Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself - College of Stoic Philosophers

cxxx INTRODUCTION SECT.
in conviction, or more elevated in expression than in
Marcus. 1 His '
ruler and guide,' his 'pilot' and his
'lawgiver,' his 'monarch and lord,' man must 'keep the
deity enshrined within his heart unsoiled and unperturbed,
serenely concerting the divine Order by truth of utterance
and justice of act.' By this, '
the most precious organ
we possess, we attain faith, honour, truth, law, and a
good god
within.' 2
In this way Marcus grafts public and personal religion
into the central tenet of Cosmic order and inherence
which dominates his universe of thought. This de-
termines for him the life c
in conformity with nature/ 3
and from it may be deduced all the main affirmations
which make up his moral system.
The individual is part of a whole, knit together in
essential unity of being, operation, and design. The
action of the part has meaning only as a function of the
whole. To recognise the function is reason, to discharge
it life 'in smooth flow.' All obligation is cosmic in its
source and sanction. Justice, the base of all the virtues,' 4
expresses itself towards man, but is in essence a part of
holiness, 5 a consonance of will with God ;
so likewise in-
justice is no mere infringement or misappropriation of
another's right, but a transgression of the primal will, a
sin of irreverence committed not against man but God. 6
1 Cf. ii. 13, 17; iii. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 16 ; iv. I, 12; v. 10,
26, 27; vii. 64; viii. 45; x. 13; xii. I, 19, 26.
2 x. 13
3 iv. 23, 29, 49; v. i, 25; vi. 16; vii. u, 18; viii. i, 5,
54 ; x. 2, 25, 28 } xi. 1 6, 20, etc.
4
xi. 10.
6
xi. 20; xii. i.
6 xi. i.