Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself - College of Stoic Philosophers

v TO HIMSELF 59
have I now ? the child's ? the lad's ? the woman's ?
the tyrant's ? the cattle's ? or the beast's ?
calls
This may serve you as a test of what the world 12
'
reality
goods.' When once a man pictures the
of true and veritable '
goods,' goods such
as wisdom self-restraint justice and courage he
cannot with that picture in his mind add the
proverbial jest upon excess of goods ; it will not
fit. So long as the goods he pictures are goods
in the popular sense, he will have an open ear
for the poet's epigram, and accept it as perfectly
in point. It is true enough of excellence, as
regarded by
the world : otherwise the witticism
would not fail to shock and offend ; and applied
to wealth, and the appurtenances of luxury or
show, we accept it as a smart and pointed
epigram. To it then, and ask yourself Can
I accord the dignity or the idea of '
goods '
things which do not by their conception preclude
the opprobrious taunt, that the abundance of them
leaves the owner not a corner '
to ease himself in '
? l
1 The reference is to a fragment of Menander, restored by Cobet
with the help of this paragraph, and runnfng thus :
There's an old proverb, sir, against profusion,
If you'll excuse the somewhat coarse allusion
With such a glut of goods, amid the pelf
You've not a corner left in which to ease yourself.
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