Marcus Aurelius: Meditations
Meditations was not written in deliberate sequence nor
requiring a consecutive reading.
Epictetus was most influential on Marcus’ thinking.
Book I
Decency and a mild temper
Piety, generosity, the avoidance of wrong; also simplicity
of living
Tolerate pain and feel few needs; work with my own hands; be
deaf to malicious gossip
A man can combine intensity and relaxation
Self-mastery, immune to any passing whim
Book II
Those who fail to attend to the motions of their own soul
are necessarily unhappy
Theophrastus says that offences of lust are graver than
those of anger: because it is clearly some sort of pain and involuntary spasm
which drives the angry man to abandon reason, whereas the lust-led offender has
given in to pleasure and seems somehow more abandoned and less manly in his
wrongdoing
You may leave this life at any moment
Death and life, fame and ignominy, pain and pleasure, wealth
and poverty – all these come to good and bad alike, but they are not in
themselves either right or wrong: neither then are they inherent good or evil
What is death? It is
nothing more than a function of nature
No one can lose either the past of the future – how could
anyone be deprived of what he does not possess?
Both the longest-lived and the earliest to die suffer the
same loss.
In man’s life his time is a mere instant
The only lasting fame is oblivion
Nothing harmful is in accordance with nature
Book III
If dementia sets in … our comprehension of the world and our
ability to pay proper attention will fade before we do
Train yourself to think only those thoughts such that in
answer to the sudden question ‘What is in your mind now?’ you could say with
immediate frankness whatever it is
This renders the man unsullied by pleasures, unscathed by
any pain, untouched by any wrong, unconscious of any wickedness
He bears in mind to the kinship of all rational beings
One who has taken his post like a soldier waiting for the
Retreat from life to sound, and ready to depart, past the need for any loyal
oath or human witness
Which has withdrawn itself, as Socrates used to say, from
all inducements of the senses
Never regard as a benefit to yourself anything which will
force you to some point to break your faith
Each of us lives only in the present moment, a mere fragment
of time
And nobody is able to stop you
Pure, at peace, ready to depart, in unforced harmony with
his fate
Book IV
No retreat offers someone more quiet and relaxation than
that into his own mind
Things cannot
touch the mind: they are external and inert; anxieties can only come from your
internal judgment
The universe is change: life is judgment
Death, just as birth, is a mystery of nature: first a
combination, then a dissolution, or the same elements. Certainly no cause for shame
Always have these two principles in readiness. First, to do only for the benefit of mankind.
Second, to change your ground for justice and the common good
While you live become good
Run right on to the line: straight
Everything in any way beautiful has its beauty of itself,
inherent and self-sufficient
If you want to be happy, says Democritus, do little
Most of what we say and do is unnecessary
Life is short: make your gain from the present moment with
right reason and justice. Keep sober and
relaxed.
All is ephermeral
You are a soul carrying a corpse, as Epictetus used to say
Change: nothing inherently bad in the process, nothing
inherently good in the result
The process of becoming exhibit a wonderfully inherent
affinity
Always remember Heraclitus: ‘The death of earth is the birth
of water; the death of water is the birth of air; the death of air is fire and back again.’
You should think there no great difference between life to
the umpteenth year and life to tomorrow
You should always look on human life as short and
cheap. Yesterday sperm: tomorrow a mummy
or ashes
So one should pass through this tiny fragment of time in
tune with nature, and leave it gladly, as an olive might fall when ripe,
blessing the earth which bore it and grateful to the tree which gave it growth
It is my good luck that, although this has happened to me, I
can bear it without pain, neither crushed by the present nor fearful of the
future
Book V
Virtues which are wholly in your own power – integrity,
dignity, hard work, self-denial, contentment, frugality, kindness,
independence, simplicity, discretion, magnanimity
You ought to be one of those who, in a sense, are
unconscious of the good they do
Prayer should be simple and open
In all this murk and dirt, in all this flux of being, time,
movement, things moved, one should console oneself with the anticipation of
natural release, not impatient of its delay, but taking comfort in two
thoughts. One that nothing will happen
to me which is not in accordance with the nature of the Whole: the other that
it is in my control to do nothing contrary to the divinity within me – no one
can force me to this offence.
