Meditations

Meditations

Introduction

A Ruler and a Philosopher?

Plato, a famous philosopher, once said that states would be truly happy only if kings became philosophers, or philosophers became kings. People often said Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, was fond of this quote. And many have used this quote to describe Marcus himself.

If we were looking for a real-life example of Plato’s philosopher-king, Marcus Aurelius would be a strong candidate. He ruled the Roman Empire for nearly twenty years. He also wrote the famous book “Meditations.”

However, Marcus himself would likely have disagreed with this title. He didn’t see himself as a philosopher. At best, he would have said he was a dedicated student trying his best to practice a philosophy that others had developed. And becoming emperor? That was almost an accident.

Marcus Annius Verus was born in the year A.D. 121. At that time, people might have thought he would have a successful career in the government. But no one could have guessed he would become emperor. And no one could have pictured the bronze statue of him on a horse that still stands in Rome today, a symbol reaching across two thousand years.

Marcus’s Early Life

Marcus came from a well-known family. The year he was born, his grandfather was serving his second term as consul. This was officially Rome’s highest job, though by then it was mostly a ceremonial role. His father died when Marcus was very young, so his grandfather raised him. In “Meditations,” Marcus writes about his father’s character, based on his own memories or what others told him. But he probably knew his father more from stories than from direct memories.

We don’t know much else about his childhood or early teen years, other than what we can learn from “Meditations.” A biography of him, written much later (called the “Historia Augusta,” which is not always reliable), says he was a serious child. But it also says he enjoyed:

• Boxing
• Wrestling
• Running
• Falconry (hunting with trained falcons)

He was also a good ballplayer and loved to hunt. These were all common activities for a wealthy young man at that time.

Marcus’s Education

The first book of “Meditations” gives us some clues about Marcus’s schooling. We can also guess based on what we know about education for wealthy Romans back then.

• Early Learning: His first teachers were likely slaves. From them, he would have learned basic reading and writing.
• Literature: Later, private tutors would have taught him literature. He almost certainly studied Vergil’s famous epic poem, the “Aeneid.”
• The Goal: Rhetoric: Literature was just a stepping stone to the main goal: rhetoric. Rhetoric means the art of effective speaking and writing. This skill was essential for a political career, both during the earlier Roman Republic and under the Empire.

Learning Rhetoric

Under a trained rhetoric teacher, Marcus would have started with short exercises. Then, he would have moved on to full practice speeches. In these exercises, he might have had to:

• Argue for one side in imaginary court cases.
• Advise a famous historical person at a key moment in their career. For example, should Julius Caesar cross the Rubicon River? Should Alexander the Great turn back at the Indus River? Why or why not?

The Importance of Greek

This training happened in both Greek and Latin. For a long time, wealthy Romans had been essentially bilingual, meaning they spoke two languages fluently. Marcus’s Greek, both spoken and written, would have been as good as a 19th-century Russian noble’s French or a Heian-era Japanese courtier’s Chinese.

Marcus would have read:

• Homer’s Greek epics, the “Iliad” and “Odyssey.”
• The Greek tragedies of Euripides.
• Virgil’s Roman epic, the “Aeneid.”

He would have studied the speeches of Demosthenes, a great Greek speaker, as much as those of Cicero, a Roman statesman.

Greek writers and artists were the top intellectuals in Rome. Later in life, when Emperor Marcus talked with his court doctor, Galen, he would have spoken in Greek, Galen’s native language. Most importantly, Greek was the main language of philosophy.

Earlier Roman writers like Lucretius, Cicero, and Seneca had successfully created philosophical works in Latin. But the greatest philosophers—Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, and Epicurus, for example—had all been Greek. To seriously study philosophy, one needed to know Greek and its special terms. So, it’s natural that Marcus wrote his own “Meditations” in Greek.

Becoming the Heir to the Throne

A very important event happened in the year 137, when Marcus was sixteen. The emperor at the time, Hadrian, had no children. An illness a year earlier had almost killed him, and it was clear he wouldn’t live forever.

Hadrian had become emperor because the previous emperor, Trajan (his distant relative), had adopted him. Following this example, Hadrian had chosen a respected nobleman, Lucius Ceionius Commodus, to be the next emperor. But in 137, Ceionius died suddenly. Hadrian had to find a new successor.

He chose Antoninus, a senator who also had no children. There was a condition: Antoninus had to adopt two people:

1. Marcus (who was Antoninus’s nephew by marriage).
2. Lucius Verus, the son of Ceionius, who was then seven years old.

Marcus then took the family name of his adopted father, becoming Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.

Preparing for Power

When Hadrian died the next year, Marcus was first in line for the throne. His education, and that of the younger Lucius Verus, became even more important. It’s clear that a lot of money was spent on their training.

• Greek Rhetoric: His teacher for Greek public speaking was Herodes Atticus. He was an incredibly wealthy Athenian speaker whose dramatic life and relationships could have been a TV show.
• Latin Public Speaking: His teacher for Latin was Marcus Cornelius Fronto, a well-known speaker from North Africa. Luckily, many of Fronto’s letters to Marcus still exist. They show the close bond between teacher and student. They also show Fronto’s sadness as Marcus became more interested in philosophy and less in rhetoric.

The first book of “Meditations” thanks several philosophers from whom Marcus learned, both in formal classes and informally. He likely studied with or listened to many others as well.

Marcus also learned a lot outside of school. For legal and political training, young noblemen often learned by working closely with older public figures. One such person was Junius Rusticus, whose influence Marcus describes.

But the biggest influence was surely Marcus’s adopted father, Antoninus Pius. Marcus would have watched Antoninus:

• Meet with representatives from other lands (embassies).
• Preside over legal trials.
• Dictate letters to his officials.

Meanwhile, Marcus’s own status as the future emperor was made clear in several ways. In 140, at age nineteen, he served as consul (a high government official). He served again in 145. In that same year, he married Antoninus’s daughter, Faustina. He praises her in “Meditations.”

A Quiet Period: The Reign of Antoninus Pius

Edward Gibbon, a famous historian, wrote that the reign of Antoninus Pius “furnishes very few materials for history, which is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.” This means that Antoninus’s rule was peaceful and uneventful.

This period also doesn’t tell us much about Marcus’s life. In the fifteen years between 145 and 161, we know little about what Marcus was doing. Our only hints about his personal growth come from his letters with Fronto.

However, by this time, the two main things that would shape the rest of his life seem to be set:

1. The imperial court (his duties as future emperor).
2. Philosophy.

There’s no sign that Marcus had a sudden “conversion” to philosophy like some ancient figures did (or pretended to). But it’s clear that by the mid-to-late 140s, philosophy was becoming more and more central to his life.

Marcus Becomes Emperor

On August 31, 161, Antoninus died. Marcus became the sole emperor. He immediately made his adopted brother, Lucius Verus, his co-ruler. This seems to be what Emperor Hadrian had originally planned (perhaps Antoninus had ignored this part).

Lucius Verus’s reputation has often been compared unfavorably to Marcus’s. Old historical sources, especially the gossipy “Historia Augusta,” tend to describe Verus as a selfish and corrupt person, almost like the earlier emperor Nero. This might be unfair. It’s certainly not how Marcus describes him in “Meditations.”

However, it does seem clear that Marcus was the senior emperor in practice, even if not in title. This isn’t surprising. He was nearly ten years older and had been trained for the job by Antoninus himself.

What Kind of Ruler Was He?

So, what kind of ruler did this philosopher-king turn out to be? Perhaps not as different from previous emperors as one might think.

Even though an emperor was all-powerful in theory, his actual ability to control events was much more limited. Much of his time was spent dealing with problems that had worked their way up the government system. This included:

• Meeting with delegations from big cities in the empire.
• Hearing appeals for criminal cases.
• Answering questions from governors in the provinces.
• Handling requests from individuals.

Even with a working system of imperial messengers, news could take weeks to travel from the edges of the empire to the center. Imperial orders also took time to reach those who needed to carry them out. While the emperor’s decision was law, actually enforcing it was mostly up to provincial governors. Their effectiveness could be affected by:

• Lack of skill.
• Corruption.
• A understandable wish not to anger powerful local people.

We get brief looks at Marcus’s daily tasks from records of imperial decisions found in letters, stone inscriptions, and legal books. Laws from his time show some interest in:

• Freeing slaves.
• Rules about guardians for orphans.

Some have tried to link the first to Marcus’s philosophical beliefs and the second to his own childhood without a father. But it’s unclear how much of this policy was directly due to Marcus, or how different it was from what his predecessor, Antoninus, did.

More interesting, perhaps, are signs of Marcus’s personality in the wording of imperial documents. We see:

• Careful attention to detail.
• A self-awareness about language. These traits seem to set Marcus apart from earlier emperors. Neither quality is surprising for the author of “Meditations” or a student of Fronto, whose letters emphasize finding the exact right word (le mot juste).

Working with the Senate

One of Marcus’s main goals was to keep good relations with the Senate (a council of elder statesmen). The aim was to hide the emperor’s total power: to maintain an appearance of agreement and teamwork, and sometimes to achieve it for real.

A hundred years earlier, some nobles might have dreamed of bringing back the old Republic (where the Senate had more power). But by the second century, it was clear that rule by an emperor (the principate) was the only option. The Senate expected to be treated with respect in public and hoped to have influence behind the scenes. “Good” emperors were willing to go along with this.

In trying to please the upper classes, Marcus was following the example of Antoninus and Trajan. He was not like Hadrian, whose relationship with the Senate had been difficult. This approach is a big reason why Marcus is remembered as a kind and wise statesman. An emperor could do what he wanted while alive, but it was the historians from the senatorial class—men like Cornelius Tacitus or Cassius Dio—who wrote the history books and had the final say.

Dealing with the Christians

Another area where Marcus continued the policies of earlier emperors concerned a small and unusual religious group known as the Christians. Over the next century, they would become a growing issue for the government. They were noticeable enough in Marcus’s time for a writer named Celsus to write a long attack called “Against the Christians,” parts of which still exist.

Intellectuals who bothered to notice the Christians usually looked down on them (Marcus’s tutor Fronto was apparently one of them). Ordinary people and government officials often viewed them with suspicion and hostility.

The Christians were unpopular because they did not worship the gods that the community around them worshipped. Their “atheism”—their refusal to accept any god but their own—was seen as a danger to their neighbors and themselves. Their unwillingness to recognize the emperor as a divine figure also threatened the social order and the safety of the state.

Christianity had been illegal since the early second century. This happened after Pliny the Younger (then governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor) asked Emperor Trajan for guidance. Trajan set a formal policy:

• Christians were not to be actively hunted down.
• But those who admitted to being Christian were to be executed.

However, widespread persecution across the entire empire didn’t happen until much later. In the second century, the main danger to Christians came from individual provincial governors. These governors acted either on their own or due to pressure from local communities. For example, in the late 170s, public unrest in Lyons (in modern-day France) led to a violent attack on Greek-speaking Christians living there. Marcus’s mentor, Junius Rusticus, had tried and executed Christians (including the writer Justin Martyr) when he was city prefect of Rome.

Marcus himself was surely aware of Christianity. But there’s no reason to think it was a major concern for him. The one direct mention of it in “Meditations” (in Book 11, section 3) is almost certainly a later addition by someone else. Any other supposed hidden references that some scholars claim to find are likely not real.

Bigger Problems: War and Sickness

In any case, Marcus had more serious worries than this troublesome religious group. Soon after he became emperor, Rome’s relationship with its only major rival, the Parthian empire in the East, became much worse.

For a long time (since at least Emperor Trajan’s rule), the two empires had been in a kind of “cold war.” This uneasy peace would last for the next two hundred years, but about once every generation, it would flare up into actual fighting. The death of Antoninus and the rise of two new, untested rulers (Marcus and Lucius Verus) might have made the Parthian ruler Vologaeses III decide to challenge Rome.

In 162, Parthian forces:

• Occupied Armenia (a kingdom between the two empires).
• Wiped out a Roman army sent to help. Syria, a Roman province, was itself threatened. Rome had no choice but to fight back.

War in the East

Lucius Verus, the younger emperor, was sent to lead the war in the East. He stayed there for the next four years. Neither he nor Marcus had much military experience; Antoninus’s peaceful reign hadn’t given them a chance to get any. The actual day-to-day running of the war was likely left to professional soldiers.

After some early losses, the Romans recovered. Under commanders like the energetic young Avidius Cassius, they forced the Parthians to ask for peace. Parthia would remain a threat, but for the near future, it could be managed through diplomacy (negotiations).

The Plague

However, Verus and Marcus had no time to enjoy their victory. Within a year, a terrible plague swept through the empire. It was apparently brought back from the East by Lucius’s soldiers. Later writers might have exaggerated its effects, but the number of deaths was certainly very high. The plague also delayed the emperors’ ability to deal with a second threat.

Trouble on the Northern Frontier

This second threat was growing instability on the empire’s other major border: the northern frontier. This border separated Rome from the “barbarian” peoples of Germany, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia.

During this time, several of these tribes were being pushed by other peoples from farther north. As a result, they started moving across the empire’s borders. They weren’t trying to conquer Rome, but were looking for land to live on. Rome’s response shifted between:

• Aggressively fighting them off.
• Trying to find ways to let them settle peacefully. Rome’s failure to create a lasting policy for this problem would eventually lead to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire about three centuries later.

In some places, a clear line could be drawn. Hadrian’s Wall across Britain was built to protect the empire’s farthest frontier. Under Antoninus, it was briefly replaced by another wall even farther north. But such walls were not practical on the European mainland, and that’s where the main threat was.

Rome still remembered a disaster from A.D. 9. In that year, the Roman general Varus and three entire legions (thousands of soldiers) marched into the forests of Germany and were never seen again.

In the second century, the biggest worry was the area farther south, roughly modern-day Romania and Hungary. Trajan’s conquest of Dacia (an ancient kingdom in that area) two generations earlier had removed one source of trouble, but problems could still arise.

In Marcus’s time, three groups were especially problematic:

1. The Quadi
2. The Marcomanni
3. The Jazyges (also called Sarmatians)

Moving three legions to fight Parthia in the East had seriously weakened Rome’s defenses on the northern frontier. The barbarian tribes took advantage of this. In 168, Marcus and Verus marched north to deal with them.

A Different Kind of War

Much of the rest of Marcus’s reign would be spent in on-and-off warfare. First came the Marcomannic Wars in the early 170s. Then there was a second campaign later in that decade.

And Marcus had to bear most of this burden alone. Lucius Verus died suddenly (likely from a stroke) in early 169.

This was a very different kind of war from the traditional campaigns Verus’s armies had fought in the East. The usual military tactics and diplomatic methods that worked against the Parthians were not very useful here. Instead, the Romans had to:

• Negotiate with individual tribal chiefs.
• These chiefs often had limited authority.
• Their promises were not always reliable.

When negotiations failed, the only option was a slow, bloody series of small fights rather than large, decisive battles.

The Brutal Reality of War

A special column was built in Rome to celebrate the end of the Marcomannic Wars. The carvings that spiral around this monument show the progress of the fighting. Even though it was meant to be a victory monument, the scenes depict a harsh reality:

• Brutal combat
• Widespread destruction
• Executions

Marcus himself wrote about this grimly. He noted that spiders are proud of catching flies, and men are proud of catching hares, fish, boars, bears, or even Sarmatians (one of the enemy tribes). A shocking image in “Meditations” describes “a severed hand or foot, or a decapitated head.” This might reflect what Marcus saw himself during the wars.

Revolt and Resolution

By the year 175, it seemed the Romans were winning the war. But then, troubling news arrived. Avidius Cassius had rebelled and declared himself emperor. Cassius was a skilled general who had done well in the earlier Parthian War. As governor of Syria, he was practically in charge of the Eastern part of the empire.

Some Eastern areas, like Cappadocia, stayed loyal to Marcus. But Cassius was recognized as emperor in much of the East. This was especially true in Egypt, which supplied essential grain to Rome. A civil war seemed certain.

The civil war was avoided only because one of Cassius’s own officers assassinated him. Still, Marcus had to travel to the East to re-establish his authority. He took his wife, Faustina, with him, but she died during the journey. Marcus visited major Eastern cities like Antioch and Alexandria. He eventually reached Athens, where he took part in the Eleusinian Mysteries. These were secret religious ceremonies related to the worship of Demeter, the goddess of farming.

Planning for the Future: Commodus

Marcus was now in his fifties and his health was getting worse. The revolt by Cassius had highlighted the need to plan for who would rule next.

Faustina had given birth to at least thirteen children, but many died young. By the mid-170s, Marcus had only one living son, Commodus. Commodus was just entering his teenage years.

Previous emperors had often adopted their successors. But Marcus had a son, so there was no reason for him to continue the adoption policy. There’s no sign he even thought about it. In the following years, Commodus was quickly promoted. He gained a position almost equal to a co-emperor.

• He became consul in 177, at age fifteen.
• In the same year, he was given all major imperial powers. The only exception was the title of Pontifex Maximus, the head of Roman state religion. The reigning emperor held this position alone, for life.

Marcus’s Final Years and Legacy

The victories in the Marcomannic Wars didn’t bring lasting peace. In 178, Marcus and Commodus had to march north to fight again. Two years later, in 180, Marcus died at the age of fifty-eight. He was the first emperor in a century to pass the throne directly to his son (since Vespasian).

Sadly, Commodus did not turn out to be the ruler Marcus might have hoped for. He is remembered as a corrupt and cruel tyrant, like earlier bad emperors Caligula or Nero. His many flaws stood out even more when compared to his father. After twelve years as emperor, Commodus was assassinated. His death started a series of power struggles that troubled the empire for the next hundred years.

Why Marcus Wrote “Meditations”: Seeking Comfort in Philosophy

People usually think Marcus wrote “Meditations” during the 170s, his last ten years. There’s little doubt this was a dark and stressful time for him. Between 169 and 179, he faced:

• Constant fighting on the empire’s borders.
• The failed revolt of Avidius Cassius.
• The deaths of his co-emperor Lucius Verus, his wife Faustina, and others.

He probably didn’t know about the century of chaos that would follow his death. However, he might have suspected that his son and successor, Commodus, was not the ideal leader.

It’s understandable that Marcus turned to philosophy for comfort in these difficult times. But to understand what he was looking for in his studies, we need some background. To grasp “Meditations” properly, we need to know about:

1. Stoicism: The main philosophical system in the book.
2. The general role of philosophy in ancient life.

Philosophy Then vs. Now

Today, philosophy is mostly an academic subject. Few people outside of professional philosophers see it as key to their daily lives. We might talk about having a “philosophy of life,” but this usually has little to do with what’s taught in university philosophy departments.

Modern philosophy often seems distant from what the American philosopher Thomas Nagel calls “mortal questions.” These are the big problems we all face, such as:

• Making ethical choices.
• Building a fair society.
• Dealing with suffering and loss.
• Facing the idea of death.

Indeed, most of us today would probably see these issues as belonging to religion rather than philosophy.

Ancient Philosophy: A Guide for Life

For Marcus and people of his time, things were very different. Ancient philosophy certainly had its academic side. Cities like Athens had publicly funded professors of philosophy. Professional philosophers taught, debated, and wrote, much like they do today.

But philosophy also had a more practical purpose. It wasn’t just something to write or argue about. It was expected to provide a “design for living”—a set of rules to guide one’s life.

Ancient religion did not fill this need. It focused more on rituals than on beliefs. It offered little in terms of moral or ethical guidance. And no one expected it to. That was philosophy’s job.

Understanding Stoicism: The Basics

Philosophy as we think of it today was largely shaped by Socrates, an Athenian thinker from the 5th century B.C. But it was mainly in the Hellenistic period (the few centuries after Alexander the Great) that different philosophical schools emerged. These schools offered complete “belief systems.” An individual could accept one of these systems as a whole. They were designed to explain the entire world.

The most important of these Hellenistic systems, for Romans generally and for Marcus specifically, was the Stoic school. This movement got its name from the stoa (a “porch” or “covered walkway”) in downtown Athens. This was where its founder, Zeno (around 332–262 B.C.), taught his students.

Zeno’s ideas were rephrased and developed by those who came after him:

• Cleanthes (331–232 B.C.)
• Chrysippus (280–c. 206 B.C.)

Chrysippus, especially, wrote a huge amount. He laid the foundations for Stoicism as a systematic philosophy. This early, more academic Stoicism is the source of certain key terms and ideas that appear often in “Meditations.” To properly understand Marcus’s approach, we need to be somewhat familiar with the whole system.

Key Ideas of Stoicism

The Guiding Force: Logos

Perhaps the most important Stoic belief was that the world is organized in a rational and logical way. More specifically, they believed it is controlled and guided by an all-present force they called logos.

The term logos is hard to translate perfectly because it has so many meanings. (Our English word “logic” and the ending “-logy” in words like “biology” come from it.) At a basic level, logos refers to rational, connected thought. This could mean:

• A characteristic (like rationality, the ability to reason).
• The product of that characteristic (like an understandable statement or a logical argument).

Logos operates in individuals and in the universe as a whole:

• In individuals: It is the power of reason.
• On a cosmic level: It is the rational principle that governs how the universe is organized. In this sense, logos is the same as “Nature,” “Providence,” or “God.” (When the Gospel of John in the Bible says “the Word”—which is logos in Greek—was with God and was God, it’s using Stoic terms.)

Fate and Free Will

According to Stoics, all events are determined by the logos. They happen in an unbreakable chain of cause and effect. This makes Stoicism a deterministic system from the start. This means it seems to leave no room for human free will or moral responsibility.

However, the Stoics were not comfortable with this conclusion. They tried to solve this problem by defining free will as willingly accepting what is going to happen anyway.

They used an analogy: a man is like a dog tied to a moving wagon.

• If the dog refuses to run with the wagon, it will be dragged along.
• Yet, the choice is still his: to run or be dragged.

In the same way, humans are responsible for their choices and actions. This is true even though the logos has already foreseen these actions, and they are part of its plan. Even actions that seem—and truly are—immoral or unjust help to advance the overall design. Taken as a whole, this grand design is harmonious and good. These actions, too, are governed by the logos.

Logos as a Physical Substance

But the logos is not just an impersonal power that governs the world. It is also an actual substance that fills the world. This is not meant in a metaphorical way. They believed it was as real as oxygen or carbon.

In its physical form, the logos exists as pneuma.

• The earliest Stoics imagined pneuma as pure fire.
• Chrysippus thought of it as a mix of fire and air.

Pneuma is the power—the vital breath—that gives life to animals and humans. It is the force that makes flowers grow. It is even present in non-living things like stone or metal. There, it acts as the energy holding the object together—the internal tension that makes a stone a stone.

So, all objects are made of two things:

1. Lifeless substance (the material part).
2. Vital force (the pneuma).

When Marcus refers to “cause and material,” he means these two elements. Inert substance is the material, and animating pneuma is the cause (or active principle). These are united as long as the object exists.

When an object is destroyed, the pneuma that animated it is reabsorbed into the overall logos. This process of destruction and rejoining happens to individual things all the time.

The Universe’s Cycles: Ekpyrosis

This also happens on a larger scale to the entire universe. At vast intervals, the universe is completely consumed by fire. This process is known as ekpyrosis. After this, the universe is born again.

Stoic Interest in Many Subjects

If the world is truly orderly, and if the logos controls all things, then this order should be visible in all its aspects. This idea led the Stoics not only to think about the nature of the physical world but also to look for the rationality of the logos in other areas. They were notably interested in:

• Formal logic.
• The nature and structure of language (their interest in word origins, or etymology, is seen in several entries in “Meditations”).

This drive to create systems appears in many other fields as well. A list of Chrysippus’s own works, recorded by a biographer named Diogenes Laertius, is very long. It includes not only purely philosophical books but also works like “On How to Read Poetry” and “Against the Touching Up of Paintings.” Later Stoics also wrote about history and anthropology, as well as more traditional philosophical topics.

Stoicism Spreads to Rome

The influence of Stoic thought grew not just intellectually but also geographically. The movement started in Athens. In the 150 years after Chrysippus’s death, it spread to other cities, especially Rome.

During the second century B.C., the Romans were conquering vast territories. By the end of that century, they effectively controlled the Mediterranean region. With conquest came cultural exchange. The poet Horace, looking back at how quickly Greek culture influenced Roman nobles between 200 B.C. and his own time, famously said: “Conquered Greece was the true conqueror.”

The influence of Greece is very clear in philosophy. Greek philosophers, including the Stoics Panaetius (around 185–109 B.C.) and Posidonius (around 135–50 B.C.), visited Rome to give lectures. Many stayed for long periods.

In the first century B.C., it became fashionable for wealthy young Romans to study in Athens. This was like an ancient version of the “Grand Tour” that young European nobles took in the 18th century. Roman aristocrats supported individual philosophers. They also built large libraries of philosophical books (like the one at the famous Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum). Romans like Cicero and Lucretius tried to explain Greek philosophical ideas in Latin.

A Roman Version of Stoicism

Of the major philosophical schools, Stoicism had the greatest appeal in Rome. Unlike some other groups, the Stoics had always approved of taking part in public life. This matched well with the values of the Roman aristocracy, who highly valued political and military activity.

Stoicism has even been described, somewhat fairly, as the real religion of upper-class Romans. In this process, Roman Stoicism became a bit different from the philosophy taught by Zeno and Chrysippus.

Perhaps the most important change was a shift in emphasis, a narrowing of focus:

• Early and Middle Stoicism (Greek Stoicism) was a complete system. It aimed to cover all knowledge. Its focus was on theories and ideas.
• Roman Stoicism, in contrast, was a practical guide. It was not an abstract system of thought, but an attitude to life.

Partly due to historical reasons, it is this Romanized Stoicism that has most influenced later generations. In fact, when we call a person “stoic” today—meaning they show strength and courage in tough times—it probably owes more to Roman noble values than to Greek philosophers.

Stoic Heroes and Thinkers

Later Stoicism was inspired as much by individuals as by texts or doctrines.

Defenders of Principle

One of its most respected followers was Marcus Cato (known as Cato the Younger). He was a senator known for his strong moral principles. When Julius Caesar marched on Rome in 49 B.C., Cato sided with Caesar’s rival, Pompey, to defend the lawful government. When it became clear Caesar would win, Cato chose not to live under Caesar’s rule. He killed himself in 46 B.C. Within a century, he became a symbol of Stoic resistance to tyranny.

Under Emperor Nero, Cato was celebrated by the poet Lucan. Senator Thrasea Paetus wrote a praising biography of Cato; Thrasea’s own resistance to Nero eventually cost him his life. Thrasea’s son-in-law, Helvidius Priscus, played a similar role—and met a similar end—under Emperor Vespasian.

Thrasea and Helvidius, in turn, served as role models for second-century nobles like Marcus’s mentors: Rusticus, Maximus, and Severus. Marcus himself honors them (and Cato) in “Meditations.”

Writers and Teachers

Cato, Thrasea, and Helvidius were men of action, not writers. Their legendary heroism makes them seem a bit one-dimensional.

A more complex and much more interesting figure was Lucius Annaeus Seneca (around 4 B.C.–A.D. 65), often called Seneca the Younger. He was the uncle of the poet Lucan. Seneca was initially an advisor to the young Emperor Nero. Eventually, Nero forced him to commit suicide after Seneca was linked to a plot against him.

People’s lives don’t always match their ideals. Some critics have found it hard to accept Seneca’s enormous wealth and his shameless praise of Nero alongside his philosophical views. Yet, his writings (especially his “Letters to Lucilius”) remain the most engaging and easy-to-understand expressions of later Stoicism. Because they were written in Latin, they were also very influential for future generations.

The Outsider Philosophers

But not all Stoics were wealthy senators. There was another kind of Stoic example: the outsider. These individuals lived simple, disciplined (ascetic) lifestyles. This earned them the admiration of their wealthier contemporaries. It also allowed them to criticize the pretenses of upper-class society with real authority.

• An early example was Gaius Musonius Rufus (around A.D. 30–100). He was a member of the Roman administrative class (the “knights”). He was exiled by both Emperor Nero and Emperor Vespasian.
• An even more striking example was Musonius’s student, Epictetus (around A.D. 55–c. 135). Epictetus began studying philosophy while he was a slave. After being freed, he dedicated the rest of his life to it. He was exiled to Nicopolis (in northern Greece) under Emperor Domitian. After Domitian died, Epictetus chose to stay in Nicopolis. He taught and lectured to visitors who often traveled great distances to study with him.

