Think of the
infinite deeps of Time in the past, of the infinite depths to be!
infinite deeps of Time in the past, of the infinite depths to be!
Warner - World's Best Literature - v02 - Aqu to Bag
» Among
the many statues of Marcus extant is one representing him at the
tender age of eight years offering sacrifice. He was even then a
priest of Mars. It was the hand of Marcus alone that threw the
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1025
crown so carefully and skillfully that it invariably alighted upon the
head of the statue of the god. The entire ritual he knew by heart.
The great Emperor Antoninus Pius lived in the most simple and un-
ostentatious manner; yet even this did not satisfy the exacting, lofty
spirit of Marcus. At twelve years of age he began to practice all
the austerities of Stoicism. He became a veritable ascetic. He ate
most sparingly; slept little, and when he did so it was upon a bed
of boards. Only the repeated entreaties of his mother induced him
to spread a few skins upon his couch. His health was seriously
affected for a time; and it was, perhaps, to this extreme privation
that his subsequent feebleness was largely due. His education was
of the highest order of excellence. His tutors, like Nero's, were the
most distinguished teachers of the age; but unlike Nero, the lad was
in every way worthy of his instructors. His letters to his dearly
beloved teacher Fronto are still extant, and in a very striking and
charming way they illustrate the extreme simplicity of life in the
imperial household in the villa of Antoninus Pius at Lorium by the
sea. They also indicate the lad's deep devotion to his studies and
the sincerity of his love for his relatives and friends.
When his predecessor and adoptive father Antoninus felt the
approach of death, he gave to the tribune who asked him for the
watchword for the night the reply "Equanimity," directed that the
golden statue of Fortune that always stood in the Emperor's cham-
ber be transferred to that of Marcus Aurelius, and then turned his
face and passed away as peacefully as if he had fallen asleep. The
watchword of the father became the life-word of the son, who pro-
nounced upon that father in the Meditations' one of the noblest
eulogies ever written. "We should," says Renan, "have known noth-
ing of Antoninus if Marcus Aurelius had not handed down to us that
exquisite portrait of his adopted father, in which he seems, by reason
of humility, to have applied himself to paint an image superior to
what he himself was. Antoninus resembled a Christ who would not
have had an evangel; Marcus Aurelius a Christ who would have
written his own. "
It would be impossible here to detail even briefly all the manifold
public services rendered by Marcus Aurelius to the Empire during
his reign of twenty years. Among his good works were these: the
establishment, upon eternal foundation, of the noble fabric of the
Civil Law the prototype and basis of Justinian's task; the founding
of schools for the education of poor children; the endowment of
hospitals and homes for orphans of both sexes; the creation of trust
11-65
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
companies to receive and distribute legacies and endowments; the
just government of the provinces; the complete reform of the system
of collecting taxes; the abolition of the cruelty of the criminal laws
and the mitigation of sentences unnecessarily severe; the regulation
of gladiatorial exhibitions; the diminution of the absolute power pos-
sessed by fathers over their children and of masters over their
slaves; the admission of women to equal rights to succession to prop-
erty from their children; the rigid suppression of spies and inform-
ers; and the adoption of the principle that merit, as distinguished
from rank or political friendship, alone justified promotion in the
public service.
But the greatest reform was the reform in the Imperial Dignity
itself, as exemplified in the life and character of the Emperor. It is
this fact which gives to the 'Meditations' their distinctive value.
The infinite charm, the tenderness and sweetness of their moral
teachings, and their broad humanity, are chiefly noteworthy because
the Emperor himself practiced in his daily life the principles of
which he speaks, and because tenderness and sweetness, patience
and pity, suffused his daily conduct and permeated his actions.
The horrible cruelties of the reigns of Nero and Domitian seemed
only awful dreams under the benignant rule of Marcus Aurelius.
It is not surprising that the deification of a deceased emperor,
usually regarded by Senate and people as a hollow mockery, became
a veritable fact upon the death of Marcus Aurelius. He was not
regarded in any sense as mortal. All men said he had but returned
to his heavenly place among the immortal gods. As his body passed,
in the pomp of an imperial funeral, to its last resting-place, the tomb
of Hadrian,- the modern Castle of St. Angelo at Rome,— thousands
invoked the divine blessing of Antoninus. His memory was sacredly
His portrait was preserved as an inspiration in innumer-
able homes. His statue was almost universally given an honored
place among the household gods. And all this continued during
successive generations of men.
Marcus Aurelius has been censured for two acts: the first, the
massacre of the Christians which took place during his reign; the
second, the selection of his son Commodus as his successor. Of the
massacre of the Christians it may be said, that when the conditions
surrounding the Emperor are once properly understood, no just cause
for condemnation of his course remains. A prejudice against the sect
was doubtless acquired by him through the teachings of his dearly
beloved instructor and friend Fronto. In the writings of the revered
Epictetus he found severe condemnation of the Christians as fanatics.
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
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Stoicism enjoined upon men obedience to the law, endurance of evil
conditions, and patience under misfortunes. The Christians openly
defied the laws; they struck the images of the gods, they scoffed
at the established religion and its ministers. They welcomed death;
they invited it. To Marcus Aurelius, as he says in his 'Meditations,'
death had no terrors. The wise man stood, like the trained soldier,
ready to be called into action, ready to depart from life when the
Supreme Ruler called him; but it was also, according to the Stoic,
no less the duty of a man to remain until he was called, and it cer-
tainly was not his duty to invite destruction by abuse of all other
religions and by contempt for the distinctive deities of the Roman
faith. The Roman State was tolerant of all religions so long as they
were tolerant of others. Christianity was intolerant of all other reli-
gions; it condemned them all. In persecuting what he regarded as a
"pernicious sect" the Emperor regarded himself only as the conser-
vator of the peace and the welfare of the realm. The truth is, that
Marcus Aurelius enacted no new laws on the subject of the Chris-
tians. He even lessened the dangers to which they were exposed.
On this subject one of the Fathers of the Church, Tertullian, bears
witness. He says in his address to the Roman officials: -"Consult
your annals, and you will find that the princes who have been cruel
to us are those whom it was held an honor to have as persecutors.
On the contrary, of all princes who have known human and Divine
law, name one of them who has persecuted the Christians. We might
even cite one of them who declared himself their protector,-the
wise Marcus Aurelius. If he did not openly revoke the edicts against
our brethren, he destroyed the effect of them by the severe penalties
he instituted against their accusers. >> This statement would seem to
dispose effectually of the charge of cruel persecution brought so often
against the kindly and tender-hearted Emperor.
Of the appointment of Commodus as his successor, it may be said
that the paternal heart hoped against hope for filial excellence. Mar-
cus Aurelius believed, as clearly appears from many passages in the
'Meditations,' that men did not do evil willingly but through ignorance;
and that when the exceeding beauty of goodness had been fully dis-
closed to them, the depravity of evil conduct would appear no less
clearly. The Emperor who, when the head of his rebellious general
was brought to him, grieved because that general had not lived to be
forgiven; the ruler who burned unread all treasonable correspondence,
would not, nay, could not believe in the existence of such an inhu-
man monster as Commodus proved himself to be. The appointment
of Commodus was a calamity of the most terrific character; but it
testifies in trumpet tones to the nobility of the Emperor's heart, the
sincerity of his own belief in the triumph of right and justice.
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
The volume of the Meditations' is the best mirror of the Em-
peror's soul. Therein will be found expressed delicately but unmis-
takably much of the sorrow that darkened his life. As the book
proceeds the shadows deepen, and in the latter portion his loneliness
is painfully apparent. Yet he never lost hope or faith, or failed for
one moment in his duty as a man, a philosopher, and an Emperor.
In the deadly marshes and in the great forests which stretched beside
the Danube, in his mortal sickness, in the long nights when weak-
ness and pain rendered sleep impossible, it is not difficult to imagine
him in his tent, writing, by the light of his solitary lamp, the immor-
tal thoughts which alone soothed his soul; thoughts which have out-
lived the centuries-not perhaps wholly by chance- to reveal to
men in nations then unborn, on continents whose very existence was
then unknown, the Godlike qualities of one of the noblest of the sons
of men.