Witty comment on wealth and the privileges of luxury and
fame, ‘He is so rich, he has no room to shit.’
I am made up of the causal and the material.
Strange that ignorance and pretension should be stronger
than wisdom
It is our duty to do good to men and tolerate them
Revere the ultimate power in the universe
Reflect on the speed with which all things are carried past
and swept away. Reflect too on the
yawning gulf of past and future time, in which all things vanish.
You are the tiniest part; you have been assigned a brief and
fleeting moment
My wish is to follow the nature of a rational and social
being
Good fortune consists in good inclinations of the soul, good
impulses, good actions
Book VI
All that exists will soon change
The best revenge is not to be like your enemy
I do my own duty: the other things do not distract me. They are either inanimate or irrational, or
have lost the road and are ignorant of the true way
Keep yourself simple, good, pure, serious, unpretentious, a
friend of justice, god fearing, kind, full of affection, strong for your proper
work.
Accustom yourself not to be disregarding of what someone
else has to say: as far as possible enter into the mind of the speaker.
Book VII
Do not be ashamed of help
Do not let the future trouble you
Everything material rapidly disappears in the universal
substance
Soon you will have forgotten all things: soon all things
will have forgotten you
Do not look around at the directing minds of other people,
but keep looking straight ahead to where nature is leading you – both universal
nature, in what happens to you, and your own nature, in what you must do
yourself.
Imagine you are now dead, or had not lived before this
moment. Now view the rest of your life
as a bonus, and live it as nature directs.
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing in
that it stands ready for what comes and is not thrown by the unforeseen.
Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it
were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence.
Book VIII
If you have a true perception of how things lie, abandon and
concern for reputation, and be satisfied if you can just live the rest of your
life, whatever remains, in the way your nature wishes.
Nothing is good for a human being which does not make him
just, self-controlled, brave, and free.
Do not be upset; concentrate on the matter in hand; see it
for what it is.
Kindness, integrity, sincerity.
All things are mutations, but there is equality in their
distribution.
Man’s nature is part of a nature that is unimpeded,
intelligent, and just. Each creature
gets a fair and appropriate allocation of duration, substance, cause, activity
and experience.
No wholly good person would regret missing a pleasure.
What dies does not pass out of the universe.
Nature’s aim for everything includes its cessation just as
much as its beginning and its duration.
Just as you see your bath – all soap, sweat, grime, greasy
water, the whole thing disgusting – so is every part of life and every object
in it.
Do not let the panorama of your life depress you.
Nothing can happen to any human being that is outside the
experience that is natural to humans.
If your distress has some external cause, it is not the
thing itself that troubles you, but your own judgment of it – and you can erase
this immediately.
Remember that your directing mind becomes invincible when it
withdraws into its own self-sufficiency.
A mind free from passions is a fortress.
Do not elaborate to yourself beyond what your initial
impressions report.
How then can you secure an everlasting spring? By keeping yourself at all times intent on
freedom – and staying kind, simple and decent.
Men are born for the sake of each other. So either teach or tolerate.
Book IX
Injustice is sin.
Lying too is a sin.
Nature conceived certain principles of what was to be, and
determined generative powers to create substances, transformations, and
successive regeneration.
Do not despise death: welcome it, rather, as one further part
of nature’s will.
Come quickly, death, or I too may forget myself.
Erase the print of imagination, stop impulse, quench desire:
keep your directing mind its own master.
Reason too has its fruit, both universal and particular.
Good or ill for the rational socially being lies not in
feeling but in action.
All things are in a process of change. You yourself are subject to constant
alteration and gradual decay. So too is
the whole universe.
There is nothing to fear in the termination, the pause and
the change of your whole life.