The Influence of Epictetus

One of these visitors was the upper-class historian and statesman Arrian (around A.D. 86–160). Arrian published a detailed record of Epictetus’s discussions, usually called the “Discourses of Epictetus.” He later created a shorter version, the “Encheiridion” (which means “Manual” or “Handbook”).

Epictetus seems to have been an especially important figure for Marcus Aurelius.

• Marcus thanks his philosophical mentor Rusticus for introducing him to “Epictetus’s lectures” (either the “Discourses” or private notes from them).
• A series of quotes and rephrased ideas from Epictetus appear in Book 11 of “Meditations.”
• Arrian’s short “Encheiridion” is the closest literary work to “Meditations” itself. This is true not only in its content but also in its form: a series of relatively short and unrelated entries.

”Meditations” and Stoic Thought

The late Stoicism of Epictetus is a greatly simplified version of the earlier Hellenistic Stoicism. It was a philosophy that “had learnt much from its competitors and had almost forgotten parts of itself.” We can see two trends in “Meditations” as well:

1. A narrowing of the field of philosophy.
2. Borrowing ideas from non-Stoic sources (being eclectic).

Chrysippus and his followers had divided knowledge into three areas:

• Logic: Concerned with the nature of knowledge.
• Physics: Concerned with the structure of the physical world.
• Ethics: Concerned with the proper role of human beings in the world.

Marcus acknowledges this three-part division in at least one entry in “Meditations.” But it’s clear from other chapters and from “Meditations” as a whole that logic and physics were not his main focus. He thanks the gods that he was never “absorbed by logic-chopping, or preoccupied by physics.”

Occasional entries show he knew about Stoic ideas on language (like a wordplay based on etymology in one entry). But these are exceptions. In many cases, Marcus’s logic is not very strong; it’s more like the reasoning of a public speaker (a rhetorician) than a philosopher. It’s rare to find a detailed chain of reasoning like the one in “Meditations” 4.4.

His interest in the nature of the physical world is limited to how it relates to human problems. Regarding one of the basic Stoic physical doctrines—the idea of ekpyrosis, the periodic destruction of the universe by fire that ends a cosmic cycle—Marcus takes a doubtful, or agnostic, position (though other Stoics also questioned this).

For Marcus, ethics—the study of how to live well—was the foundation of his philosophical system. He believed that even if you couldn’t become a great thinker or scientist, you shouldn’t give up on:

• Achieving freedom.
• Being humble.
• Serving others.

Core Questions in “Meditations”

The “Meditations” tries to answer fundamental questions about life, mostly related to meaning and morality:

• Why are we here?
• How should we live our lives?
• How can we make sure we do what is right?
• How can we protect ourselves from daily stress and pressure?
• How should we deal with pain and bad luck?
• How can we live knowing that one day we will die?

It would be pointless to try to summarize Marcus’s answers here. The power of “Meditations” for later readers comes partly from the clarity and passion with which he tackles these questions. However, it’s helpful to look at one pattern of thought that is key to the philosophy in “Meditations” (and also to the teachings of Epictetus). This idea, studied in detail by the scholar Pierre Hadot, is the concept of the three “disciplines”:

1. The discipline of perception.
2. The discipline of action.
3. The discipline of will.

The Three Disciplines: A Path to Inner Peace

1. Seeing Clearly: The Discipline of Perception

This discipline requires us to think with complete objectivity. We must see things calmly and exactly as they are, without letting our emotions distort them.

• How We Understand the World: To understand this, we need a brief look at the Stoic theory of how we gain knowledge (cognition). As we’ve seen, Stoics believed the universe is ordered by the logos (reason or nature). This logos fills and is used by our hegemonikon. The hegemonikon is the guiding part of our mind, our intellect. It’s similar to what we might call our “will” or “character.” It does many of the jobs we often assign to the brain or the heart. One of its main jobs is to process and evaluate the information we get from our senses.

• At every moment, things and events around us send us impressions. These create a phantasia, which is a mental impression, like a raw image in our mind.

• From this phantasia, the mind creates a perception (which the Stoics called hypolepsis). You can think of this like a photograph printed from a negative. Ideally, this print will be an accurate copy of the original event or object.

• But it might not be. The “print” could be blurry. Or it might include extra shadows or distortions that hide or change the original.

• Avoiding False Judgments: The most common distortions are inappropriate value judgments. This happens when we label things as “good” or “evil” when, in fact, they are neutral—neither good nor bad in themselves.

  • For example, my thought that “my house has just burned down” is simply an impression. It’s a report from my senses about something that happened in the outside world.
  • By contrast, my thought that “my house has burned down, and therefore I have suffered a terrible tragedy” includes more than just the impression. It also includes an interpretation that my mind has added to that initial impression.
  • This is not the only possible interpretation. I don’t have to accept it. I might be much better off if I choose not to.

In other words, it’s not the events or objects themselves that cause us problems. It’s the interpretations we put on them. So, our duty is to strictly control our perception. The goal is to protect our mind from errors and false judgments.

2. Acting Rightly: The Discipline of Action

This second discipline is about our relationships with other people. For Marcus and Stoics in general, human beings are social creatures. He makes this point often.

• Our Connection to Others: All humans have a share of the logos (the universal reason). We also all have the ability to use it. This is what makes us human and different from other animals. It might be more accurate to say we are participants in the logos, which is as much an ongoing process as it is a substance.

• Marcus often compares the world ruled by logos to a city. In this city, all human beings are citizens. And with citizenship come duties.

• As human beings, we are part of nature. Our duty is to adapt to nature’s demands and requirements. Marcus often says we must “live as nature requires.”

• To do this, we must use the share of logos we’ve been given correctly. We must perform the roles assigned to us in the larger plan of the cosmic logos as best we can. This means more than just passively accepting what happens. It requires active cooperation with the world, with fate, and especially with other human beings.

• Marcus tells us repeatedly that we were made for others, not for ourselves. Our nature is fundamentally unselfish. In our relationships, we must work for the common good of everyone. We must also treat individuals justly and fairly.

• Understanding Justice in Society: Marcus never clearly defines what he means by justice. It’s important to understand what this term means for him and what it doesn’t.

  • All humans have a share of the logos. All have roles to play in the world’s grand design.
  • But this doesn’t mean all humans are equal. It also doesn’t mean the roles they are assigned can be swapped.
  • Marcus, like most people of his time, believed that human society was naturally organized in a hierarchy (with different levels of status and authority). The images he uses to describe society show this. Human society is like a single organism, such as a human body or a tree. But the trunk of the tree is different from the leaves. The hands and feet are different from the head.
  • Our duty to act justly doesn’t mean we must treat everyone as our equal. It means we must treat them as they deserve. And what they deserve is partly determined by their position in this social hierarchy.
  • Stoicism’s focus on the orderliness of the universe suggested a similar order and harmony in its parts. Part of its appeal to upper-class Romans might have been that it didn’t force them to ask difficult questions about the way their own society was organized.

3. Accepting What Is: The Discipline of Will

The third discipline, the discipline of will, is, in a way, the partner to the second discipline (action).

• The discipline of action guides our approach to things we can control—the things we do.
• The discipline of will guides our attitude to things we cannot control—the things that are done to us (by others or by nature).

We control our own actions and are responsible for them. If we act wrongly, we seriously harm ourselves. (It’s important to note that Stoics believed this harm was to ourselves, not to others or to the logos).

By contrast, things outside our control cannot truly harm us.

• Wrong actions by another person (like torture, theft, or other crimes) harm the person doing them, not the victim.
• Events of nature like fire, illness, or death can harm us only if we choose to see them as harmful. When we do see them this way, we are questioning the goodness and guidance of the logos. By doing so, we damage our own share of the logos (our own reason).

This, of course, we must not do. Instead, we must:

• See things for what they are (this is where the discipline of perception helps).
• Accept them by using the discipline of will. Epictetus called this “the art of acquiescence” (willing acceptance), a phrase Marcus quotes.

If we understand that the logos has foreseen all events and that they are part of its plan, and if we understand that this plan is always good (as it must be), then it follows that we must accept whatever fate brings. This is true no matter how unpleasant it may seem. We should trust that, as the poet Alexander Pope said, “whatever is, is right.”

This applies to all obstacles and apparent misfortunes. It especially applies to death. Death is a process we cannot prevent. Therefore, it does not harm us. Accordingly, we must accept it willingly as natural and proper.

The Three Disciplines in “Meditations”

Together, these three disciplines offer a complete approach to life. In various combinations and forms, they are the basis for many entries in “Meditations.” We see them clearly and directly stated in Meditations 7.54:

Everywhere, at each moment, you have the option:

• to accept this event with humility [discipline of will];
• to treat this person as he should be treated [discipline of action];
• to approach this thought with care, so that nothing irrational creeps in [discipline of perception].

We find the same three ideas, rephrased and in a different order, in Meditations 9.6: “Objective judgment… Unselfish action… Willing acceptance… of all external events.”

And we find it in a more subtle form underlying Meditations 8.7:

… progress for a rational mind means not accepting falsehood or uncertainty in its perceptions, making unselfish actions its only aim, seeking and shunning only the things it has control over, embracing what nature demands of it—the nature in which it participates, as the leaf’s nature does in the tree’s.

Many other entries could be mentioned. The almost constant repetition of these three points suggests they are at the very core of Marcus’s thinking and his purpose in writing “Meditations.”

More Than Just Stoicism: Other Influences on Marcus

Marcus Aurelius is often seen as the perfect example of a Stoic. Yet, the only direct mention of “Stoicism” in “Meditations” (Book 5, section 10) is written in a strangely distant way, as if it were just one school of thought among many.

The great early figures of Stoicism are noticeably missing.

• Neither Zeno nor Cleanthes is mentioned in “Meditations.”
• Chrysippus appears only twice: once quoted for a short comparison, and once included in a list of dead thinkers with Socrates and Epictetus.

This doesn’t mean Marcus’s thought isn’t fundamentally Stoic. Nor does it deny the deep influence of later Stoic thinkers (especially Epictetus) on him. If he had to be identified with one particular school, Stoicism is surely the one he would have chosen. Yet, if asked what he studied, he might have answered not “Stoicism” but simply “philosophy.”

A Broad View of Philosophy

This isn’t surprising. During the Roman Imperial period, there was a growing tendency for different philosophical schools to find common ground. Followers of most major schools—Platonists (followers of Plato), Peripatetics (followers of Aristotle), Cynics, and Stoics—preferred to focus on what they shared, rather than what divided them.

Not all the people Marcus credited as important influences on his philosophical growth were Stoics. For example, Severus, one of his mentors, was a Peripatetic.

Writers like Seneca and Epictetus accepted the basic ideas of the system developed by Zeno and Chrysippus. However, they freely borrowed wise sayings (aphorisms), stories (anecdotes), and ways of arguing from non-Stoic sources. “Meditations” does something similar. While it is built on a Stoic foundation, it also refers to and quotes a wide range of figures. These include thinkers who came before the Stoics and representatives of rival schools.

Socrates: The Ideal Philosopher

Of the earlier thinkers Marcus mentions, Socrates is surely the most important. Socrates was the great Athenian philosopher who helped shift philosophy’s focus. He moved it from studying the physical world to studying the role of humans in society and the nature of human morality.

Socrates himself wrote nothing. His teachings were passed down (and greatly expanded upon) in the philosophical dialogues written by his student, Plato. Marcus quotes Plato repeatedly, especially in Book 7 of “Meditations.” Socratic or Platonic ideas can also be seen elsewhere.

• One example is the Socratic paradox: the claim that no one does wrong willingly. It suggests that if people could truly recognize what is right, they would automatically do it. Marcus says of other people, “They are like this… because they can’t tell good from evil,” and he repeats this idea elsewhere.

Socrates’ character was as important as his teachings. His legendary ability to endure hardship and his self-denial made him an ideal model for any philosopher, including a Stoic. His refusal to compromise his philosophical beliefs led him to make the ultimate sacrifice. He was put on trial at age seventy on false charges of disrespecting the gods (impiety). His integrity at the trial and his calm behavior in the days before his execution made it easy to see him as a forerunner of first-century Stoic martyrs like Thrasea Paetus or Helvidius Priscus. Marcus refers to him in this way in Meditations 7.66.

Heraclitus: The Ever-Changing World

Of Socrates’ predecessors (the thinkers before Socrates, called pre-Socratics), the most important for Marcus and the Stoics generally was Heraclitus. He was a mysterious figure from Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey). His short, Zen-like sayings were famous for being both profound and difficult to understand.

Heraclitus’s philosophical system gave a central role to logos (reason/order) and to fire as the original element of everything. Both these ideas naturally appealed to the Stoics and may well have influenced them. Heraclitus is mentioned a few times in “Meditations.” But his ideas can be seen in many other entries.

Moreover, Heraclitus’s short, punchy style of writing is similar to the type of puzzling statements (apothegms) we find in several of Marcus’s entries:

• “The best revenge is not to be like that.” (6.6)
• “Straight, not straightened.” (7.12)
• “The fencer’s weapon is picked up and put down again. The boxer’s is part of him.” (12.9)

It is from Heraclitus that Marcus gets one of his most memorable themes: the idea of the constantly changing flow of time and matter that we live in. “We cannot step twice into the same river,” Heraclitus had said. We see Marcus expanding on this: “Time is a river, a violent current of events, glimpsed once and already carried past us, and another follows and is gone.”

Other Early Thinkers

Although Heraclitus was clearly the pre-Socratic thinker who most influenced Marcus, other thinkers also left their mark.

• Marcus twice uses the poet Empedocles’ image of the self-contained soul as a perfect sphere.
• He refers once to the mystical teachings of the Pythagoreans (followers of Pythagoras).
• Several entries explore ideas from Democritus, one of the inventors of the theory of atoms. This atomic theory would later inspire the Hellenistic philosopher Epicurus.

The Cynics: Living Naturally

Neither Heraclitus nor Socrates had founded a formal school. That was an achievement for Plato, and then for Plato’s student Aristotle, who broke from his master to found the Peripatetic movement. Marcus never refers to Aristotle, though he does quote approvingly from Aristotle’s successor, Theophrastus.

Probably more important for Marcus was another fourth-century B.C. movement: Cynicism. The Cynics, whose first and most famous member was the irritable Diogenes of Sinope, were united less by specific doctrines than by a common attitude. They showed contempt for society’s rules and institutions. They desired a life lived more in harmony with nature.

Diogenes himself was largely responsible for the image of a philosopher as a poor, disciplined person (the “philosopher without clothes” Marcus mentions might well be a Cynic). Diogenes’ famous claim to be a “citizen of the world” certainly anticipates the Stoic idea of the world as a single city-state, if it didn’t directly influence it. Marcus refers to Diogenes in several passages, as well as to Diogenes’ student Monimus. He also mentions another Cynic, Crates, in an anecdote whose exact meaning is now unclear.

Marcus and Epicureanism: A Complex Relationship

Marcus’s relationship with Epicureanism, Stoicism’s great rival among the Hellenistic philosophies, is much more complicated. The followers of Epicurus (341–270 B.C.) believed in a universe very different from the one described by Zeno and Chrysippus.

• The Stoic world is perfectly ordered.
• The Epicurean universe is random, the result of accidental combinations of billions of atoms.

To speak of Providence (divine guidance) in such a world is obviously absurd to Epicureans. While Epicurus acknowledged that gods existed, he denied they took any interest in human life.

As for humans, Epicureans believed our role is simply to live as best we can. We should make the most of whatever pleasures are available. We should also protect ourselves as much as possible from pain and anxiety. In particular, we should not worry about death. Death, for Epicureans, is simply the breaking apart of the atoms that make us up. This process is not only unavoidable but also harmless. This is because after death, there is no “us” left to suffer harm.

Although Epicureanism had quite a few prominent Romans as followers, it never became as successful as Stoicism. Most outsiders viewed it with a kind of polite disdain.

• The Epicurean emphasis on quiet living was hard to match with an active public life—an important Roman value.
• The Epicurean idea that “good” equals “pleasure” was likely to be criticized by conservative Romans. “Eat, drink and be merry” was popularly thought to be the Epicureans’ motto. However, Epicurus himself had clearly stated that true pleasure was found in intellectual thought, not in the crude enjoyment of food and sex.

Though it was a minority view, Epicureanism was the only real alternative to Stoicism in offering a complete explanation of the universe (a cosmology). Marcus acknowledges this several times with the stark choice: “Providence or atoms.”

Marcus usually seems to view Epicureanism with disapproval, as we would expect.

• In Meditations 6.10, he contrasts the Epicurean universe, based on “mixture, interaction, dispersal,” with the Stoic system’s components: “unity, order, design”—clearly favoring the Stoic view.
• He asks in another entry if we shouldn’t be ashamed to fear death when “even” the Epicureans look down on it.

But other entries suggest he wasn’t always so dismissive.

• Marcus quotes, seemingly with approval, Epicurus’s description of his own admirable behavior during an illness.
• He twice finds comfort in Epicurus’s comments on enduring pain. Like other late Stoics (Seneca is a key example), Marcus was willing to accept truth wherever he found it.

So far, we have focused on the content of “Meditations”: the ethical teachings of late Stoicism, mixed with some ideas from Plato and Heraclitus, and references to other schools and thinkers. But what about “Meditations” itself?

• How and why was it written?
• Who was its audience?
• What kind of book is it?

For the answers to these questions, we must turn from the book’s content to its form and origins.

”Meditations”: Genre, Structure, and Style

I suspect that Marcus would have been surprised (and perhaps rather upset) to find himself included in a collection like the Modern Library of the World’s Best Books. He would have been surprised, to begin with, by the title of the work credited to him.

Understanding Marcus Aurelius’s “To Himself”

The common English title for Marcus Aurelius’s famous work, “Meditations,” isn’t what he called it. It actually gives the book a serious, important feel that doesn’t quite match the collection of personal notes it really is. The Greek manuscript used for the first printing called it “To Himself” (Eis heauton). While this title is a bit more fitting, it’s probably not what Marcus originally named it either.

Not a Book for Others

It’s likely Marcus Aurelius never gave his writings a title at all. He didn’t see these notes as a complete book meant for others to read. He almost certainly didn’t expect anyone else to see them.

• Secret References: His notes contain many confusing references to people and events. Even people from his own time would have found these hard to understand, just as we do today. For example, no ancient reader would have known the details about a letter Rusticus wrote, something Antoninus said to a customs agent, or what happened to Marcus at a place called Caieta.
• Personal Reflections on Being Emperor: Marcus often writes directly about his role as emperor in ways that wouldn’t make sense for anyone else. He worries about becoming too “emperor-like,” reminds himself to speak plainly in the Senate, and thinks about his unique position. These notes show that when he writes “you,” he’s usually talking to himself, the emperor. As he once wrote, “When you look at yourself, see any of the emperors.”

What Kind of Writing Is It?

So, how should we describe these notes?

• Not a Typical Diary: They don’t record his daily life. There are very few names, no dates, and hardly any locations mentioned. Also, unlike most diaries, he doesn’t seem to be writing with an imaginary reader in mind.
• Not Notes for a Big Book: Some have compared his notes to early drafts for a larger work, like those of some other philosophers. However, Marcus’s notes are too repetitive and, philosophically, too basic for this idea to fit.
• Not Quite a Philosopher’s Working Notebook: His writings are a bit like the working notes of philosophers exploring new ideas. But there’s a key difference: “Meditations” isn’t about exploring new thoughts or arguments. It mostly repeats and rephrases ideas Marcus already knew but hadn’t fully taken to heart. It suggests he was trying to reinforce long-familiar concepts.

”Spiritual Exercises”

The French scholar Pierre Hadot suggested the best way to understand these writings: they are “spiritual exercises.” Marcus wrote them to help himself cope with the stress and confusion of daily life. Think of it as a self-help book in the truest sense.

One revealing comment from Marcus supports this idea. He tells himself to think of philosophy not as a teacher, but as a soothing treatment, like a sponge and egg white for eye inflammation or a healing ointment.

This view helps explain several otherwise confusing things about the writings:

• Commands and Urges: The text is full of commands like “Do this” or “Remember that.” Its purpose isn’t just to describe or think; it’s to push himself to act and believe in certain ways.
• Repetition: Readers quickly notice how often Marcus repeats the same few problems and ideas. He isn’t offering new solutions but rephrasing old ones. This process of restating things was what he found helpful.

Structure and Arrangement

The idea that these writings were more about the process than the final product also explains why they seem disorganized.

• No Clear Order: We don’t know who arranged the “books” (chapters) or why they are in that order. The order might be chronological, partly chronological, or completely random.
• Random Entries: The arrangement of individual notes within each book might be Marcus’s own, but its randomness suggests he wasn’t trying to create a neat structure. A later editor probably would have tried to group similar ideas together or clean up confusing parts.
• Unclear Beginnings and Endings: Sometimes, it’s hard to tell where one note ends and another begins. Marcus himself might not have been able to answer that.

A Special Case: Book 1

Book 1 is different from the others.

• Autobiographical: It’s more about his own life.
• More Organized: It seems more carefully planned and structured. It contains seventeen entries where Marcus thinks about what he learned from different people in his life, either directly or by their example. These entries roughly follow the timeline of his early life, from his relatives to his teachers, his adopted father Antoninus, and finally, the gods. This logical flow and the increasing length of the notes suggest Marcus arranged this book himself. If so, Book 1, at least, was planned as a complete section. It might also be one of the last parts he wrote.

The Other Books: No Clear Development

It’s pointless to try to find a single, unified argument or a clear development of ideas in the other books.

• Same Voice, Same Themes: No matter where you open “Meditations” (except for Book 1), you find the same style and the same topics. Marcus’s thinking doesn’t seem to change or grow much from one book to the next.
• No Structure Within Books: There’s no clear organization within the individual books either.
• Physical Divisions: The division into “books” most likely happened because of the physical limits of papyrus rolls. When one roll was full, he (or a later copyist) started a new one.

Variety in the Notes

Even though the books lack overall structure, the individual notes themselves show a lot of variety.

• Short Essays: Some are like short essays making a single philosophical point. Many notes in Books 2 and 3 are like this.
• Direct Commands or Sayings: Others are simple commands (“Take the shortest route…”) or short, wise sayings (“No one can keep you from living in harmony with yourself”).
• Lists: Sometimes Marcus lists basic principles (“Remember that… and that… and that…”).
• Analogies: He often uses comparisons. Sometimes you have to guess the point of the comparison, like when he says human lives are like “many lumps of incense on the same altar” or “a rock thrown in the air.” Other times, the comparison is clear: “Have you ever seen a severed hand or foot…? That’s what we do to ourselves… when we rebel against what happens to us.”
• Mental Exercises: Some notes describe formal meditation-like exercises. For instance, he tells himself to imagine what life was like in the time of Emperor Vespasian or at Augustus’s court, and then compare it to his own time.
• Quotations: Parts of two books (7 and 11) are just collections of quotes.
• Rough Drafts: Some notes seem like early versions of others. For example, some raw quotes from tragic plays in Book 7 appear in a more polished form in Book 11.
• Mysterious Notes: The meaning of some notes is still completely unclear. For example, it’s hard to know what to make of notes like “Character: dark, womanish, obstinate” or “They don’t realize how much is included in stealing, sowing, buying…”

The Artistry of the Writing

The level of polish in the notes varies a lot.

• Simple Reminders: Some are just Marcus’s personal notes or reminders, like a philosophical to-do list.
• Highly Literary: Others are very well-written. Marcus was trained in the public speaking techniques of his time. His thoughts naturally took on the style of his education, even when he was writing only for himself.

Short, Punchy Notes

His shorter notes often show an interest in wordplay and try to be brief and memorable. This style recalls both the cleverness taught in speaking schools and the concise, often paradoxical, sayings of the philosopher Heraclitus. For example:

• Does the sun try to do the rain’s work? Or the healing god Asclepius try to do the harvest goddess Demeter’s work?
• Evil: the same old thing.
• Not a dancer but a wrestler…
• To accept it without arrogance, to let it go with indifference.

Hints of Dialogue

Ancient philosophy sometimes influenced another feature we see occasionally: short bits of dialogue or something like it. The idea of a philosophical dialogue started with Plato and was copied by later philosophers. While “Meditations” doesn’t have the detailed scenes of a true dialogue, some notes feature a kind of internal debate. An imaginary person asks questions or raises objections, and a second, calmer voice corrects the errors. The first voice seems to be Marcus’s weaker, more human side; the second is the voice of philosophy.

Longer Notes: Style and Substance

The longer notes (though none are truly long) have a consistent, if sometimes slightly awkward, style.

• Occasional Awkwardness: Some critics haven’t liked Marcus’s writing style, blaming it on a poor grasp of Greek. But the awkwardness is more likely due to the roughness of his writing process—Marcus thinking out loud or struggling to express an idea.

• Paired Words: This might also explain one of the most noticeable things about his writing: he often uses pairs of words or phrases that mean almost the same thing, as if he wasn’t sure he got his point across the first time. When combined with the abstract words common in philosophy, this can make his writing hard to read, especially in English, which prefers short, concrete language more than Greek does.

• Effective Writing: However, at its best, Marcus’s writing can be incredibly powerful, especially when it balances imagery and ideas. For example, consider this passage about how quickly things change:

  “Keep in mind how fast things pass by and are gone—those that are now, and those to come. Existence flows past us like a river: the ‘what’ is in constant flux, the ‘why’ has a thousand variations. Nothing is stable, not even what’s right here. The infinity of past and future gapes before us—a chasm whose depths we cannot see.”

This topic—the fleeting nature of human life and the constant change in the world—is a frequent theme in “Meditations.” His way of writing about it shows influences from literature and his own personality, as much as from Stoic philosophy.

Recurring Themes

Trying to find one continuous, logical argument in “Meditations” as a whole won’t work. It’s simply not that kind of book. It’s also generally unhelpful to try to connect individual notes to specific events in Marcus’s life (except for Book 1), especially since we can’t date most of the notes accurately.

However, this doesn’t mean “Meditations” has no unity or connection to Marcus’s life. It does. What ties it together is the repetition of a few key themes. These themes almost certainly reflect Marcus’s personal worries and concerns. The topics he returns to most often give us the best look into his character and what mattered to him.

Theme: The Reality of Death

One theme that nearly every reader notices is the strong awareness of death throughout the work.

• Not to Be Feared: Marcus constantly reminds himself that death is not something to be afraid of. It’s a natural process, part of the ongoing change that shapes the world.
• The Ultimate Comfort: At other times, death is the ultimate source of relief. “Soon you will be dead,” Marcus tells himself several times, “and none of it will matter.”
• Worthlessness of Earthly Things: This focus on the pointlessness of worldly concerns is linked to the broader idea of how temporary everything is. All things change, pass away, disappear, and are forgotten. This is the main idea of several mental exercises Marcus sets for himself: to think of the court of Emperor Augustus, the times of Vespasian or Trajan, or the great philosophers and thinkers of the past—all now just dust and ashes.

The Theme of Mortality in Ancient Times

This theme wasn’t unique to Stoicism; it appeared everywhere in ancient literature.

• Homer’s Influence: Marcus himself quotes a famous passage from Homer’s Iliad that compares human lives to leaves: they grow in spring, flourish for a while, then fall and die, only to be replaced by others.

• Other Writers: He would have known this idea from other writers too. These include the sad Greek poet Mimnermus, who expanded on Homer’s leaf comparison, and the Roman lawyer Servius Sulpicius. Sulpicius wrote to his friend Cicero after Cicero’s daughter died, saying:

  “I want to share with you something that brought me significant comfort, hoping it might help you too. On my way back from Asia, sailing from Aegina to Megara, I looked at the lands we passed. Aegina was behind me, Megara ahead, Piraeus on my right, Corinth on my left—towns that were once prosperous, and now lie fallen and in ruins before our eyes. I said to myself, ‘Alas! … and will you, Servius, not control your grief and remember that you were born mortal?’ Believe me, that thought was a great comfort to me.”

Modern grief counselors might not emphasize this point, but Marcus would have understood it completely. His attraction to this idea tells us about both his character and his background. Marcus may have been a Stoic, but he was also a Roman. He was influenced not only by Stoic philosophers like Zeno and Chrysippus but also by Roman poets like Homer and Vergil. Vergil is never mentioned in “Meditations,” and since it’s a Greek work, he couldn’t really quote or refer to him. Yet, there’s a sad, reflective tone throughout the work that feels very much like Vergil.

Other Personal Concerns

Other worries also appear regularly.