The best literal translation of the work into English thus far made
is that of George Long. It is published by Little, Brown & Co. of
Boston. A most admirable work, The Life of Marcus Aurelius,'
by Paul Barron Watson, published by Harper & Brothers, New York,
will repay careful reading. Other general works to be consulted are
as follows:-'Seekers After God,' by Rev. F. W. Farrar, Macmillan
& Co. (1890); and Classical Essays,' by F. W. H. Myers, Macmil-
lan & Co. (1888). Both of these contain excellent articles upon the
Emperor. Consult also Renan's History of the Origins of Christian-
ity,' Book vii. , Marcus Aurelius, translation published by Mathieson &
Co. (London, 1896); 'Essay on Marcus Aurelius' by Matthew Arnold,
in his Essays in Criticism,' Macmillan & Co. Further information
may also be had in Montesquieu's 'Decadence of the Romans,' Sis-
mondi's 'Fall of the Roman Empire,' and Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire. '
James F. Fuck
EXCERPTS FROM THE MEDITATIONS'
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
EGIN thy morning with these thoughts: I shall meet the med-
Bdler, the ingrate, the scorner, the hypocrite, the envious
man, the cynic. These men are such because they know
not to discern the difference between good and evil. But I know
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1029
that Goodness is Beauty and that Evil is Loathsomeness: I
know that the real nature of the evil-doer is akin to mine, not
only physically but in a unity of intelligence and in participa-
tion in the Divine Nature. Therefore I know that I cannot be
harmed by such persons, nor can they thrust upon me what is
base. I know, too, that I should not be angry with my kinsmen
nor hate them, because we are all made to work together fitly
like the feet, the hands, the eyelids, the rows of the upper and
the lower teeth. To be at strife one with another is therefore
contrary to our real nature; and to be angry with one another,
to despise one another, is to be at strife one with another. (Book
ii. , §1. )
Fashion thyself to the circumstances of thy lot. The men
whom Fate hath made thy comrades here, love; and love them
in sincerity and in truth. (Book vi. , § 39. )
This is distinctive of men,- to love those who do wrong.
And this thou shalt do if thou forget not that they are thy
kinsmen, and that they do wrong through ignorance and not
through design; that ere long thou and they will be dead; and
more than all, that the evil-doer hath really done thee no evil,
since he hath left thy conscience unharmed. (Book viii. , § 22. )
THE SUPREME NOBILITY OF DUTY
AⓇ
S A Roman and as a man, strive steadfastly every moment
to do thy duty, with dignity, sincerity, and loving-kindness,
freely and justly, and freed from all disquieting thought
concerning any other thing. And from such thought thou wilt
be free if every act be done as though it were thy last, putting
away from thee slothfulness, all loathing to do what Reason bids.
thee, all dissimulation, selfishness, and discontent with thine
appointed lot. Behold, then, how few are the things needful for
a life which will flow onward like a quiet stream, blessed even
as the life of the gods. For he who so lives, fulfills their will.
(Book ii. , §5. )
So long as thou art doing thy duty, heed not warmth nor
cold, drowsiness nor wakefulness, life, nor impending death; nay,
even in the very act of death, which is indeed only one of the
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
acts of life, it suffices to do well what then remains to be done.
(Book vi. , §2. )
I strive to do my duty; to all other considerations I am indif-
ferent, whether they be material things or unreasoning and ignor-
ant people. (Book vi. , § 22. )
-
THE FUTURE LIFE.
TH
HIS very moment thou mayest die. Think, act, as if this
were now to befall thee. Yet fear not death. If there are
gods they will do thee no evil. If there are not gods, or if
they care not for the welfare of men, why should I care to live
in a Universe that is devoid of Divine beings or of any provi-
dential care? But, verily, there are Divine beings, and they do
concern themselves with the welfare of men; and they have
given unto him all power not to fall into any real evil. If, indeed,
what men call misfortunes were really evils, then from these things
also, man would have been given the power to free himself.
But thou sayest-are not death, dishonor, pain, really evils?
Reflect that if they were, it is incredible that the Ruler of the
Universe has, through ignorance, overlooked these things, or has
not had the power or the skill to prevent them; and that thereby
what is real evil befalls good and bad alike. For true it is that
life and death, honor and dishonor, pain and pleasure, come im-
partially to the good and to the bad. But none of these things
can affect our lives if they do not affect our true selves. Now
our real selves they do not affect either for better or for worse;
and therefore such things are not really good or evil. (Book ii. ,
§11. )
IMMORTALITY
If our spirits live, how does Space suffice for all during all
the ages? Well, how does the earth contain the bodies of those
who have been buried therein during all the ages? In the latter
case, the decomposition and—after a certain period - the disper-
sion of the bodies already buried, affords room for other bodies;
so, in the former case, the souls which pass into Space, after a
certain period are purged of their grosser elements and become
ethereal, and glow with the glory of flame as they meet and
mingle with the Creative Energy of the world. And thereby
there is room for other souls which in their turn pass into Space.
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1031
This, then, is the explanation that may be given, if souls con-
tinue to exist at all.
Moreover, in thinking of all the bodies which the earth con-
tains, we must have in mind not only the bodies which are bur-
ied therein, but also the vast number of animals which are the
daily food of ourselves and also of the entire animal creation.
itself. Yet these, too, Space contains; for on the one hand they
are changed into blood which becomes part of the bodies that
are buried in the earth, and on the other hand these are changed
into the ultimate elements of fire or air. (Book iv. , § 21. )
I am spirit and body: neither will pass into nothingness, since
neither came therefrom; and therefore every part of me, though
changed in form, will continue to be a part of the Universe, and
that part will change into another part, and so on through all
the ages.
And therefore, through such changes I myself exist;
and, in like manner, those who preceded me and those who will
follow me will exist forever,—a conclusion equally true though
the Universe itself be dissipated at prescribed cycles of time.
(Book v. , § 13. )
How can it be that the gods, who have clothed the Universe
with such beauty and ordered all things with such loving-kindness
for the welfare of man, have neglected this alone, that the best
men- the men who walked as it were with the Divine Being,
and who, by their acts of righteousness and by their reverent
service, dwelt ever in his presence — should never live again when
once they have died? If this be really true, then be satisfied that
it is best that it should be so, else it would have been otherwise
ordained. For whatever is right and just is possible; and there-
fore, if it were in accord with the will of the Divine Being that
we should live after death-so it would have been. But because
it is otherwise, if indeed it be otherwise,- rest thou satisfied
that this also is just and right.
Moreover, is it not manifest to thee that in inquiring so curi-
ously concerning these things, thou art questioning God himself
as to what is right, and that this thou wouldst not do didst thou
not believe in his supreme goodness and wisdom? Therefore,
since in these we believe, we may also believe that in the gov-
ernment of the Universe nothing that is right and just has been
overlooked or forgotten. (Book xii. , $5. )
-
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
THE UNIVERSAL BEAUTY OF THE WORLD
T
O HIM who hath a true insight into the real nature of the Uni-
verse, every change in everything therein that is a part
thereof seems appropriate and delightful. The bread that
is over-baked so that it cracks and bursts asunder hath not the
form desired by the baker; yet none the less it hath a beauty of
its own, and is most tempting to the palate. Figs bursting in
their ripeness, olives near even unto decay, have yet in their broken
ripeness a distinctive beauty. Shocks of corn bending down in
their fullness, the lion's mane, the wild boar's mouth all flecked
with foam, and many other things of the same kind, though per-
haps not pleasing in and of themselves, yet as necessary parts of
the Universe created by the Divine Being they add to the beauty
of the Universe, and inspire a feeling of pleasure. So that if a
man hath appreciation of and an insight into the purpose of the
Universe, there is scarcely a portion thereof that will not to him.
in a sense seem adapted to give delight. In this sense the open
jaws of wild beasts will appear no less pleasing than their proto-
types in the realm of art. Even in old men and women he will
be able to perceive a distinctive maturity and seemliness, while
the winsome bloom of youth he can contemplate with eyes free
from lascivious desire. And in like manner it will be with very
many things which to every one may not seem pleasing, but
which will certainly rejoice the man who is a true student of
Nature and her works. (Book iii. , § 2. )
THE GOOD MAN
IN
IN THE mind of him who is pure and good will be found neither
corruption nor defilement nor any malignant taint. Unlike
the actor who leaves the stage before his part is played, the
life of such a man is complete whenever death may come. He
is neither cowardly nor presuming; not enslaved to life nor in-
different to its duties; and in him is found nothing worthy of
condemnation nor that which putteth to shame. (Book iii. , § 8. )
Test by a trial how excellent is the life of the good man;—the
man who rejoices at the portion given him in the universal lot
and abides therein, content; just in all his ways and kindly
minded toward all men. (Book iv. , $25. )
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1033
This is moral perfection: to live each day as though it were
the last; to be tranquil, sincere, yet not indifferent to one's fate.