The universal cause is a torrent, sweeping everything in its
stream.
Don’t hope for Plato’s utopian republic, but be content with
the slightest step forward.
Loss is nothing more than change.
Pray to the gods for something you can control, How can I
stop desire? How can I stop wanting to be rid of someone or something? How can
I learn not to fear loss? Give all your
prayers this turn, and observe what happens.
The recognition that shameless people, rogues, traitors and
every sort of offender must necessarily exist will immediately make you kinder
to them as individuals.
It is only in your mind that damage or harm can be done to
you.
Man was made to do good: and whenever he does something good
or otherwise contributory to the common interest, he has done what he is
designed for, and inherits his own.
Book X
Will you ever be complete and free of need?
The first premise must be that I am part of the Whole which
is governed by nature: the second, that I have some close relationship with the
other kindred parts.
Claim your entitlement to these epithets – good, decent,
truthful; in mind clear, cooperative, and independent.
Adopt a systematic study of the way all things change into
one another: pay constant attention to this aspect of nature and train yourself
in it.
Do not even give a thought to what others will say or
suppose about you, or do against you, but be content to meet these two
conditions – your own integrity in each present action, and glad acceptance of
your present lot. Abandon all other
preoccupations and ambitions, and your only desire is to walk the straight path
according to law and, in doing so, to follow in the path of god.
No more roundabout discussion of what makes a good man. Be one!
Consider any existing object and reflect that it is even now
in the process of dissolution and change.
Always be clear in your head that ‘the grass is not greener’
elsewhere.
Constantly reflect that all things that happen now have
happened before: reflect too that they will happen again in the future.
Let no one have a change to accuse you, with any truth, or
not being sincere or a good man.
Mind and reason have the power to move through every
obstacle.
All things are short lived – this is their common lot.
Your death should not be a wrench from life, but rather that
easy slipping of the soul from that body’s carapace experienced by those dying
at peace.
Get into the habit of asking yourself of any action taken by
another: ‘What is his point of reference here?’
But begin with yourself: examine yourself first.
Book XI
Such is the sameness of things, a man with any understanding
whatsoever has in a sense seen all the past and all the future.
Particular qualities of the rational soul are love of
neighbor, truthfulness, integrity, no higher value than itself.
What a noble thing is the soul ready for its release from
the body.
Mere things, brute facts, should not provoke your rage.
Ripe ears of corn are reaped and so are lives.
There was an education value in Old Comedy’s unbridled
frankness
We can grow back again to our neighbor and resume our place
in the complement of the whole
No nature is inferior to art
Someone despises me?
That is his concern
Will he hate me? That
is his concern
What harm can you suffer if you are acting in kind with your
own nature and accepting what suits the present purpose of universal nature?
Live through life in the best way you can.
Anyone can be forgiven for seeking his own proper good
With each object of experience consider its origin, its
constituents, what it is changing into, what it will be when changed – and that
no harm will come to it.
Kindness is invincible.
There is nothing manly about being angry.
Any movement towards acts of injustice or self-indulgence,
to anger, pain, or fear is nothing less than apostasy from nature
This is not a contest for a trivial prize: at issue is
madness or sanity
BOOK XII
Direct the present solely to reverence and justice
Practice even what you have despaired of mastering
See things for what they are, analyzing into material,
cause, and reference
How absurd – and a complete stranger in the world – is the
man surprised at any aspect of his experience in life!
If it is not right, don’t do it; if it is not true, do not
say it.
Realize at long last that you have within you something
stronger and more numinous than those agents of emotion which make you a mere
puppet on their strings.
That all is as thinking makes it so – and you control your
thinking.
For each of us there is certainly no harm in the cessation
of life, as there is no shame either
What a tiny part of the boundless abyss or time has been
allotted to each of us – and this is soon vanished in eternity; how tiny part
of the universal substance and the universal soul; how tiny in the whole earth
the mere clod on which you creep