• Dealing with Pain: Several notes discuss how to cope with pain or other physical weaknesses. For instance, a few entries begin, “When you have trouble getting out of bed…”
• Managing Frustration with Others: A constant theme is the need to control anger and irritation towards other people, to tolerate their incompetence or bad intentions, and to gently show them their mistakes.
• Court Life Frustrations: Several notes focus on the difficulties of life at the imperial court. This is very clear when Marcus tells himself to stop complaining about it. He compares the court to a stepmother and philosophy to a mother—you visit the stepmother out of duty, but she’s not someone you can truly love.
• Court as an Opportunity: Yet, the court doesn’t have to be a barrier. It can be a challenge, even a chance to practice virtue. One can live a good life anywhere, even at court, as his predecessor Antoninus showed. Marcus tells himself, “No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now.”

Marcus’s Preferred Imagery: Nature

A more subtle clue to Marcus’s personality comes from the kind of imagery he uses most often. It’s striking how many images of nature appear in “Meditations.”

• Nature’s “Accidents”: Many readers have been moved by a passage that describes “nature’s unintended beauties,” like the cracks appearing on baking bread, or the way figs, olives, and wheat stalks ripen perfectly.
• Agricultural Rhythms: Comparisons in other notes bring to mind the farming and countryside life of the Mediterranean world: its flocks, herds, and vineyards; its seasons of planting and harvesting; its grapes slowly drying into raisins.
• Revealing Choices: Some of these might be common examples, but even common examples can tell us something. You can hardly read a page of Plato without finding references to ship captains, doctors, shoemakers, and other craftsmen common in ancient Athens. These types of figures are much rarer in Marcus’s writings.
• The Tree Analogy: The image of society as a tree whose branches are individual people expresses an important Stoic idea. But Marcus develops this image further than one might expect, possibly adding his own observations: “You can see the difference between the branch that’s been there since the beginning, remaining on the tree and growing with it, and the one that’s been cut off and grafted back.”

A Troubling Contrast: Love of Nature, Dislike of People

His fondness for the natural world contrasts sharply with a persistent feeling of disgust and contempt for human life and other people. This feeling is hard to explain based on Stoic philosophy, or even to fit with it.

• Good World, Evil People: Some have observed that reason told Marcus the world was perfectly good, yet it often seemed to him impossibly evil. The people at court around him are portrayed as shallow and overly flattering. The people he deals with daily are “meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly.”
• Humans as Social Animals: One of the most frequent reminders in “Meditations” is that human beings are social creatures. It’s as if this was a point Marcus had a very hard time accepting. He reminds himself that the gods care for humans, “and you—on the verge of death—you still refuse to care for them.”

A Strain of Pessimism

There is a constant thread of pessimism in the work.

• Empty Pursuits: “The things we want in life are empty, stale, and trivial. Dogs snarling at each other. Quarreling children—laughing and then bursting into tears a moment later. Trust, shame, justice, truth—‘gone from the earth and only found in heaven.’ Why are you still here?”
• Images of Filth: Images of dirt and disgust appear in several entries. The world around us is like the public baths: “oil, sweat, dirt, grayish water, all of it disgusting.”
• Washing off Life’s Mud: If Marcus looks at the stars, he does so only to “wash off the mud of life below.”
• Objective Analysis Turns Cynical: The objective, clear-headed analysis Marcus values often slides into a depressing cynicism (in the modern sense of the word). He reflects with disgust on what things are made of: liquid, dust, bones, filth.

He even described marble as just hardened dirt. Gold and silver were seen as mere leftover bits, and fancy clothes as just animal hair. Purple dye was nothing more than shellfish blood. And everything else was similar. The human body itself, he wrote, is just “rotting meat in a bag.” He urged himself to “despise your flesh. A mess of blood, pieces of bone, a woven tangle of nerves, veins, arteries.” Perhaps the bleakest note in the entire work is when Marcus tells himself to develop an indifference to music.

The Overall Feeling: Sadness Without Joy?

One scholar has noted that reading “Meditations” for a long time can make you feel sad. Even people who love the book admit that the view of human life it offers is somewhat lacking. Matthew Arnold, a writer who deeply respected Marcus, pointed out a key flaw in his philosophy: it didn’t make any space for joy. This seems like a fair point.

Marcus doesn’t show us how to achieve happiness. Instead, he offers ways to resist pain. The Stoicism in “Meditations” is mostly a defensive way of thinking. It’s interesting how many military images appear. He refers to the soul being “posted” or “stationed,” and famously describes the mind as a fortress that cannot be taken. These kinds of images weren’t unique to Marcus. But they might have had a special meaning for an emperor whose final years were filled with “warfare and a journey far from home.” For Marcus, life was a battle. And often it must have seemed like a losing battle, which, in some ways, life always is.

Marcus and the Gods: A Mix of Views

There are also a few moments in the text where we see hints of a different mindset, especially when Marcus talks about the gods. From a Stoic viewpoint, “God” or “the gods” (many ancient writers used these terms as if they meant the same thing) are just common words for what we might call “nature,” “the logos” (the underlying order of the universe), “Providence,” or simply “the way things are.” Marcus emphasizes that this power is good (surely, what is divine must be good?). But it’s also clear he believed its actions were as unchangeable as orthodox Stoic teachings suggested. It’s hard to see why someone would pray to a power whose decisions they couldn’t hope to change. Indeed, Marcus himself seems to admit several times that perhaps one shouldn’t pray.

A More Personal Connection to the Gods

So, it’s quite surprising to find Marcus elsewhere suggesting that the gods take a more personal interest in people.

• Direct Help: The last note in Book 1 is the clearest example. Here, Marcus says the gods have helped him very directly “through their gifts, their help, their inspiration,” just as they have helped others.
• Concrete Assistance: Their help is described in very specific ways. Among the things he thanks them for are “remedies granted through dreams,” including one he received at a place called Caieta.
• Gods Help Everyone: He also reminds himself that the gods help other people “just as they do you—by signs and dreams and every other way.”
• Personal Belief: His strong belief that the gods were a real force in his life, not just a figure of speech, is shown when he argues against those who doubt their existence: “I know the gods exist… from having felt their power, over and over.”

How could this personal relationship with the divine fit with the impersonal “logos” of Stoicism? This question seems to be explored in a dialogue-like passage in his notes. “But those are things the gods left up to me,” one voice protests. Another voice responds, “And what makes you think the gods don’t care about what’s up to us?” Marcus himself might not have fully realized or admitted this conflict. But its presence might suggest he subconsciously felt that Stoicism didn’t have a completely satisfying answer for everything.

How “Meditations” Survived

We don’t know how or by whom “Meditations” was preserved.

• Early Circulation: A late fourth-century historical account fancifully describes Marcus lecturing on “Meditations” to an enthralled audience in Rome. This is certainly an invention, but it suggests the text was known by the fourth century. The orator Themistius also mentions it around this time. It was also likely known to Emperor Julian, a contemporary of Themistius, who tried to live as a philosopher-king and saw Marcus as a model.

• Lost to the West: The century after Themistius and Julian was a period of decline, at least in Western Europe. Political systems weakened, and knowledge of the Greek language faded. For the next thousand years, Marcus’s work, like the writings of Homer and Euripides, remained unknown to Western readers.

• Survival in the East: Copies survived in the Greek-speaking Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), of course. But even there, “Meditations” seems to have been read very little. For centuries, all traces of it vanished.

• Reappearance: Then, at the beginning of the tenth century, it reappeared in a letter from a scholar and church official named Arethas. He wrote to a friend, “I have had for a while now a copy of the Emperor Marcus’s invaluable book. It was not only old but practically coming apart… I have had it copied and can now pass it on to posterity in better shape.” We don’t know if Arethas’s copy is the reason the work survived.

• Growing Readership: In any case, its readership seems to have grown in the centuries that followed. A generation or two later, it was quoted by the huge Byzantine encyclopedia known as the Suda. Around this time, an unknown Byzantine poet also wrote a short poem of appreciation that was often copied with the text:

  ON THE BOOK OF MARCUS If you wish to overcome pain, Open this book and read carefully. In it, you will find plenty of Knowledge about things that are, Things that have been, and things to come. And know also that joy and grief Are nothing more than empty smoke.

Manuscripts and Textual Problems

The fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 caused many scholars to flee to Italy. They brought Greek texts with them, which helped inspire the Italian Renaissance. “Meditations” must have been among these texts.

• A Single Fragile Copy: Yet, even then, the work’s survival was precarious. The only complete manuscript that still exists is from the fourteenth century and is full of errors.
• First Printing: The first printed version didn’t appear until 1559. Wilhelm Holzmann (also known as Xylander) produced this text using what seems to have been a more reliable manuscript. Unfortunately, that better manuscript has since been lost.
• Imperfect Text: Even at its best, that lost manuscript was an imperfect copy of what Marcus himself wrote. Our current text of “Meditations” has several passages that are mixed up or where one or more important words seem to be missing.
• Sources of Errors: Some of these errors might have come from the confused state of Marcus’s original notes. Others might have been accidentally introduced during the thousand years of copying and recopying after his death.
• Scholarly Fixes: In some cases, scholars over several centuries have made educated guesses to restore the original text. In other cases, there is still uncertainty.

Who Reads “Meditations” and Why

“Meditations” has never greatly interested professional scholars of ancient classics. The reasons for this are somewhat understandable.

• It contains few direct references to historical events.
• It provides relatively little material for historians studying society.
• As evidence for later Stoicism, it’s less comprehensive than the larger collection of Epictetus’s Discourses.

Yet, it has always fascinated people outside the narrow field of classical studies. This is perhaps especially true for those who can best understand the pressures Marcus himself faced.

• “Meditations” was a favorite book of Frederick the Great.
• A recent American president has said he rereads it every few years.
• It has also attracted others, from poets like Pope, Goethe, and Matthew Arnold to the southern planter William Alexander Percy. Percy wrote in his autobiography that “there is left to each of us, no matter how far defeat pierces, the unassailable wintry kingdom of Marcus Aurelius… It is not outside, but within, and when all is lost, it stands fast.”

Book 1: Lessons From People in My Life

Here’s what I learned from the important people in my upbringing:

1. From My Grandfather Verus

• I learned about having a good character and self-control.

2. From My Father (Based on My Memories and What People Said About Him)

• I learned about honesty and being a strong man.

3. From My Mother

• She taught me to respect the divine and to be generous.
• She showed me how to avoid doing wrong, and to not even think about doing wrong.
• I also learned from her simple way of living, which was very different from how rich people lived.

4. From My Great-Grandfather

• He taught me to avoid public schools.
• Instead, I should hire good private teachers.
• He showed me that paying for good teachers is money well spent.

5. From My First Teacher

• I learned not to pick sides in entertainments like chariot races or gladiator fights.
• He taught me to endure discomfort without complaining or making many demands.
• I learned to do my own work, mind my own business, and not listen to people who spread gossip.

6. From Diognetus

• He taught me not to waste time on unimportant things.
• I learned not to be fooled by people who claim to do magic, like fortune-tellers or those who talk about spells and chasing away spirits.
• He showed me not to get obsessed with trivial things like quail-fighting or other fads.
• I learned to be willing to hear truths I didn’t like.
• He encouraged me to get into philosophy and to study with specific teachers: Baccheius, then Tandasis and Marcianus.
• He inspired me to write dialogues when I was a student.
• And he taught me to prefer the simple Greek way of life, with a basic bed and cloak.

7. From Rusticus

• He helped me realize that I needed to train and improve my character.
• I learned not to get too carried away by my interest in public speaking techniques.
• He taught me not to write essays on complex, abstract topics, or give little moral speeches.
• I also learned not to write made-up descriptions of a “Simple Life” or “The Person Who Only Lives for Others.”
• He advised me to stay away from fancy speech-making, poetry, and overly artistic writing.
• I learned not to dress up in fancy clothes just to walk around the house, or do similar things.
• He taught me to write straightforward letters, like the one he sent to my mother from Sinuessa.
• And he showed me how to be forgiving and understanding when people who have angered or annoyed me want to make peace.
• He taught me to read carefully and not be satisfied with just getting the general idea of something.
• And I learned not to quickly believe every charming speaker.
• Most importantly, he introduced me to the lectures of Epictetus and even lent me his own copy.

8. From Apollonius

• I learned to be independent and always reliable.
• He taught me to focus only on reason (the right way), no matter what.
• And he showed me how to stay the same in all situations—whether in great pain, grieving the loss of a child, or dealing with a long-term illness.
• His example clearly showed me that a person can be both strong and flexible.
• I learned from his patience in teaching.
• And I saw in him someone who clearly believed his skill and talent as a teacher were among the least important of his good qualities.
• He also taught me how to accept favors from friends without feeling like I owed them something or seeming ungrateful.

9. From Sextus

• He taught me kindness.
• He was an example of a fatherly figure in the home.
• He showed me what it means to live according to nature.
• He was serious but not stuffy.
• He taught me to show natural sympathy for friends and to be tolerant of people who are new to things or don’t think clearly.
• I learned from his ability to get along with everyone. Being in his company felt like the highest compliment, and a privilege for those around him.
• He showed me how to carefully study and understand the principles we should live by, using logic.
• I learned not to show anger or other strong emotions.
• He taught me to be free of intense passions but still full of love.
• He showed how to praise others without overdoing it, and how to show knowledge without being arrogant.

10. From Alexander the Literary Critic

• I learned not to constantly correct people.
• Specifically, he taught me not to jump on others when they make a mistake in how they use a word, a grammatical error, or mispronounce something.
• Instead, I should just answer their question, add another example, or discuss the topic itself (not how they phrased it). Or, I could contribute in some other way, and subtly use the correct expression myself.

11. From Fronto

• He helped me recognize the bad intentions, slyness, and insincerity that power can create.
• I also learned about the strange lack of kindness often shown by people from “important” families.

12. From Alexander the Platonist

• I learned not to constantly tell people (or write to them) that I’m too busy, unless I truly am.
• Similarly, I learned not to always avoid my responsibilities to the people around me by claiming I have “urgent business.”

13. From Catulus

• I learned not to ignore a friend’s unhappiness, even if it seems unjustified. Instead, I should try to make things right.
• He taught me to show sincere respect to my teachers.
• And he showed me how to give genuine love to my children.

14. From My Brother Severus

• He taught me to love my family, truth, and justice.
• Through him, I learned about Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion, and Brutus.
• These examples helped me imagine a society with equal laws, where everyone has the same rights and freedom of speech.
• This society would have rulers who respect the freedom of their people above all else.
• From him, I also learned to be steady and consistent in valuing philosophy.
• He taught me to help others, to be willing to share, and not to be pessimistic.
• He showed me never to doubt my friends’ affection for me.
• And I learned that when people did something he disapproved of, they always knew it. His friends never had to guess what he thought about anything; it was always clear.

15. From Maximus

• I learned self-control and how to resist distractions.
• He taught me to be optimistic when facing difficulties, especially illness.
• He had a balanced personality: dignified and graceful at the same time.
• I learned to do my job without complaining.
• He made people sure that what he said was what he truly thought, and that his actions were done without bad intentions.
• He was never surprised or fearful. He was neither reckless nor hesitant. He wasn’t easily confused or unsure what to do.
• He wasn’t overly flattering, but he also wasn’t aggressive or paranoid.
• He showed generosity, charity, and honesty.
• He gave the impression of someone who chose to stay on the right path, rather than someone who was forced to.
• No one could ever feel that he looked down on them, or that they could look down on him.
• He also had a good sense of humor.

16. From My Adopted Father (Emperor Antoninus Pius)

• He showed me compassion.
• He stuck to his decisions firmly once he made them.
• He was indifferent to superficial honors.
• He taught me the value of hard work and persistence.
• He listened to anyone who could offer something for the public good.
• He was determined to treat people as they deserved.
• He had a good sense of when to be firm and when to be flexible.
• He put a stop to the inappropriate pursuit of young men.
• He was unselfish. He didn’t expect his friends to always entertain him at dinner or travel with him unless they wanted to. If someone had to stay behind to take care of business, he treated them the same when he returned.
• He asked probing questions in meetings. He was very focused, never satisfied with first impressions, and didn’t end discussions too early.
• He was loyal to his friends—never getting tired of them or playing favorites.
• He was always self-reliant and cheerful.
• He planned things well in advance and paid careful attention to even small details without making a show of it.
• He limited public cheering and all attempts to flatter him.
• He was constantly devoted to the needs of the empire. He managed the treasury responsibly and was willing to take responsibility—and blame—for his actions.
• His attitude towards the gods was not superstitious. His attitude towards people was not about trying to win them over with popular speeches or favors. He was always sensible, steady, and never crude or easily swayed by trends.
• He handled the comforts of life that fortune gave him—and he had many—without arrogance or apology. If they were available, he used them. If not, he didn’t miss them.
• No one ever described him as a smooth talker, shameless, or a show-off. People saw him as he was: a man tested by life, accomplished, not swayed by flattery, and qualified to govern both himself and others.
• He respected people who practiced philosophy, at least those who were sincere. But he didn’t put down others or listen to insincere philosophers.
• He was good at making people feel comfortable and at ease, without being overbearing.
• He took good care of himself. He wasn’t a hypochondriac or obsessed with his looks, but he didn’t ignore his health either. As a result, he rarely needed doctors, medicine, or ointments.
• This was particularly notable: he willingly let experts take the lead—in public speaking, law, psychology, or anything else—and supported them strongly so they could achieve their best.
• He respected tradition but didn’t constantly praise himself for “Protecting Our Traditional Values.”
• He wasn’t easily distracted or pulled in different directions. He stuck to the same familiar places and routines.
• After one of his migraines, he could go right back to what he was doing, feeling fresh and performing at his best.
• He had very few secrets—only state secrets, and not many of those.
• He kept public projects—like games, building works, and giving out money—within reasonable limits. He focused on what needed to be done, not on the praise he might get for it.
• He didn’t bathe at odd hours, start self-indulgent building projects, or worry excessively about food, the style and color of his clothes, or having attractive slaves. (His simple robe from his farm at Lorium, most of his things at Lanuvium, and how he accepted an apology from a customs agent at Tusculum are examples of this.)
• He was never rude, never lost control of himself, and never became violent. No one ever saw him flustered. He approached everything logically and thoughtfully, in a calm and orderly way, but decisively, and always finished what he started.
• You could say of him (as people said of Socrates) that he knew how to enjoy things that most people find hard to resist, and how to go without things that most people find hard to give up. Strength, perseverance, and self-control in both enjoying and abstaining: these are signs of a prepared and unbeatable soul.

17. From the Gods

• I am grateful that I had good grandparents, a good mother and father, a good sister, good teachers, good servants, relatives, and friends—almost all of them were good.
• I am thankful that I never lost control of myself with any of them, even though I had the kind of personality where that could have easily happened. But thanks to the gods, I was never put in a situation that tested me that way.
• I am grateful I wasn’t raised by my grandfather’s girlfriend for any longer than I was.
• I am thankful I didn’t lose my virginity too early and waited until the right time to become an adult—I even delayed it.
• I am grateful I had a ruler and father figure (Emperor Antoninus) who could keep me from becoming arrogant. He helped me realize that even at the imperial court, you can live without a large troop of bodyguards, fancy clothes, lamps, sculptures, and all that show. You can live almost like an ordinary person without looking sloppy or neglecting your duties as a ruler.
• I am thankful for the kind of brother I had. His character challenged me to improve myself. His love and affection made my life richer.
• I am grateful that my children weren’t born unintelligent or with physical disabilities.
• I am thankful I wasn’t more talented in public speaking, poetry, or other areas. If I had felt I was making quick progress in those, I might never have given them up for philosophy.
• I am grateful that I gave the honors they seemed to want to the people who raised me early on, instead of making them wait with the hope that I’d do it later when they were older.
• I am thankful that I knew Apollonius, Rusticus, and Maximus.
• I am grateful that I was shown clearly and often what it means to live according to nature. The gods did everything they could—through their gifts, help, and inspiration—to make sure I could live as nature requires. If I have failed, it’s my own fault because I didn’t pay attention to what they told me—to what they practically taught me, step by step.
• I am thankful that my body has held up well, especially considering the kind of life I’ve led.
• I am grateful I never touched Benedicta or Theodotus (sexually). And that even later, when I felt strong passions, I recovered from them.
• I am thankful that even though I was often upset with Rusticus, I never did anything I would have regretted later.
• I am grateful that even though my mother died young, she spent her last years with me.
• I am thankful that whenever I wanted to help someone who needed money or was in some other difficulty, I never had to be told I didn’t have the resources. And I am thankful I was never in the position of having to take something from someone else myself.
• I am grateful for the wife I have: she is obedient, loving, and humble.
• I am thankful that my children had good teachers.
• I am grateful for remedies that came to me through dreams—for example, when I was coughing blood and having dizzy spells, and for the specific guidance I received at Caieta.
• I am thankful that when I became interested in philosophy, I didn’t fall into the hands of fake philosophers. I didn’t get stuck writing long, complicated essays, or get too caught up in detailed arguments about logic, or overly focused on theories about the physical world.
• For all these things, we need the help of luck and the gods.

Book 2: Notes From the River Gran, Among the Quadi People

1. Facing the Day When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself this: The people I meet today will likely be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and bad-tempered. They act this way because they don’t understand the difference between good and evil.

But I have seen that good is beautiful and evil is ugly. I also recognize that the person who does wrong has a nature similar to my own. We are not related by blood or birth, but we share the same kind of mind and a spark of the divine. Because of this, none of them can truly harm me. No one can make me part of their ugliness.

I cannot be angry at my relatives or hate them. We were born to work together, like feet, hands, and eyes, or like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To get in each other’s way is unnatural. Feeling angry at someone or turning your back on them are ways of obstructing this natural cooperation.

2. What Am I? Whatever I am, it’s made of three things: flesh, a little bit of spirit (or breath), and intelligence (my mind).

• Despise your flesh: Throw away your books. Stop letting yourself get distracted by unimportant things; that’s not allowed for you now. Instead, as if you were about to die, look down on your physical body. It’s just a mess of blood, bits of bone, and a tangled network of nerves, veins, and arteries.
• Consider the spirit: What is this spirit or breath? It’s just air. And it’s never the same air; every moment you breathe it out and gulp it in again.
• Focus on intelligence: Finally, there is your intelligence, your mind. Think about it like this: You are an old man now. Stop letting your mind be a slave. Stop letting it be pulled around by selfish desires. Stop it from fighting against your fate and what’s happening right now. And stop it from distrusting what the future holds.

3. The World and You Everything divine is filled with Providence (wise guidance). Even things that seem like chance are connected to nature and the way everything is woven together by Providence. All things come from this source. Then there is necessity—what has to be—and the needs of the whole universe, which you are a part of. Whatever the nature of the whole universe does, and whatever helps to maintain it, is good for every part of nature, including you. The world keeps going because of change—change in the basic elements and in the things made from them. That idea should be enough for you; treat it as a fundamental truth. Give up your craving for books. This way, you won’t die feeling bitter. Instead, you can die cheerfully and truthfully, truly grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart.

4. Stop Procrastinating Remember how long you’ve been putting things off. Think about how many times the gods have given you more time, and you didn’t use those chances.

You eventually need to realize what kind of world you are part of. You must understand what power rules this world and where you came from. Know that the time you have is limited. If you don’t use this time to free yourself (from confusion and troubles), it will disappear and never come back.

5. Focus Like a Roman Every minute, focus like a Roman, like a man, on the task in front of you. Do it with exactness and real seriousness. Act tenderly, willingly, and with a sense of justice. Free yourself from all other distractions.

Yes, you can do this if you approach everything as if it were the last thing you do in your life.

• Stop being aimless.
• Stop letting your emotions overrule what your mind tells you.
• Stop being insincere, self-centered, and irritable.

You see, you only need to do a few things to live a satisfying and respectful life. If you can manage these, that’s all even the gods can ask of you.

6. Value Your Soul Yes, soul, you keep disrespecting yourself. Soon, your chance to have dignity will be gone. Everyone gets only one life. Yours is almost over. Instead of treating yourself with respect, you’ve put your own happiness in the hands of what others think or do.

7. Avoid Distractions and Aimlessness Do things outside of you distract you? If so, make time for yourself to learn something valuable. Stop letting yourself be pulled in every direction. But be careful to avoid another kind of confusion. People who work hard their whole lives but have no clear goal to guide every thought and action are wasting their time—even when they are busy.

8. Your Own Soul Matters Most Ignoring what’s happening in other people’s inner lives—no one ever suffered because of that. But if you don’t pay attention to what your own soul is doing, you will definitely be unhappy.

9. Key Things to Always Remember Never forget these points:

• The nature of the universe.
• Your own nature.
• How you relate to the universe.
• What small part of it you represent.
• You are a part of nature. No one can stop you from always speaking and acting in a way that agrees with it.

10. Sins of Desire vs. Sins of Anger When comparing wrongdoings (as people often do), the philosopher Theophrastus says that actions committed because of desire are worse than those committed because of anger. This is good philosophy.

Here’s why:

• The angry person seems to turn away from reason because of a kind of pain and inner turmoil.
• But the person driven by desire, overcome by pleasure, seems more self-indulgent and less strong in their wrongdoings.

Theophrastus is right to say that a sin done for pleasure should be judged more harshly than one done because of pain. The angry person is more like a victim of something bad, stirred to anger by pain. The other person chooses to do wrong on their own, pushed into action by desire.

11. Thinking About Life and Death You could leave this life right now. Let that thought guide what you do, say, and think.

• If the gods exist: Leaving human life isn’t scary. The gods would never let real harm come to you.
• If the gods don’t exist, or don’t care about us: What would be the point of living in a world without gods or any guiding plan?

But the gods do exist, and they do care about us. They have put everything a person needs to avoid real harm within that person’s own power. If there were anything truly harmful after death, they would have made sure you had the ability to avoid it.

If something doesn’t harm your character, how can it harm your life? Nature wouldn’t have missed such dangers by not noticing them. Nor would it see them but be unable to prevent or fix them. Nature wouldn’t make such a mistake, through weakness or lack of skill, as to let good and bad things happen randomly to both good and bad people.

However, death and life, success and failure, pain and pleasure, wealth and poverty—all these happen to good and bad people alike. These things are neither noble nor shameful. Therefore, they are neither good nor bad in themselves.

12. Understanding Reality Think about how quickly everything vanishes:

• The things in the world.
• The memory of those things over time.

Consider the true nature of what our senses show us, especially things that tempt us with pleasure, frighten us with pain, or are loudly praised out of pride. Your ability to think is for understanding these things:

• How silly, worthless, dirty, decaying, and dead they truly are.
• What the people whose opinions create fame really amount to.
• What dying really is. If you look at it objectively and analyze it logically, breaking down your fearful ideas about it, you’ll realize it’s just a natural process. Only children are afraid of natural processes. (And it’s not only natural but also necessary.)
• Understand how a person connects with God (or the divine), with what part of themselves they do it, and how that part of them is affected when they do.

13. Focus Inward, Not Outward Nothing is sadder than people who endlessly run around, trying to figure out deep mysteries or investigating the inner lives of people around them. They never realize that all you need to do is pay attention to the power inside yourself and truly honor it. To honor this inner power means to keep it clear from confusion, aimlessness, and unhappiness with nature (both divine and human aspects).

• What is divine deserves our respect because it is good.
• What is human deserves our affection because humans are like us. We should also feel pity for them sometimes, because they often can’t tell good from bad—a blindness as terrible as not being able to tell white from black.

14. The Value of the Present Moment Even if you were to live for three thousand more years, or ten times that long, remember this: you cannot lose any other life than the one you are living right now. And you cannot live any other life than the one you are currently losing. The longest life comes down to the same as the shortest life in this regard. The present moment is the same for everyone. Losing it is the same for everyone. And it should be clear that only a brief instant is what is actually lost. You can’t lose the past or the future, because how could you lose what you don’t have?

So, remember two things:

• Everything has always been the same and keeps repeating. It makes no difference whether you see the same things happen again in a hundred years, two hundred years, or in an endless amount of time.
• The person who lives the longest and the person who will die very soon lose the exact same thing. The present moment is all they can give up, because that is all you truly have. And what you do not have, you cannot lose.

15. Everything is an Impression Monimus the Cynic said, “Everything is just an impression.” The answer to this might seem obvious. But his point is useful if you understand its true value and don’t take it too far.

