Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself - College of Stoic Philosophers

1 66 MARCUS ANTONINUS BOOK
Phocion, 1 if indeed he meant what he said. That
is the right inward temper, and before the eye of
god man should not ever cherish resentment or
indignation. How can it be an evil for you, to
follow the present authorisation of your own
nature, and to accept the seasonable course of
Nature? Have you not been set here as an
instrument for the advantage of the universe ?
14 They despise yet fawn on one another ; and to
15
get the better of each other, cringe to one another.
my
* To be simple, sir, in all my dealings,
resolve !
'
that is
What a hollow spurious ring it
has ! Tut, man, no need of professions. Truth
will speak for itself; it should be written upon
your forehead : it rings in the voice,
it looks out
of the eyes, just as in the lover's expression the
beloved reads all. Goodness, true and simple,
should be like musk, so redolent that, will-he nill-
he, every one who draws near perceives its
fragrance. But the affectation of simpleness is
2 '
a dagger in the sleeve : wolf-friendship '
is the
depth of meanness ; beyond everything, shun that
1
Referring probably to Phocion 's charge to his son, before
drinking the hemlock, 'to bear no ill-will against the Athenians.'
2
Literally, 'a crooked stick,' referring to the Greek proverb,
'
Nothing can make a crooked stick straight.'