Marcus Aurelius

In the same way that nature turns to its own purpose anything
obstructive or contrary, so the rational being can also
convert every obstacle into material for his own use, and use it
to further whatever his original purpose was.

ANL. You can use the rocks they throw at you to build your castle, or you can use
it to burry yourself under therm - either way the rock is neither inherently bad nor
good, it's the use you give them that define who you are.

Do not let the panorama of your life oppress you, do not dwell
on all the various troubles which may have occurred in the past
or may occur in the future.

ANL- You only possess the present in your control, and in the same conclusion
you can only control your own actions, but never the ones of others.

If you remove your judgment of anything that seems painful,

you yourself stand quite immune to pain. 'What self?' Reason.
'But I am not just reason.' Granted. So let your reason cause
itself no pain, and if some other part of you is in trouble, it can
form its own judgment for itself.

ANL- Human being are complex and composed of different materials, but at last,
don't forget that reason governs the mind, follow its guides when in doubt.

Joy varies from person to person.

ANL- As each person is born with his own nature, so is he born with his own
source of joy and sadness and so forth.

Look, make yourself a gift of this present time.

ANL- Not of the future, the now. Don't make as a goal to create a legacy, for it
won't last long, and what is that to you when you're dead?
Pick me up and throw me where you will. Wherever I land
shall keep the god within me happy
ANL- Be good in the bad times, for that is when it really counts.

MVP ♥
If your distress has some external cause, it is not the thing itself 47
that troubles you, but your own judgement of it - and you can
erase this immediately. If it is something in your own attitude
that distresses you, no one stops you correcting your view. So
too if you are distressed at not achieving some action you think
salutary, why not carry on rather than fret? 'But there's an
obstacle in the way too solid to move.' No cause for distress,
then, since the reason for failure does not lie with you. 'But life
is not worth living if I fail in this.' Well then, you must depart
this life, as gracious in death as one who does achieve his
purpose, and at peace, too, with those who stood in your way.
MVP ♥

Remember that your directing mind becomes invincible when

it withdraws into its own self-sufficiency, not doing anything it
does not wish to do, even if its position is unreasonable.

ANL- Away from the noises, only listening to one's own thoughts, this way they
can be more profoundly taken into account.

Do not elaborate to yourself beyond what your initial impressions report. So

always stay like this within your first impressions and do not add conclusions from
your own thoughts - and then that is all.

A bitter cucumber? Throw it away. Brambles in the path? Go

round them. That is all you need, without going on to ask, 'So
why are these things in the world anyway?' Yet they ( Carpenter, hairdresser...)
have somewhere to throw their rubbish, whereas the nature of
the Whole has nothing outside itself. The marvel of its craft is
that it sets its own confines and recycles into itself all within
them which seems to be decaying, growing old, or losing its
use: and then creates afresh from this same material. This way
it requires no substance other than its own
ANL- Nothing in the whole goes to waste, it is renewed for a bigger purpose,

Do not be dilatory in action, muddled in communication, or

vague in thought. Don't let your mind settle into depression or
elation. Allow some leisure in your life.

As if a man were to come up to a spring of clear, sweet water

and curse it - it would still continue to bubble up water good
to drink. He could throw in mud or dung: in no time the spring
will break it down, wash it away, and take no color from it.

Can a man please himself when he regrets almost everything he

does?

To my determining will my neighbor's will is as indifferent as 56

his breath and his body. Sure, we are born above all for the
sake of each other: nevertheless, the directing mind of each of us
has its own sovereignty.
130 - 57

The sun appears to pour itself down, and indeed its light pours
in all directions, but the stream does not run out. This pouring
is linear extension: It extends in a straight line and impacts, so to speak,
on any solid body in its path which blocks passage through the
air on the other side: it settles there and does not slip off or fall.
And there will be nothing forceful or violent
in its impact on the obstacles it meets: it will not fall off,
but will settle there and illuminate what receives it. Anything
unreflective will deprive itself of that light.
ANL- Energy of light is endless, it can travel the world, this goes on with the
blessings of the whole, they are barely whispers, if you set up a wall around you,
then how can you expect the light to go in. Don't bury yourself in your own
miseries.