16. How the Soul Harms Itself The human soul lowers itself, most of all:

• When it becomes like a tumor on the world: This happens when it tries to be a detached, isolated growth. To be upset or resentful about anything that happens is like separating yourself from Nature, which includes the nature of everything.
• When it turns against another person or tries to harm them: This is what angry souls do.
• When it is defeated by pleasure or pain.
• When it pretends, or does or says something fake or insincere.
• When it lets its actions and impulses be without a purpose, random, and disconnected. Even the smallest things should be aimed toward a goal. The goal of rational beings is to follow the rules and laws of the oldest and most fundamental community and state (the universe itself).

17. The Nature of Human Life and Our Guide Consider human life:

• Duration: It’s just a moment.
• Nature: It’s always changing.
• Perception: Our understanding is dim.
• Body’s Condition: It’s decaying.
• Soul: It’s like a restless spinning top.
• Fortune: It’s unpredictable.
• Lasting Fame: It’s uncertain.

To sum up: The body and its parts are like a flowing river. The soul is like a dream and mist. Life is like a war and a journey in a foreign land. A lasting reputation is just being forgotten.

So, what can guide us through all this? Only philosophy.

Philosophy means:

• Keeping the divine power within you safe and free from harm.
• Making it superior to pleasure and pain.
• Ensuring it does nothing randomly, dishonestly, or with insincerity.
• Making it not dependent on whether someone else does something or not.
• Helping it accept what happens and what is given, seeing it as coming from the same source from which it also came.
• And above all, helping it accept death with a cheerful spirit. Death is nothing more than the breaking apart of the elements from which every living thing is made. If the elements themselves are not harmed by continually changing into one another, why should anyone be afraid of all of them changing and separating? It’s a natural thing. And nothing natural is evil.

Book 3: Notes from Carnuntum

1. The Urgency of Now It’s not just that more of our life is used up each day and less of it remains. There’s also this to consider: if we live longer, can we be sure our mind will stay sharp enough to understand the world? Will it still be capable of the kind of thinking that seeks knowledge about divine and human matters? If our mind begins to fail, we’ll still breathe, eat, have thoughts, feel urges, and so on. But the ability to make the most of ourselves, to figure out our duties, to analyze what we experience, to decide if it’s time to stop striving—all the things that require a healthy mind—those abilities will be gone.

So, we need to hurry. It’s not just because we get closer to death every day. It’s also because our understanding, our ability to grasp the world, might fade before we die.

2. Finding Beauty in Nature’s Imperfections We should remember that even the seemingly accidental things in Nature have their own charm and appeal.

• Think about how loaves of bread split open on top when they bake. The cracks are just a side effect of baking, yet they are somehow pleasing and make us feel hungry without knowing why.
• Consider how ripe figs start to burst open.
• Or olives that are about to fall from the tree; the hint of decay gives them a special kind of beauty.
• Stalks of wheat bending under their own weight. The serious look on a lion’s furrowed brow. Specks of foam on a wild boar’s mouth.

And many other things. If you look at them by themselves, there might not seem to be anything beautiful about them. Yet, because they are part of nature, they add to its richness and draw us in. Anyone who has a real feeling for nature, a deeper sensitivity, will find pleasure in all these things, even in what seems accidental.

• Such a person will find the jaws of live animals as beautiful as those in paintings or sculptures.
• They will calmly see the unique beauty of old age in men and women, and the loveliness of children.
• And many other similar things will constantly speak to them—things that others don’t notice. These are things seen only by those who feel at home with Nature and its creations.

3. The Fate of Everyone Hippocrates cured many diseases, but then he himself got sick and died. The Chaldean astrologers predicted the deaths of many other people, but eventually, their own time came. Alexander, Pompey, and Caesar destroyed many cities and killed thousands of soldiers in battle, but they also died. Heraclitus often said the world would end in fire, but he died from an illness related to water, covered in cow manure. Democritus, the philosopher, was killed by common lice, while Socrates was killed by human accusers.

So what does this all mean? Imagine you’ve boarded a ship, set sail, and completed your journey. Now it’s time to get off.

• If you are going to another life, well, that place will have gods too; there’s nowhere without them.
• If you are going to a state of nothingness, then you will no longer have to deal with pain and pleasure. You won’t have to keep serving this worn-out container, your body, which is so much less important than the mind and spirit that uses it.
• One (the mind and spirit) is intelligence and divinity; the other (the body) is just earth and trash.

4. Focus on Your Own Mind, Not Others’ Affairs Don’t waste the rest of your time worrying about other people, unless it directly affects the common good. Worrying about others will keep you from doing anything useful. You’ll be too busy thinking about:

• What someone else is doing, and why.
• What they’re saying and thinking.
• What schemes they are planning.
• And all the other things that distract you and prevent you from focusing on your own mind.

You need to avoid certain types of thoughts:

• Anything random or irrelevant.
• Definitely anything self-important or mean-spirited.

You need to get used to filtering your thoughts. If someone asks, “What are you thinking about?” you should be able to answer immediately and truthfully that you are thinking about this or that. And your answer should make it obvious that your thoughts were simple, kind, and considerate—the thoughts of an unselfish person. Such a person isn’t concerned with pleasure, indulging the senses, arguments, slander, envy, or anything else you’d be ashamed to be caught thinking.

Someone like that, who refuses to delay in becoming one of the best people they can be, is like a priest and a servant of the gods. They are in touch with the divine power within them, which keeps a person:

• Unspoiled by pleasures.
• Safe from any pain.
• Untouched by arrogance.
• Unaffected by meanness.
• An athlete in the greatest contest of all—the struggle not to be overwhelmed by anything that happens. This power leaves us deeply marked by justice. It makes us welcome wholeheartedly whatever happens, whatever we are assigned. It means not worrying too often, or for any selfish reason, about what other people say, do, or think.

This person does only what is their own job to do. They constantly think about what the universe has in store for them. They do their best and trust that everything happens for the best. For we carry our own fate with us, and it carries us.

This person also remembers that all rational beings are connected. Caring for all human beings is part of being human. However, this doesn’t mean we have to agree with their opinions. We should only listen to and value the opinions of those whose lives are in harmony with nature. As for others? This person remembers what kind of people they are—at home and elsewhere, day and night—and who they associate with. And so, this person cares nothing for the praise of such people, who cannot even meet their own standards.

5. How to Live Your Life Here’s how to act:

• Never do anything because you feel forced to, or out of selfishness.
• Never act without thinking things through, or with doubts.
• Don’t try to make your thoughts sound fancier than they are.
• Don’t use too many words or do unnecessary actions.
• Let the spirit within you guide you to be a true man, an adult, a citizen, a Roman, and a ruler.
• Be like a soldier at his post, patiently waiting for the signal to be relieved from life. You don’t need to swear an oath or have witnesses to prove your worth.
• Be cheerful.
• Don’t rely on other people’s help or on calmness provided by others.
• You need to stand up straight on your own—not be propped up by others.

If you do your job following principles, with hard work, energy, and patience; if you keep yourself free from distractions; and if you keep the spirit inside you pure and undamaged, as if you might have to return it at any moment—

If you can embrace all this without fear or needing specific outcomes; if you can find satisfaction in what you are doing right now, just as Nature intends; and if you can be completely truthful in every word you say— then your life will be happy. No one can stop that from happening.

13. Keep Your Philosophy Ready Doctors always keep their surgical knives and other tools nearby for emergencies. You should also keep your philosophy ready, so you can understand heavenly and earthly matters. In everything you do, even the smallest thing, remember how these two are connected. Nothing on earth succeeds if it ignores heavenly principles, and nothing heavenly succeeds if it ignores earthly realities.

14. Race to the Finish Stop drifting along. You’re not going to get a chance to re-read your personal notes, your history books about ancient heroes, or the collections of quotes you saved for your old age. It’s time to sprint for the finish line. Give up your false hopes. If your own well-being truly matters to you, be your own savior while you still can.

15. The Full Scope of Actions People often don’t realize how much is involved in actions like stealing, planting, buying, resting, or taking care of business. These things require more than just physical sight; they need another kind of insight.

16. Body, Soul, Mind – And What Makes a Good Person

• Body: This is where sensations happen.
• Soul: This is where desires arise.
• Mind: This is where reasoning occurs.

Experiencing sensations isn’t special; even farm animals do that. Letting your desires control you is also common; wild animals do it, and so do lustful humans and cruel rulers (from ancient tyrants like Phalaris to more recent ones like Nero). Using your mind to guide you toward what seems best is also not unique; even people who deny the gods do that. People who betray their country do it. Even people who do shameful things behind closed doors use their minds in some way.

So, if all these things are common, what is special about a good person? It is this:

• To welcome with affection whatever fate sends their way.
• Not to tarnish or disturb the spirit within them with a lot of false beliefs.
• Instead, to keep that spirit pure and faithful by calmly obeying God (the divine order). This means saying nothing untrue and doing nothing unjust.

And if other people don’t recognize or understand this life lived with simplicity, humility, and cheerfulness, the good person doesn’t get angry with them. They are not turned away from following the road where it leads: to the end of life. This end should be met with purity, calmness, acceptance, and a peaceful sense of unity with whatever must happen.

Book 4

1. Your Inner Power When your inner power, your mind, follows nature, it adjusts to events by fitting itself to what it encounters—to what is possible. It doesn’t need any specific material to work with. It moves toward its goals as situations allow. It even turns obstacles into fuel. It’s like a large fire that overcomes things that would have put out a small lamp. Whatever is thrown onto a raging fire is quickly absorbed, consumed by it, and actually makes the fire burn even higher.

2. Act with Principle Don’t act randomly. Make sure your actions are based on sound principles.

3. True Escape is Within People try to get away from their troubles by going to the countryside, the beach, or the mountains. You often wish you could do that too. But that’s a silly thought because you can get away from it all anytime you want.

How? By going within yourself. Nowhere you can go is more peaceful or free from interruptions than your own soul. This is especially true if you have inner strengths to rely on. Just a moment of quiet reflection, and you can achieve complete calm. And by calm, I mean a kind of inner harmony and order.

So, keep taking these inner getaways. Renew yourself. But keep these retreats short and simple. A quick visit to your inner self should be enough to refresh you and send you back ready to face whatever life brings.

What is there to complain about?

• Is it people’s bad behavior? Remember these points:

  • Rational beings (like humans) exist for each other.
  • Doing the right thing sometimes requires patience.
  • No one does the wrong thing on purpose.
  • Think about how many people have feuded, envied, hated, fought, died, and been buried. … And after considering this, just keep quiet.

• Are you complaining about what the world gives you? Remember the two main possibilities: either there is a wise plan (Providence) guiding everything, or everything is just random atoms. Also, recall all the reasons for seeing the world as a kind of city we all belong to.

• Is it your body that’s troubling you? Keep in mind that when your mind separates itself from bodily concerns and understands its own nature, it no longer has anything to do with the ordinary ups and downs of physical life. And remember everything you’ve learned and accepted about pain and pleasure.

• Or is it your reputation that’s bothering you? Think about how quickly we are all forgotten. Imagine the vast emptiness of endless time that swallows everything. Think about how meaningless the applause of a crowd can be. Consider how inconsistent and random the people who praise us are. And realize how tiny the part of the world is where any of this takes place. The whole earth is just a tiny point in space, and most of it isn’t even inhabited. How many people will there really be to admire you, and who are they anyway?

So, always remember this refuge: the quiet paths within yourself. Above all, don’t strain or stress yourself. Be straightforward. Look at things like a man, like a human being, like a citizen, and like a mortal creature. And among the key thoughts you turn to, keep these two in mind: i. Things themselves have no hold on your soul. They stand still and unmoving outside of it. Disturbances come only from within—from your own opinions and perceptions. ii. Everything you see around you will soon change and then cease to exist. Think about how many changes you yourself have already witnessed.

Remember this saying: “The world is nothing but change. Our life is only perception.”

4. Our Shared Reason and Law If thought is something we all share, then reason—the capacity that makes us thinking beings—is also shared. If that’s true, then the reason that tells us what to do and what not to do is also shared. And if that’s true, we share a common law. If we share a common law, then we are fellow citizens. And if we are fellow citizens, we belong to some kind of common state or community. In that case, our common state must be the world itself. What other community could all of humanity belong to? And it is from this common state—the world—that thought, reason, and law must come. Where else could they originate? Just as the earthy part of me comes from the earth, the watery part from water, the airy part from air, and the fiery part from fire—since nothing comes from nothing, and nothing returns to nothing—so too, thought must come from somewhere.

5. Death is Natural Death is something like birth. It’s a natural mystery. It involves elements splitting apart and then coming together in new ways. It’s not an embarrassing thing. It’s not contrary to reason or to our fundamental nature.

6. People Act According to Their Nature That sort of person is bound to act in that particular way. You might as well get upset at a fig tree for producing fig juice. (Besides, before too long, both you and that person will be dead—and soon after, forgotten.)

7. Choose Not to Be Harmed Choose not to feel harmed—and you won’t feel harmed. If you don’t feel harmed—then you haven’t actually been harmed.

8. What Truly Harms You Something can only ruin your life if it ruins your character. Otherwise, it cannot harm you, either on the inside or the outside.

9. Nature’s Necessity Whatever happened was for the best. Therefore, Nature had no other choice but to make it happen that way.

10. Every Event is Right Believe that every event that happens is the right one. If you look closely, you will see that this is true. It’s not just the right one in a general sense, but specifically right, as if someone had carefully measured it out. Keep looking at things this way, and let this understanding shape your actions: aim for goodness—the kind of goodness that defines a good person. Hold onto this principle in everything you do.

11. See Reality Don’t see things the way your enemy sees them or hopes you will see them. See what is really there.

12. Two Kinds of Readiness You constantly need two kinds of readiness: i. To do only what reason, as expressed in authority and law, directs you to do, always keeping the good of human beings in mind. ii. To be willing to reconsider your position if someone can show you that you are wrong or can persuade you to a different view. But your change of mind should always be based on a conviction that the new view is right or that it benefits others—nothing else. Don’t change your mind just because a new idea seems more appealing or is more popular.

13. Use Your Mind You have a mind, don’t you? —Yes. Well, why not use it then? Isn’t that all you want—for your mind to do its job?

14. You Are a Part, You Will Return You have existed as a part of a larger whole. You will eventually disappear back into that which created you. Or rather, you will be taken back and transformed into the universal Reason (Logos) from which all things originate, through a process of change.

15. Lumps of Incense Think of many lumps of incense burning on the same altar. One crumbles into ash now, another one later. It makes no difference in the end.

16. From Beast to God Right now, they might see you as a beast or a monkey. But in a week, they could think you’re a god—if you rediscover your beliefs and honor Reason (the Logos).

17. Be Good While You Can Don’t live as if you have thousands of years ahead of you. Death is always hanging over you. While you are alive and have the ability—be a good person.

18. True Tranquility Tranquility comes when you stop caring about what other people say, think, or do. Focus only on what you do. Ask yourself: Is this fair? Is this the right thing to do? Don’t be distracted by their negativity. Run straight for the finish line, without wavering.

19. The Emptiness of Future Fame People who get excited about fame after they die forget something important: the people who remember them will also soon die. And the people after them will die too. This continues until the memory of them, passed from one person to another like a candle flame, eventually flickers and goes out.

But let’s suppose that those who remembered you were immortal, and your memory never died. What good would that actually do you? I don’t just mean when you’re dead, but even during your lifetime. What real use is praise, except perhaps to make your lifestyle a little more comfortable? It seems you are out of step with nature—you are neglecting nature’s present gifts just to cling to the hope of someone’s words in the future.

20. True Beauty Needs No Addition Beautiful things of any kind are beautiful in themselves and complete in themselves. Praise is something extra and unnecessary. The thing that is praised remains what it was—it doesn’t become better or worse because of the praise. I think this even applies to “beautiful” things in everyday life, like physical objects or works of art.

Does anything that is genuinely beautiful need something more to complete it? No more than justice does, or truth, or kindness, or humility.

• Are any of those virtues improved by being praised?
• Or are they damaged by being criticized?
• Is an emerald suddenly less perfect if no one admires it?
• What about gold, ivory, or purple dye? Or musical instruments like lyres? Or knives, flowers, or bushes?

21. Where Do All the Souls Go? If our souls survive after death, how does the air find enough room for all of them, considering all the souls that have existed since the beginning of time? A better question: How does the earth find room for all the bodies buried in it since the beginning of time? The answer for bodies is that they remain for a certain period, and then, through processes of change and decomposition, they make room for other bodies. It’s similar for the souls that go into the air. They remain for a little while, and then they are changed—they scatter and are kindled into fire, eventually being absorbed back into the universal Reason (Logos) from which all things come. This makes room for new souls arriving. That’s one possible answer.

But we shouldn’t only think about the huge number of buried bodies. Consider also the bodies that are consumed daily by us and by other animals. So many are eaten, essentially entombed in the bodies of those they nourish. Yet, there is room for them all because they are converted into flesh and blood, and transformed into air and fire.

How can we determine the truth of this? By careful analysis: by understanding matter and cause.

22. Act with Justice and Clarity Don’t let yourself be pulled in all different directions. In every situation, make sure your actions are just, and that your perception of things is clear and accurate.

23. Harmony with the Universe To the universe, I say: Your harmony is my harmony. Whatever time you choose for things to happen is the right time for me. Nothing is too late or too early. To nature, I say: Whatever the changing seasons bring me is like ripe fruit. All things are born from you, all things exist within you, and all things return to you. A poet once said, “dear city of Cecrops (Athens)…” Can’t you bring yourself to say, “dear city of Zeus (the Universe)”?

24. Do Less, Better Someone said, “If you want peace of mind, do less.” Or, more accurately, do what is essential—what the reason of a social being requires, and do it in the required way. This brings a double satisfaction: doing less, and doing it better. Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time and more peace of mind. At every moment, ask yourself, “Is this necessary?” But we also need to eliminate unnecessary assumptions from our thoughts, because this will, in turn, eliminate the unnecessary actions that follow those assumptions.

25. The Good Person’s Life And then you might get a glimpse of what the life of a good person is like—someone who is content with the share nature gives them, and satisfied with their own just actions and kind disposition.

26. Don’t Be Disturbed You’ve seen that. Now look at this. Don’t let yourself be troubled. Simplify your life. Has someone done wrong? The wrong is theirs; it harms them. Has something happened to you? Good. It was meant for you by nature, woven into the fabric of an all-encompassing fate from the very beginning. Life is short. That’s all there is to it. Get what you can from the present moment—thoughtfully and justly. Practice moderation without making a show of it.

27. Order in the Universe Is the world an ordered cosmos, or just a chaotic jumble of things? Even if it’s a jumble, it still has some kind of underlying order. Can there be order within you, yet no order in everything else? Especially when things are so different, so scattered, and yet so interconnected?

28. Types of Character (A Raw Note) Character: dark, womanish, stubborn. Wolf, sheep, child, fool, cheat, clown, salesman, tyrant.

29. Philosophical Definitions

• Alien: Someone who doesn’t know what the world truly contains, or how it operates.
• Fugitive: Someone who runs away from their social obligations.
• Blind: Someone who keeps the eyes of their mind tightly shut.
• Poor: Someone who needs things from others and doesn’t have the necessities of life within their own control.
• Rebel: Someone who resists and withdraws from the Reason of Nature because they are unhappy with how things work. (Nature produced you; now it produces this event.)
• Schismatic (One who creates division): Someone who separates their own soul from the souls of other rational beings, when they should all be one.

30. Philosophy With or Without Books Imagine a philosopher without any clothes, and another without any books. The first one says, as he stands there half-naked, “I have nothing to eat, but I live by Reason (the Logos).” And the one without books says, “And I, with nothing to read, also live by Reason.”

31. Love Your Own Work Love the craft or discipline you have learned, and let it support you. Willingly entrust everything you have to the gods. Then, go through the rest of your life as no one’s master and no one’s slave.

32. Lessons from Past Ages Think about the age of Emperor Vespasian, for example. You would see people doing the exact same things they do now: marrying, raising children, getting sick, dying, fighting wars, throwing parties, doing business, farming, flattering others, being arrogant, distrusting people, plotting, wishing for others to die, complaining about their own lives, falling in love, saving money, trying to get high positions in government and achieve power. And that life they led? It’s completely gone now.

Now think about the age of Emperor Trajan. Again, the exact same things. And that life, too, is gone. Look at the records of other times and other whole nations. See how many people strived hard, and then soon died and decomposed back into the basic elements they were made from. But most of all, think about the people you yourself knew. Those who worked for pointless things, who failed to do what they should have been doing—the work they should have stuck to and found satisfaction in. Here’s a key point to remember: The amount of attention a thing deserves depends on its importance. You’re better off not giving minor things more time than they are worth.

33. The Fate of Words and Fame Words that were once in common use now sound old-fashioned. And the names of people who were once famous are like that too: Camillus, Caeso, Volesus, Dentatus… Scipio and Cato… even Augustus… and then Hadrian and Antoninus. Everything fades so quickly. It turns into legend, and soon, complete forgottenness covers it. And this happens even to those who once shone brightly. As for the rest, they are “unknown, unasked-for” just a minute after they die. What is “eternal” fame anyway? It’s empty.

So, what should we truly work for? Only these things:

• Proper understanding.
• Unselfish actions.
• Truthful speech.
• A mindset that accepts whatever happens as necessary, familiar, and flowing from the same original source and spring as everything else.

34. Yield to Fate Willingly hand yourself over to Clotho, one of the Fates, and let her spin your thread of life into whatever pattern she pleases.

35. Everything is Temporary Everything is fleeting—both the person who knows and the things that are known.

36. All is Change Be constantly aware that everything is born from change. Understand that there is nothing nature loves more than to change existing things and create new things that are similar. Everything that exists now is like a seed for what will emerge from it. Don’t think that the only seeds are the ones that grow into plants or become children. Try to understand this on a deeper level.

37. Dying Unwisely Imagine being on the verge of dying and still feeling weighed down by anxieties. Still feeling inner turmoil. Still convinced that external things can harm you. Still being rude to other people. Still not recognizing the truth: that wisdom means living justly.

38. Observe the Wise Look into the minds of wise people. See what they do, and what they avoid doing.

39. Where Harm Resides Nothing that happens in anyone else’s mind can harm you. Nor can the shifts and changes in the world around you. —So where can harm be found? It’s found in your capacity to see things as harmful. Stop seeing them that way, and everything will be fine. Let the part of you that makes these judgments remain quiet, even if the body it’s attached to is stabbed, burnt, stinking with infection, or being consumed by cancer. To put it another way: Your mind needs to realize that what happens to everyone—both bad people and good people—is neither good nor bad in itself. What happens in every life—whether lived according to nature or not—is neither inherently natural nor unnatural in a moral sense.

40. The Universe as One Living Being Think of the world as a single living being, with one nature and one soul. Keep that in mind. Consider how everything feeds into that single, unified experience, and how everything moves with a single, unified motion. And see how everything helps to produce everything else. It’s all spun and woven together.

41. Epictetus’s Saying Epictetus said: “You are a little wisp of soul carrying a corpse around.”

42. Change is Neutral There is nothing inherently bad in undergoing change, just as there is nothing inherently good in emerging from change.

43. Time as a River Time is like a river, a violent current of events. We glimpse something for a moment, and it’s already carried past us. Another event follows, and it too is gone.

44. Familiar Events Everything that happens is as simple and familiar as a rose in spring or fruit in summer. This includes things like disease, death, disrespectful speech, and conspiracy—basically, everything that makes foolish people either very happy or very angry.

45. Logical Connection of Events What follows in life is always connected to what came before. It’s not like a random list of items where the order is just thrown together. Events are logically connected. And just as existing things are ordered and harmonious, the things that come into being also show a kind of order. It’s not just a sequence; it’s an amazing and coherent arrangement.

46. Heraclitus on Change and Misunderstanding Remember what Heraclitus said:

• “When earth dies, it becomes water; water dies, it becomes air; air dies, it becomes fire; and then the cycle reverses.”
• “Some people have forgotten where the road leads.”
• “They are often at odds with what is all around them”—meaning the universal Reason (Logos) that directs everything. And, “they find things alien and strange, even though they encounter them every day.”
• “Our words and actions should not be like those of people who are asleep” (because we also act and speak in our dreams). “Nor should they be like those of children simply copying their parents”—only doing and saying what we’ve been told.

47. The Insignificance of Time’s Length Suppose a god announced that you were going to die tomorrow, or at the latest, “the day after tomorrow.” Unless you were a complete coward, you wouldn’t make a big fuss about which day it was—what real difference could one day make? Now, realize that the difference between dying many years from now and dying tomorrow is just as small.

48. The Deaths of Many Don’t let yourself forget how many doctors have died, after looking very serious while examining countless dying patients. How many astrologers have died, after making grand predictions about other people’s deaths. How many philosophers have died, after endless discussions about death and immortality. How many warriors have died, after killing thousands themselves. How many tyrants have died, after cruelly abusing their power over life and death, as if they themselves were immortal.

Think about how many entire cities have met their end: Helike, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and countless others. And then think about all the people you yourself knew, one after another. One person arranged another’s burial, and then was soon buried himself. Then the person who buried him also died—all within a very short period.

In short, understand this: Human lives are brief and insignificant. Yesterday, a person was just a drop of semen; tomorrow, they will be embalming fluid or ashes. The goal is to pass through this brief life as nature demands. Give it up without complaint, like an olive that ripens and falls from the tree, praising the earth that nourished it and thanking the tree it grew on.

49. Be Like the Rock Be like a rock that the waves keep crashing over. It stands unmoved, and the raging sea grows calm around it.

49a. A Thought on Misfortune —Someone might say: “It’s unfortunate that this has happened to me.” No.

It’s fortunate that this has happened and I’ve remained unharmed by it. I’m not broken by what’s happening now or scared of what might come. This kind of thing could have happened to anyone. But not everyone could have faced it and remained unharmed.

So, why call this event a misfortune when you could see your reaction to it as fortunate? Can you really call something a misfortune if it doesn’t go against basic human nature? Or do you think something that isn’t against nature’s overall plan can violate human nature specifically? You already know what nature’s plan is. Does what happened stop you from acting with:

• Justice?
• Generosity?
• Self-control?
• Sanity?
• Prudence (good judgment)?
• Honesty?
• Humility?
• Straightforwardness?
• And all the other qualities that allow a person’s nature to be its best?

So, remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the event itself was not a misfortune at all. To endure it and come out strong is actually great good fortune.

50. A Simple Thought Against Fearing Death Here’s a common but effective way to fight the fear of death: think of all the people who clung to life desperately. What did they really gain by dying old? In the end, they all ended up buried—people like Caedicianus, Fabius, Julian, Lepidus, and all the others. They buried their friends and family, and then they themselves were buried.

Our lifetime is so short. And to live it in these conditions, among these kinds of people, in this kind of body? It’s nothing to get overly excited about. Think about the endless abyss of time that has passed, and the infinite future ahead. Whether you live for three days or for three generations (a very long time)—what’s the real difference in the grand scheme of things?

51. The Shortest, Healthiest Route Take the shortest route, the one that nature planned. This means always speaking and acting in the healthiest, most natural way. If you do that, you will be free from pain and stress, and free from all complicated schemes and pretenses.

Book 5

1. Getting Out of Bed At dawn, when you find it hard to get out of bed, tell yourself this: “I have to go to work—as a human being. What reason do I have to complain, if I’m going to do what I was born for? These are the things I was brought into the world to do. Or was I created for this? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”

You might think: —“But it’s nicer here under the blankets…”

My response: So, were you born just to feel “nice”? Were you born for pleasure instead of for doing things and experiencing life? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants, the spiders, and the bees all going about their individual tasks? They are all working to put the world in order as best they can. And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your own nature demands of you?

You might say: —“But we have to sleep sometime…”

My response: I agree. But nature set a limit on sleep, just as it did on eating and drinking. And you often go over that limit for sleep. You’ve had more than enough rest. But when it comes to working, you’re still below your quota.

You don’t love yourself enough. If you did, you would also love your own nature and what it requires of you. People who truly love what they do wear themselves out working at it. They even forget to wash or eat. Do you have less respect for your own nature than:

• The engraver has for engraving?
• The dancer has for the dance?
• The miser has for money?
• Or the social climber has for status? When these people are truly passionate about what they do, they would rather stop eating and sleeping than give up practicing their arts.

Is helping others less valuable to you? Is it not worth your effort?

2. Achieve Utter Stillness To shrug off and wipe away every annoyance and distraction, and to reach a state of complete inner stillness—this is simple, like child’s play.