(Book vii. , § 69. )
THE BREVITY OF LIFE
CAST
AST from thee all other things and hold fast to a few pre-
cepts such as these: forget not that every man's real life is
but the present moment,—an indivisible point of time,-—
and that all the rest of his life hath either passed away or is
uncertain. Short, then, the time that any man may live; and
small the earthly niche wherein he hath his home; and short is
longest fame,- a whisper passed from race to race of dying men,
ignorant concerning themselves, and much less really knowing
thee, who died so long ago. (Book iii. , § 10. )
VANITY OF LIFE
ANY are the doctors who have knit their brows over their
M patients and now are dead themselves; many are the astrol-
ogers who in their day esteemed themselves renowned
in foretelling the death of others, yet now they too are dead.
Many are the philosophers who have held countless discussions
upon death and immortality, and yet themselves have shared.
the common lot; many the valiant warriors who have slain their
thousands and yet have themselves been slain by Death; many
are the rulers and the kings of the earth, who, in their arrogance,
have exercised over others the power of life or death as though
they were themselves beyond the hazard of Fate, and yet them-
selves have, in their turn, felt Death's remorseless power. Nay,
even great cities- Helice, Pompeii, Herculaneum-have, so to
speak, died utterly. Recall, one by one, the names of thy friends
who have died; how many of these, having closed the eyes of
their kinsmen, have in a brief time been buried also.
To con-
clude: keep ever before thee the brevity and vanity of human life.
and all that is therein; for man is conceived to-day, and to-morrow
will be a mummy or ashes. Pass, therefore, this moment of life
in accord with the will of Nature, and depart in peace: even as
does the olive, which in its season, fully ripe, drops to the ground.
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
blessing its mother, the earth, which bore it, and giving thanks
to the tree which put it forth. (Book iv. , § 48. )
A simple yet potent help to enable one to despise Death
is to recall those who, in their greed for life, tarried the longest
here. Wherein had they really more than those who were cut
off untimely in their bloom? Together, at last, somewhere, they
all repose in death. Cadicianus, Fabius, Julianus, Lepidus, or
any like them, who bore forth so many to the tomb, were, in
their turn, borne thither also. Their longer span was but trivial!
Think too, of the cares thereof, of the people with whom it was
passed, of the infirmities of the flesh! All vanity!
Think of the
infinite deeps of Time in the past, of the infinite depths to be!
And in that vast profound of Time, what difference is there
between a life of three centuries and the three days' life of a
little child! (Book iv. , § 50. )
Think of the Universe of matter! . -an atom thou! Think of
the eternity of Time-thy predestined time but a moment! Re-
flect upon the great plan of Fate-how trivial this destiny of
thine! (Book v. , § 24. )
All things are enveloped in such darkness that they have
seemed utterly incomprehensible to those who have led the phil-
osophic life-and those too not a few in number, nor of ill-
repute. Nay, even to the Stoics the course of affairs seems
an enigma. Indeed, every conclusion reached seems tentative;
for where is the man to be found who does not change his con-
clusions? Think too of the things men most desire,- riches,
reputation, and the like,- and consider how ephemeral they are,
how vain! A vile wretch, a common strumpet, or a thief, may
possess them.
Then think of the habits and manners of those
about thee-how difficult it is to endure the least offensive of
such people-nay how difficult, most of all, it is to endure one's
self!
Amidst such darkness, then, and such unworthiness, amidst
this eternal change, with all temporal things and even Time itself
passing away, with all things moving in eternal motion, I can-
not imagine what, in all this, is worthy of a man's esteem or
serious effort. (Book v. , 10. )
§
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1035
DEATH
TO CEASE from bodily activity, to end all efforts of will and
of thought, to stop all these forever, is no evil. For do but
contemplate thine own life as a child, a growing lad, a youth,
an old man: the change to each of these periods was the death
of the period which preceded it. Why then fear the death of all
these the death of thyself? Think too of thy life under the
care of thy grandfather, then of thy life under the care of thy
mother, then under the care of thy father, and so on with every
change that hath occurred in thy life, and then ask thyself con-
cerning any change that hath yet to be, Is there anything to
fear? And then shall all fear, even of the great change,— the
change of death itself,- vanish and flee away. (Book ix. , § 21. )
FAME
CO
ONTEMPLATE men as from some lofty height. How innumera-
ble seem the swarms of men! How infinite their pomps
and ceremonies! How they wander to and fro upon the
deep in fair weather and in storm! How varied their fate in
their births, in their lives, in their deaths! Think of the lives
of those who lived long ago, of those who shall follow thee, of
those who now live in uncivilized lands who have not even heard
of thy name, and, of those who have heard it, how many will
soon forget it; of how many there are who now praise thee who
will soon malign thee,- and thence conclude the vanity of
fame, glory, reputation. (Book ix. , § 30. )
PRAYER
THE
HE gods are all-powerful or they are not. If they are not,
why pray to them at all? If they are, why dost thou not
pray to them to remove from thee all desire and all fear,
rather than to ask from them the things thou longest for, or
the removal of those things of which thou art in fear? For if
the gods can aid men at all, surely they will grant this request.
Wilt thou say that the removal of all fear and of all desire is
within thine own power? If so, is it not better, then, to use the
strength the gods have given, rather than in a servile and fawn-
ing way to long for those things which our will cannot obtain ?
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
And who hath said to thee that the gods will not strengthen thy
will? I say unto thee, begin to pray that this may come to pass,
and thou shalt see what shall befall thee. One man prays that
he may enjoy a certain woman: let thy prayer be to not have
even the desire so to do. Another man prays that he may not
be forced to do his duty: let thy prayer be that thou mayest
not even desire to be relieved of its performance. Another man
prays that he may not lose his beloved son: let thy prayer be
that even the fear of losing him may be taken away. Let these
be thy prayers, and thou shalt see what good will befall thee.
(Book ix. , § 41. )
FAITH
THE
HE Universe is either a chaos or a fortuitous aggregation and
dispersion of atoms; or else it is builded in order and har-
mony and ruled by Wisdom. If then it is the former, why
should one wish to tarry in a hap-hazard disordered mass? Why
should I be concerned except to know how soon I may cease to
be? Why should I be disquieted concerning what I do, since
whatever I may do, the elements of which I am composed will
at last, at last be scattered? But if the latter thought be true,
then I reverence the Divine One; I trust; I possess my soul in
peace. (Book vi. , § 10. )
PAIN
IT
F PAIN cannot be borne, we die. If it continue a long time it
becomes endurable; and the mind, retiring into itself, can
keep its own tranquillity and the true self be still unharmed.
If the body feel the pain, let the body make its moan. (Book
vii. , § 30. )
LOVE AND FORGIVENESS FOR THE EVIL-DOER
I'
F IT be in thy power, teach men to do better. If not, remem-
ber it is always in thy power to forgive. The gods are so
merciful to those who err, that for some purposes they grant
their aid to such men by conferring upon them health, riches, and
honor. What prevents thee from doing likewise? (Book ix. ,
§ 11
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1037
-
ETERNAL CHANGE THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE
TH
HINK, often, of how swiftly all things pass away and are no
more -the works of Nature and the works of man. The
substance of the Universe— matter-is like unto a river
that flows on forever. All things are not only in a constant
state of change, but they are the cause of constant and infinite
change in other things. Upon a narrow ledge thou standest!
Behind thee, the bottomless abyss of the Past! In front of thee,
the Future that will swallow up all things that now are! Over
what things, then, in this present life, wilt thou, O foolish man,
be disquieted or exalted-making thyself wretched; seeing that
they can vex thee only for a time-a brief, brief time! (Book
V. , § 23. )
THE PERFECT LIBERTY OF THE GOOD MAN
PER
ERADVENTURE men may curse thee, torture thee, kill thee; yet
can all these things not prevent thee from keeping at all
times thy thoughts pure, considerate, sober, and just. If
one should stand beside a limpid stream and cease not to revile
it, would the spring stop pouring forth its refreshing waters?
