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book VI
the meditations
marcus aurelius
The substance of the universe is obedient and compliant; and the reason
which governs it has in itself no cause for doing evil, for
it has no malice, nor does it do evil to anything, nor is
anything harmed by it. But all things are made and
perfected according to this reason.
Let it make no
difference to thee whether thou art cold or warm, if thou
art doing thy duty; and whether thou art drowsy or satisfied with sleep; and whether ill-spoken of or praised; and whether dying
or doing something else. For it is one of the acts of life,
this act by which we die: it is sufficient then in this act
also to do well what we have in hand.
Look within. Let neither the peculiar quality of
anything nor its value escape thee.
All existing things soon change, and they will either
be reduced to vapour, if indeed all substance is one, or
they will be dispersed.
The reason
which governs knows what its own disposition is, and what
it does, and on what material it works.
The best
way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrong doer.
Take pleasure in one thing and
rest in it, in passing from one social act to another
social act, thinking of God.
The ruling principle
is that which rouses and turns itself, and while it makes
itself such as it is and such as it wills to be, it also makes everything which happens appear to itself to be such as
it wills.
In conformity to the
nature of the universe every single thing is accomplished,
for certainly it is not in conformity to any other nature that each thing is accomplished, either a nature which
externally comprehends this, or a nature which is
comprehended within this nature, or a nature external and
independent of this.
The universe is either a
confusion, and a mutual involution of things, and a
dispersion; or it is unity and order and providence. If then it is the former, why do I desire to tarry in a fortuitous
combination of things and such a disorder? And why do I
care about anything else than how I shall at last become
earth? And why am I disturbed, for the dispersion of my
elements will happen whatever I do. But if the other supposition is true, I venerate, and I am firm, and I trust in him who governs.
When thou hast been compelled
by circumstances to be disturbed in a manner, quickly
return to thyself and do not continue out of tune longer
than the compulsion lasts; for thou wilt have more mastery over the harmony by continually recurring to it.
If thou hadst a step-mother and a mother at the same
time, thou wouldst be dutiful to thy step-mother, but still
thou wouldst constantly return to thy mother. Let the court
and philosophy now be to thee step-mother and mother:
return to philosophy frequently and repose in her, through whom what thou meetest with in the court appears to thee
tolerable, and thou appearest tolerable in the court.
When we have meat before us and such eatables we
receive the impression, that this is the dead body of a
fish, and this is the dead body of a bird or of a pig; and
again, that this Falernian is only a little grape juice, and this purple robe some sheep's wool dyed with the blood of
a shell-fish: such then are these impressions, and they
reach the things themselves and penetrate them, and so we
see what kind of things they are. Just in the same way
ought we to act all through life, and where there are things which appear most worthy of our approbation, we ought to lay them
bare and look at their worthlessness and strip them of all
the words by which they are exalted. For outward show is a
wonderful perverter of the reason, and when thou art most
sure that thou art employed about things worth thy pains, it is then that it cheats thee most. Consider then what Crates
says of Xenocrates himself.
Most of
the things which the multitude admire are referred to objects of the most general kind, those which are held together by
cohesion or natural organization, such as stones, wood,
fig-trees, vines, olives. But those which are admired by
men who are a little more reasonable are referred to the
things which are held together by a living principle, as flocks, herds. Those which are admired by men who are still more
instructed are the things which are held together by a
rational soul, not however a universal soul, but rational
so far as it is a soul skilled in some art, or expert in
some other way, or simply rational so far as it possesses a number of slaves. But he who values rational soul, a soul universal and
fitted for political life, regards nothing else except
this; and above all things he keeps his soul in a condition
and in an activity conformable to reason and social life,
and he co-operates to this end with those who are of the same kind as himself.
Some things are
hurrying into existence, and others are hurrying out of it;
and of that which is coming into existence part is already extinguished.
Motions and changes are continually renewing the world,
just as the uninterrupted course of time is always renewing
the infinite duration of ages. In this flowing stream then,
on which there is no abiding, what is there of the things
which hurry by on which a man would set a high price? It would be just as if a man should fall in love with one of the sparrows
which fly by, but it has already passed out of sight.