Enter into the directing mind of everyone, and let anyone else
enter your own.
ANL- Not in the reason of letting everyone know your private life, but rather that
understanding individuals directing mind permits for better cooperation, so that
both can quickly come to an understanding and compromise.
Injustice is a sin.
Lying, too, is a sin against the same goddess: her name is
Truth and she is the original cause of all that is true.
Moreover, the pursuit of pleasure as a good and the avoidance of pain as an evil
constitutes sin. Someone like that must
inevitably and frequently blame universal Nature for unfair
distribution as between bad men and good.

ANL- Bad stuff doesn't only happen to bad people, and vice versa. The while is
indifferent to pain, pleasure and such other things, so as we carry a piece of the
whole we should also be indifferent.

A man of sense and sensitivity would depart the company of

men without ever tasting falsehood, the pretense of any kind,
excess, or pomp. Or do you prefer to sit at
the table with wickedness?
ANL- Keep your mind clear of this irrational behavior, for such evil corrupt the
mind and soul, which take control of the actions made by our bodies.

In the educated attitude to death, then, there is nothing superficial

or demanding or disdainful: simply awaiting it as one of the
functions of nature.
ANL- It's not the end destination, but how we got there. We are brought into this
world and so we must leave it, this is nature's will, it has and always will be this
way. For this reason, our life is so precious, it's a box full of questions and answers
we must put together, like a puzzle which pieces are hiding under challenges and
adventures.

The sinner sins against himself: the wrongdoer wrongs himself, 4

by making himself morally bad.
ANL- He does this by going against the will of the whole, which is the same of his
own.

There can often be wrongs of omission as well as commission.

ANL- Choosing to do nothing is the same as agreeing with the wrongdoers.

Man, god, and the universe, all bear fruit, each in its own due
season.
If you can, show them the better way. If you cannot, remember
that this is why you have the gift of kindness.
ANL- I wish to my mother happiness, I have concluded ways to help her, but I am
a coward in accomplishing them. And when I do it doesn't go as expected.

Work. Don't work as a miserable drudge, or in any expectation

of pity or admiration. One aim only: action or inaction as civic
cause demands.

just as also his own virtue or vice shows not in what

he feels, but in what he does.
ANL- Yes, you may want to help your mother, you have the feeling that you want
to protect her, but you must bring them into the world and not just stuck in your
head.

All things are in a process of change.

You should leave another's wrong where it lies.

ANL- It is not yours to feed on. If someone throws shit at you, be indifferent and
just wash it off, don't dirty your hands picking up others shit

Hurry to your own directing mind, to the mind of the Whole,

and to the mind of this particular man. To your own mind, to
make its understanding just; to the mind of the Whole, to recall
what you are part of; to this man's mind, to see whether there
is ignorance or design - and at the same time to reflect that his
is a kindred mind.

You have endured innumerable troubles by not leaving your

directing mind to do the work it was made for. But enough.
ANL- By not answering the call of your life, you let others speak for you.

The Whole is either a god - then all is well:

or if purposeless - some sort of random arrangement of atoms
or molecules - you should not be without purpose yourself.
ANL- No matter the answer you must live this life.

139- 31
Why then
are you troubled? Say to your directing mind: 'Are you dead,
are you decayed, have you turned into an animal, are you
pretending, are you herding with the rest and sharing their
feed?'
ANL- In these answers, you will conclude that you have no reason to complain, for
the happenings, whatever they may be, have not brought you to your grave.

Whenever you are offended at someone's lack of shame, you

should immediately ask yourself: 'So is it possible for there to
be no shameless people in the world?' It is not possible. Do not
then ask for the impossible. This person is just one of the
shameless inevitably existing in the world. Have the same
thought ready for the rogue, the traitor, every sort of offender.
The recognition that this class of people must necessarily exist
will immediately make you kinder to them as individuals.

Anyway, where is the harm or surprise in the ignorant behaving as the ignorant do?
Think about it. Should you not rather
blame yourself, for not anticipating that this man would make
this error? Your reason gave you the resource to reckon this mistake likely from
this man, yet you forgot and are now
surprised that he went wrong.