Nay, if such an one should even cast into the stream mud and
mire, would not the stream quickly scatter it, and so bear it away
that not even a trace would remain? How then wilt thou be
able to have within thee not a mere well that may fail thee, but
a fountain that shall never cease to flow? By wonting thyself
every moment to independence in judgment, joined together with
serenity of thought and simplicity in act and bearing. (Book
viii. , § 51. )
THE HARMONY AND UNITY OF THE UNIVERSE
O
DIVINE Spirit of the Universe, Thy will, Thy wish is mine!
Calmly I wait Thy appointed times, which cannot come too
early or too late! Thy providences are all fruitful to me!
Thou art the source, Thou art the stay, Thou art the end of all
things. The poet says of his native city, "Dear city of Cecrops ";
and shall I not say of the Universe, "Beloved City of God"?
(Book iv. , § 23. )
EITHER there is a predestined order in the Universe, or else it
is mere aggregation, fortuitous yet not without a certain kind of
order. For how within thyself can a certain system exist and
yet the entire Universe be chaos? And especially when in the
## p. 1038 (#464) ###########################################
1038
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
Universe all things, though separate and divided, yet work
together in unity? (Book iv. , § 27. )
THINK always of the Universe as one living organism, com-
posed of one material substance and one soul. Observe how all
things are the product of a single conception-the conception of
a living organism. Observe how one force is the cause of the
motion of all things: that all existing things are the concurrent
causes of all that is to be - the eternal warp and woof of the
ever-weaving web of existence. (Book iv. , § 40. )
THE CONDUCT of Life
C
OUNTRY houses, retreats in the mountains or by the sea-
these things men seek out for themselves; and often thou,
too, dost most eagerly desire such things. But this does.
but betoken the greatest ignorance; for thou art able, when thou
desirest, to retreat into thyself. No other where can a man find
a retreat more quiet and free from care than in his own soul;
and most of all, when he hath such rules of conduct that if
faithfully remembered, they will give to him perfect equanimity,
- for equanimity is naught else than a mind harmoniously disci-
plined. Cease not then to betake thyself to this retreat, there
to refresh thyself. Let thy rules of conduct be few and well
settled; so that when thou hast thought thereon, straightway they
will suffice to thoroughly purify the soul that possesses them, and
to send thee back, restless no more, to the things to the which
thou must return. With what indeed art thou disquieted? With
the wickedness of men? Meditate on the thought that men do
not do evil of set purpose. Remember also how many in the
past, who, after living in enmity, suspicion, hatred, and strife one
with another, now lie prone in death and are but ashes. Fret
then no more. But perhaps thou art troubled concerning the por-
tion decreed to thee in the Universe? Remember this alternative:
either there is a Providence or simply matter! Recall all the
proofs that the world is, as it were, a city or a commonwealth!
But perhaps the desires of the body still torment thee? Forget
not, then, that the mind, when conscious of its real self, when
self-reliant, shares not the agitations of the body, be they great
or small. Recall too all thou hast learned (and now holdest as
true) concerning pleasure and pain. But perhaps what men call
Fame allures thee? Behold how quickly all things are forgotten!
-
## p. 1039 (#465) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1039
Before us, after us, the formless Void of endless ages! How
vain is human praise! How fickle and undiscriminating those
who seem to praise! How limited the sphere of the greatest
fame! For the whole earth is but a point in space, thy dwelling-
place a tiny nook therein. How few are those who dwell there-
in, and what manner of men are those who will praise thee!
Therefore, forget not to retire into thine own little country
place,- thyself. Above all, be not diverted from thy course. Be
serene, be free, contemplate all things as a man, as a lover of
his kind, and of his country—yet withal as a being born to die.
Have readiest to thy hand, above all others, these two thoughts:
one, that things cannot touch the soul; the other, that things are
perpetually changing and ceasing to be. Remember how many of
these changes thou thyself hast seen! The Universe is change.
But as thy thoughts are, so thy life shall be. (Book iv. , §3. )
All things that befall thee should seem to thee as natural as
roses in spring or fruits in autumn: such things, I mean, as
disease, death, slander, dissimulation, and all other things which
give pleasure or pain to foolish men. (Book iv. , 44. )
Be thou like a lofty headland. Endlessly against it dash the
waves; yet it stands unshaken, and lulls to rest the fury of the
sea. (Book iv. , $49. )
((
Unhappy me upon whom this misfortune hath fallen! "-
nay, rather thou shouldst say, "Fortunate I, that having met with
such a misfortune, I am able to endure it without complaining; in
the present not dismayed, in the future dreading no evil. Such
a misadventure might have befallen a man who could not, per-
chance, have endured it without grievous suffering. " Why then
shouldst thou call anything that befalls thee a misfortune, and
not the rather a blessing? Is that a "misfortune," in all cases,
which does not defeat the purpose of man's nature? and does
that defeat man's nature which his Will can accept? And what
that Will can accept, thou knowest. Can this misadventure, then,
prevent thy Will from being just, magnanimous, temperate, cir-
cumspect, free from rashness or error, considerate, independent?
## p. 1040 (#466) ###########################################
1040
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
Can it prevent thy Will from being, in short, all that becomes at
man? Remember, then, should anything befall thee which might
cause thee to complain, to fortify thyself with this truth: this
is not a misfortune, while to endure it nobly is a blessing. (Book
iv. , § 49. )
Be not annoyed or dismayed or despondent if thou art not
able to do all things in accord with the rules of right conduct.
When thou hast not succeeded, renew thy efforts, and be serene
if, in most things, thy conduct is such as becomes a man. Love
and pursue the philosophic life. Seek Philosophy, not as thy
taskmaster but to find a medicine for all thy ills, as thou wouldst
seek balm for thine eyes, a bandage for a sprain, a lotion for a
fever. So it shall come to pass that the voice of Reason shall
guide thee and bring to thee rest and peace. Remember, too,
that Philosophy enjoins only such things as are in accord with
thy better nature. The trouble is, that in thy heart thou prefer-
rest those things which are not in accord with thy better nature.
For thou sayest, "What can be more delightful than these things? "
But is not the word "delightful" in this sense misleading?
Are not magnanimity, broad-mindedness, sincerity, equanimity,
and a reverent spirit more "delightful"? Indeed, what is more
"delightful" than Wisdom, if so be thou wilt but reflect upon the
strength and contentment of mind and the happiness of life that
spring from the exercise of the powers of thy reason and thine
intelligence? (Book v. , §9. )
As are thy wonted thoughts, so is thy mind; and the soul is
tinged by the coloring of the mind. Let then thy mind be con-
stantly suffused with such thoughts as these: Where it is pos-
sible for a man to live, there he can live nobly. But suppose
he must live in a palace? Be it so; even there he can live
nobly. (Book v. , § 16. )
Live with the gods! And he so lives who at all times makes
it manifest that he is content with his predestined lot, fulfilling
the entire will of the indwelling spirit given to man by the
Divine Ruler, and which is in truth nothing else than the Under-
standing the Reason of man. (Book v. , § 27. )
## p. 1041 (#467) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1041
Seek the solitude of thy spirit. This is the law of the
indwelling Reason-to be self-content and to abide in peace when
what is right and just hath been done. (Book vii. , § 28. )
Let thine eyes follow the stars in their courses as though
their movements were thine own. Meditate on the eternal trans-
formation of Matter. Such thoughts purge the mind of earthly
passion and desire. (Book vii. , § 45. )
Search thou thy heart! Therein is the fountain of good! Do
thou but dig, and abundantly the stream shall gush forth. (Book
vii. , § 59. )
Be not unmindful of the graces of life. Let thy body be
stalwart, yet not ungainly either in motion or in repose. Let not
thy face alone, but thy whole body, make manifest the alert-
ness of thy mind. Yet let all this be without affectation. (Book
vii.
the many statues of Marcus extant is one representing him at the
tender age of eight years offering sacrifice. He was even then a
priest of Mars. It was the hand of Marcus alone that threw the
## p. 1025 (#451) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1025
crown so carefully and skillfully that it invariably alighted upon the
head of the statue of the god. The entire ritual he knew by heart.