3. Act Appropriately If an action or something you say is appropriate, then it’s appropriate for you. Don’t be put off by other people’s comments or criticism. If it’s the right thing to say or do, then it’s the right thing for you to do or say. Other people follow their own inner guides and their own impulses. Don’t be distracted by them. Keep walking your own path. Follow your own nature, and follow Universal Nature—they share the same road.

4. Returning to Nature I walk through what is natural around me, until the time comes for me to sink down and rest. Then, I will entrust my last breath to the air from which I draw my daily breath. I will fall back onto the earth from which my father received his seed, my mother her blood, and my nurse her milk. This earth has provided my daily food and drink for all these years. It sustains my footsteps and supports the many ways I use it.

5. You Have Other Virtues No one could ever say you are quick-witted or exceptionally smart. Alright, but there are plenty of other good qualities you can’t claim you “don’t have in you.” So, practice the virtues you can show:

• Honesty
• Seriousness
• Endurance
• Simplicity in lifestyle
• Acceptance of your fate
• Self-restraint
• Patience
• Sincerity
• Moderation
• Dignity
• High-mindedness

Don’t you see how much you have to offer, far beyond making excuses like “I can’t”? And yet, you still settle for less than you could be. Or is it some problem you were born with that makes you whine, grasp for things, and be overly flattering? Does it make you complain about your body, try too hard to please others, show off, and leave you feeling so restless inside? No. You could have broken free from these tendencies a long time ago. If you had, the worst thing people could say is that you were a little slow, “not so quick to understand things.” And you need to work on that slowness too. It’s not something to be ignored, and certainly not something to be proud of.

6. Doing Favors Without Expectation Some people, when they do someone a favor, are always looking for a chance to get something in return. Others aren’t actively looking for payback, but they still think about the favor and consider it a debt owed to them. But then there are people who don’t even do that. They are like a vine that produces grapes without expecting anything in return.

• A horse acts this way after a race.
• A dog acts this way when the hunt is over.
• A bee acts this way after it has stored its honey.
• And a human being can act this way after helping others. These types don’t make a big deal about what they’ve done. They just go on to the next thing, like a vine looks forward to bearing fruit again in the next season. We should try to be like that, acting helpfully almost without thinking about it.

You might object: —“Yes, but we should be conscious of it. It’s a characteristic of social beings that they see themselves acting for the good of society. And they expect their neighbors to see it too!”

My response: That’s true. But you’re misunderstanding my point. If you take it that way, you’ll end up like the people I mentioned earlier, who are misled by clever but flawed reasoning. But if you make an effort to truly understand what I’m saying, then you won’t need to worry about neglecting your duty to society.

7. Simple Prayers The people of Athens had a prayer: “Zeus, send rain, send rain Down on the land and fields of Athens.” We should either not pray at all, or our prayers should be as simple and straightforward as that one.

8. Accepting What Nature Prescribes Just as you hear people say that “the doctor prescribed such-and-such for him” (like riding a horse, taking cold baths, or walking barefoot), you should also say this about your own life: “Nature prescribed this illness for him.” Or, “Nature prescribed blindness for him.” Or, “Nature prescribed the loss of a limb, or something else.” In the doctor’s case, “prescribed” means something like “ordered this for him to help his recovery.” It’s similar with Nature. What happens to each of us is ordered. It helps to bring about our destiny.

And when we describe things as “happening” or “taking place,” we are talking like builders. Builders say that blocks in a wall or a pyramid “take their place” in the structure and fit together in a harmonious way. For there is a single, underlying harmony in everything. Just as the world forms a single body made up of all individual bodies, so fate forms a single overall purpose made up of all individual purposes. Even people who can’t read or write acknowledge this when they say that something “brought on” this or that event. Yes, it was “brought on” or “prescribed.” In that case, let’s accept it, just as we accept what the doctor prescribes. A doctor’s orders may not always be pleasant, but we follow them because we want to get well. Look at how nature’s plans unfold in the same light—the way you look at your own health—and accept what happens, even if it seems hard to accept. Accept it because of what it leads to: the good health of the entire world, and the well-being and success of Zeus (the divine order) himself. Zeus would not have brought this particular event on anyone unless it also brought some benefit to the world as a whole. No natural system would bring about something that wasn’t beneficial to what it governed.

So, there are two reasons to embrace what happens to you:

1. It’s happening to you. It was prescribed specifically for you, and it relates to your life. The thread of this event was spun for you long ago by the oldest cause of all, by fate.
2. What happens to an individual is a cause of well-being for the power that directs the world. It contributes to that power’s well-being, its fulfillment, and even its very existence. The whole is damaged if you cut away anything at all from its continuous flow and its interconnectedness—not just its physical parts, but also its purposes. And that’s what you’re doing when you complain: you are, in a way, hacking at and trying to destroy that wholeness.

9. Getting Back Up Don’t feel frustrated, defeated, or hopeless because your days aren’t always packed with wise and moral actions. When you fail, get back up. Celebrate that you are behaving like a human being—however imperfectly—and fully embrace the path of improvement you’ve chosen. And don’t think of philosophy as your strict schoolteacher. Think of it more like the soothing sponge and egg white that doctors used to relieve eye inflammation—like a calming ointment or a warm lotion. You are not trying to show off your obedience to Reason (the Logos); you are trying to find rest in it. Remember: philosophy only asks you to do what your own nature already demands. It’s usually you who has been chasing after something else, something unnatural.

You might ask: —“But what could be preferable to those other things?”

My response: That’s exactly how pleasure traps us, isn’t it? Wouldn’t these be preferable:

• Magnanimity (greatness of spirit)?
• Freedom?
• Honesty?
• Good judgment?
• Piety (respect for the divine)? And is there anything preferable to thought itself—to logic, to understanding? Think about how reliable and smoothly they operate.

10. The Mystery of Things Things in the world are wrapped in such a thick veil of mystery that many good philosophers have found it impossible to make complete sense of them. Even the Stoics find it difficult. Any judgment we make about things is subject to change—just as we ourselves are constantly changing. Look closely at things around you—see how temporary they are, how ultimately meaningless. Consider that things can be owned by a pervert, a prostitute, or a thief. Then look at the way the people around you behave. Even the best of them are hard to put up with—and that’s not even mentioning how hard it is to put up with yourself sometimes. In such deep darkness, in such a messy world—with the constant flow of material things, of time, of motion, and of things being moved—I don’t know what there is to truly value or to strive for.

Quite the contrary. We need to comfort ourselves and patiently wait for our eventual dissolution (death). And while we wait, we shouldn’t get impatient. Instead, we should take refuge in these two thoughts: i. Nothing can happen to me that isn’t in accordance with nature. ii. I have the power to avoid doing anything that God and my own inner spirit do not approve of. No one can force me to go against my conscience.

11. What’s Going On In My Soul? I should constantly ask myself: What am I doing with my soul right now? I need to examine myself to find out what kind of thoughts and feelings inhabit my so-called mind. What kind of soul do I have at this moment?

• Is it the soul of a child?
• An adolescent?
• A woman? (Perhaps referring to a soul prone to certain societal expectations of femininity at the time, like being overly emotional or less rational).
• A tyrant?
• Or is it the soul of a predator—or its prey?

12. Understanding “Goods” Here’s another way to understand what ordinary people mean when they talk about “goods” (things they consider valuable): Suppose you considered certain qualities as true measures of goodness: good judgment, self-control, justice, and courage, for example. If you understood “goods” in this way, then you wouldn’t be able to make sense of a sarcastic old saying about a rich man having “so many goods, he had no place to shit.” That line just wouldn’t compute.

However, if you had accepted the common, everyday meaning of “goods” (like wealth and status), you’d understand the saying perfectly. You’d easily see what the author meant and why it was considered funny. This shows that most people do recognize a difference between true inner goods and external possessions. Otherwise, we wouldn’t find the first meaning (virtues) out of place in that saying and automatically reject it, while we accept the second meaning (wealth and the benefits of fame and luxurious living) as amusing and fitting for the joke.

Now, take it a step further. Ask yourself: should we really accept as “goods”—and should we value—the kinds of things we have to think of for that joke to make sense? Should we value things whose excessive abundance leaves their owner with such a ridiculous problem as having “no place to shit”?

13. Endless Transformation I am made up of substance (matter) and an animating principle (soul or form). Neither of these can ever stop existing, any more than they just popped into existence from nothing. Every part of me will eventually be transformed and reassigned as another part of the world. That new part will, in turn, be transformed into yet another part, and so on, endlessly. I myself was produced through one such transformation, and my parents too, and so on, all the way back, endlessly. (Note: This still holds true, even if the world goes through repeating cycles of creation and destruction.)

14. The Work of Reason Reason (the Logos) and the way it works are forces that are sufficient in themselves and for the tasks they perform. They start from their own beginning and proceed to their appointed end. We call such activities “directed” because of the straightforwardness of their course.

15. What Truly Belongs to Humans Nothing truly belongs to human beings except those things that define us as human. No other things can be demanded of us as essential. Such external things are not proper to human nature, nor is human nature incomplete without them. It follows that these external things are not our ultimate goal, nor are they the true good that helps us reach that goal. If any of these external things were truly proper to us, it would be improper to look down on them or resist them. Nor would we admire people who show themselves to be unaffected by their presence or absence. If these things themselves were good, it could hardly be a good thing to give them up. But in reality, the more we deny ourselves such things (and similar external advantages)—or are deprived of them against our will, even—the better people we become.

16. Your Thoughts Color Your Soul The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts. So, color it with a continuous stream of thoughts like these: i. Anywhere you can lead your life, you can lead a good one. You might say: “But lives are led at the imperial court…” My response: Then good lives can be led there too. ii. Things naturally move toward what they were made for. What things move toward is their ultimate goal. A thing’s goal is what benefits it—its true good. A rational being’s true good is to be unselfish and to act for the common good. This is what we were born for. That’s not a new idea. Remember? Lower things exist for the sake of higher things, and higher things exist for the sake of one another. Things that have consciousness are higher than those that don’t. And those that possess reason (Logos) are still higher.

17. Wanting the Impossible It is crazy to want what is impossible. And it is impossible for wicked people not to act in harmful or foolish ways.

18. What You Can Endure Nothing happens to anyone that they truly cannot endure. The same difficult thing happens to other people, and they manage to get through it unharmed—either because they are simply unaware of its full impact or because they want to display “strong character.” Is wisdom really so much weaker than ignorance or mere vanity?

19. Things Can’t Touch the Soul External things have no real hold on your soul. They cannot get into it, and they cannot move or direct it. The soul is moved and directed by itself alone. It takes the things and events it encounters and interprets them as it sees fit.

20. People and Obstacles In a sense, other people are our proper concern. Our job is to do them good and to put up with them patiently. But when they try to obstruct us in our proper tasks, they become irrelevant to us—like the sun, the wind, or wild animals. Our actions may be blocked by them, but there can be no blocking our intentions or our inner dispositions (our attitudes). This is because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts any obstacle to our action into something that serves its own purposes. The obstacle to action becomes a way to advance action. What stands in the way becomes the way forward.

21. Honor What Is Greatest Honor that which is greatest in the world—the power on whose business all things are employed and by whom they are governed. And also honor what is greatest in yourself: this is the part of you that shares its nature with that great universal power. All things—in you as well—are employed about its business, and your life is governed by it.

22. Harm to the Community, Harm to the Individual If something does not harm the community, it does not harm its individual members. When you think you’ve been injured, apply this rule: If the community isn’t injured by it, then neither am I. And if the community is injured by it, then anger is not the right response. You should try to show the offender where they went wrong.

23. The Flow of Time Keep in mind how fast things pass by and are gone—both those that are here now, and those that are yet to come. Existence flows past us like a river. The “what” of things is in constant change, and the “why” has a thousand variations. Nothing is stable, not even what’s right here in front of us. The infinity of the past and the future yawns before us—a chasm so deep we cannot see its bottom. So, it would take an idiot to feel self-important or distressed about such fleeting things. Or to feel any indignation, either, as if the things that irritate us could last for any significant time.

24. Remember These Truths Remember:

• Matter: How tiny your share of it is.
• Time: How brief and fleeting your allotted portion of it is.
• Fate: How small a role you play in its grand scheme.

25. Whose Problem Is It? So, other people hurt me? That’s their problem. Their character and their actions are not mine. What is done to me is ordained by nature as part of the universal plan. What I do is determined by my own nature.

26. The Mind as Ruler of the Soul The mind is the ruler of the soul. It should remain undisturbed by the agitations of the flesh—whether those feelings are gentle or violent. It should not mix with them, but should fence itself off and keep those physical feelings in their proper place. When these feelings make their way into your thoughts, through the natural sympathetic link between mind and body, don’t try to resist the sensation itself. The sensation is natural. But don’t let the mind immediately start in with its own judgments, calling the sensation “good” or “bad.”

27. Living with the Gods “To live with the gods.” What does this mean? It means to show them, through your actions, that your soul accepts what it is given and does what the guiding spirit requires. This guiding spirit is what God gave each of us to lead and guide us—it is a fragment of Himself. This spirit is our mind, our reason (Logos).

28. Dealing with Unpleasant People Don’t be irritated at people’s bad smell or bad breath. What’s the point? With that kind of mouth, or those kinds of armpits, they are going to produce that particular odor. You might say: —“But they have a brain! Can’t they figure it out? Can’t they recognize the problem?” My response: So, you have a brain as well. Good for you. Then use your logic to awaken his logic. Show him. Make him realize it. If he’ll listen, then you’ll have solved the problem—without getting angry.

28a. A Brief Note Neither a performer playing a king, nor a prostitute. (Meaning: don’t be an actor playing a role, or someone who sells out their principles.)

29. Living Well Anywhere, Anytime You can live here on earth just as you expect to live in some ideal state or afterlife. And if people around you won’t let you live that way, then you can choose to depart from life right now, and you will forfeit nothing truly important. If the smoke in a room makes me cough, I can leave the room. What’s so hard about that? Until things reach that point of needing to depart, I am free. No one can keep me from doing what I want to do. And I want to do what is proper for rational beings who are living together in a community.

30. The Unselfish Universe The world’s guiding intelligence is not selfish. It created lower things for the sake of higher things, and it attuned the higher things to work together harmoniously. Look how it subordinates different parts, how it connects them, how it assigns to each thing what each deserves, and how it brings the better things into alignment with each other.

31. A Life Review How have you behaved toward:

• The gods?
• Your parents?
• Your siblings?
• Your wife?
• Your children?
• Your teachers?
• Your nurses?
• Your friends?
• Your relatives?
• Your slaves? Have they all received from you nothing that was “wrong and unworthy, either in word or deed”?

Consider all that you’ve gone through, and all that you’ve managed to survive. And consider that the story of your life is mostly written now, your assignment largely complete. How many good things have you seen? How much pain and pleasure have you resisted or risen above? How many honors have you declined? How many unkind people have you treated with kindness?

32. Skilled vs. Unskilled Souls Why do other souls—those that are unskilled and untrained—disturb the soul that possesses skill and understanding? —And which soul is that, the one with skill and understanding? It is the soul that knows the beginning and the end of things. It knows the Reason (Logos) that runs through all things and that assigns to everything its proper place and its allotted span of existence, throughout the whole of time.

33. The Emptiness of Worldly Things Soon you’ll be nothing but ashes, or bones. You’ll be a mere name, at most—and even a name is just a sound, an echo. The things we desperately want in life are empty, stale, and trivial. We are like dogs snarling at each other, or like quarreling children—laughing one moment and then bursting into tears the next. Trust, shame, justice, and truth—these seem to have “gone from the earth and are only found in heaven.”

So, why are you still here?

• Sensory objects are constantly shifting and unstable.
• Our senses are dim and easily deceived.
• The soul itself is just an exhalation from the blood.
• Fame in a world like this is worthless.

—And so, what should you do? Wait patiently for what is to come—either annihilation (ceasing to exist) or metamorphosis (transformation into something else). —And until that time comes—what then?

Until that time comes, what should you do?

• Honor and respect the gods.
• Treat human beings as they deserve.
• Be tolerant with other people, but strict with yourself. Remember, the only things that truly belong to you are your physical body—your flesh and blood. Nothing else is actually under your control.

34. Living an Untroubled Life You can lead an untroubled life, as long as you can continue to grow, and as long as you can think and act in a systematic, principled way. Gods and humans (and every rational creature) share two important characteristics: i. They don’t let others hold them back from doing what’s right. ii. They find goodness in thinking and doing the right thing, and they limit their desires to achieving that.

35. Why Worry? If this problem or evil situation:

• Is not something I caused,
• Nor is it a result of my actions,
• And the community as a whole is not endangered by it, Then why should it bother me? Where is the real danger for the community?

36. Don’t Be Overwhelmed by Imagination Don’t let your imagination overwhelm you. Just do what you can and what you should. And if you suffer setbacks in unimportant matters, don’t treat that as a true defeat. (That’s a bad habit to get into.) It’s like an old man at a festival asking for the toy rattle meant for an orphan child on his way out—even though he knew it was just a toy. It’s like that.

36a. A Fragmented Thought About a Platform (This seems to be a note about a specific, unclear situation, perhaps on a public stage or platform.) “Have you forgotten what’s truly important here?” Someone might reply: “I know, but it was important to them.” And the response could be: “Just because it was important to them, do you have to be an idiot as well?”

37. True Good Fortune I was once a fortunate man, but at some point, my external fortune abandoned me. But true good fortune is different; it’s what you make for yourself. Good fortune consists of:

• Good character.
• Good intentions.
• And good actions.

Book 6

1. Nature and Reason Nature is flexible and obedient. And the universal Reason (Logos) that governs it has no reason to do evil. Reason knows no evil, does no evil, and causes harm to nothing. It directs all beginnings and all endings.

2. Do the Right Thing Just make sure you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you are:

• Cold or warm.
• Tired or well-rested.
• Despised or honored.
• Dying… or busy with other tasks. Because dying, too, is one of our assignments in life. In death, as in life, our task is simply “to do what needs doing.”

3. Look Inward Look within yourself. Don’t let the true nature or real value of anything escape your notice.

4. Constant Transformation Before long, all existing things will be transformed. They will either rise like smoke (if all things combine into one), or they will be scattered like fragments.

5. Reason Knows Its Work The universal Reason (Logos) knows where it stands, what it has to do, and what materials it has to work with.

6. The Best Revenge The best way to get revenge on a wrongdoer is not to become like them.

7. Unselfish Action with God in Mind Focus on moving from one unselfish action to another, always keeping God (the divine principle) in mind. Only in this way can you find true delight and inner peace.

8. The Self-Directing Mind The mind is the part of you that is roused and directed by itself. It makes of itself whatever it chooses to be. It makes whatever it chooses of its own experiences.

9. All Things Through Nature Everything is brought about by nature. Nothing happens because of something beyond nature, or something hidden within nature, or something separate from nature.

10. Two Views of the Universe There are two ways to see the universe: i. As a mixture of things, constantly interacting and dispersing. ii. Or, as a state of unity, order, and intelligent design.

Suppose it’s the first view (mixture and dispersal):

• Why would I want to live in a world of disorder and confusion?
• Why would I care about anything except eventually returning “from dust to dust”?
• And why would I feel any anxiety? Dispersal is going to happen no matter what I do.

Or suppose it’s the second view (unity and design):

• Then, I should feel reverence.
• I should feel serene.
• I should have faith in the power responsible for this order.

11. Regain Your Rhythm When circumstances unavoidably jolt you and throw you off balance, return to yourself at once. Don’t lose your inner rhythm more than you absolutely have to. You’ll have a better grasp of harmony if you keep practicing returning to it.

12. Philosophy: Your True Home If you had both a stepmother and a real mother, you would pay your respects to your stepmother, yes… but it’s your real mother you’d truly feel at home with and return to. Think of the imperial court as your stepmother, and philosophy as your real mother. Keep returning to philosophy, to rest in its embrace. Philosophy is what makes the court—and you yourself—endurable.

13. Seeing Things As They Are It’s like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you and suddenly realizing: This is a dead fish. This is a dead bird. This is a dead pig. Or realizing that this expensive wine is just grape juice, and these purple robes are merely sheep wool dyed with shellfish blood. Or, when making love, realizing it’s just one body part rubbing against another, a brief spasm, and then a little cloudy liquid.

Perceptions like these—ones that grasp the true nature of things and pierce through their surface appearances—help us see what they really are. That’s what we need to do all the time, throughout our lives. When things present themselves as trustworthy or valuable, we need to lay them bare, see how ultimately pointless they are, and strip away the stories and legends that make them seem more important than they are. Pride is a master of deception. When you think you’re engaged in the most important business, that’s often when pride has you completely fooled. (Consider what the philosopher Crates said about Xenocrates.)

14. What People Admire vs. True Value Things that ordinary people are impressed by usually fall into these categories:

• Things held together by simple physical forces, like stones or wood.
• Things held together by natural growth, like figs, vines, or olive trees. Those admired by more advanced minds are things held together by a living soul, like flocks of sheep or herds of cows. Still more sophisticated people admire what is guided by a rational mind—not the universal mind, but a mind admired for its technical knowledge, some other skill, or just because it happens to own a lot of slaves.

But those who revere that other mind—the universal one we all share as humans and as citizens of the cosmos—are not interested in those other things. Their main focus is on the state of their own minds:

• To avoid all selfishness and irrationality.
• To work with others to achieve that common goal.

15. The Flow of Existence Some things are rushing into existence, while others are rushing out of it. Some of what exists right now is already disappearing. Constant change and flow continually remake the world, just as the relentless progression of time constantly remakes eternity. We find ourselves in this flowing river of existence. Which of the things around us should we truly value when none of them can offer a firm place to stand? Trying to get attached to something in this flow is like trying to fall in love with a sparrow that you glimpse for a moment before it flies away and is gone. Life itself is like this: like the drawing in and expelling of blood, or the drawing in of air. We expel the very same power of breathing that we drew in when we were born (perhaps just yesterday or the day before, it seems so recent), breathing it out just like the air we exhale at each moment.

16. What Should We Truly Prize? What is it in ourselves that we should truly prize?

• Not just basic biological functions like transpiration (even plants do that).
• Or respiration (even beasts and wild animals breathe).
• Or being struck by passing thoughts that come and go.
• Or being jerked around like a puppet by our own impulses.
• Or moving in herds like animals.
• Or just eating and then relieving ourselves afterwards.

Then what is to be prized?

• An audience clapping for us? No. That’s no more valuable than the clacking of their tongues. Public praise really just amounts to a lot of tongues clacking.

So, if we discard the recognition of other people, what’s left for us to prize? I think it’s this: to do (and not do) what we were designed for. That’s the goal of all trades and all arts. What each of them aims at is that the thing they create should effectively do what it was designed to do. The gardener who cares for the vines, the horse trainer, the dog breeder—this is what they all aim at. And what about teaching and education—what else are they trying to accomplish?

So, that’s what we should prize. Hold on to that, and you won’t be tempted to aim at anything else. And if you can’t stop prizing a lot of other external things? Then you’ll never be truly free—free, independent, and untroubled. Because you’ll always be envious and jealous, afraid that people might come and take those things away from you. You’ll be plotting against those who have them—those things you prize so much. People who need those external things are bound to be a mess—and they are bound to take out their frustrations on the gods. However, to respect your own mind—to prize it above all else—will leave you satisfied with your own self. It will help you be well integrated into your community and in tune with the gods as well—embracing what they assign you and what they ordain.

17. The Motion of Virtue The physical elements (earth, water, air, fire) move upward, downward, and in all directions. But the motion of virtue is different—it is deeper. It moves at a steady pace on a road that can be hard to discern, but it always moves forward.

18. Seeking Fame from the Future Look at how people behave. They often refuse to admire their contemporaries, the very people whose lives they share. No, instead, they set their hearts on being admired by Posterity—by people they’ve never met and never will meet. That’s as ridiculous as being upset that your great-grandfather wasn’t a great admirer of yours.

19. If It’s Possible for Humans, It’s Possible for You Don’t assume something is impossible just because you find it hard. Instead, recognize that if it’s humanly possible, you can do it too.

20. Dealing with Opponents In the wrestling ring, our opponents might gouge us with their nails or butt us with their heads and leave a bruise. But we don’t denounce them for it, get upset with them, or regard them from then on as violent types. We just keep a closer eye on them after that—not out of hatred or suspicion, but just by keeping a friendly distance. We need to do that in other areas of life as well. We need to excuse what our “sparring partners” in life do, and simply keep our distance—without suspicion or hatred.

21. The Pursuit of Truth If anyone can refute me—show me that I’m making a mistake or looking at things from the wrong perspective—I’ll gladly change. It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth has never harmed anyone. What harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.

22. My Part and the Rest I do what is mine to do; the rest doesn’t disturb me. The rest of the world is either inanimate (without life), or it has no reason (Logos), or it just wanders around at random and has lost its way.

23. How to Deal with Different Beings When you deal with irrational animals, or with mere things and circumstances, be generous and straightforward. You are rational; they are not. When you deal with fellow human beings, behave as one human to another. They share in reason (the Logos). And in all situations, invoke the gods. Don’t worry about how long you’ll go on doing this. Even a single afternoon lived this way would be enough.

24. The Same End for All Alexander the Great and his mule driver both died, and the same thing happened to both of them. They were either absorbed alike into the life force of the world, or they were dissolved alike into atoms.

25. The Universe Within and Without Think about how much is going on inside you every single second—in your soul and in your body. Why should it astonish you that so much more—everything that happens in that all-embracing unity, the world—is happening at the same time?

26. Methodical Action If someone asked you how to write your name, would you clench your teeth and spit out the letters one by one? If that person lost their temper, would you lose yours as well? Or would you just calmly spell out the individual letters? Remember—your responsibilities can also be broken down into individual parts. Concentrate on those parts, and finish the job methodically—without getting stirred up or meeting anger with more anger.

27. Understanding Others’ Motivations How cruel it is to forbid people to want what they think is good for them. And yet, that’s exactly what you do when you get angry at their misbehavior. They are naturally drawn toward what they believe is good for them. You might say: —“But it’s not good for them.” My response: Then show them that. Prove it to them. Instead of losing your temper.

28. What Death Ends Death is the end of:

• Sense-perception.
• Being controlled by our emotions.
• Mental activity and discursive thought.
• Enslavement to the needs and pains of our bodies.

29. A Disgraceful Surrender It’s disgraceful for the soul to give up when the body is still going strong.

30. Resisting Corruption by Power Strive to escape “imperialization”—that permanent stain that power can leave on you. It happens. Make sure you remain:

• Straightforward
• Upright
• Reverent
• Serious
• Unadorned and natural
• An ally of justice
• Pious (devoted to the divine)
• Kind
• Affectionate
• And doing your duty with determination. Fight to be the person philosophy tried to make you.

Revere the gods; watch over human beings. Our lives are short. The only rewards of our existence here are an unstained character and unselfish acts. Take Emperor Antoninus (your adoptive father) as your model, always. Remember:

• His energy in doing what was rational.
• His steadiness in any situation.
• His sense of reverence.
• His calm expression.
• His gentleness.
• His modesty.
• His eagerness to understand things.
• How he never let things go before he was sure he had examined them thoroughly and understood them perfectly.
• The way he put up with unfair criticism, without returning it.
• How he couldn’t be hurried into decisions.
• How he wouldn’t listen to informers or gossip.
• How reliable he was as a judge of character and of actions.
• He was not prone to backbiting, or cowardice, or jealousy, or empty speech-making.
• He was content with the basics—in living quarters, bedding, clothes, food, and servants.
• How hard he worked, and how much he put up with.
• His ability to work straight through till dusk—this was possible because of his simple diet (he didn’t even need to relieve himself, except at set times).
• His constancy and reliability as a friend.
• His tolerance of people who openly questioned his views, and his delight at seeing his ideas improved on by others.
• His piety—without a trace of superstition. Your goal should be that when your time comes to die, your conscience will be as clear as his was.

31. Awaken to Reality Awaken; return to yourself. Now that you are no longer asleep and realize that the troubles you saw were only dreams, become clear-headed again. Treat everything around you in your waking life as you would treat a dream—with detachment and understanding.

32. Body, Soul, and Meaning I am composed of a body and a soul. Things that happen to the body are ultimately meaningless from the perspective of finding inner peace, because the body itself cannot discriminate or judge them. Nothing has true meaning to my mind except its own actions. And these actions are within its own control. Furthermore, it’s only the actions happening right now that truly matter. Its past and future actions are also meaningless in terms of current worry or control.

