What Thy Nature Requires,  So Far As Thou Art Governed By

Nature Only: Then Do It And Accept It,  If Thy Nature,  So Far As Thou Art

A Living Being,  Shall Not Be Made Worse By It. And Next Thou Must

Observe What Thy Nature Requires So Far As Thou Art A Living Being. And

All This Thou Mayst Allow Thyself,  If Thy Nature,  So Far As Thou Art A

Rational Animal,  Shall Not Be Made Worse By It. But The Rational Animal

Is Consequently Also A Political [Social] Animal. Use These Rules,  Then,

And Trouble Thyself About Nothing Else.

 

3. Everything Which Happens Either Happens In Such Wise As Thou Art

Formed By Nature To Bear It,  Or As Thou Art Not Formed By Nature To Bear

It. If,  Then,  It Happens To Thee In Such Way As Thou Art Formed By

Nature To Bear It,  Do Not Complain,  But Bear It As Thou Art Formed By

Nature To Bear It. But If It Happens In Such Wise As Thou Art Not Formed

By Nature To Bear It,  Do Not Complain,  For It Will Perish After It Has

Consumed Thee. Remember,  However,  That Thou Art Formed By Nature To Bear

Everything,  With Respect To Which It Depends On Thy Own Opinion To Make

It Endurable And Tolerable,  By Thinking That It Is Either Thy Interest

Or Thy Duty To Do This.

 

4. If A Man Is Mistaken,  Instruct Him Kindly And Show Him His Error. But

If Thou Art Not Able,  Blame Thyself,  Or Blame Not Even Thyself.

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5. Whatever May Happen To Thee,  It Was Prepared For Thee From All

Eternity; And The Implication Of Causes Was From Eternity Spinning The

Thread Of Thy Being,  And Of That Which Is Incident To It (Iii. 11; Iv.

26).

 

6. 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. For Remembering

This,  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. For The

Whole Contains Nothing Which Is Not For Its Advantage; And All Natures

Indeed Have This Common Principle,  But The Nature Of The Universe Has

This Principle Besides,  That It Cannot Be Compelled Even By Any External

Cause To Generate Anything Harmful To Itself. By Remembering,  Then,  That

I Am A Part Of Such A Whole,  I Shall Be Content With Everything That

Happens. And Inasmuch As I Am In A Manner Intimately Related To The

Parts Which Are Of The Same Kind With Myself,  I Shall Do Nothing

Unsocial,  But I Shall Rather Direct Myself To The Things Which Are Of

The Same Kind With Myself,  And I Shall Turn All My Efforts To The Common

Interest,  And Divert Them From The Contrary. Now,  If These Things Are

Done So,  Life Must Flow On Happily,  Just As Thou Mayst Observe That The

Life Of A Citizen Is Happy,  Who Continues A Course Of Action Which Is

Advantageous To His Fellow-Citizens,  And Is Content With Whatever The

State May Assign To Him.

 

7. The Parts Of The Whole,  Everything,  I Mean,  Which Is Naturally

Comprehended In The Universe,  Must Of Necessity Perish; But Let This Be

Understood In This Sense,  That They Must Undergo Change. But If This Is

Naturally Both An Evil And A Necessity For The Parts,  The Whole Would

Not Continue To Exist In A Good Condition,  The Parts Being Subject To

Change And Constituted So As To Perish In Various Ways. For Whether Did

Nature Herself Design To Do Evil To The Things Which Are Parts Of

Herself,  And To Make Them Subject To Evil And Of Necessity Fall Into

Evil,  Or Have Such Results Happened Without Her Knowing It? Both These

Suppositions,  Indeed,  Are Incredible. But If A Man Should Even Drop The

Term Nature [As An Efficient Power],  And Should Speak Of These Things As

Natural,  Even Then It Would Be Ridiculous To Affirm At The Same Time

That The Parts Of The Whole Are In Their Nature Subject To Change,  And

At The Same Time To Be Surprised Or Vexed As If Something Were Happening

Contrary To Nature,  Particularly As The Dissolution Of Things Is Into

Those Things Of Which Each Thing Is Composed. For There Is Either A

Dispersion Of The Elements Out Of Which Everything Has Been Compounded,

Or A Change From The Solid To The Earthy And From The Airy To The

Aerial,  So That These Parts Are Taken Back Into The Universal Reason,

Whether This At Certain Periods Is Consumed By Fire Or Renewed By

Eternal Changes. And Do Not Imagine That The Solid And The Airy Part

Belong To Thee From The Time Of Generation. For All This Received Its

Accretion Only Yesterday And The Day Before,  As One May Say,  From The

Food And The Air Which Is Inspired. This,  Then,  Which Has Received [The

Accretion],  Changes,  Not That Which Thy Mother Brought Forth. But

Suppose That This [Which Thy Mother Brought Forth] Implicates Thee Very

Much With That Other Part,