The great Emperor Antoninus Pius lived in the most simple and un-
ostentatious manner; yet even this did not satisfy the exacting, lofty
spirit of Marcus. At twelve years of age he began to practice all
the austerities of Stoicism. He became a veritable ascetic. He ate
most sparingly; slept little, and when he did so it was upon a bed
of boards. Only the repeated entreaties of his mother induced him
to spread a few skins upon his couch. His health was seriously
affected for a time; and it was, perhaps, to this extreme privation
that his subsequent feebleness was largely due. His education was
of the highest order of excellence. His tutors, like Nero's, were the
most distinguished teachers of the age; but unlike Nero, the lad was
in every way worthy of his instructors. His letters to his dearly
beloved teacher Fronto are still extant, and in a very striking and
charming way they illustrate the extreme simplicity of life in the
imperial household in the villa of Antoninus Pius at Lorium by the
sea. They also indicate the lad's deep devotion to his studies and
the sincerity of his love for his relatives and friends.
When his predecessor and adoptive father Antoninus felt the
approach of death, he gave to the tribune who asked him for the
watchword for the night the reply "Equanimity," directed that the
golden statue of Fortune that always stood in the Emperor's cham-
ber be transferred to that of Marcus Aurelius, and then turned his
face and passed away as peacefully as if he had fallen asleep. The
watchword of the father became the life-word of the son, who pro-
nounced upon that father in the Meditations' one of the noblest
eulogies ever written. "We should," says Renan, "have known noth-
ing of Antoninus if Marcus Aurelius had not handed down to us that
exquisite portrait of his adopted father, in which he seems, by reason
of humility, to have applied himself to paint an image superior to
what he himself was. Antoninus resembled a Christ who would not
have had an evangel; Marcus Aurelius a Christ who would have
written his own. "
It would be impossible here to detail even briefly all the manifold
public services rendered by Marcus Aurelius to the Empire during
his reign of twenty years. Among his good works were these: the
establishment, upon eternal foundation, of the noble fabric of the
Civil Law the prototype and basis of Justinian's task; the founding
of schools for the education of poor children; the endowment of
hospitals and homes for orphans of both sexes; the creation of trust
11-65
## p. 1026 (#452) ###########################################
1026
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
companies to receive and distribute legacies and endowments; the
just government of the provinces; the complete reform of the system
of collecting taxes; the abolition of the cruelty of the criminal laws
and the mitigation of sentences unnecessarily severe; the regulation
of gladiatorial exhibitions; the diminution of the absolute power pos-
sessed by fathers over their children and of masters over their
slaves; the admission of women to equal rights to succession to prop-
erty from their children; the rigid suppression of spies and inform-
ers; and the adoption of the principle that merit, as distinguished
from rank or political friendship, alone justified promotion in the
public service.
But the greatest reform was the reform in the Imperial Dignity
itself, as exemplified in the life and character of the Emperor. It is
this fact which gives to the 'Meditations' their distinctive value.
The infinite charm, the tenderness and sweetness of their moral
teachings, and their broad humanity, are chiefly noteworthy because
the Emperor himself practiced in his daily life the principles of
which he speaks, and because tenderness and sweetness, patience
and pity, suffused his daily conduct and permeated his actions.
The horrible cruelties of the reigns of Nero and Domitian seemed
only awful dreams under the benignant rule of Marcus Aurelius.
It is not surprising that the deification of a deceased emperor,
usually regarded by Senate and people as a hollow mockery, became
a veritable fact upon the death of Marcus Aurelius. He was not
regarded in any sense as mortal. All men said he had but returned
to his heavenly place among the immortal gods. As his body passed,
in the pomp of an imperial funeral, to its last resting-place, the tomb
of Hadrian,- the modern Castle of St. Angelo at Rome,— thousands
invoked the divine blessing of Antoninus. His memory was sacredly
His portrait was preserved as an inspiration in innumer-
able homes. His statue was almost universally given an honored
place among the household gods. And all this continued during
successive generations of men.
Marcus Aurelius has been censured for two acts: the first, the
massacre of the Christians which took place during his reign; the
second, the selection of his son Commodus as his successor. Of the
massacre of the Christians it may be said, that when the conditions
surrounding the Emperor are once properly understood, no just cause
for condemnation of his course remains. A prejudice against the sect
was doubtless acquired by him through the teachings of his dearly
beloved instructor and friend Fronto. In the writings of the revered
Epictetus he found severe condemnation of the Christians as fanatics.
## p. 1027 (#453) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1027
Stoicism enjoined upon men obedience to the law, endurance of evil
conditions, and patience under misfortunes. The Christians openly
defied the laws; they struck the images of the gods, they scoffed
at the established religion and its ministers. They welcomed death;
they invited it. To Marcus Aurelius, as he says in his 'Meditations,'
death had no terrors. The wise man stood, like the trained soldier,
ready to be called into action, ready to depart from life when the
Supreme Ruler called him; but it was also, according to the Stoic,
no less the duty of a man to remain until he was called, and it cer-
tainly was not his duty to invite destruction by abuse of all other
religions and by contempt for the distinctive deities of the Roman
faith. The Roman State was tolerant of all religions so long as they
were tolerant of others. Christianity was intolerant of all other reli-
gions; it condemned them all. In persecuting what he regarded as a
"pernicious sect" the Emperor regarded himself only as the conser-
vator of the peace and the welfare of the realm. The truth is, that
Marcus Aurelius enacted no new laws on the subject of the Chris-
tians. He even lessened the dangers to which they were exposed.
On this subject one of the Fathers of the Church, Tertullian, bears
witness. He says in his address to the Roman officials: -"Consult
your annals, and you will find that the princes who have been cruel
to us are those whom it was held an honor to have as persecutors.
On the contrary, of all princes who have known human and Divine
law, name one of them who has persecuted the Christians. We might
even cite one of them who declared himself their protector,-the
wise Marcus Aurelius. If he did not openly revoke the edicts against
our brethren, he destroyed the effect of them by the severe penalties
he instituted against their accusers. >> This statement would seem to
dispose effectually of the charge of cruel persecution brought so often
against the kindly and tender-hearted Emperor.
Of the appointment of Commodus as his successor, it may be said
that the paternal heart hoped against hope for filial excellence. Mar-
cus Aurelius believed, as clearly appears from many passages in the
'Meditations,' that men did not do evil willingly but through ignorance;
and that when the exceeding beauty of goodness had been fully dis-
closed to them, the depravity of evil conduct would appear no less
clearly. The Emperor who, when the head of his rebellious general
was brought to him, grieved because that general had not lived to be
forgiven; the ruler who burned unread all treasonable correspondence,
would not, nay, could not believe in the existence of such an inhu-
man monster as Commodus proved himself to be. The appointment
of Commodus was a calamity of the most terrific character; but it
testifies in trumpet tones to the nobility of the Emperor's heart, the
sincerity of his own belief in the triumph of right and justice.
## p. 1028 (#454) ###########################################
1028
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
The volume of the Meditations' is the best mirror of the Em-
peror's soul. Therein will be found expressed delicately but unmis-
takably much of the sorrow that darkened his life. As the book
proceeds the shadows deepen, and in the latter portion his loneliness
is painfully apparent. Yet he never lost hope or faith, or failed for
one moment in his duty as a man, a philosopher, and an Emperor.
In the deadly marshes and in the great forests which stretched beside
the Danube, in his mortal sickness, in the long nights when weak-
ness and pain rendered sleep impossible, it is not difficult to imagine
him in his tent, writing, by the light of his solitary lamp, the immor-
tal thoughts which alone soothed his soul; thoughts which have out-
lived the centuries-not perhaps wholly by chance- to reveal to
men in nations then unborn, on continents whose very existence was
then unknown, the Godlike qualities of one of the noblest of the sons
of men.