33. Normal Pains, Normal Stress It’s normal to feel pain in your hands and feet if you’re using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is normal—if they are living a normal human life. And if it’s normal, how can it be truly bad?

34. The Pleasures of the Wicked Think about the kind of pleasures enjoyed by thieves, perverts, those who murder their parents, and dictators. (This implies that their pleasures are not true or worthy ones.)

35. Responsibility to Reason Have you noticed how professionals, like builders or pharmacists, will meet the average person halfway in explaining things, but they will not compromise the fundamental principles (the logos) of their trade? Should we, as human beings, feel less responsibility to our own guiding principle (our logos) – a logos we share with the divine – than these craftsmen do to theirs?

36. The Vastness of the Universe, The Smallness of Things

• Asia and Europe are just distant, small recesses of the universe.
• The entire ocean is like a single drop of water in that vastness.
• Mount Athos (a large mountain) is like a tiny molehill.
• The present moment is just a split second in eternity. All these things are minuscule, temporary, and ultimately insignificant in the grand scheme.

36a. By-Products of the Good Everything comes from that universal mind—either as a direct effect or as a consequence. The lion’s jaws, poisonous substances, and every apparently harmful thing—like thorns or mud—are by-products of what is fundamentally good and beautiful in the universe’s design. So don’t look at them as alien or contrary to what you revere. Instead, focus on the single source from which all things spring.

37. The Sameness of Past, Present, and Future If you’ve truly seen and understood the present, then you’ve seen everything. For everything has been the same since the very beginning, and it will be the same forever. It’s all the same substance, the same form. All of it.

38. Interconnectedness Keep reminding yourself of the way all things are connected, of their deep relatedness. All things are intertwined with one another and are in sympathy with each other. This event happening now is the consequence of some other event that came before it. Things push and pull on each other, they breathe together, and they are all part of one unified whole.

39. Embrace Your Fate and Love Others The things ordained for you by fate—teach yourself to be at one with those. And the people who share this fate with you—treat them with love. With real love.

40. The Power Within Natural Things Implements, tools, and equipment work well if they do what they were designed for, even if the person who designed them is miles away. But with naturally occurring things, the creative force that designed them is present within them and remains there. That is why we owe this inner, natural force special reverence. We should recognize that if you live and act as it dictates, then everything in you is intelligently ordered, just as everything in the wider world is.

41. Defining Good and Bad You often take things you don’t actually control and define them as “good” or “bad.” And so, of course, when the things you labeled “bad” happen, or the things you labeled “good” don’t happen, you end up blaming the gods and feeling hatred for the people you think are responsible—or those you just decide to make responsible. Much of our bad behavior stems from trying to apply these mistaken criteria of good and bad to external things. If we limited our definitions of “good” and “bad” to our own actions and character, we’d have no reason to challenge God or to treat other people as enemies.

42. Everyone Plays a Part All of us are working together on the same vast project—the unfolding of the universe. Some of us do this consciously and with understanding; some do it without knowing it. (I think this is what Heraclitus meant when he said that “those who sleep are also hard at work”—that they too collaborate in what happens in the world.) Some of us work in one way, and some in others. And even those who complain and try to obstruct and thwart the course of things—they help just as much as anyone. The world needs them as well. So, make up your mind: who will you choose to work with? The force that directs all things will make good use of you regardless—it will put you on its payroll and assign you a task. But make sure it’s not the kind of useless or comical job Chrysippus (another Stoic philosopher) speaks of: like being the bad line in a play, put there only for laughs.

43. Different Roles, Common Work Does the sun try to do the rain’s work? Or does Asclepius (the god of healing) try to do Demeter’s (the goddess of harvest) work? And what about each of the stars—they are all different, yet they work together for a common purpose, don’t they?

44. Trusting Divine Decisions or Your Own If the gods have made decisions about me and the things that happen to me, then they were good decisions. (It’s hard to imagine a god who makes bad decisions.) And why would they use their energies to cause me harm? What good would that do them—or the world, which is their primary concern?

And if they haven’t made decisions specifically about me as an individual, they certainly have made decisions about the general welfare of the cosmos. Anything that follows from that overall plan is something I have to welcome and embrace as part of the bigger picture.

And if they make no decisions about anything at all—and it’s blasphemous even to think so (because if that were true, then let’s stop sacrificing, praying, swearing oaths, and doing all the other things we do, believing the whole time that the gods are right here with us)—well, even if they decide nothing about our lives, I can still make decisions. I can still consider what it’s to my benefit to do. And what benefits anyone is to do what his own nature requires. And my nature is rational. My nature is also civic, meaning I am part of a community. My city and state are Rome—in my role as Antoninus. But as a human being? My city and state are the world. So for me, “good” can only mean what’s good for both of these communities.

45. Good for the World, Good for Others Whatever happens to you is for the good of the world. That understanding alone should be enough. But if you look closely, you’ll generally notice something else as well: whatever happens to a single person is often for the good of others too. (Here, “good” is meant in the ordinary sense—as the world generally defines it.)

46. Life’s Repetitions Just as the shows in the arena and other similar spectacles eventually make you weary—you’ve seen them all before—and the constant repetition grates on your nerves, so too with life in general. It’s the same things, happening for the same reasons, on all sides. How much longer will this go on?

47. The Procession of the Dead Keep this constantly in mind: all sorts of people have died—people from all professions, from all nationalities. Follow this thought all the way down to specific examples like Philistion, Phoebus, and Origanion. Now extend it to other species beyond humans. We all have to go to that same place where so many have already gone:

• The eloquent speakers and the wise philosophers—like Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Socrates…
• The heroes of old, and the soldiers and kings who followed them…
• Great thinkers and scientists like Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Archimedes…
• People who were smart, generous, hardworking, cunning, or selfish…
• And even satirists like Menippus and his followers, who laughed at the whole brief, fragile business of human life. All of them have been underground for a long time now. And what harm does it do them? Or what harm does it do to the others—the ones whose names we don’t even know? The only thing that isn’t worthless in this life is this: to live this life out truthfully and rightly, and to be patient with those who do not.

48. Encouragement from Others’ Virtues When you need encouragement, think of the good qualities the people around you possess: this one’s energy, that one’s modesty, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging as when virtues are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we’re practically showered with examples of them. It’s good to keep this in mind.

49. Your Physical Weight It doesn’t bother you that you weigh only a certain number of pounds or kilograms, and not, say, three hundred pounds.

Okay, here’s what you should do until that time of death or transformation comes:

• Honor and respect the gods.
• Treat other human beings as they deserve.
• Be tolerant and patient with other people, but be strict with yourself. Remember, the only things that truly belong to you are your physical body—your flesh and blood. Nothing else is actually under your control.

34. How to Live an Untroubled Life You can lead a life free from trouble if you can continue to grow as a person, and if you can learn to think and act in a systematic, principled way. Gods and human beings (and every rational creature) share two important characteristics: i. They don’t let others stop them from doing what is right. ii. They understand that goodness lies in thinking and doing the right thing, and they limit their desires to achieving only that.

35. When Not to Worry Ask yourself this:

• Is this bad situation something I caused? No.
• Is it a direct result of my actions? No.
• Is the community or society as a whole endangered by it? No. If the answers are no, then why should it bother me? Where is the real danger for the community?

36. Don’t Let Imagination Overwhelm You Don’t let your imagination run away with you and overwhelm you. Just do what you can and what you should in the present moment. And if you happen to suffer in ways that aren’t truly essential or important, don’t treat that as a major defeat. (That’s a bad habit to get into.) It’s like an old man at a festival who, as he’s leaving, asks for the toy rattle that was meant for an orphan child—even though he knew it was just a toy and not truly significant. Your anxieties can be like that—focused on things that aren’t as important as they seem.

36a. A Note About a Platform (This seems to be a brief, possibly fragmented note about a specific incident, perhaps on a public stage or platform.) Someone might be on a platform, in the public eye. You might think: “Have you forgotten what’s truly important here, what really matters?” They might reply: “I know, but this particular thing was important to them (the audience, or other people).” And the Stoic response could be: “Just because it was important to them, do you have to act like a fool as well?”

37. Making Your Own Good Fortune I was once what people call a fortunate man, but at some point, that external good fortune seemed to abandon me. But remember, true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Real good fortune consists of:

• Good character.
• Good intentions.
• And good actions.

Book 6

1. Nature and Its Guiding Reason Nature itself is flexible and obedient. And the universal Reason (Logos) that governs nature has no reason to do evil. Reason knows no evil, does no evil, and causes no harm to anything. It guides all beginnings and all endings.

2. Just Do the Right Thing Simply make sure you do the right thing in every situation. The rest doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you are:

• Feeling cold or warm.
• Tired or well-rested.
• Despised by others or honored.
• In the process of dying… or busy with other tasks. Because dying, too, is one of our assignments in life. In death, just as in life, our main task is simply “to do what needs doing.”

3. Look Inward for Value Look within yourself. Don’t let the true nature or real value of anything escape your understanding.

4. Everything Will Be Transformed Before long, all existing things will be transformed. They will either rise like smoke and become part of a unified whole (if all things eventually combine into one), or they will be dispersed into fragments.

5. Reason Knows Its Work The universal Reason (Logos) understands its own position, what it has to do, and what materials it has to work with.

6. The Best Form of Revenge The best way to get revenge on someone who has wronged you is not to become like them.

7. Unselfish Action and Inner Peace Focus on moving from one unselfish action to another, always keeping God (the divine principle of the universe) in your thoughts. Only in this way can you find true delight and inner stillness.

8. The Mind’s Power The mind is the part of you that is awakened and directed by itself. It makes of itself whatever it chooses to be. It also makes whatever it chooses of its own experiences.

9. All Things Come Through Nature Everything that happens is brought about by nature. Nothing happens because of some power beyond nature, or something hidden within nature, or something entirely separate from nature.

10. Two Ways to See the Universe There are two main ways to think about how the universe works: i. It’s a random mixture of things, constantly interacting and then dispersing. ii. Or, it’s a state of unity, order, and intelligent design.

Consider the first view (a random mixture):

• If this is true, why would I want to live in a world of disorder and confusion?
• Why would I care about anything except eventually returning “from dust to dust”?
• And why would I feel any anxiety? Dispersal into atoms is going to happen no matter what I do.

Now consider the second view (unity and design):

• If this is true, then I should feel reverence and awe.
• I should feel serene and peaceful.
• I should have faith in the guiding power responsible for this order.

11. Regain Your Inner Rhythm When circumstances unavoidably jolt you and throw you off balance, return to yourself at once. Don’t lose your inner rhythm more than you absolutely have to. You’ll have a better grasp of harmony if you keep practicing returning to it.

12. Philosophy: Your True Mother If you had both a stepmother and a real mother, you would certainly pay your respects to your stepmother… but it’s your real mother you’d truly feel at home with and always return to. Think of the imperial court (or your demanding public life) as your stepmother, and philosophy as your real mother. Keep returning to philosophy, to rest in its embrace. Philosophy is what makes the court—and you yourself—endurable.

13. Seeing Things for What They Really Are It’s like when you see roasted meat and other dishes in front of you and suddenly realize: This is a dead fish. This is a dead bird. This is a dead pig. Or you realize that this expensive vintage wine is just fermented grape juice, and these beautiful purple robes are merely sheep wool dyed with the blood of shellfish. Or, when you are making love, you might realize it’s just one body part rubbing against another, followed by a brief seizure and then a little cloudy liquid.

Perceptions like these—ones that get to the heart of things and pierce through their surface appearances—help us see what they really are. That’s what we need to do all the time, throughout our lives. When things present themselves as trustworthy or valuable, we need to strip them bare, see how ultimately pointless or simple they are, and remove the exaggerated stories and legends that make them seem more important than they are. Pride is a master of deception. When you think you’re engaged in the most important and weighty business, that’s often when pride has you completely fooled. (Remember what the philosopher Crates said about another philosopher, Xenocrates, implying that even wise people can be fooled by appearances.)

14. What Different People Admire vs. True Value Things that ordinary people are impressed by usually fall into these categories:

• Things held together by simple physical forces, like stones or wood.
• Things held together by natural growth, like figs, vines, or olive trees. Things admired by more advanced minds are often those held together by a living soul, like flocks of sheep or herds of cows. Still more sophisticated people might admire what is guided by a rational mind—not necessarily the universal mind, but a mind admired for its technical knowledge, some other particular skill, or simply because its owner happens to possess a lot of slaves.

But those who truly revere that other mind—the universal one that we all share as human beings and as citizens of the cosmos—are not primarily interested in those other things. Their main focus is on the state of their own minds. They work to:

• Avoid all selfishness and irrational thinking.
• Cooperate with others to achieve that common goal of living rationally and virtuously.

15. The Fleeting Nature of Life and Existence Some things are rushing into existence, while others are rushing out of it. Some of what exists right now is already disappearing. Constant change and flow continually remake the world, just as the relentless progression of time constantly remakes eternity. We find ourselves in this flowing river of existence. Which of the things around us should we truly value when none of them can offer a firm place to stand? Trying to get attached to something in this flow is like trying to fall in love with a little sparrow that you glimpse for only a moment before it flies away and is gone forever. Life itself is like this: it’s like the drawing in and expelling of blood from our bodies, or the drawing in of air. We expel the very same power of breathing that we drew in when we were born (perhaps just yesterday or the day before, it seems so recent in the grand scheme of things), breathing it out just like the air we exhale at each and every moment.

16. What Should We Truly Prize in Ourselves? What is it in ourselves that we should truly prize and value?

• Not just basic biological functions like transpiration (the process by which plants release water vapor), because even plants do that.
• Or respiration (breathing), because even beasts and wild animals breathe.
• Or being struck by passing thoughts that come and go in our minds.
• Or being jerked around like a puppet by our own impulses and desires.
• Or moving in herds like animals.
• Or simply eating food and then relieving ourselves afterwards.

Then what is to be prized?

• An audience clapping for us? The sound of public praise? No. That’s no more valuable than the mere clacking of their tongues. Public praise really just amounts to a lot of tongues clacking.

So, if we discard the recognition and approval of other people as a primary goal, what’s left for us to prize? I think it’s this: to do (and not do) what we were designed for by nature. That’s the ultimate goal of all trades, all arts, and what each of them aims at: that the thing they create should effectively do what it was designed to do. The gardener who cares for the vines, the horse trainer, the dog breeder—this is what they all aim at. And what about teaching and education—what else are they trying to accomplish but to help individuals function as they were meant to?

So, that’s what we should prize in ourselves. Hold on to that principle, and you won’t be tempted to aim at anything else. And if you can’t stop prizing a lot of other external things? Then you’ll never be truly free—free, independent, and untroubled. Because you’ll always be envious and jealous of others. You’ll be afraid that people might come and take those prized things away from you. You’ll find yourself plotting against those who possess them—those very things you value so much. People who need those external things to be happy are bound to be a mess—and they are bound to take out their frustrations on the gods. However, to respect your own mind—to prize it above all else—will leave you satisfied with your own self. It will help you be well integrated into your community and in tune with the gods as well—embracing whatever they assign you and whatever they ordain for you.

17. The Motion of Virtue The physical elements (earth, water, air, fire) move upward, downward, and in all directions. But the motion of virtue is different—it is deeper and more profound. Virtue moves at a steady pace on a road that can sometimes be hard to discern, but it always moves forward.

18. Seeking Fame from People You’ll Never Meet Look at how people behave. They often refuse to admire or appreciate their contemporaries, the very people whose lives they share. No, instead, they set their hearts on being admired by Posterity—by people they’ve never met and never will meet! That’s as ridiculous as being upset that your great-grandfather wasn’t around to be a great admirer of yours.

19. If It’s Humanly Possible, It’s Possible for You Don’t assume something is impossible for you just because you find it hard. Instead, recognize that if it’s humanly possible for someone to do it, then you can do it too.

20. Dealing with Opponents in Life’s Arena In the wrestling ring, our opponents might scratch us with their nails or butt us with their heads and leave a bruise. But we don’t denounce them for it, get angry with them, or regard them from then on as violent or malicious types. We simply keep a closer eye on them after that—not out of hatred or suspicion, but just by maintaining a friendly and cautious distance. We need to do the same thing in other areas of life. We need to excuse what our “sparring partners” in life do, and simply keep our distance from their harmful behaviors—without harboring suspicion or hatred.

21. The Truth Never Harms If anyone can refute me—show me that I’m making a mistake in my thinking or looking at things from the wrong perspective—I’ll gladly change my mind. It’s the truth I’m seeking, and the truth has never harmed anyone. What truly harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.

22. My Part and What Doesn’t Concern Me I focus on doing what is mine to do; the rest of the world doesn’t need to disturb me. The rest of the world is either inanimate (without life or consciousness), or it has no reason (Logos) to guide it, or it just wanders around at random and has lost its way.

23. Interacting with the World

• When you deal with irrational animals, or with mere things and circumstances, be generous and straightforward. You are a rational being; they are not.
• When you deal with fellow human beings, behave as one human to another, recognizing that they too share in reason (the Logos).
• And in all situations, remember to invoke the gods. Don’t worry about how long you’ll go on doing this. Even a single afternoon lived according to these principles would be enough.

24. The Same End for Alexander and His Mule Driver Alexander the Great and his humble mule driver both died, and the same thing ultimately happened to both of them. They were either absorbed alike back into the life force of the world, or they were dissolved alike into atoms.

25. The Universe Within and Without You Think about how much is going on inside you every single second—in your soul and in your body. Given all that internal activity, why should it astonish you that so much more—everything that happens in that all-embracing unity, the universe—is happening at the same time?

26. Methodical Action, Not Anger If someone asked you how to write your name, would you clench your teeth and angrily spit out the letters one by one? Of course not. If the person asking lost their temper, would you lose yours as well? Or would you just calmly and clearly spell out the individual letters? Remember this example—your responsibilities in life can also be broken down into individual parts. Concentrate on those parts, and finish the job methodically—without getting stirred up by emotion or meeting other people’s anger with your own.

27. Understanding Others’ Perceived Good How cruel it is to forbid people to want what they think is good and beneficial for them. And yet, that’s precisely what you do when you get angry at their misbehavior. They are acting in ways they are drawn to because they believe those actions will bring them something good. You might argue: —“But what they are doing is not actually good for them.” My response: Then show them that. Prove it to them patiently. Instead of losing your temper.

28. What Death Brings to an End Death is the end of:

• Our ability to perceive through our senses.
• Being controlled and pulled about by our emotions and desires.
• The discursive activity of our minds (our internal chatter and step-by-step reasoning).
• Our enslavement to the needs and pains of our physical bodies.

29. A Disgraceful Surrender It is a disgraceful thing for the soul to give up on its principles and its strength while the body is still physically going strong.

30. Avoid Being Corrupted by Power (“Imperialization”) Make every effort to escape “imperialization”—that permanent, corrupting stain that holding great power can leave on a person. It happens. So, make sure you remain:

• Straightforward and honest.
• Upright in your character.
• Reverent towards the divine.
• Serious and thoughtful.
• Unadorned and natural in your manner.
• An ally of justice.
• Pious (devoted to what is sacred).
• Kind and compassionate.
• Affectionate towards others.
• And doing your duty with determination and goodwill. Fight hard to be the person that philosophy (the love of wisdom) tried to make you.

Revere the gods; watch over and care for human beings. Our lives are short. The only true rewards of our existence here on earth are an unstained character and unselfish acts that benefit others. Take Emperor Antoninus (your adoptive father) as your model in all things. Remember:

• His energy in doing what was rational and right.
• His emotional steadiness in any situation.
• His deep sense of reverence.
• His calm and composed facial expression.
• His gentleness.
• His modesty and lack of arrogance.
• His eagerness to grasp things fully.
• How he never let matters go before he was completely sure he had examined them thoroughly and understood them perfectly.
• The way he patiently put up with unfair criticism, without ever returning it in kind.
• How he couldn’t be hurried into making decisions.
• How he refused to listen to informers or slanderous gossip.
• How reliable and fair he was as a judge of people’s character and of their actions.
• He was not prone to backbiting, or cowardice, or jealousy, or using empty, showy rhetoric.
• He was content with the basics in life—in his living quarters, his bedding, his clothes, his food, and the number of his servants.
• How hard he worked, and how much he was able to endure.
• His remarkable ability to work straight through till dusk—this was possible because of his simple diet (he didn’t even need to relieve himself, except at set, regular times).
• His constancy and unwavering reliability as a friend.
• His tolerance for people who openly questioned his views, and his genuine delight when someone could show him a way to improve his ideas.
• His piety and religious devotion—which was completely without a trace of superstition. Your goal should be that when your time comes to die, your conscience will be as clear and untroubled as his was.

31. Awaken to True Reality Awaken fully; return to your true self. Now that you are no longer asleep and you realize that the troubles and anxieties you experienced were only dreams, become clear-headed again. With this newfound clarity, look at everything around you in your waking life as you would look at a dream—with detachment, understanding its transient nature.

32. Body, Soul, and What Truly Matters I am composed of a body and a soul. Things that happen to the body are ultimately meaningless in the quest for inner peace, because the body itself cannot discriminate between them or assign them value. Nothing has true meaning to my mind except its own actions. And these actions are within its own control. Furthermore, it’s only the actions happening right now, in the present moment, that truly matter for my state of mind. My mind’s past actions and its potential future actions are also meaningless in terms of causing current worry or being under my immediate control.

33. Normal Pains and Stresses It’s normal to feel pain in your hands and feet if you’re actually using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is normal—if they are living a normal, engaged human life. And if it’s normal, how can it be considered truly bad or something to be completely avoided?

34. The “Pleasures” of Wicked People Think about the kind of “pleasures” that are enjoyed by thieves, sexual perverts, those who murder their own parents, and dictators. (This implies that their pleasures are not true or worthy ones, and are based on harmful actions.)

35. Our Responsibility to Reason Have you noticed how professionals, like builders or pharmacists, will meet an ordinary person halfway in explaining things, but they will not compromise the fundamental principles (the logos or guiding reason) of their trade? Should we, as human beings, feel less responsibility to our own guiding principle (our own logos) – a logos that we share with the divine – than these craftsmen do to theirs?

36. Cosmic Perspective on Scale

• The continents of Asia and Europe are just distant, tiny recesses of the vast universe.
• The entire ocean is like a single drop of water in that immense expanse.
• Mount Athos (a very large mountain) is like a tiny molehill on the surface of the Earth.
• The present moment is just a fleeting split second in the endlessness of eternity. All these things are minuscule, temporary, and ultimately insignificant when viewed from a cosmic perspective.

36a. “Harmful” Things as By-Products of the Good Everything in the universe comes from that one universal mind—either as a direct effect of its creative power or as an indirect consequence. Even things that seem harmful, like the lion’s jaws, poisonous substances, or everyday annoyances like thorns or mud, are by-products of what is fundamentally good and beautiful in the universe’s overall design. So don’t look at these things as alien or contrary to what you revere as good. Instead, focus on understanding the single source from which all things, including these apparent negatives, ultimately spring.

37. The Eternal Present If you’ve truly seen and understood the nature of the present moment, then you’ve essentially seen everything. For everything that has happened since the very beginning of time, and everything that will happen until the very end of time, is made of the same substance and takes the same fundamental form. All of it is one and the same.

38. The Interconnectedness of All Things Keep reminding yourself of the way all things in the universe are connected and related to each other. All things are implicated in one another and exist in a state of sympathy and harmony with each other. This event happening to you now is the consequence of some other event that came before it. Things constantly push and pull on each other, they seem to breathe together, and they are all part of one unified and coherent whole.

39. Embrace Your Fate, Love Your Fellow Humans The things that have been ordained for you by fate—teach yourself to be at one with those. And the people who share this life and this fate with you—treat them with love. With real, genuine love.

40. The Designing Force Within Nature Implements, tools, and various kinds of equipment work well if they do what they were designed for, even if the person who designed and made them is miles away. But with naturally occurring things, the creative and designing force that brought them into being is present within them and remains there. That is why we owe this inner, natural force a special kind of reverence and respect. We should recognize that if you live and act as this inner intelligence dictates, then everything in you is intelligently ordered, just as everything in the wider world is.

41. Mistaken Definitions of Good and Bad You often take things that you don’t actually control (like health, wealth, reputation, or external events) and define them as “good” or “bad.” And so, of course, when the things you labeled “bad” happen, or the things you labeled “good” don’t materialize, you end up blaming the gods and feeling hatred for the people you think are responsible—or those you simply decide to make responsible. Much of our bad behavior and inner turmoil stems from trying to apply these mistaken criteria of good and bad to external things that are not truly up to us. If we limited our definitions of “good” and “bad” to our own actions, our own character, and our own choices (which are up to us), we’d have no reason to challenge God or to treat other people as enemies.

42. Everyone Contributes to the Cosmic Project All of us, whether we realize it or not, are working together on the same vast project—the unfolding and functioning of the universe. Some of us do this consciously and with understanding; some do it without knowing it. (I believe this is what the philosopher Heraclitus meant when he said that “those who sleep are also hard at work”—that they too collaborate in what happens in the world.) Some of us work in one way, and some in others. And even those who complain and try to obstruct and thwart the course of things—they help just as much as anyone else. The world, in its comprehensive order, needs them as well. So, make up your mind: who will you choose to align yourself with and work alongside? The force that directs all things will make good use of you regardless—it will put you on its payroll, so to speak, and assign you a task. But make sure it’s not the kind of useless or comical job that the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus speaks of: like being the bad line in a play, put there only for laughs and serving no constructive purpose.

43. Different Functions, Common Purpose Does the sun try to do the rain’s work? Or does Asclepius (the god of healing) try to do Demeter’s (the goddess of the harvest) work? And what about each of the stars in the sky—they are all different, yet they work together for a common universal purpose, don’t they?

44. Trusting Divine Order or Personal Reason If the gods have made decisions about me and about the specific things that happen to me, then I must trust that they were good decisions. (It’s hard to imagine a god who makes bad or flawed decisions.) And why would they expend their divine energies on trying to cause me harm? What good would that possibly do them—or the world, which is their primary concern and creation?

And if the gods haven’t made specific decisions about me as an individual, they certainly have made decisions about the general welfare and order of the cosmos. Anything that happens to me as a consequence of that overarching plan is something I must welcome and embrace, seeing it as part of a larger, beneficial design.

And if (though it’s blasphemous even to think this) the gods make no decisions about anything at all—because if that were true, then let’s stop sacrificing, praying, swearing oaths, and doing all the other religious rituals we do, believing the whole time that the gods are right here with us and aware of our actions—well, even if they were to decide nothing about our lives, I can still make decisions. I can still consider what it’s to my own benefit to do. And what benefits any individual is to do what his own essential nature requires. And my nature is rational. My nature is also civic, meaning I am a social being designed to live and cooperate with others. My city and state, in my role as Emperor Antoninus, are Rome. But as a human being? My city and state are the entire world, the cosmos. So for me, “good” can only mean what’s good for both of these communities—Rome and the world.

45. Good for the Whole, Good for the Parts Whatever happens to you as an individual is ultimately for the good of the world, the universe as a whole. That understanding alone should be enough to bring you peace. But if you look closely, you’ll generally notice something else as well: whatever happens to a single person is often also for the good of other people. (Here, “good” is meant in the ordinary, common sense of the word—as the world generally defines benefits and advantages.)

46. The Weariness of Repetition Just as the bloody spectacles in the arena and other similar public shows eventually make you feel weary—you’ve seen them all before—and the constant repetition grates on your nerves, so too with life in general. When you look at it broadly, it’s often the same things, happening for the same underlying reasons, on all sides. How much longer will this cycle of sameness go on?

47. The Great Procession of the Dead Keep this thought constantly in your mind: all sorts of people have died—people from all professions, from all nationalities and backgrounds. Follow this thought all the way down to specific historical examples like Philistion, Phoebus, and Origanion. Now extend this reflection to include other species beyond humans. We all have to go to that same place where so many countless beings have already gone:

• The eloquent speakers and the wise philosophers—great minds like Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Socrates…
• The heroes of ancient times, and the soldiers and kings who followed them…
• Brilliant thinkers and scientists like Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Archimedes…
• People who were smart, or generous, or hardworking, or cunning, or selfish…
• And even satirists like Menippus and his followers, who made fun of the whole brief, fragile, and often absurd business of human life. All of them have been underground, dead and gone, for a long time now. And what harm does it do them now? Or what harm does it do to the others who died—the ones whose names we don’t even know? The only thing in this life that isn’t worthless is this: to live this life out truthfully and rightly, in accordance with nature. And to be patient and understanding with those who do not live this way.