Book 10
All that happens is an event either within your natural ability
to bear it, or not. So if it is an event within that ability, do not complain, but bear it
as you were born to. If outside that ability,
do not complain either: it will take you away before you have
the chance for complaint.

144- 6- 2

And do not imagine that this solid and this spirit are the same
as at original birth. All this was gathered only yesterday or the
day before from the influx of food consumed and air breathed
in.
ANT- We are beings of change and transformation, facing challenges and gaining
in material, the way we nourish our body, and how we keep it active, is the guiding
way of how our body will be.

To continue the same man as you have been up to now, to

be torn apart and defiled in this life you live, is just senseless
self-preservation like that of half-eaten gladiators who, mauled
all over and covered in blood by the wild beasts, still plead to
be kept alive for the next day, when in their same state they
will meet again those same claws and teeth.

Launch yourself, then, on these few claims. If you can stay

within them, stay there like a man translated to some paradise,
the Islands of the Blest. But if you feel yourself falling away and
losing control, retire in good heart to some corner where you
will regain control - or else make a complete exit from life, not
in anger, but simply, freely, with integrity, making this leaving
of it at least one achievement in your life.

He does not even give a thought to what

others will say or suppose about him, or do against him, but is
content to meet these two conditions - his own integrity in each
present action, and glad acceptance of his present lot.

147- 12

in so doing, to follow in the path of god.

12 What need of prompt or hint when it is open to yourself to
discern what needs to be done - and, if you can see your way,
to follow it with kind but undeviating intent. If you cannot see
the way, hold back and consult your best advisers. If some
other factors obstruct this advice, proceed on your present
resources, but with cautious deliberation, keeping always to
what seems just. Justice is the best aim, as any failure is in fact
a failure of justice.

A man following reason in all things combines relaxation

with initiative, spark with composure

As soon as you wake from sleep ask yourself: 'Will it make any
difference to you if others criticize what is in fact just and true?'

The time you have left is short. Live it as if you were on a 15

mountain. Here or there makes no difference, if wherever you
live you take the world as your city

What sort of people are they when eating, sleeping, coupling,

shitting, etc.? Then what are they like when given power over
men?

What is my directing mind to me? What am I turning it into

now, what use am I making of it?

Have in your mind's eye whole dramas with similar

settings, all that you know of from your own experience or
earlier history, All the same as now: just a different cast.

150- 32
This is wholly up to you - who is
there to prevent you being good and sincere?
You must just
decide to live no longer if you won't have these qualities. And
reason too abandons the man who won't.

But mind and reason have

the power, by their nature and at their will, to move through
every obstacle.

Your children are no more than 'leaves'. 'Leaves' too these loud
voices of loyal praise, these curses from your opponents, this
silent blame or mockery: mere 'leaves' likewise those with custody of your future
fame.

In a little while you too will close your

eyes, and soon there will be others mourning the man who
buries you.
The healthy eye must look at all there is to be seen, and not say 3 5
'I only want pale colours' - this is a symptom of disease.

And so the healthy

mind too must be ready for all eventualities.

Remember that what pulls the strings is that part of us hidden

inside: that is the power to act, that is the principle of life, that,
one could say, is the man himself. There is no more use in these parts
without the agency which starts or stops them than in the
shuttle without the weaver, the pen without the writer, the
whip without the driver.

Book 11
The properties of the rational soul. It looks on itself, it shapes
itself, it makes itself however it wishes to be, it gathers for
itself the fruit it bears - whereas the fruit of plants and the
corresponding produce of animals is gathered by others

Particular qualities too of the rational soul are love of neighbour, truthfulness,
integrity, no higher value than itself.

Again: 'Mere things, brute facts, should not provoke your rage.'
And: 'Ripe ears of corn are reaped, and so are lives.'
And many others like that.

In sum, the branch which stays with the tree

from the beginning of its growth and shares its transpiration is
not the same as the branch which is cut off and then regrafted,
whatever the gardeners say.

Just as those who try to block your progress along the straight
path of reason will not be able to divert you from principled
action, so you must not let them knock you out of your good
will towards them.

Both amount equally to desertion of duty - either

being frightened into retreat, or setting yourself at odds with
your natural kinsmen and friends.