The best literal translation of the work into English thus far made
is that of George Long. It is published by Little, Brown & Co. of
Boston. A most admirable work, The Life of Marcus Aurelius,'
by Paul Barron Watson, published by Harper & Brothers, New York,
will repay careful reading. Other general works to be consulted are
as follows:-'Seekers After God,' by Rev. F. W. Farrar, Macmillan
& Co. (1890); and Classical Essays,' by F. W. H. Myers, Macmil-
lan & Co. (1888). Both of these contain excellent articles upon the
Emperor. Consult also Renan's History of the Origins of Christian-
ity,' Book vii. , Marcus Aurelius, translation published by Mathieson &
Co. (London, 1896); 'Essay on Marcus Aurelius' by Matthew Arnold,
in his Essays in Criticism,' Macmillan & Co. Further information
may also be had in Montesquieu's 'Decadence of the Romans,' Sis-
mondi's 'Fall of the Roman Empire,' and Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire. '
James F. Fuck
EXCERPTS FROM THE MEDITATIONS'
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
EGIN thy morning with these thoughts: I shall meet the med-
Bdler, the ingrate, the scorner, the hypocrite, the envious
man, the cynic. These men are such because they know
not to discern the difference between good and evil. But I know
## p. 1029 (#455) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1029
that Goodness is Beauty and that Evil is Loathsomeness: I
know that the real nature of the evil-doer is akin to mine, not
only physically but in a unity of intelligence and in participa-
tion in the Divine Nature. Therefore I know that I cannot be
harmed by such persons, nor can they thrust upon me what is
base. I know, too, that I should not be angry with my kinsmen
nor hate them, because we are all made to work together fitly
like the feet, the hands, the eyelids, the rows of the upper and
the lower teeth. To be at strife one with another is therefore
contrary to our real nature; and to be angry with one another,
to despise one another, is to be at strife one with another. (Book
ii. , §1. )
Fashion thyself to the circumstances of thy lot. The men
whom Fate hath made thy comrades here, love; and love them
in sincerity and in truth. (Book vi. , § 39. )
This is distinctive of men,- to love those who do wrong.
And this thou shalt do if thou forget not that they are thy
kinsmen, and that they do wrong through ignorance and not
through design; that ere long thou and they will be dead; and
more than all, that the evil-doer hath really done thee no evil,
since he hath left thy conscience unharmed. (Book viii. , § 22. )
THE SUPREME NOBILITY OF DUTY
AⓇ
S A Roman and as a man, strive steadfastly every moment
to do thy duty, with dignity, sincerity, and loving-kindness,
freely and justly, and freed from all disquieting thought
concerning any other thing. And from such thought thou wilt
be free if every act be done as though it were thy last, putting
away from thee slothfulness, all loathing to do what Reason bids.
thee, all dissimulation, selfishness, and discontent with thine
appointed lot. Behold, then, how few are the things needful for
a life which will flow onward like a quiet stream, blessed even
as the life of the gods. For he who so lives, fulfills their will.
(Book ii. , §5. )
So long as thou art doing thy duty, heed not warmth nor
cold, drowsiness nor wakefulness, life, nor impending death; nay,
even in the very act of death, which is indeed only one of the
## p. 1030 (#456) ###########################################
1030
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
acts of life, it suffices to do well what then remains to be done.
(Book vi. , §2. )
I strive to do my duty; to all other considerations I am indif-
ferent, whether they be material things or unreasoning and ignor-
ant people. (Book vi. , § 22. )
-
THE FUTURE LIFE.
TH
HIS very moment thou mayest die. Think, act, as if this
were now to befall thee. Yet fear not death. If there are
gods they will do thee no evil. If there are not gods, or if
they care not for the welfare of men, why should I care to live
in a Universe that is devoid of Divine beings or of any provi-
dential care? But, verily, there are Divine beings, and they do
concern themselves with the welfare of men; and they have
given unto him all power not to fall into any real evil. If, indeed,
what men call misfortunes were really evils, then from these things
also, man would have been given the power to free himself.
But thou sayest-are not death, dishonor, pain, really evils?
Reflect that if they were, it is incredible that the Ruler of the
Universe has, through ignorance, overlooked these things, or has
not had the power or the skill to prevent them; and that thereby
what is real evil befalls good and bad alike. For true it is that
life and death, honor and dishonor, pain and pleasure, come im-
partially to the good and to the bad. But none of these things
can affect our lives if they do not affect our true selves. Now
our real selves they do not affect either for better or for worse;
and therefore such things are not really good or evil. (Book ii. ,
§11. )
IMMORTALITY
If our spirits live, how does Space suffice for all during all
the ages? Well, how does the earth contain the bodies of those
who have been buried therein during all the ages? In the latter
case, the decomposition and—after a certain period - the disper-
sion of the bodies already buried, affords room for other bodies;
so, in the former case, the souls which pass into Space, after a
certain period are purged of their grosser elements and become
ethereal, and glow with the glory of flame as they meet and
mingle with the Creative Energy of the world. And thereby
there is room for other souls which in their turn pass into Space.
## p. 1031 (#457) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1031
This, then, is the explanation that may be given, if souls con-
tinue to exist at all.
Moreover, in thinking of all the bodies which the earth con-
tains, we must have in mind not only the bodies which are bur-
ied therein, but also the vast number of animals which are the
daily food of ourselves and also of the entire animal creation.
itself. Yet these, too, Space contains; for on the one hand they
are changed into blood which becomes part of the bodies that
are buried in the earth, and on the other hand these are changed
into the ultimate elements of fire or air. (Book iv. , § 21. )
I am spirit and body: neither will pass into nothingness, since
neither came therefrom; and therefore every part of me, though
changed in form, will continue to be a part of the Universe, and
that part will change into another part, and so on through all
the ages.
And therefore, through such changes I myself exist;
and, in like manner, those who preceded me and those who will
follow me will exist forever,—a conclusion equally true though
the Universe itself be dissipated at prescribed cycles of time.
(Book v. , § 13. )
How can it be that the gods, who have clothed the Universe
with such beauty and ordered all things with such loving-kindness
for the welfare of man, have neglected this alone, that the best
men- the men who walked as it were with the Divine Being,
and who, by their acts of righteousness and by their reverent
service, dwelt ever in his presence — should never live again when
once they have died? If this be really true, then be satisfied that
it is best that it should be so, else it would have been otherwise
ordained. For whatever is right and just is possible; and there-
fore, if it were in accord with the will of the Divine Being that
we should live after death-so it would have been. But because
it is otherwise, if indeed it be otherwise,- rest thou satisfied
that this also is just and right.
Moreover, is it not manifest to thee that in inquiring so curi-
ously concerning these things, thou art questioning God himself
as to what is right, and that this thou wouldst not do didst thou
not believe in his supreme goodness and wisdom? Therefore,
since in these we believe, we may also believe that in the gov-
ernment of the Universe nothing that is right and just has been
overlooked or forgotten. (Book xii. , $5. )
-
## p. 1032 (#458) ###########################################
1032
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
THE UNIVERSAL BEAUTY OF THE WORLD
T
O HIM who hath a true insight into the real nature of the Uni-
verse, every change in everything therein that is a part
thereof seems appropriate and delightful. The bread that
is over-baked so that it cracks and bursts asunder hath not the
form desired by the baker; yet none the less it hath a beauty of
its own, and is most tempting to the palate. Figs bursting in
their ripeness, olives near even unto decay, have yet in their broken
ripeness a distinctive beauty. Shocks of corn bending down in
their fullness, the lion's mane, the wild boar's mouth all flecked
with foam, and many other things of the same kind, though per-
haps not pleasing in and of themselves, yet as necessary parts of
the Universe created by the Divine Being they add to the beauty
of the Universe, and inspire a feeling of pleasure. So that if a
man hath appreciation of and an insight into the purpose of the
Universe, there is scarcely a portion thereof that will not to him.
in a sense seem adapted to give delight. In this sense the open
jaws of wild beasts will appear no less pleasing than their proto-
types in the realm of art. Even in old men and women he will
be able to perceive a distinctive maturity and seemliness, while
the winsome bloom of youth he can contemplate with eyes free
from lascivious desire. And in like manner it will be with very
many things which to every one may not seem pleasing, but
which will certainly rejoice the man who is a true student of
Nature and her works. (Book iii. , § 2. )
THE GOOD MAN
IN
IN THE mind of him who is pure and good will be found neither
corruption nor defilement nor any malignant taint. Unlike
the actor who leaves the stage before his part is played, the
life of such a man is complete whenever death may come. He
is neither cowardly nor presuming; not enslaved to life nor in-
different to its duties; and in him is found nothing worthy of
condemnation nor that which putteth to shame. (Book iii. , § 8. )
Test by a trial how excellent is the life of the good man;—the
man who rejoices at the portion given him in the universal lot
and abides therein, content; just in all his ways and kindly
minded toward all men. (Book iv. , $25. )
## p. 1033 (#459) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1033
This is moral perfection: to live each day as though it were
the last; to be tranquil, sincere, yet not indifferent to one's fate.