48. Encouragement from the Virtues of Others When you need encouragement, think of the good qualities that the people around you possess: this person’s energy and drive, that one’s modesty and humility, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging and uplifting as when virtues are visibly embodied in the characters and actions of the people around us, when we’re practically showered with positive examples. It’s good to keep this thought in mind.

49. Accepting Limits: Body and Time It doesn’t bother you that you weigh only a certain number of pounds or kilograms, and not, say, three hundred pounds. So why should it bother you that you have only a certain number of years to live, and not more? Just as you accept the physical limits placed on your body, you should also accept the limits placed on your time.

50. Act Justly, Adapt to Obstacles Do your best to convince others of the right way. But act on your own, according to your principles, if justice requires it, even if others don’t agree. If you are met with force or opposition, then fall back on acceptance and peacefulness. Use this setback as an opportunity to practice other virtues, like patience or resilience. Remember that our efforts are always subject to circumstances; you weren’t aiming to do the impossible. —What were you aiming to do, then? You were aiming to try. And in that, you have succeeded. What you set out to do—to make the attempt—is accomplished.

51. Sources of Well-Being

• Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do.
• Self-indulgence means tying your well-being to the pleasant things that happen to you.
• Sanity (or wisdom) means tying your well-being to your own actions.

52. Things Can’t Shape Our Decisions by Themselves You don’t have to turn this event or situation into something that it isn’t. It doesn’t have to upset you. External things can’t shape our inner decisions and judgments by themselves.

53. Understand Others’ Minds Practice really hearing what people say. Do your best to get inside their minds and understand their perspectives.

54. Harm to One is Harm to All What injures the hive (the bee community) also injures the individual bee. (This applies to human communities as well.)

55. The Need for Authority and Order If the ship’s crew constantly talked back to the captain, or if patients constantly argued with their doctor, then whose authority would they ultimately accept? How could the passengers on the ship be kept safe, or how could the patient become healthy? (This is an analogy for the need for order and respect for proper guidance in any collective endeavor.)

56. Those Who Have Gone Before Think of all those people who came into the world with me and who have already left it, who have already died.

57. Distorted Perceptions

• Honey tastes bitter to a person suffering from jaundice.
• People with rabies are terrified of water.
• A child’s idea of beauty might simply be a colorful ball. Why does it upset you if someone else has a distorted perception of things? Do you think falsehood or a mistaken view is any less powerful in its effects on a person than physical conditions like an excess of bile or the bite of a rabid dog?

58. Living According to Nature No one can keep you from living as your own nature requires. And nothing can happen to you that is not required by Universal Nature.

59. The Fleeting Nature of Social Climbing Think about the people they try so hard to impress, the results they are aiming for, and the things they do in the process of trying to achieve those results. How quickly it will all be erased by time. How much has been erased already.

Book 7

1. Evil: It’s Always the Same Story Evil: it’s the same old thing. No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It’s the same old story, repeated from one end of the world to the other. This pattern fills the history books, both ancient and modern. It fills our cities, and it fills our houses too. There is nothing new at all. It’s all familiar, and it all passes away quickly.

2. You Can Rekindle Your Insights You cannot extinguish your understanding unless you put out the specific insights and thoughts that make it up. But you can rekindle those insights at will, like stirring up glowing coals in a fire. I can control my thoughts as necessary; so how can I be troubled? What is outside my own mind means nothing to it. Absorb that lesson, and your feet will stand firm. You can return to life; you can start anew. Look at things as you did before you were troubled. And in doing so, life returns.

3. Pointless Busyness vs. True Worth So much of life can seem like the pointless bustling of public processions, the dramatic but empty arias of an opera, the passive movement of herds of sheep and cattle, or the repetitive drills of military exercises. Life can also seem like a bone flung to pet poodles, or a little bit of food dropped into a fish tank. It can resemble the miserable, pointless servitude of ants, the frantic scampering of frightened mice, or puppets being jerked around on strings. Surrounded as we are by all of this, we need to practice acceptance, without looking down on it all with disdain. But we must also remember that our own true worth is measured by what we choose to devote our energy to.

4. Focus on Speech and Action Focus carefully on what is being said when you or others speak. Also, focus on what results from each action that is taken. In other words, know what the speech aims at, and understand what the action really means or accomplishes.

5. Using Your Intellect Wisely Is my intellect up to this task? If it is, then I’ll put it to work, like using a tool that nature has provided. And if my intellect isn’t up to it on its own, then I’ll turn the job over to someone who can do it better—unless I have absolutely no other choice but to do it myself. Or, I will do the best I can with it, and collaborate with whoever can make good use of my contribution, in order to do what the community needs done. Because whatever I do—whether alone or with others—should aim at one thing only: what fits with the requirements of the community and the common good.

6. The Forgotten Rememberers So many people who were once famous and well-remembered are now already forgotten. And the people who remembered them? They too are long gone.

7. Don’t Be Ashamed to Need Help Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a castle wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to help pull you up? So what? That’s part of the effort.

8. Resources for the Future Forget worrying about the future. When and if it comes, you’ll have the same inner resources to draw on—the same reason (Logos)—that you have now.

9. The Holy Web of Interconnection Everything in the universe is interwoven with everything else, and the resulting web is holy and sacred. None of its parts are unconnected to the others. They are all arranged harmoniously, and together they compose the orderly beauty of the world (the cosmos). There is:

• One world, made up of all things.
• One divinity (God or divine principle), present in them all.
• One substance (the underlying matter of everything) and one law—the universal Reason (Logos) that all rational beings share.
• And one truth… If this is indeed the culmination of one single creative process, then all beings share the same spiritual birth and the same guiding Reason.

10. The Swift Return of All Things All physical substance is soon absorbed back into the universal nature. All that animates that substance (the individual soul or life force) is soon restored to the universal Reason (Logos). And all trace or memory of them both is soon covered over and erased by time.

11. Unnatural Action for a Rational Being To a being that possesses reason (Logos), an unnatural action is one that conflicts with that reason.

12. Be Straight, Not Straightened Be upright in your character naturally, not because you are forced or straightened out by others.

13. Rational Beings as Limbs of One Body The rational principle in different beings is related, like the individual limbs of a single living being. These parts are meant to function together as a unit. This idea will be clearer to you if you constantly remind yourself: “I am a single limb (in Greek, melos) of a larger body—a body composed of all rational beings.” Or, you could say you are “a part” (in Greek, meros)—the difference in spelling is only a single letter. But if you think of yourself as merely “a part,” then you’re not yet truly embracing other people with love. Helping them isn’t yet its own reward for you. You’re still seeing it only as “The Right Thing To Do” from a sense of duty. You don’t yet realize who you’re really helping when you help others (you are helping yourself and the whole of which you are a limb).

14. Choosing Not to Be Harmed Let external events happen, if they want to, to whatever parts of you or the world they can happen to. And whatever is affected by those events can complain about it if it wants. But it doesn’t hurt me (my inner self, my mind) unless I interpret its happening as harmful to me. And I can choose not to make that interpretation.

15. Be Like Gold, Emerald, or Purple No matter what anyone else says or does, my task is to be good. I should be like gold, or an emerald, or the color purple, constantly repeating to myself: “No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to remain a true emerald, and my color must remain undiminished.”

16. The Mind’s Self-Protection The mind doesn’t get in its own way. It doesn’t frighten itself into having inappropriate desires. If other things outside the mind can scare it or hurt it, let them try; the mind itself won’t go down that road of fear or pain based on its own perceptions or judgments. Let the body try to avoid discomfort (if it can), and if it does feel discomfort, let the body announce it. But it is the soul (or the mind as the seat of judgment) that actually feels fear and pain, and it’s the soul that conceives of these things in the first place. And the soul suffers nothing if it refuses to conclude that it has suffered. The mind in itself has no needs, except for those needs it creates for itself. It is undisturbed, except by its own disturbances. It knows no obstructions, except for those that come from within itself.

17. Defining Well-Being Well-being (or happiness) is either good luck, or it is good character.

17a. Dismissing Troubling Perceptions (Imagine speaking to your own troubling perceptions or thoughts): “But what are you doing here, Perceptions? Get back to where you came from, and good riddance. I don’t need you right now. Yes, I know, it was only force of habit that brought you into my mind. No, I’m not angry with you. Just go away.”

18. The Necessity of Change Are you frightened of change? But what can even exist without change? What is closer to nature’s heart, what does nature love more than change?

• Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood exactly as it was, unburned?
• Can you eat food without transforming it through digestion?
• Can any vital life process take place without something being changed? Can’t you see? It’s just the same with you—change is essential for your existence, and it’s just as vital to the processes of universal nature.

19. Life’s Rushing Rapids We are all carried through existence as if through rushing rapids. All bodies are part of this flow. They are sprung from universal nature and they cooperate with it, just as our own limbs cooperate with each other. Time has swallowed a Chrysippus, a Socrates, and an Epictetus, many times over. (Meaning, even the greatest philosophers and their ideas are subject to the flow of time and may be forgotten or reinterpreted). And when I say “Epictetus,” you can substitute any person, and any thing.

20. My Only Fear My only fear is doing something contrary to human nature—doing the wrong thing, or doing something in the wrong way, or at the wrong time.

21. Approaching Oblivion I am close to forgetting it all, and I am close to being forgotten by all.

22. Affection for Imperfect Humans To feel affection for people even when they make mistakes is a uniquely human quality. You can do this, if you simply recognize these truths:

• That they are human too, just like you.
• That they often act out of ignorance, not malice, and sometimes against their own better judgment.
• That you and they will all be dead before long.
• And, above all, that they haven’t really hurt you in any essential way. They haven’t diminished your ability to choose your own responses and maintain your own character.

23. Nature as a Sculptor Nature takes the underlying substance of the world and makes a horse, much like a sculptor works with wax. And then, nature melts that horse down and uses the same material to make a tree. Then that tree becomes material for a person. Then that person becomes material for something else. Each individual thing exists for only a brief time. It does the container (the form or specific object) no harm to be put together, and it does it no harm to be taken apart and reformed into something else.

24. Anger is Unnatural Anger showing in the face is deeply unnatural. When anger becomes a fixed expression, or when it is finally extinguished for good so that it can’t be rekindled, it signals a kind of death of natural expression. Try to understand how unnatural anger is from this observation. (If even the awareness of acting badly is gone from a person, why should they go on living?)

25. The World Renewed by Change Before long, nature, which controls and governs it all, will alter everything you see. It will use the substance of current things as material for something else—and it will do this over and over again. This is how the world is continually renewed.

26. Understanding Why People Injure You When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of their actions. If you can understand their motivation (however misguided), you’ll feel sympathy for them rather than outrage or anger. Your sense of good and evil may be the same as theirs, or very close to it. In that case, you have to excuse them or find a way to be patient. Or, your sense of good and evil may differ significantly from theirs. In that case, they are misguided and deserve your compassion. Is that so hard to do?

27. Value What You Have, But Not Too Much Treat what you don’t currently have as if it doesn’t exist at all. Then, look at what you do have—the things you value most—and think about how much you’d crave them if you didn’t have them. But be careful. Don’t feel such intense satisfaction in possessing these things that you start to overvalue them—to the point where it would deeply upset you if you were to lose them.

28. The Mind’s Contentment Self-contraction (focusing the mind inward, on its own principles): the mind’s true requirements are satisfied by doing what we should, by acting rightly, and by the calm and peace that this brings us.

29. A To-Do List for Inner Peace

• Discard your misperceptions and false judgments.
• Stop being jerked around like a puppet by your impulses and emotions.
• Limit yourself to the present moment.
• Understand what is happening—both to you and to others.
• Analyze everything that exists; break it all down into its material components and its underlying cause.
• Anticipate your final hours; be prepared for death.
• As for other people’s mistakes? Leave those to their makers; they are not your responsibility.

30. Focus Your Mind

• Direct your thoughts to what is being said.
• Focus your mind on what is happening and on what causes it to happen.

31. Inner Cleansing Wash yourself clean. Do it with:

• Simplicity.
• Humility.
• Indifference to everything except what is truly right and wrong. Care for other human beings. Follow God (the divine order).

31a. Atoms and Relativity “…all things are relative (dependent on perspective and relationship),” it’s been said, “and in reality, perhaps only atoms exist.” It’s enough for you to remember the first part of that: “all things are relative.” And that, in itself, is a small enough concept to grasp, yet profound.

32. On Death: Dispersal or Transformation Regarding death: If the universe is ultimately made of atoms, then death means your atoms will be dispersed. If the universe is a unified whole (oneness), then death means your individual essence will either be quenched (extinguished) or changed and reabsorbed into the whole.

33. On Pain: Endurable or Self-Ending Regarding pain: Pain that is truly unendurable brings its own end with it (by causing death or unconsciousness). Pain that is chronic (long-lasting) is always endurable. The intelligence can maintain its serenity by cutting itself off from the physical sensations of the body; the mind can remain undiminished. And as for the parts of the body that are actually affected by pain—let them speak for themselves, if they can, by signaling the discomfort.

34. On Ambition: Fleeting Desires Regarding ambition and those who pursue it: Think about how their minds work, the kinds of things they long for, and the things they fear. Their achievements and anxieties are like piles of sand, constantly shifting—each new drift soon hidden by the next one that comes along.

35. A Philosopher’s View on Life and Death (Quoting or paraphrasing a dialogue, likely from Plato): “‘If a person’s mind is filled with nobility, with a profound grasp of all time and all existence, do you think our brief human life will mean much to him at all?’ ‘How could it?’ he said. ‘Or would death be very frightening to such a person?’ ‘Not in the least.’”

36. A Saying About Kingship “Kingship: to earn a bad reputation by doing good deeds.” (This suggests that rulers who do what is right may be misunderstood or criticized by those who don’t understand the greater good.)

37. The Mind Should Master Itself It is a disgrace that the mind should be able to control the face, to shape and mold its expressions as it pleases, but not be able to shape and mold itself.

38. Does the World Notice Our Anger? “And why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice!” (A quote expressing the futility of raging against impersonal events.)

39. A Prayer for Joy “May you bring joy to us and to those on high (the gods).” (A traditional prayer or hopeful expression.)

40. Life and Harvest “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain, Some grown and flourishing, some cut down in their turn.” (A poetic comparison of human lives to a harvest.)

41. The Gods’ Reasons “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, The gods must have their reasons for not granting our request.” (A quote, likely from a tragic play, expressing resignation to divine will.)

42. Justice on My Side “For what is just and good is on my side.” (A statement of moral confidence.)

43. No Excessive Mourning No need for a chorus of loud lamentation, no hysterics or overly dramatic displays of grief.

44. Socrates on Right Action vs. Death (Paraphrasing Socrates from Plato’s Apology): “Then the only proper response for me to make is this: ‘You are much mistaken, my friend, if you think that any man worth his salt cares about the risk of death. Such a man doesn’t concentrate on personal safety, but on this alone: whether what he’s doing is right or wrong, and whether his behavior is that of a good man or a bad one.’”

45. Socrates on Duty Over Life (Paraphrasing Socrates from Plato’s Apology): “It’s like this, gentlemen of the jury: The spot where a person decides to station himself, or wherever his commanding officer stations him—well, I think that’s where he ought to take his stand and face the enemy. He should not worry about being killed, or about anything else, except doing his duty.”

46. Socrates on Living Well vs. Living Long (Paraphrasing Socrates from Plato’s Crito or similar dialogues): “But, my good friend, consider this possibility: true nobility and virtue are not synonymous with merely preserving one’s life or losing it. Is it not possible that a real man should forget about living a certain number of years, and should not cling desperately to life? Instead, shouldn’t he leave such matters up to the gods, accepting, as women often say, that ‘no one can escape his fate,’ and then turn his full attention to how he can best live the life that is actually before him, for however long it may be?”

47. Cosmic Perspective Washes Away Earthly Mud To watch the courses of the stars as if you were revolving with them in the heavens. To keep constantly in mind how the elements of the universe alter and transform into one another. Thoughts like these help to wash off the mud and grime of life down here on earth.

48. Plato’s View from Above Plato has it right. If you truly want to talk about human affairs with perspective, you need to look down on the earth as if from a great height. You would see herds of animals, armies marching, farms being tilled; weddings and divorces, births and deaths; the noisy chaos of courtrooms, and the quiet of desert places; all the foreign peoples of the world; their holidays and their days of mourning, their market days and festivals… all of it mixed together, a vibrant harmony of opposites.

49. The Rhythm of Events: Past and Future Are Similar Look at the past—see how empires rise and fall, one succeeding another. And from that, you can extrapolate what the future will be like: much the same thing. There is no escaping this fundamental rhythm of events. This is why observing life for forty years is essentially as good as observing it for a thousand. Would you really see anything fundamentally new?

50. Earth to Earth, Heaven to Heaven (Quoting a common ancient idea or poem): ”…Earth’s offspring back to earth they go, But all that’s born of heaven’s light, To heaven returns again, to endless day.” Either that happens (a return to a divine source), or the cluster of atoms that makes you up simply pulls apart, and one way or another the elements that feel no sensation disperse.

51. Trying to Frustrate Death (Quoting a poetic fragment about human efforts to avoid death): “…with food and drink and magic spells they try, Seeking some novel way to frustrate death.”

51a. Enduring Heaven’s Wind (Another poetic fragment): “To labor cheerfully and so endure The wind that blows from heaven (fate).”

52. More Than Just a Better Wrestler It’s possible to be a better wrestler than someone else. But that doesn’t necessarily make you a better citizen, a better person overall, a better resource in tight situations, or a more forgiving person when others make mistakes.

53. Order and Fearlessness Wherever something can be done in accordance with the universal Reason (Logos) that is shared by gods and human beings, there all is in order and as it should be. Where there is profit and benefit because our effort is productive and advances in step with our nature, there we have nothing to fear.

54. Your Options in Every Moment Everywhere, and at each moment, you have the option:

• To accept this current event with humility and without resistance (as fated).
• To treat this person before you as he or she should be treated (justly and with understanding).
• To approach this thought or impression with care, so that nothing irrational or unexamined creeps into your mind.

55. Follow Nature’s Lead Don’t pay too much attention to what is going on in other people’s minds. Instead, look straight ahead to where nature is leading you—Universal Nature, through the things that happen to you; and your own individual nature, through the actions you choose to take. Everything in the universe has to do what it was made for. And other things (lesser things) were made for the sake of those beings that possess reason (Logos). In this respect, as in others, it’s a general principle: lower things exist for the sake of higher ones, and higher things exist for the sake of one another.

Now, the main thing we human beings were made for is to work with and for others. Secondly, we were made to resist the inappropriate urges of our body. This is because things driven by reason—by thought—have the capacity for detachment. They can resist mere impulses and sensations, both of which are primarily physical and temporary. Thought rightly seeks to be their master, not their subject. And so it should be: these lower impulses and sensations were created for the use of thought, not the other way around. And the third important thing we were made for is to avoid rashness in judgment and to avoid being easily deceived. The mind that grasps these principles and steers a straight course by them should be able to hold its own and maintain its stability.

56. Live the Rest of Your Life Properly Think of yourself as already dead. You have lived your life up to this point. Now, take whatever time is left and live it properly, according to your true nature and principles.

57. The Greatest Harmony To love only what happens to you, what was destined for you by fate. There is no greater harmony than this.

58. Learning from Others’ Reactions to Adversity In all that happens, keep before your eyes the examples of those who experienced similar things before you. Remember how they felt shock, outrage, and resentment at those events. And now, where are they? They are nowhere; they are gone. Is that what you want to be like? Instead of doing that, why not avoid all these distracting emotional assaults—leaving the alarms and panicked flight to others—and concentrate instead on what you can do with it all? Because you can use what happens; you can treat it as raw material for virtuous action. Just pay attention, and resolve to live up to your own best expectations of yourself in everything you do. And when you are faced with a choice, remember: our real business in life is with things that truly matter.

59. Dig Deep for Goodness Dig deep within yourself; the water—which is goodness—is down there. And as long as you keep digging, it will keep bubbling up.

60. The Body’s Stability and Beauty What the body needs is stability. It needs to be as impervious as possible to jolts and disturbances in all that it is and all that it does. The kind of cohesiveness and beauty that intelligence and a calm mind lend to the face—that’s the kind of inner stability the body also needs. But this should come about naturally, without forced effort or pretense.

61. A Wrestler, Not a Dancer Be not like a dancer, who needs a clear space and choreographed moves, but like a wrestler: waiting, poised and firmly dug in, ready for sudden and unexpected assaults.

62. The Minds of Those Whose Approval You Seek Look closely at who they really are, these people whose approval you sometimes long for. Examine what their minds are really like. If you do this, you won’t blame them when they make mistakes they can’t help making (due to their ignorance or flawed values). And you won’t feel such a pressing need for their approval, because you will have seen the sources of both their judgments and their actions.

63. Truth and Patience Someone once said, “Against our will, our souls are cut off from truth.” This applies not only to abstract truth, but also to justice, self-control, kindness, and other virtues. It’s important to keep this in mind. It will help you be more patient with other people when they seem to lack these qualities.

64. Dealing with Pain For times when you feel pain:

• See that the pain doesn’t disgrace you morally, or degrade your intelligence. It doesn’t have to keep your mind from acting rationally or unselfishly.
• And in most cases, what the philosopher Epicurus said about pain should help: that pain is neither unbearable nor unending, as long as you keep in mind its natural limits and don’t magnify them in your imagination.
• And also keep in mind that pain often comes in disguise—as drowsiness, fever, or loss of appetite. When you’re bothered by things like that, remind yourself: “I’m currently giving in to pain.”

65. Don’t Mirror Inhumanity Take care that you don’t treat inhumanity in others with the same kind of inhumanity that it shows to human beings.

66. Judging True Worth: Socrates vs. Telauges How do we really know that Telauges (a relatively unknown contemporary of Socrates) wasn’t a better man than Socrates himself? It’s not enough to ask:

• Whether Socrates’ death was nobler.
• Whether he debated with the sophists (teachers of rhetoric) more adeptly.
• Whether he showed greater physical endurance by spending the night out in the cold.
• And whether, when he was ordered to arrest the innocent man from Salamis, he decided it was preferable to refuse (an act of civil disobedience).
• Or whether he “swaggered about the streets” (a detail mentioned by others, which one could reasonably doubt or interpret differently). What truly matters is what kind of soul Socrates had.
• Was he satisfied to treat other human beings with justice and the gods with reverence?
• Did he avoid losing his temper unpredictably at the evil done by others?
• Did he refuse to make himself a slave to other people’s ignorance or opinions?
• Did he avoid treating anything that nature brought about as abnormal or out of place?
• Did he refuse to put up with natural events as if they were unbearable impositions?
• And did he avoid putting his mind entirely in his body’s keeping, becoming a slave to physical sensations?

67. You Can Be Good Unnoticed; Happiness Needs Little Nature did not blend things together in the world so inextricably that you can’t draw your own boundaries and place your own well-being primarily in your own hands. It’s quite possible to be a good man without anyone else realizing it. Remember that. And remember this too: you don’t need much to live happily. And just because you’ve abandoned your hopes of becoming a great thinker or a renowned scientist, don’t for that reason give up on attaining freedom, achieving humility, serving others, and obeying God.

68. Immune to Compulsion, Ready for Anything Your goal is to live life in peace, immune to all external compulsion. Let other people scream whatever they want. Let wild animals dismember this soft flesh that covers you. How could any of that stop you from:

• Keeping your mind calm?
• Reliably sizing up what’s around you?
• And being ready to make good use of whatever happens? So that your faculty of Judgment can look the event squarely in the eye and say, “This is what you really are, regardless of what you may look like.” While your faculty of Adaptability adds, “You’re just what I was looking for.” Because to me, the present moment is always a chance for the exercise of rational virtue—civic virtue (acting for the good of the community)—in short, the art of living that human beings share with the gods.

Okay, here’s what you should do until that time of death or transformation comes:

• Honor and respect the gods.
• Treat other human beings as they deserve.
• Be tolerant and patient with other people. Be strict with yourself. Remember, the only things that truly belong to you are your physical body—your flesh and blood. Nothing else is actually under your control.

34. Living an Untroubled Life You can lead a life free from trouble. This is possible if you can continue to grow as a person. It’s also possible if you can learn to think and act in a systematic, principled way. Gods and human beings (and every rational creature) share two important characteristics: i. They don’t let others stop them from doing what is right. ii. They understand that goodness lies in thinking and doing the right thing. They limit their desires to achieving only that.

35. When Not to Worry Ask yourself this:

• Is this bad situation something I caused? No.
• Is it a direct result of my actions? No.
• Is the community or society as a whole endangered by it? No. If the answers are no, then why should it bother me? Where is the real danger for the community?

36. Don’t Let Imagination Overwhelm You Don’t let your imagination run away with you and overwhelm you. Just do what you can and what you should in the present moment. If you happen to suffer setbacks in unimportant matters, don’t treat that as a true defeat. That’s a bad habit to get into. It’s like an old man at a festival. As he’s leaving, he asks for the toy rattle meant for an orphan child. He does this even though he knew it was just a toy and not truly significant. Your anxieties can be like that. They can focus on things that aren’t as important as they seem.

36a. A Note About a Public Scene (This seems to be a brief, possibly fragmented note about a specific incident, perhaps on a public stage or platform.) Someone might be on a platform, in the public eye. You might think to yourself: “Have you forgotten what’s truly important here, what really matters?” That person might reply: “I know, but this particular thing was important to them (the audience, or other people).” And a wise response could be: “Just because it was important to them, do you have to act like a fool as well?”

37. Making Your Own Good Fortune I was once what people call a fortunate man. But at some point, that external good fortune seemed to abandon me. But remember, true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Real good fortune means having:

• Good character.
• Good intentions.
• And good actions.

Book 6

1. Nature and Its Guiding Reason Nature itself is flexible and obedient. The universal Reason (Logos) that governs nature has no reason to do evil. Reason knows no evil, does no evil, and causes no harm to anything. It guides all beginnings and all endings.

2. Just Do the Right Thing Simply make sure you do the right thing in every situation. The rest doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you are:

• Feeling cold or warm.
• Tired or well-rested.
• Despised by others or honored.
• In the process of dying, or busy with other tasks. Dying, too, is one of our assignments in life. In death, as in life, our main task is simply “to do what needs doing.”

3. Look Inward for Value Look within yourself. Don’t let the true nature or real value of anything escape your understanding.

4. Everything Will Be Transformed Before long, all existing things will be transformed. They will either rise like smoke and become part of a unified whole (if all things eventually combine into one). Or they will be scattered like fragments.

5. Reason Knows Its Work The universal Reason (Logos) understands its own position. It knows what it has to do. It knows what materials it has to work with.

6. The Best Form of Revenge The best way to get revenge on someone who has wronged you is not to become like them.

7. Unselfish Action and Inner Peace Focus on moving from one unselfish action to another. Always keep God (the divine principle of the universe) in your thoughts. Only in this way can you find true delight and inner peace.

8. The Mind’s Power The mind is the part of you that is awakened and directed by itself. It makes of itself whatever it chooses to be. It also makes whatever it chooses of its own experiences.

9. All Things Come Through Nature Everything that happens is brought about by nature. Nothing happens because of some power beyond nature. Nothing happens from something hidden within nature, or something entirely separate from nature.

10. Two Ways to See the Universe There are two main ways to think about how the universe works: i. It’s a random mixture of things. These things constantly interact and then disperse. ii. Or, it’s a state of unity, order, and intelligent design.

Consider the first view (a random mixture):

• If this is true, why would I want to live in a world of disorder and confusion?
• Why would I care about anything except eventually returning “from dust to dust”?
• And why would I feel any anxiety? Dispersal into atoms is going to happen no matter what I do.

Now consider the second view (unity and design):

• If this is true, then I should feel reverence and awe.
• I should feel serene and peaceful.
• I should have faith in the guiding power responsible for this order.

11. Regain Your Inner Rhythm When circumstances unavoidably jolt you and throw you off balance, return to yourself at once. Don’t lose your inner rhythm more than you absolutely have to. You’ll have a better grasp of harmony if you keep practicing returning to it.