157- 10
Someone despises me? That is his concern.
Will he hate me? That is his concern.
The rotten pretence of the man who says, 'I prefer to be honest 15
with you'! What are you on about, man? No need for this
preface - the reality will show.
Calculated honesty is a stiletto. There is nothing more degrading than the
friendship of wolves: avoid that above all. The good, honest, kindly
man has it in his eyes, and you cannot mistake him.

Live through life in the best way you can.

The
things themselves are inert: it is we who procreate judgements
about them, but
there is no need for imprinting at all, and any accidental print
can immediately be erased.
If they are contrary to nature, look for what accords
with your own nature and go straight for that, even if it brings
you no glory.

First. How do I regard my relation to them, and the fact that

we were all born for each other:
Second. What sort of people they are at table, in bed, and so
on.
Third. If what they do is right, no cause for complaint.
Fourth. You yourself have many faults and are no different
from them.
Fifth. You are not even sure that they are doing wrong.
Sixth. When you are high in indignation and perhaps losing
patience, remember that human life is a mere fragment of time
and shortly we are all in our graves
Seventh. It is not their actions which trouble us - because
these lie in their own directing minds - but our judgments
of them.
Eighth. The greater grief comes from the consequent anger and pain, rather than
the original causes of our anger and pain.
Ninth. Kindness is invincible - if it is sincere, not fawning or 9
pretense.

In your fits of anger have this thought ready to

mind, that there is nothing manly in being angry, but a gentle
calm is both more human and therefore more virile.

The closer to control of emotion, the

closer to power.

At their festivals the Spartans would put seats for visitors in the 24
shade, and sit themselves wherever they could.

Only a madman looks for figs in winter: just as mad to hope 33

for a child when the time of this gift is past.

Socrates used to question thus. 'What do you want to have?

The souls of rational or irrational beings?' 'Rational.' 'What
sort of rational beings? The pure or the lower?' 'The pure.'
'Why then don't you aim for that?' 'Because we have it.' 'Why
then your fighting and disagreements?

Book 12
All that you pray to reach at some point in the circuit of your
life can be yours now - if you are generous to yourself. That is,
if you leave all the past behind, entrust the future to Providence,
and direct the present solely to reverence and justice.

You should let nothing

stand in your way - not the iniquity of others, not what anyone
else thinks or says,
Hardly likely, is it, that
one blind to the enveloping flesh will spend his time eyeing clothes, houses,
reputation, or any other such trappings and
stage scenery?

There are three things in your composition: body, breath, and

mind. The first two are yours to the extent that you must take
care for them, but only the third is in the full sense your own.
So, if you separate from yourself - that is, from your mind - all
that others say or do, all that you yourself have said or done,
all that troubles you for the future, all that your encasing body
and associate breath bring on you without your choice, all that
is whirled round in the external vortex encircling us, so that
your power of the mind, transcending now all contingent ties, can
exist on its own, pure and liberated, doing what is just,

For lack of practice, the left hand is awkward for most tasks.

166-7
The model for the application of your principles is the boxer 9
rather than the gladiator. The gladiator puts down or takes up
the sword he uses, but the boxer always has his hands and
needs only to clench them into fists

Do not blame the gods: they do no wrong, willed or unwilled,

Do not blame men either: all their wrongs are unwilled. No
one, then, should be blamed.

If it is not right, don't do it: if it is not true, don't 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.
169

Jettison the judgement, and you are saved. And who is there to prevent this
jettison?
Secondly, and notwithstanding, that I have not seen my own soul either, and yet I
honour it. So it is with the gods too:

But if every one of these objects is contemptible, go on then to the final aim, which
is to follow reason and to follow god. To value these other things, to fret at their
loss which death will bring, militates against this aim.

how tiny in the whole earth the mere clod on which you creep. Reflecting on all
this, think nothing important other than active pursuit where your own nature leads
and passive acceptance of what universal nature brings.

How does your directing mind employ itself? This is the whole issue. All else, of
your own choice or not, is just corpse and smoke.

But I have not played my five acts, only three.' 'True, but in life three acts can be
the whole play.' Completion is determined by that being who caused first your
composition and now your dissolution. You have no part in either causation. Go
then in peace: the god who lets you go is at peace with you.