(Book vii. , § 69. )
THE BREVITY OF LIFE
CAST
AST from thee all other things and hold fast to a few pre-
cepts such as these: forget not that every man's real life is
but the present moment,—an indivisible point of time,-—
and that all the rest of his life hath either passed away or is
uncertain. Short, then, the time that any man may live; and
small the earthly niche wherein he hath his home; and short is
longest fame,- a whisper passed from race to race of dying men,
ignorant concerning themselves, and much less really knowing
thee, who died so long ago. (Book iii. , § 10. )
VANITY OF LIFE
ANY are the doctors who have knit their brows over their
M patients and now are dead themselves; many are the astrol-
ogers who in their day esteemed themselves renowned
in foretelling the death of others, yet now they too are dead.
Many are the philosophers who have held countless discussions
upon death and immortality, and yet themselves have shared.
the common lot; many the valiant warriors who have slain their
thousands and yet have themselves been slain by Death; many
are the rulers and the kings of the earth, who, in their arrogance,
have exercised over others the power of life or death as though
they were themselves beyond the hazard of Fate, and yet them-
selves have, in their turn, felt Death's remorseless power. Nay,
even great cities- Helice, Pompeii, Herculaneum-have, so to
speak, died utterly. Recall, one by one, the names of thy friends
who have died; how many of these, having closed the eyes of
their kinsmen, have in a brief time been buried also.
To con-
clude: keep ever before thee the brevity and vanity of human life.
and all that is therein; for man is conceived to-day, and to-morrow
will be a mummy or ashes. Pass, therefore, this moment of life
in accord with the will of Nature, and depart in peace: even as
does the olive, which in its season, fully ripe, drops to the ground.
## p. 1034 (#460) ###########################################
1034
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
blessing its mother, the earth, which bore it, and giving thanks
to the tree which put it forth. (Book iv. , § 48. )
A simple yet potent help to enable one to despise Death
is to recall those who, in their greed for life, tarried the longest
here. Wherein had they really more than those who were cut
off untimely in their bloom? Together, at last, somewhere, they
all repose in death. Cadicianus, Fabius, Julianus, Lepidus, or
any like them, who bore forth so many to the tomb, were, in
their turn, borne thither also. Their longer span was but trivial!
Think too, of the cares thereof, of the people with whom it was
passed, of the infirmities of the flesh! All vanity!
Think of the
infinite deeps of Time in the past, of the infinite depths to be!
And in that vast profound of Time, what difference is there
between a life of three centuries and the three days' life of a
little child! (Book iv. , § 50. )
Think of the Universe of matter! . -an atom thou! Think of
the eternity of Time-thy predestined time but a moment! Re-
flect upon the great plan of Fate-how trivial this destiny of
thine! (Book v. , § 24. )
All things are enveloped in such darkness that they have
seemed utterly incomprehensible to those who have led the phil-
osophic life-and those too not a few in number, nor of ill-
repute. Nay, even to the Stoics the course of affairs seems
an enigma. Indeed, every conclusion reached seems tentative;
for where is the man to be found who does not change his con-
clusions? Think too of the things men most desire,- riches,
reputation, and the like,- and consider how ephemeral they are,
how vain! A vile wretch, a common strumpet, or a thief, may
possess them.
Then think of the habits and manners of those
about thee-how difficult it is to endure the least offensive of
such people-nay how difficult, most of all, it is to endure one's
self!
Amidst such darkness, then, and such unworthiness, amidst
this eternal change, with all temporal things and even Time itself
passing away, with all things moving in eternal motion, I can-
not imagine what, in all this, is worthy of a man's esteem or
serious effort. (Book v. , 10. )
§
## p. 1035 (#461) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1035
DEATH
TO CEASE from bodily activity, to end all efforts of will and
of thought, to stop all these forever, is no evil. For do but
contemplate thine own life as a child, a growing lad, a youth,
an old man: the change to each of these periods was the death
of the period which preceded it. Why then fear the death of all
these the death of thyself? Think too of thy life under the
care of thy grandfather, then of thy life under the care of thy
mother, then under the care of thy father, and so on with every
change that hath occurred in thy life, and then ask thyself con-
cerning any change that hath yet to be, Is there anything to
fear? And then shall all fear, even of the great change,— the
change of death itself,- vanish and flee away. (Book ix. , § 21. )
FAME
CO
ONTEMPLATE men as from some lofty height. How innumera-
ble seem the swarms of men! How infinite their pomps
and ceremonies! How they wander to and fro upon the
deep in fair weather and in storm! How varied their fate in
their births, in their lives, in their deaths! Think of the lives
of those who lived long ago, of those who shall follow thee, of
those who now live in uncivilized lands who have not even heard
of thy name, and, of those who have heard it, how many will
soon forget it; of how many there are who now praise thee who
will soon malign thee,- and thence conclude the vanity of
fame, glory, reputation. (Book ix. , § 30. )
PRAYER
THE
HE gods are all-powerful or they are not. If they are not,
why pray to them at all? If they are, why dost thou not
pray to them to remove from thee all desire and all fear,
rather than to ask from them the things thou longest for, or
the removal of those things of which thou art in fear? For if
the gods can aid men at all, surely they will grant this request.
Wilt thou say that the removal of all fear and of all desire is
within thine own power? If so, is it not better, then, to use the
strength the gods have given, rather than in a servile and fawn-
ing way to long for those things which our will cannot obtain ?
## p. 1036 (#462) ###########################################
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MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
And who hath said to thee that the gods will not strengthen thy
will? I say unto thee, begin to pray that this may come to pass,
and thou shalt see what shall befall thee. One man prays that
he may enjoy a certain woman: let thy prayer be to not have
even the desire so to do. Another man prays that he may not
be forced to do his duty: let thy prayer be that thou mayest
not even desire to be relieved of its performance. Another man
prays that he may not lose his beloved son: let thy prayer be
that even the fear of losing him may be taken away. Let these
be thy prayers, and thou shalt see what good will befall thee.
(Book ix. , § 41. )
FAITH
THE
HE Universe is either a chaos or a fortuitous aggregation and
dispersion of atoms; or else it is builded in order and har-
mony and ruled by Wisdom. If then it is the former, why
should one wish to tarry in a hap-hazard disordered mass? Why
should I be concerned except to know how soon I may cease to
be? Why should I be disquieted concerning what I do, since
whatever I may do, the elements of which I am composed will
at last, at last be scattered? But if the latter thought be true,
then I reverence the Divine One; I trust; I possess my soul in
peace. (Book vi. , § 10. )
PAIN
IT
F PAIN cannot be borne, we die. If it continue a long time it
becomes endurable; and the mind, retiring into itself, can
keep its own tranquillity and the true self be still unharmed.
If the body feel the pain, let the body make its moan. (Book
vii. , § 30. )
LOVE AND FORGIVENESS FOR THE EVIL-DOER
I'
F IT be in thy power, teach men to do better. If not, remem-
ber it is always in thy power to forgive. The gods are so
merciful to those who err, that for some purposes they grant
their aid to such men by conferring upon them health, riches, and
honor. What prevents thee from doing likewise? (Book ix. ,
§ 11
## p. 1037 (#463) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1037
-
ETERNAL CHANGE THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE
TH
HINK, often, of how swiftly all things pass away and are no
more -the works of Nature and the works of man. The
substance of the Universe— matter-is like unto a river
that flows on forever. All things are not only in a constant
state of change, but they are the cause of constant and infinite
change in other things. Upon a narrow ledge thou standest!
