Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself - College of Stoic Philosophers
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself - College of Stoic Philosophers Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself - College of Stoic Philosophers
28 MARCUS ANTONINUS BOOK advantage. If your advantage as a reasoning being, make sure of it ; if only as a living thing, so state the case, not bolstering your judgment by any self-conceit, only error in your scrutiny. be sure there lurks no Never prize anything as self-advantage, which will compel you to break faith, to forfeit self- respect, to suspect or hate or execrate another, to play false, to desire anything which requires screens or veils. He who is loyal to his own indwelling mind and god, and a willing votary of that inward grace, makes no scene, heaves no sighs, needs not a wilderness nor yet a crowd. The best is his, the life that neither seeks nor shuns. Whether his soul in its material shell remains at his disposal for a longer or a shorter space, he cares not a whit. So soon as it is time for him to take his leave, he is as ready to go his way as to engage in any other seemly or self-respecting act ; thing only, that while life shall last, careful of one his under- standing shall never disown the relation of a being possessed of mind and social aim. In the understanding throughly purged and chastened, there is no place for ulcerous sore or fester. Destiny cannot cut short the man's career
in TO HIMSELF 29 still incomplete, like an actor quitting the stage before the piece is finished and played out. He does not cringe nor brag, he does not lean nor yet stand off, he is accountable to none and yet has no concealments. Treat reverently your assumptive faculty : by it and it alone is your Inner Self secured against 9 assumptions not in harmony with nature and with the constitution of a rational creature. It is our warranty for mental circumspection, for community with men, and for the walk with gods. Casting all else away, hold fast these few 10 verities. And bear in mind withal that every man lives only in the present, this passing moment ; all else is life outlived, or yet undisclosed. Man's life has but a tiny span, tiny as the corner of earth on which he lives, short as fame's longest tenure, handed along the line of short-lived mortals, who do not even know themselves, far less the dead of long ago. To these add yet one injunction more. Always 11 define and outline carefully the object of percep- tion, so as to realise its naked substance, to dis- criminate its own totality by aid of its surroundings, to master its specific attributes, and those of the
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28 MARCUS ANTONINUS BOOK<br />
advantage. If your advantage as a reasoning<br />
being, make sure <strong>of</strong> it ; if only as a living thing,<br />
so state the case, not bolstering your judgment<br />
by any self-conceit, only<br />
error in your scrutiny.<br />
be sure there lurks no<br />
Never prize anything as self-advantage, which<br />
will compel you <strong>to</strong> break faith, <strong>to</strong> forfeit self-<br />
respect, <strong>to</strong> suspect or hate or execrate another, <strong>to</strong><br />
play false, <strong>to</strong> desire anything which requires screens<br />
or veils. He who is loyal <strong>to</strong> his own indwelling<br />
mind and god, and a willing votary <strong>of</strong> that inward<br />
grace, makes no scene, heaves no sighs, needs not<br />
a wilderness nor yet a crowd. The best is his,<br />
the life that neither seeks nor shuns. Whether<br />
his soul in its material shell remains at his disposal<br />
for a longer or a shorter space, he cares not a whit.<br />
So soon as it is time for him <strong>to</strong> take his leave, he<br />
is as ready <strong>to</strong> go his way as <strong>to</strong> engage in any<br />
other seemly or self-respecting act ;<br />
thing only, that while life shall last,<br />
careful <strong>of</strong> one<br />
his under-<br />
standing shall never disown the relation <strong>of</strong> a being<br />
possessed<br />
<strong>of</strong> mind and social aim.<br />
In the understanding throughly purged and<br />
chastened, there is no place for ulcerous sore or<br />
fester. Destiny<br />
cannot cut short the man's career
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