Something of this kind is the very life of every man, like
the exhalation of the blood and the respiration of the air.
For such as it is to have once drawn in the air and to have given it back, which we do every moment, just the same is it
with the whole respiratory power, which thou didst receive
at thy birth yesterday and the day before, to give it back
to the element from which thou didst first draw it.
Neither is transpiration, as in plants, a thing to be
valued, nor respiration, as in domesticated animals and
wild beasts, nor the receiving of impressions by the
appearances of things, nor being moved by desires as
puppets by strings, nor assembling in herds, nor being nourished by food; for this is just like the act of separating and parting
with the useless part of our food. What then is worth
being valued? To be received with clapping of hands? No.
Neither must we value the clapping of tongues, for the
praise which comes from the many is a clapping of tongues. Suppose then that thou hast given up this worthless thing called
fame, what remains that is worth valuing? This in my
opinion, to move thyself and to restrain thyself in
conformity to thy proper constitution, to which end both all employments and arts lead. For every art aims at this, that
the thing which has been made should be adapted to the
work for which it has been made; and both the vine-planter
who looks after the vine, and the horse-breaker, and he
who trains the dog, seek this end. But the education and the teaching of youth aim at something. In this then is the value of the
education and the teaching. And if this is well, thou wilt
not seek anything else. Wilt thou not cease to value many
other things too? Then thou wilt be neither free, nor
sufficient for thy own happiness, nor without passion. For of necessity thou must be envious, jealous, and suspicious of
those who can take away those things, and plot against
those who have that which is valued by thee. Of necessity
a man must be altogether in a state of perturbation who
wants any of these things; and besides, he must often find fault with the gods. But to reverence and honour thy own mind will make
thee content with thyself, and in harmony with society,
and in agreement with the gods, that is, praising all that
they give and have ordered.
Above, below, all
around are the movements of the elements. But the motion
of virtue is in none of these: it is something more divine, and advancing by a way hardly observed it goes happily on its
road.
How strangely men act. They
will not praise those who are living at the same time and
living with themselves; but to be themselves praised by
posterity, by those whom they have never seen or ever will see, this they set much value on. But this is very much the same as if
thou shouldst be grieved because those who have lived
before thee did not praise thee.
If a thing is difficult to be accomplished by
thyself, do not think that it is impossible for man: but
if anything is possible for man and conformable to his
nature, think that this can be attained by thyself too.
In the gymnastic exercises suppose that a man has
torn thee with his nails, and by dashing against thy head
has inflicted a wound. Well, we neither show any signs of
vexation, nor are we offended, nor do we suspect him
afterwards as a treacherous fellow; and yet we are on our guard against him, not however as an enemy, nor yet with suspicion, but we
quietly get out of his way. Something like this let thy
behaviour be in all the other parts of life; let us
overlook many things in those who are like antagonists in
the gymnasium. For it is in our power, as I said, to get out of the way, and to have no suspicion nor hatred.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It is a shame for the soul to be first to give way in
this life, when thy body does not give way.
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 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.
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).
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.
Neither the labour 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 labour contrary to nature, so long as it does the things of a man. But if the
labour is not contrary to his nature, neither is it an
evil to him.
How many pleasures have been enjoyed
by robbers, patricides, tyrants.
Dost thou not see how the handicraftsmen 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?
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.
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.
Frequently consider the
connexion 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 active movement and mutual
conspiration and the unity of the substance.
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.
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.
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 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. 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.
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 labourers 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 to hinder it; for the
universe had need even of such men as these. It remains then for thee to understand among what kind of workmen thou
placest thyself; for he who rules all things will
certainly make a right use of thee, and he will receive
thee among some part of the co-operators and of those whose labours conduce to one end. But be not thou such a part as
the mean and ridiculous verse in the play, which
Chrysippus speaks of.
Does the sun
undertake to do the work of the rain, or Aesculapius the
work of the Fruit-bearer (the earth)? And how is it with respect to each of the stars, are they not different and yet they work
together to the same end?