Behind thee, the bottomless abyss of the Past! In front of thee,
the Future that will swallow up all things that now are! Over
what things, then, in this present life, wilt thou, O foolish man,
be disquieted or exalted-making thyself wretched; seeing that
they can vex thee only for a time-a brief, brief time! (Book
V. , § 23. )
THE PERFECT LIBERTY OF THE GOOD MAN
PER
ERADVENTURE men may curse thee, torture thee, kill thee; yet
can all these things not prevent thee from keeping at all
times thy thoughts pure, considerate, sober, and just. If
one should stand beside a limpid stream and cease not to revile
it, would the spring stop pouring forth its refreshing waters?
Nay, if such an one should even cast into the stream mud and
mire, would not the stream quickly scatter it, and so bear it away
that not even a trace would remain? How then wilt thou be
able to have within thee not a mere well that may fail thee, but
a fountain that shall never cease to flow? By wonting thyself
every moment to independence in judgment, joined together with
serenity of thought and simplicity in act and bearing. (Book
viii. , § 51. )
THE HARMONY AND UNITY OF THE UNIVERSE
O
DIVINE Spirit of the Universe, Thy will, Thy wish is mine!
Calmly I wait Thy appointed times, which cannot come too
early or too late! Thy providences are all fruitful to me!
Thou art the source, Thou art the stay, Thou art the end of all
things. The poet says of his native city, "Dear city of Cecrops ";
and shall I not say of the Universe, "Beloved City of God"?
(Book iv. , § 23. )
EITHER there is a predestined order in the Universe, or else it
is mere aggregation, fortuitous yet not without a certain kind of
order. For how within thyself can a certain system exist and
yet the entire Universe be chaos? And especially when in the
## p. 1038 (#464) ###########################################
1038
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
Universe all things, though separate and divided, yet work
together in unity? (Book iv. , § 27. )
THINK always of the Universe as one living organism, com-
posed of one material substance and one soul. Observe how all
things are the product of a single conception-the conception of
a living organism. Observe how one force is the cause of the
motion of all things: that all existing things are the concurrent
causes of all that is to be - the eternal warp and woof of the
ever-weaving web of existence. (Book iv. , § 40. )
THE CONDUCT of Life
C
OUNTRY houses, retreats in the mountains or by the sea-
these things men seek out for themselves; and often thou,
too, dost most eagerly desire such things. But this does.
but betoken the greatest ignorance; for thou art able, when thou
desirest, to retreat into thyself. No other where can a man find
a retreat more quiet and free from care than in his own soul;
and most of all, when he hath such rules of conduct that if
faithfully remembered, they will give to him perfect equanimity,
- for equanimity is naught else than a mind harmoniously disci-
plined. Cease not then to betake thyself to this retreat, there
to refresh thyself. Let thy rules of conduct be few and well
settled; so that when thou hast thought thereon, straightway they
will suffice to thoroughly purify the soul that possesses them, and
to send thee back, restless no more, to the things to the which
thou must return. With what indeed art thou disquieted? With
the wickedness of men? Meditate on the thought that men do
not do evil of set purpose. Remember also how many in the
past, who, after living in enmity, suspicion, hatred, and strife one
with another, now lie prone in death and are but ashes. Fret
then no more. But perhaps thou art troubled concerning the por-
tion decreed to thee in the Universe? Remember this alternative:
either there is a Providence or simply matter! Recall all the
proofs that the world is, as it were, a city or a commonwealth!
But perhaps the desires of the body still torment thee? Forget
not, then, that the mind, when conscious of its real self, when
self-reliant, shares not the agitations of the body, be they great
or small. Recall too all thou hast learned (and now holdest as
true) concerning pleasure and pain. But perhaps what men call
Fame allures thee? Behold how quickly all things are forgotten!
-
## p. 1039 (#465) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1039
Before us, after us, the formless Void of endless ages! How
vain is human praise! How fickle and undiscriminating those
who seem to praise! How limited the sphere of the greatest
fame! For the whole earth is but a point in space, thy dwelling-
place a tiny nook therein. How few are those who dwell there-
in, and what manner of men are those who will praise thee!
Therefore, forget not to retire into thine own little country
place,- thyself. Above all, be not diverted from thy course. Be
serene, be free, contemplate all things as a man, as a lover of
his kind, and of his country—yet withal as a being born to die.
Have readiest to thy hand, above all others, these two thoughts:
one, that things cannot touch the soul; the other, that things are
perpetually changing and ceasing to be. Remember how many of
these changes thou thyself hast seen! The Universe is change.
But as thy thoughts are, so thy life shall be. (Book iv. , §3. )
All things that befall thee should seem to thee as natural as
roses in spring or fruits in autumn: such things, I mean, as
disease, death, slander, dissimulation, and all other things which
give pleasure or pain to foolish men. (Book iv. , 44. )
Be thou like a lofty headland. Endlessly against it dash the
waves; yet it stands unshaken, and lulls to rest the fury of the
sea. (Book iv. , $49. )
((
Unhappy me upon whom this misfortune hath fallen! "-
nay, rather thou shouldst say, "Fortunate I, that having met with
such a misfortune, I am able to endure it without complaining; in
the present not dismayed, in the future dreading no evil. Such
a misadventure might have befallen a man who could not, per-
chance, have endured it without grievous suffering. " Why then
shouldst thou call anything that befalls thee a misfortune, and
not the rather a blessing? Is that a "misfortune," in all cases,
which does not defeat the purpose of man's nature? and does
that defeat man's nature which his Will can accept? And what
that Will can accept, thou knowest. Can this misadventure, then,
prevent thy Will from being just, magnanimous, temperate, cir-
cumspect, free from rashness or error, considerate, independent?
## p. 1040 (#466) ###########################################
1040
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
Can it prevent thy Will from being, in short, all that becomes at
man? Remember, then, should anything befall thee which might
cause thee to complain, to fortify thyself with this truth: this
is not a misfortune, while to endure it nobly is a blessing. (Book
iv. , § 49. )
Be not annoyed or dismayed or despondent if thou art not
able to do all things in accord with the rules of right conduct.
When thou hast not succeeded, renew thy efforts, and be serene
if, in most things, thy conduct is such as becomes a man. Love
and pursue the philosophic life. Seek Philosophy, not as thy
taskmaster but to find a medicine for all thy ills, as thou wouldst
seek balm for thine eyes, a bandage for a sprain, a lotion for a
fever. So it shall come to pass that the voice of Reason shall
guide thee and bring to thee rest and peace. Remember, too,
that Philosophy enjoins only such things as are in accord with
thy better nature. The trouble is, that in thy heart thou prefer-
rest those things which are not in accord with thy better nature.
For thou sayest, "What can be more delightful than these things? "
But is not the word "delightful" in this sense misleading?
Are not magnanimity, broad-mindedness, sincerity, equanimity,
and a reverent spirit more "delightful"? Indeed, what is more
"delightful" than Wisdom, if so be thou wilt but reflect upon the
strength and contentment of mind and the happiness of life that
spring from the exercise of the powers of thy reason and thine
intelligence? (Book v. , §9. )
As are thy wonted thoughts, so is thy mind; and the soul is
tinged by the coloring of the mind. Let then thy mind be con-
stantly suffused with such thoughts as these: Where it is pos-
sible for a man to live, there he can live nobly. But suppose
he must live in a palace? Be it so; even there he can live
nobly. (Book v. , § 16. )
Live with the gods! And he so lives who at all times makes
it manifest that he is content with his predestined lot, fulfilling
the entire will of the indwelling spirit given to man by the
Divine Ruler, and which is in truth nothing else than the Under-
standing the Reason of man. (Book v. , § 27. )
## p. 1041 (#467) ###########################################
MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
1041
Seek the solitude of thy spirit. This is the law of the
indwelling Reason-to be self-content and to abide in peace when
what is right and just hath been done. (Book vii. , § 28. )
Let thine eyes follow the stars in their courses as though
their movements were thine own. Meditate on the eternal trans-
formation of Matter. Such thoughts purge the mind of earthly
passion and desire. (Book vii. , § 45. )
Search thou thy heart! Therein is the fountain of good! Do
thou but dig, and abundantly the stream shall gush forth. (Book
vii. , § 59. )
Be not unmindful of the graces of life. Let thy body be
stalwart, yet not ungainly either in motion or in repose. Let not
thy face alone, but thy whole body, make manifest the alert-
ness of thy mind. Yet let all this be without affectation. (Book
vii.
