Thoughts Of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (best self help books to read .txt) 📕

Epitynchanus Died. Antoninus Saw Faustina Die,  And Then Antoninus Died.

Such Is Everything. Celer Saw Hadrianus Die,  And Then Celer Died. And

Those Sharp-Witted Men,  Either Seers Or Men Inflated With Pride,  Where

Are They,--For Instance The Sharp-Witted Men,  Charax And Demetrius The

Platonist,  And Eudaemon,  And Any One Else Like Them? All Ephemeral,

Dead Long Ago. Some Indeed Have Not Been Remembered Even For A Short

Time,  And Others Have Become The Heroes Of Fables,  And Again Others Have

Disappeared Even From Fables. Remember This Then,  That This Little

Compound,  Thyself,  Must Either Be Dissolved,  Or Thy Poor Breath Must Be

Extinguished,  Or Be Removed And Placed Elsewhere.

26. It Is Satisfaction To A Man To Do The Proper Works Of A Man. Now It

Is A Proper Work Of A Man To Be Benevolent To His Own Kind,  To Despise

The Movements Of The Senses,  To Form A Just Judgment Of Plausible

Appearances,  And To Take A Survey Of The Nature Of The Universe And Of

The Things Which Happen In It.

27. There Are Three Relations [Between Thee And Other Things]: The One

To The Body[A] Which Surrounds Thee; The Second To The Divine Cause From

Which All Things Come To All; And The Third To Those Who Live With Thee.

    [A] The Text Has [Greek: Aition],  Which In Antoninus Means

    "Form," "Formal." Accordingly Schultz Recommends Either

    Valkenaer's Emendation [Greek: Angeion],  "Body," Or Coraïs'

    [Greek: Sômation]. Compare Xii. 13; X. 38.

28. Pain Is Either An Evil To The Body--Then Let The Body Say What It

Thinks Of It--Or To The Soul; But It Is In The Power Of The Soul To

Maintain Its Own Serenity And Tranquillity,  And Not To Think That Pain

Is An Evil. For Every Judgment And Movement And Desire And Aversion Is

Within,  And No Evil Ascends So High.

29. Wipe Out Thy Imaginations By Often Saying To Thyself: Now It Is In

My Power To Let No Badness Be In This Soul,  Nor Desire,  Nor Any

Perturbation At All; But Looking At All Things I See What Is Their

Nature,  And I Use Each According To Its Value.--Remember This Power

Which Thou Hast From Nature.

30. Speak Both In The Senate And To Every Man,  Whoever He May Be,

Appropriately,  Not With Any Affectation: Use Plain Discourse.

31. Augustus' Court,  Wife,  Daughter,  Descendants,  Ancestors,  Sister,

Agrippa,  Kinsmen,  Intimates,  Friends; Areius,[A] Maecenas,  Physicians,

And Sacrificing Priests,--The Whole Court Is Dead. Then Turn To The

Rest,  Not Considering The Death Of A Single Man [But Of A Whole Race],

As Of The Pompeii; And That Which Is Inscribed On The Tombs,--The Last

Of His Race. Then Consider What Trouble Those Before Them Have Had That

They Might Leave A Successor; And Then,  That Of Necessity Some One Must

Be The Last. Again,  Here Consider The Death Of A Whole Race.

    [A] Areius ([Greek: Areios]) Was A Philosopher,  Who Was

    Intimate With Augustus; Sueton. Augustus,  C. 89; Plutarch,

    Antoninus,  80; Dion Cassius,  51,  C. 16.

32. 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; And No One Is

Able To Hinder Thee So That Each Act Shall Not Do Its Duty.--But

Something External Will Stand In The Way. Nothing Will Stand In The Way

Of Thy Acting Justly And Soberly And Considerately.--But Perhaps Some

Other Active Power Will Be Hindered. Well,  But By Acquiescing In The

Hindrance And By Being Content To Transfer Thy Efforts To That Which Is

Allowed,  Another Opportunity Of Action Is Immediately Put Before Thee In

Place Of That Which Was Hindered,  And One Which Will Adapt Itself To

This Ordering Of Which We Are Speaking.

33. Receive [Wealth Or Prosperity] Without Arrogance; And Be Ready To

Let It Go.

34. If Thou Didst Ever See A Hand Cut Off,  Or A Foot,  Or A Head,  Lying

Anywhere Apart From The Rest Of The Body,  Such Does A Man Make Himself,

As Far As He Can,  Who Is Not Content With What Happens,  And Separates

Himself From Others,  Or Does Anything Unsocial. Suppose That Thou Hast

Detached Thyself From The Natural Unity,--For Thou Wast Made By Nature A

Part,  But Now Thou Hast Cut Thyself Off,--Yet Here There Is This

Beautiful Provision,  That It Is In Thy Power Again To Unite Thyself. God

Has Allowed This To No Other Part,  After It Has Been Separated And Cut

Asunder,  To Come Together Again. But Consider The Kindness By Which He

Has Distinguished Man,  For He Has Put It In His Power Not To Be

Separated At All From The Universal; And When He Has Been Separated,  He

Has Allowed Him To Return And To Be United And To Resume His Place As A

Part.