If the
gods have determined about me and about the things which must happen to me, they have determined well, for it is not
easy even to imagine a deity without forethought; and as
to doing me harm, why should they have any desire towards
that? For what advantage would result to them from this or
to the whole, which is the special object of their providence? But if they have not determined about me individually, they
have certainly determined about the whole at least, and
the things which happen by way of sequence in this general
arrangement I ought to accept with pleasure and to be
content with them. But if they determine about nothing- which it is wicked to believe, or if we do believe it, let us
neither sacrifice nor pray nor swear by them nor do
anything else which we do as if the gods were present and
lived with us- but if however the gods determine about none of the things which concern us, I am able to determine
about myself, and I can inquire about that which is
useful; and that is useful to every man which is
conformable to his own constitution and nature. But my nature is rational and social; and my city and country, so far as I
am Antoninus, is Rome, but so far as I am a man, it is the
world. The things then which are useful to these cities
are alone useful to me. Whatever happens to every man,
this is for the interest of the universal: this might be sufficient. But further thou wilt observe this also as a general truth,
if thou dost observe, that whatever is profitable to any
man is profitable also to other men. But let the word
profitable be taken here in the common sense as said of
things of the middle kind, neither good nor bad.
As it happens to thee in the amphitheatre and such
places, that the continual sight of the same things and
the uniformity make the spectacle wearisome, so it is in
the whole of life; for all things above, below, are the
same and from the same. How long then?
Think
continually that all kinds of men and of all kinds of pursuits and of all nations are dead, so that thy thoughts come down
even to Philistion and Phoebus and Origanion. Now turn thy
thoughts to the other kinds of men. To that place then we
must remove, where there are so many great orators, and so
many noble philosophers, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Socrates; so many heroes of former days, and so many generals after them, and
tyrants; besides these, Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Archimedes,
and other men of acute natural talents, great minds,
lovers of labour, versatile, confident, mockers even of
the perishable and ephemeral life of man, as Menippus and such as are like him. As to all these consider that they have long been
in the dust. What harm then is this to them; and what to
those whose names are altogether unknown? One thing here
is worth a great deal, to pass thy life in truth and
justice, with a benevolent disposition even to liars and unjust men.
When thou wishest to delight
thyself, think of the virtues of those who live with thee;
for instance, the activity of one, and the modesty of
another, and the liberality of a third, and some other good quality of a fourth. For nothing delights so much as the examples of
the virtues, when they are exhibited in the morals of
those who live with us and present themselves in
abundance, as far as is possible. Wherefore we must keep them before us.
Thou art not
dissatisfied, I suppose, because thou weighest only so
many litrae and not three hundred. Be not dissatisfied then that thou must live only so many years and not more; for as thou art
satisfied with the amount of substance which has been
assigned to thee, so be content with the time.
Let us try to persuade them (men). But act even
against their will, when the principles of justice lead
that way. If however any man by using force stands in thy
way, betake thyself to contentment and tranquility, and at
the same time employ the hindrance towards the exercise of some other virtue; and remember that thy attempt was with a
reservation, that thou didst not desire to do
impossibilities. What then didst thou desire?- Some such
effort as this.- But thou attainest thy object, if the things to which thou wast moved are accomplished.
He who loves fame considers another man's activity to
be his own good; and he who loves pleasure, his own
sensations; but he who has understanding, considers his
own acts to be his own good.
It is in our power to
have no opinion about a thing, and not to be disturbed in
our soul; for things themselves have no natural power to form our judgements.
Accustom thyself
to attend carefully to what is said by another, and as
much as it is possible, be in the speaker's mind.
That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it
good for the bee.
If sailors
abused the helmsman or the sick the doctor, would they listen to anybody else; or how could the helmsman secure the
safety of those in the ship or the doctor the health of
those whom he attends?
How many
together with whom I came into the world are already gone out of it.
To the jaundiced honey
tastes bitter, and to those bitten by mad dogs water
causes fear; and to little children the ball is a fine thing. Why then am I angry? Dost thou think that a false opinion has
less power than the bile in the jaundiced or the poison in
him who is bitten by a mad dog?
No
man will hinder thee from living according to the reason of thy own nature: nothing will happen to thee contrary to the
reason of the universal nature.
What kind of people are those whom men wish to
please, and for what objects, and by what kind of acts?
How soon will time cover all things, and how many it has
covered already.
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