Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself - College of Stoic Philosophers

v MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS cxiii
plays with no fancy, indulges no reverie, gives the rein
'
our fathers had no fuller vision, neither
to no emotion ;
will our children behold any new thing.' l He meditates
and cross-examines self with the analytic voice of reason,
which restricts 2 each circumstance to its tiny sphere of
significance and power, which dissects each impression
into the sorry terms of its material counterpart, 3 which
disenchants sense of the illusions of movement and
colour, which 'views itself, determines itself,' 4 and
'
maintains
end.'
a motion of its own, towards its appointed
5
On first perusal the Thoughts probably seem too
highly moralised to be entirely sincere or interesting
as a self-revelation. They create an impression of
monotony, of formality, of reticence and schooled decorum
resulting from habitual self-restraint. The cry
of pain, the outburst of indignation or impatience is
silenced almost as soon as said ;
it is an ejaculation only
or a sigh, that never becomes explicit in the name of an
offender or the description of an offence. Feeling and
passion are hushed in principles and maxims, until the
record of spiritual experience becomes upon the surface
impersonal and colourless. But as tone and manner
grow familiar, the individuality of the writer becomes
distinct, intense, and unmistakable. Self-repression does
not obliterate the lines of personality, but unifies and
in a manner augments their effect; and the thoughts
To Himself become the one authentic testament and
record of philosophy upon the throne. For .onceJ the
1 xi. i.
3 For references, p. cxxxiv.
2 viii. 36 ; ix. 25.
4 xi. i.
5 viii. 60 ; v. 14.