35. As The Nature Of The Universal Has Given To Every Rational Being

All The Other Powers That It Has,  + So We Have Received From It This

Power Also. For As The Universal Nature Converts And Fixes In Its

Predestined Place Everything Which Stands In The Way And Opposes It,  And

Makes Such Things A Part Of Itself,  So Also The Rational Animal Is Able

To Make Every Hindrance Its Own Material,  And To Use It For Such

Purposes As It May Have Designed.[A]

36. Do Not Disturb Thyself By Thinking Of The Whole Of Thy Life. Let Not

Thy Thoughts At Once Embrace All The Various Troubles Which Thou Mayest

Expect To Befall Thee: But On Every Occasion Ask Thyself,  What Is There

In This Which Is Intolerable And Past Bearing? For Thou Wilt Be Ashamed

To Confess. In The Next Place Remember That Neither The Future Nor The

Past Pains Thee,  But Only The Present. But This Is Reduced To A Very

Little,  If Thou Only Circumscribest It,  And Chidest Thy Mind If It Is

Unable To Hold Out Against Even This.

37. Does Panthea Or Fergamus Now Sit By The Tomb Of Verus?[B] Does

Chaurias Or Diotimus Sit By The Tomb Of Hadrianus? That Would Be

Ridiculous. Well,  Suppose They Did Sit There,  Would The Dead Be

Conscious Of It? And If The Dead Were Conscious,  Would They Be Pleased?

And If They Were Pleased,  Would That Make Them Immortal? Was It Not In

The Order Of Destiny That These Persons Too Should First Become Old

Women And Old Men And Then Die? What Then Would Those Do After These

Were Dead? All This Is Foul Smell And Blood In A Bag.

    [A] The Text Is Corrupt At The Beginning Of The Paragraph,  But

    The Meaning Will Appear If The Second [Greek: Logikôn] Is

    Changed Into [Greek: Holôn] Though This Change Alone Will Not

    Establish The Grammatical Completeness Of The Text.

    [B] "Verus" Is A Conjecture Of Saumaise,  And Perhaps The True

    Reading.

38. If Thou Canst See Sharp,  Look And Judge Wisely,  + Says The

Philosopher.

39. In The Constitution Of The Rational Animal I See No Virtue Which Is

Opposed To Justice; But I See A Virtue Which Is Opposed To Love Of

Pleasure,  And That Is Temperance.

40. If Thou Takest Away Thy Opinion About That Which Appears To Give

Thee Pain,  Thou Thyself Standest In Perfect Security.--Who Is This

Self?--The Reason.--But I Am Not Reason.--Be It So. Let Then The Reason

Itself Not Trouble Itself. But If Any Other Part Of Thee Suffers,  Let It

Have Its Own Opinion About Itself (Vii. 16).

41. Hindrance To The Perceptions Of Sense Is An Evil To The Animal

Nature. Hindrance To The Movements [Desires] Is Equally An Evil To The

Animal Nature. And Something Else Also Is Equally An Impediment And An

Evil To The Constitution Of Plants. So Then That Which Is A Hindrance To

The Intelligence Is An Evil To The Intelligent Nature. Apply All These

Things Then To Thyself. Does Pain Or Sensuous Pleasure Affect Thee? The

Senses Will Look To That. Has Any Obstacle Opposed Thee In Thy Efforts

Towards An Object? If Indeed Thou Wast Making This Effort Absolutely

[Unconditionally,  Or Without Any Reservation],  Certainly This Obstacle

Is An Evil To Thee Considered As A Rational Animal. But If Thou Takest

[Into Consideration] The Usual Course Of Things,  Thou Hast Not Yet Been

Injured Nor Even Impeded. The Things However Which Are Proper To The

Understanding No Other Man Is Used To Impede,  For Neither Fire,  Nor

Iron,  Nor Tyrant,  Nor Abuse,  Touches It In Any Way. When It Has Been

Made A Sphere,  It Continues A Sphere (Xi. 12).

42. It Is Not Fit That I Should Give Myself Pain,  For I Have Never

Intentionally Given Pain Even To Another.

43. Different Things Delight Different People; But It Is My Delight To

Keep The Ruling Faculty Sound Without Turning Away Either From Any Man

Or From Any Of The Things Which Happen To Men,  But Looking At And

Receiving All With Welcome Eyes And Using Everything According To Its

Value.

44. See That Thou Secure This Present Time To Thyself: For Those Who

Rather Pursue Posthumous Fame Do Not Consider That The Men Of After Time

Will Be Exactly Such As These Whom They Cannot Bear Now; And Both Are

Mortal. And What Is It In Any Way To Thee If These Men Of After Time

Utter This Or That Sound,  Or Have This Or That Opinion About Thee?

45. Take Me And Cast Me Where Thou Wilt; For There I Shall Keep My

Divine Part Tranquil,  That Is,  Content,  If It Can Feel And Act

Comformably To Its Proper Constitution. Is This [Change Of Place]

Sufficient Reason Why My Soul Should Be Unhappy And Worse Than It Was,

Depressed,  Expanded,  Shrinking,  Affrighted? And What Wilt Thou Find

Which Is Sufficient Reason For This?[A]

    [A] [Greek: Oregomenê] In This Passage Seems To Have A Passive

    Sense. It Is Difficult To Find An Apt Expression For It And

    Some Of The Other Words. A Comparison With Xi. 12,  Will Help To

    Explain The Meaning.

46. Nothing Can Happen To Any Man Which Is Not A Human Accident,  Nor To

An Ox Which Is Not According To The Nature Of An Ox,  Nor To A Vine Which

Is Not According To The Nature Of A Vine,  Nor To A Stone Which Is Not

Proper To