12. Philosophy: Your True Mother If you had both a stepmother and a real mother, you would certainly pay your respects to your stepmother. But it’s your real mother you’d truly feel at home with and always return to. Think of the imperial court (or your demanding public life) as your stepmother. Think of philosophy as your real mother. Keep returning to philosophy, to rest in its embrace. Philosophy is what makes the court—and you yourself—endurable.

13. Seeing Things As They Are It’s like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you. Suddenly you realize: This is a dead fish. This is a dead bird. This is a dead pig. Or you realize that this expensive vintage wine is just fermented grape juice. These beautiful purple robes are merely sheep wool dyed with shellfish blood. Or, when making love, you might realize it’s just one body part rubbing against another. This is followed by a brief spasm and then a little cloudy liquid.

Perceptions like these get to the heart of things. They pierce through surface appearances. They help us see what things really are. That’s what we need to do all the time, throughout our lives. When things present themselves as trustworthy or valuable, we need to lay them bare. We need to see how ultimately pointless or simple they are. We must strip away the exaggerated stories and legends that make them seem more important than they are. Pride is a master of deception. When you think you’re engaged in the most important business, that’s often when pride has you completely fooled.

14. What Different People Admire vs. True Value Things that ordinary people are impressed by usually fall into these categories:

• Things held together by simple physical forces, like stones or wood.
• Things held together by natural growth, like figs, vines, or olive trees. Things admired by more advanced minds are often those held together by a living soul. Examples are flocks of sheep or herds of cows. Still more sophisticated people might admire what is guided by a rational mind. This is not necessarily the universal mind. It might be a mind admired for its technical knowledge, some other particular skill, or simply because its owner happens to possess a lot of slaves.

But those who truly revere that other mind—the universal one we all share as human beings and as citizens of the cosmos—are not primarily interested in those other things. Their main focus is on the state of their own minds. They work to:

• Avoid all selfishness and irrational thinking.
• Cooperate with others to achieve that common goal of living rationally and virtuously.

15. The Flow of Existence Some things are rushing into existence. Others are rushing out of it. Some of what exists right now is already disappearing. Constant change and flow continually remake the world. The relentless progression of time constantly remakes eternity. We find ourselves in this flowing river of existence. Which of the things around us should we truly value? None of them can offer a firm place to stand. Trying to get attached to something in this flow is like trying to fall in love with a little sparrow. You glimpse it for only a moment before it flies away and is gone forever. Life itself is like this. It’s like the drawing in and expelling of blood from our bodies. Or it’s like the drawing in of air. We expel the very same power of breathing that we drew in when we were born. It seems so recent in the grand scheme of things. We breathe it out just like the air we exhale at each and every moment.

16. What Should We Truly Prize in Ourselves? What is it in ourselves that we should truly prize and value?

• Not just basic biological functions like how plants release water vapor. Even plants do that.
• Or breathing. Even beasts and wild animals breathe.
• Or being struck by passing thoughts that come and go in our minds.
• Or being jerked around like a puppet by our own impulses and desires.
• Or moving in herds like animals.
• Or simply eating food and then relieving ourselves afterwards.

Then what is to be prized?

• An audience clapping for us? The sound of public praise? No. That’s no more valuable than the mere clacking of their tongues. Public praise really just amounts to a lot of tongues clacking.

So, if we discard the recognition and approval of other people as a primary goal, what’s left for us to prize? I think it’s this: to do (and not do) what we were designed for by nature. That’s the ultimate goal of all trades and all arts. What each of them aims at is that the thing they create should effectively do what it was designed to do. The gardener who cares for the vines, the horse trainer, the dog breeder—this is what they all aim at. And what about teaching and education? What else are they trying to accomplish but to help individuals function as they were meant to?

So, that’s what we should prize in ourselves. Hold on to that principle. Then you won’t be tempted to aim at anything else. What if you can’t stop prizing a lot of other external things? Then you’ll never be truly free—free, independent, and untroubled. You’ll always be envious and jealous of others. You’ll be afraid that people might come and take those prized things away from you. You’ll find yourself plotting against those who possess them—those very things you value so much. People who need those external things to be happy are bound to be a mess. They are bound to take out their frustrations on the gods. However, to respect your own mind—to prize it above all else—will leave you satisfied with your own self. It will help you be well integrated into your community. It will help you be in tune with the gods as well. You will embrace whatever they assign you and whatever they ordain for you.

17. The Motion of Virtue The physical elements (earth, water, air, fire) move upward, downward, and in all directions. But the motion of virtue is different—it is deeper and more profound. Virtue moves at a steady pace on a road that can sometimes be hard to discern. But it always moves forward.

18. Seeking Fame from People You’ll Never Meet Look at how people behave. They often refuse to admire or appreciate their contemporaries. These are the very people whose lives they share. No, instead, they set their hearts on being admired by Posterity—by people they’ve never met and never will meet! That’s as ridiculous as being upset that your great-grandfather wasn’t around to be a great admirer of yours.

19. If It’s Possible for Humans, It’s Possible for You Don’t assume something is impossible for you just because you find it hard. Instead, recognize that if it’s humanly possible for someone to do it, then you can do it too.

20. Dealing with Opponents in Life’s Arena In the wrestling ring, our opponents might scratch us with their nails. They might butt us with their heads and leave a bruise. But we don’t denounce them for it. We don’t get upset with them. We don’t regard them from then on as violent or malicious types. We simply keep a closer eye on them after that. We do this not out of hatred or suspicion. We do it just by maintaining a friendly and cautious distance. We need to do the same thing in other areas of life. We need to excuse what our “sparring partners” in life do. We should simply keep our distance from their harmful behaviors—without harboring suspicion or hatred.

21. The Truth Never Harms If anyone can refute me—show me that I’m making a mistake in my thinking or looking at things from the wrong perspective—I’ll gladly change my mind. It’s the truth I’m seeking. The truth has never harmed anyone. What truly harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.

22. My Part and What Doesn’t Concern Me I focus on doing what is mine to do. The rest of the world doesn’t need to disturb me. The rest of the world is either inanimate (without life or consciousness). Or it has no reason (Logos) to guide it. Or it just wanders around at random and has lost its way.

23. Interacting with the World

• When you deal with irrational animals, or with mere things and circumstances, be generous and straightforward. You are a rational being; they are not.
• When you deal with fellow human beings, behave as one human to another. Recognize that they too share in reason (the Logos).
• And in all situations, remember to invoke the gods. Don’t worry about how long you’ll go on doing this. Even a single afternoon lived according to these principles would be enough.

24. The Same End for Alexander and His Mule Driver Alexander the Great and his humble mule driver both died. The same thing ultimately happened to both of them. They were either absorbed alike back into the life force of the world. Or they were dissolved alike into atoms.

25. The Universe Within and Without You Think about how much is going on inside you every single second—in your soul and in your body. Given all that internal activity, why should it astonish you that so much more—everything that happens in that all-embracing unity, the universe—is happening at the same time?

26. Methodical Action, Not Anger If someone asked you how to write your name, would you clench your teeth and angrily spit out the letters one by one? Of course not. If the person asking lost their temper, would you lose yours as well? Or would you just calmly and clearly spell out the individual letters? Remember this example. Your responsibilities in life can also be broken down into individual parts. Concentrate on those parts. Finish the job methodically—without getting stirred up by emotion or meeting other people’s anger with your own.

27. Understanding Others’ Perceived Good How cruel it is to forbid people to want what they think is good and beneficial for them. And yet, that’s precisely what you do when you get angry at their misbehavior. They are acting in ways they are drawn to because they believe those actions will bring them something good. You might argue: —“But what they are doing is not actually good for them.” My response: Then show them that. Prove it to them patiently. Instead of losing your temper.

28. What Death Brings to an End Death is the end of:

• Our ability to perceive through our senses.
• Being controlled and pulled about by our emotions and desires.
• The discursive activity of our minds (our internal chatter and step-by-step reasoning).
• Our enslavement to the needs and pains of our physical bodies.

29. A Disgraceful Surrender It is a disgraceful thing for the soul to give up on its principles and its strength while the body is still physically going strong.

30. Avoid Being Corrupted by Power (“Imperialization”) Make every effort to escape “imperialization.” This is that permanent, corrupting stain that holding great power can leave on a person. It happens. So, make sure you remain:

• Straightforward and honest.
• Upright in your character.
• Reverent towards the divine.
• Serious and thoughtful.
• Unadorned and natural in your manner.
• An ally of justice.
• Pious (devoted to what is sacred).
• Kind and compassionate.
• Affectionate towards others.
• And doing your duty with determination and goodwill. Fight hard to be the person that philosophy (the love of wisdom) tried to make you.

Revere the gods. Watch over and care for human beings. Our lives are short. The only true rewards of our existence here on earth are an unstained character and unselfish acts that benefit others. Take Emperor Antoninus (your adoptive father) as your model in all things. Remember:

• His energy in doing what was rational and right.
• His emotional steadiness in any situation.
• His deep sense of reverence.
• His calm and composed facial expression.
• His gentleness.
• His modesty and lack of arrogance.
• His eagerness to grasp things fully.
• How he never let matters go before he was completely sure he had examined them thoroughly and understood them perfectly.
• The way he patiently put up with unfair criticism, without ever returning it in kind.
• How he couldn’t be hurried into making decisions.
• How he refused to listen to informers or slanderous gossip.
• How reliable and fair he was as a judge of people’s character and of their actions.
• He was not prone to backbiting, or cowardice, or jealousy, or using empty, showy rhetoric.
• He was content with the basics in life—in his living quarters, his bedding, his clothes, his food, and the number of his servants.
• How hard he worked, and how much he was able to endure.
• His remarkable ability to work straight through till dusk. This was possible because of his simple diet. He didn’t even need to relieve himself, except at set, regular times.
• His constancy and unwavering reliability as a friend.
• His tolerance of people who openly questioned his views. His genuine delight when someone could show him a way to improve his ideas.
• His piety and religious devotion—which was completely without a trace of superstition. Your goal should be that when your time comes to die, your conscience will be as clear and untroubled as his was.

31. Awaken to True Reality Awaken fully. Return to your true self. Now that you are no longer asleep and you realize that the troubles and anxieties you experienced were only dreams, become clear-headed again. With this newfound clarity, look at everything around you in your waking life as you would look at a dream—with detachment, understanding its transient nature.

32. Body, Soul, and What Truly Matters I am composed of a body and a soul. Things that happen to the body are ultimately meaningless in the quest for inner peace. The body itself cannot discriminate between them or assign them value. Nothing has true meaning to my mind except its own actions. And these actions are within its own control. Furthermore, it’s only the actions happening right now, in the present moment, that truly matter for my state of mind. My mind’s past actions and its potential future actions are also meaningless in terms of causing current worry or being under my immediate control.

33. Normal Pains and Stresses It’s normal to feel pain in your hands and feet if you’re actually using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is normal—if they are living a normal, engaged human life. And if it’s normal, how can it be considered truly bad or something to be completely avoided?

34. The “Pleasures” of Wicked People Think about the kind of “pleasures” that are enjoyed by thieves, sexual perverts, those who murder their own parents, and dictators. This implies that their pleasures are not true or worthy ones, and are based on harmful actions.

35. Our Responsibility to Reason Have you noticed how professionals, like builders or pharmacists, will meet an ordinary person halfway in explaining things? But they will not compromise the fundamental principles (the logos or guiding reason) of their trade. Should we, as human beings, feel less responsibility to our own guiding principle (our own logos)? This logos we share with the divine. Should we feel less responsibility to it than these craftsmen do to theirs?

36. Cosmic Perspective on Scale

• The continents of Asia and Europe are just distant, tiny recesses of the vast universe.
• The entire ocean is like a single drop of water in that immense expanse.
• Mount Athos (a very large mountain) is like a tiny molehill on the surface of the Earth.
• The present moment is just a fleeting split second in the endlessness of eternity. All these things are minuscule, temporary, and ultimately insignificant when viewed from a cosmic perspective.

36a. “Harmful” Things as By-Products of the Good Everything in the universe comes from that one universal mind. It comes either as a direct effect of its creative power or as an indirect consequence. Even things that seem harmful, like the lion’s jaws, poisonous substances, or everyday annoyances like thorns or mud, are by-products of what is fundamentally good and beautiful in the universe’s overall design. So don’t look at these things as alien or contrary to what you revere as good. Instead, focus on understanding the single source from which all things, including these apparent negatives, ultimately spring.

37. The Eternal Present If you’ve truly seen and understood the nature of the present moment, then you’ve essentially seen everything. For everything that has happened since the very beginning of time, and everything that will happen until the very end of time, is made of the same substance and takes the same fundamental form. All of it is one and the same.

38. The Interconnectedness of All Things Keep reminding yourself of the way all things in the universe are connected and related to each other. All things are intertwined with one another. They exist in a state of sympathy and harmony with each other. This event happening to you now is the consequence of some other event that came before it. Things constantly push and pull on each other. They seem to breathe together. They are all part of one unified and coherent whole.

39. Embrace Your Fate, Love Your Fellow Humans The things ordained for you by fate—teach yourself to be at one with those. And the people who share this life and this fate with you—treat them with love. With real, genuine love.

40. The Designing Force Within Nature Implements, tools, and various kinds of equipment work well if they do what they were designed for. This is true even if the person who designed and made them is miles away. But with naturally occurring things, the creative and designing force that brought them into being is present within them and remains there. That is why we owe this inner, natural force a special kind of reverence and respect. We should recognize that if you live and act as this inner intelligence dictates, then everything in you is intelligently ordered. This is just as everything in the wider world is.

41. Mistaken Definitions of Good and Bad You often take things that you don’t actually control. Examples are health, wealth, reputation, or external events. You define them as “good” or “bad.” And so, of course, when the things you labeled “bad” happen, or the things you labeled “good” don’t materialize, you end up blaming the gods. You feel hatred for the people you think are responsible—or those you simply decide to make responsible. Much of our bad behavior and inner turmoil stems from trying to apply these mistaken criteria of good and bad to external things that are not truly up to us. If we limited our definitions of “good” and “bad” to our own actions, our own character, and our own choices (which are up to us), we’d have no reason to challenge God or to treat other people as enemies.

42. Everyone Contributes to the Cosmic Project All of us, whether we realize it or not, are working together on the same vast project—the unfolding and functioning of the universe. Some of us do this consciously and with understanding. Some do it without knowing it. I believe this is what the philosopher Heraclitus meant when he said that “those who sleep are also hard at work.” He meant that they too collaborate in what happens in the world. Some of us work in one way, and some in others. And even those who complain and try to obstruct and thwart the course of things—they help just as much as anyone else. The world, in its comprehensive order, needs them as well. So, make up your mind: who will you choose to align yourself with and work alongside? The force that directs all things will make good use of you regardless. It will put you on its payroll, so to speak, and assign you a task. But make sure it’s not the kind of useless or comical job that the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus speaks of. Don’t be like the bad line in a play, put there only for laughs and serving no constructive purpose.

43. Different Functions, Common Purpose Does the sun try to do the rain’s work? Or does Asclepius (the god of healing) try to do Demeter’s (the goddess of the harvest) work? And what about each of the stars in the sky? They are all different, yet they work together for a common universal purpose, don’t they?

44. Trusting Divine Order or Personal Reason If the gods have made decisions about me and about the specific things that happen to me, then I must trust that they were good decisions. It’s hard to imagine a god who makes bad or flawed decisions. And why would they use their divine energies to try to cause me harm? What good would that possibly do them—or the world, which is their primary concern and creation?

And if the gods haven’t made specific decisions about me as an individual, they certainly have made decisions about the general welfare and order of the cosmos. Anything that happens to me as a consequence of that overarching plan is something I must welcome and embrace. I must see it as part of a larger, beneficial design.

And if (though it’s blasphemous even to think this) the gods make no decisions about anything at all—because if that were true, then let’s stop sacrificing, praying, swearing oaths, and doing all the other religious rituals we do. We do these things believing the whole time that the gods are right here with us and aware of our actions. Well, even if they were to decide nothing about our lives, I can still make decisions. I can still consider what it’s to my own benefit to do. And what benefits any individual is to do what his own essential nature requires. And my nature is rational. My nature is also civic, meaning I am a social being designed to live and cooperate with others. My city and state, in my role as Emperor Antoninus, are Rome. But as a human being? My city and state are the entire world, the cosmos. So for me, “good” can only mean what’s good for both of these communities—Rome and the world.

45. Good for the Whole, Good for the Parts Whatever happens to you as an individual is ultimately for the good of the world, the universe as a whole. That understanding alone should be enough to bring you peace. But if you look closely, you’ll generally notice something else as well: whatever happens to a single person is often also for the good of other people. Here, “good” is meant in the ordinary, common sense of the word—as the world generally defines benefits and advantages.

46. The Weariness of Repetition Just as the bloody spectacles in the arena and other similar public shows eventually make you feel weary—you’ve seen them all before—and the constant repetition grates on your nerves, so too with life in general. When you look at it broadly, it’s often the same things, happening for the same underlying reasons, on all sides. How much longer will this cycle of sameness go on?

47. The Great Procession of the Dead Keep this thought constantly in your mind: all sorts of people have died. People from all professions, from all nationalities and backgrounds. Follow this thought all the way down to specific historical examples like Philistion, Phoebus, and Origanion. Now extend this reflection to include other species beyond humans. We all have to go to that same place where so many countless beings have already gone:

• The eloquent speakers and the wise philosophers—great minds like Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Socrates…
• The heroes of ancient times, and the soldiers and kings who followed them…
• Brilliant thinkers and scientists like Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Archimedes…
• People who were smart, or generous, or hardworking, or cunning, or selfish…
• And even satirists like Menippus and his followers, who made fun of the whole brief, fragile, and often absurd business of human life. All of them have been underground, dead and gone, for a long time now. And what harm does it do them now? Or what harm does it do to the others who died—the ones whose names we don’t even know? The only thing in this life that isn’t worthless is this: to live this life out truthfully and rightly, in accordance with nature. And to be patient and understanding with those who do not live this way.

48. Encouragement from the Virtues of Others When you need encouragement, think of the good qualities that the people around you possess. This one’s energy and drive, that one’s modesty and humility, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging and uplifting as when virtues are visibly embodied in the characters and actions of the people around us. We are practically showered with positive examples. It’s good to keep this thought in mind.

49. Accepting Limits: Body and Time It doesn’t bother you that you weigh only a certain number of pounds or kilograms, and not, say, three hundred pounds. So why should it bother you that you have only a certain number of years to live, and not more? Just as you accept the physical limits placed on your body, you should also accept the limits placed on your time.

50. Act Justly, Adapt to Obstacles Do your best to convince others of the right way. But act on your own, according to your principles, if justice requires it. Do this even if others don’t agree. If you are met with force or opposition, then fall back on acceptance and peacefulness. Use this setback as an opportunity to practice other virtues, like patience or resilience. Remember that our efforts are always subject to circumstances. You weren’t aiming to do the impossible. —What were you aiming to do, then? You were aiming to try. And in that, you have succeeded. What you set out to do—to make the attempt—is accomplished.

51. Sources of Well-Being

• Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do.
• Self-indulgence means tying your well-being to the pleasant things that happen to you.
• Sanity (or wisdom) means tying your well-being to your own actions.

52. Things Can’t Shape Our Decisions by Themselves You don’t have to turn this event or situation into something that it isn’t. It doesn’t have to upset you. External things can’t shape our inner decisions and judgments by themselves.

53. Understand Others’ Minds Practice really hearing what people say. Do your best to get inside their minds and understand their perspectives.

54. Harm to One is Harm to All What injures the hive (the bee community) also injures the individual bee. This applies to human communities as well.

55. The Need for Authority and Order If the ship’s crew constantly talked back to the captain, or if patients constantly argued with their doctor, then whose authority would they ultimately accept? How could the passengers on the ship be kept safe, or how could the patient become healthy? This is an analogy for the need for order and respect for proper guidance in any collective endeavor.

56. Those Who Have Gone Before Think of all those people who came into the world with me and who have already left it, who have already died.

57. Distorted Perceptions

• Honey tastes bitter to a person suffering from jaundice.
• People with rabies are terrified of water.
• A child’s idea of beauty might simply be a colorful ball. Why does it upset you if someone else has a distorted perception of things? Do you think falsehood or a mistaken view is any less powerful in its effects on a person than physical conditions like an excess of bile or the bite of a rabid dog?

58. Living According to Nature No one can keep you from living as your own nature requires. And nothing can happen to you that is not required by Universal Nature.

59. The Fleeting Nature of Social Climbing Think about the people they try so hard to impress. Think of the results they are aiming for. Think of the things they do in the process of trying to achieve those results. How quickly it will all be erased by time. How much has been erased already.

Book 7

1. Evil: It’s Always the Same Story Evil: it’s the same old thing. No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It’s the same old story. It’s repeated from one end of the world to the other. This pattern fills the history books, both ancient and modern. It fills our cities, and it fills our houses too. There is nothing new at all. It’s all familiar, and it all passes away quickly.

2. You Can Rekindle Your Insights You cannot extinguish your understanding unless you put out the specific insights and thoughts that make it up. But you can rekindle those insights at will. It’s like stirring up glowing coals in a fire. I can control my thoughts as necessary. So how can I be troubled? What is outside my own mind means nothing to it. Absorb that lesson, and your feet will stand firm. You can return to life; you can start anew. Look at things as you did before you were troubled. And in doing so, life returns.

3. Pointless Busyness vs. True Worth So much of life can seem like the pointless bustling of public processions. It can seem like the dramatic but empty arias of an opera. It can be like the passive movement of herds of sheep and cattle, or the repetitive drills of military exercises. Life can also seem like a bone flung to pet poodles, or a little bit of food dropped into a fish tank. It can resemble the miserable, pointless servitude of ants. It can be like the frantic scampering of frightened mice, or puppets being jerked around on strings. Surrounded as we are by all of this, we need to practice acceptance. We should not look down on it all with disdain. But we must also remember that our own true worth is measured by what we choose to devote our energy to.

4. Focus on Speech and Action Focus carefully on what is being said when you or others speak. Also, focus on what results from each action that is taken. In other words, know what the speech aims at. Understand what the action really means or accomplishes.

5. Using Your Intellect Wisely Is my intellect up to this task? If it is, then I’ll put it to work. I’ll use it like a tool that nature has provided. And if my intellect isn’t up to it on its own, then I’ll turn the job over to someone who can do it better—unless I have absolutely no other choice but to do it myself. Or, I will do the best I can with it. I will collaborate with whoever can make good use of my contribution. I will do this in order to do what the community needs done. Because whatever I do—whether alone or with others—should aim at one thing only: what fits with the requirements of the community and the common good.

6. The Forgotten Rememberers So many people who were once famous and well-remembered are now already forgotten. And the people who remembered them? They too are long gone.

7. Don’t Be Ashamed to Need Help Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a castle wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to help pull you up? So what? That’s part of the effort.

8. Resources for the Future Forget worrying about the future. When and if it comes, you’ll have the same inner resources to draw on—the same reason (Logos)—that you have now.

9. The Holy Web of Interconnection Everything in the universe is interwoven with everything else. The resulting web is holy and sacred. None of its parts are unconnected to the others. They are all arranged harmoniously. Together they compose the orderly beauty of the world (the cosmos). There is:

• One world, made up of all things.
• One divinity (God or divine principle), present in them all.
• One substance (the underlying matter of everything) and one law—the universal Reason (Logos) that all rational beings share.
• And one truth… If this is indeed the culmination of one single creative process, then all beings share the same spiritual birth and the same guiding Reason.

10. The Swift Return of All Things All physical substance is soon absorbed back into the universal nature. All that animates that substance (the individual soul or life force) is soon restored to the universal Reason (Logos). And all trace or memory of them both is soon covered over and erased by time.

11. Unnatural Action for a Rational Being To a being that possesses reason (Logos), an unnatural action is one that conflicts with that reason.

12. Be Straight, Not Straightened Be upright in your character naturally. Don’t be upright because you are forced or straightened out by others.

13. Rational Beings as Limbs of One Body The rational principle in different beings is related. It’s like the individual limbs of a single living being. These parts are meant to function together as a unit. This idea will be clearer to you if you constantly remind yourself: “I am a single limb (melos in Greek) of a larger body—a body composed of all rational beings.” Or, you could say you are “a part” (meros in Greek)—the difference in spelling is only a single letter. But if you think of yourself as merely “a part,” then you’re not yet truly embracing other people with love. Helping them isn’t yet its own reward for you. You’re still seeing it only as “The Right Thing To Do” from a sense of duty. You don’t yet realize who you’re really helping when you help others. You are helping yourself and the whole of which you are a limb.

14. Choosing Not to Be Harmed Let external events happen, if they want to. Let them happen to whatever parts of you or the world they can happen to. And whatever is affected by those events can complain about it if it wants. But it doesn’t hurt me (my inner self, my mind) unless I interpret its happening as harmful to me. And I can choose not to make that interpretation.

15. Be Like Gold, Emerald, or Purple No matter what anyone else says or does, my task is to be good. I should be like gold, or an emerald, or the color purple. I should constantly repeat to myself: “No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to remain a true emerald, and my color must remain undiminished.”

16. The Mind’s Self-Protection The mind doesn’t get in its own way. It doesn’t frighten itself into having inappropriate desires. If other things outside the mind can scare it or hurt it, let them try. The mind itself won’t go down that road of fear or pain based on its own perceptions or judgments. Let the body try to avoid discomfort (if it can). And if it does feel discomfort, let the body announce it. But it is the soul (or the mind as the seat of judgment) that actually feels fear and pain. It’s the soul that conceives of these things in the first place. And the soul suffers nothing if it refuses to conclude that it has suffered. The mind in itself has no needs, except for those needs it creates for itself. It is undisturbed, except by its own disturbances. It knows no obstructions, except for those that come from within itself.

17. Defining Well-Being Well-being (or happiness) is either good luck, or it is good character.

17a. Dismissing Troubling Perceptions (Imagine speaking to your own troubling perceptions or thoughts): “But what are you doing here, Perceptions? Get back to where you came from, and good riddance. I don’t need you right now. Yes, I know, it was only force of habit that brought you into my mind. No, I’m not angry with you. Just go away.”

18. The Necessity of Change Are you frightened of change? But what can even exist without change? What is closer to nature’s heart? What does nature love more than change?

• Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood exactly as it was, unburned?
• Can you eat food without transforming it through digestion?
• Can any vital life process take place without something being changed? Can’t you see? It’s just the same with you—change is essential for your existence. It’s just as vital to the processes of universal nature.

19. Life’s Rushing Rapids We are all carried through existence as if through rushing rapids. All bodies are part of this flow. They are sprung from universal nature and they cooperate with it. This is just as our own limbs cooperate with each other. Time has swallowed a Chrysippus, a Socrates, and an Epictetus, many times over. Even the greatest philosophers and their ideas are subject to the flow of time and may be forgotten or reinterpreted. And when I say “Epictetus,” you can substitute any person, and any thing.

20. My Only Fear My only fear is doing something contrary to human nature. I fear doing the wrong thing, or doing something in the wrong way, or at the wrong time.

21. Approaching Oblivion I am close to forgetting it all. I am close to being forgotten by all.

22. Affection for Imperfect Humans To feel affection for people even when they make mistakes is a uniquely human quality. You can do this, if you simply recognize these truths:

• That they are human too, just like you.
• That they often act out of ignorance, not malice. Sometimes they act against their own better judgment.
• That you and they will all be dead before long.
• And, above all, that they haven’t really hurt you in any essential way. They haven’t diminished your ability to choose your own responses and maintain your own character.

23. Nature as a Sculptor Nature takes the underlying substance of the world and makes a horse. It’s much like a sculptor works with wax. And then, nature melts that horse down and uses the same material to make a tree. Then that tree becomes material for a person. Then that person becomes material for something else. Each individual thing exists for only a brief time. It does the container (the form or specific object) no harm to be put together. It does it no harm to be taken apart and reformed into something else.

24. Anger is Unnatural Anger showing in the face is deeply unnatural. If this expression of anger becomes fixed, or if the capacity for natural expression is finally extinguished for good so that it can’t be rekindled, it signals a kind of death of natural responsiveness. Try to understand how unnatural anger is from this observation. If even the awareness of acting badly is gone from a person, why should they go on living?

25. The World Renewed by Change Before long, nature, which controls and governs it all, will alter everything you see. It will use the substance of current things as material for something else. It will do this over and over again. This is how the world is continually renewed.

26. Understanding Why People Injure You When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of their actions. If you can understand their motivation (however misguided), you’ll feel sympathy for them rather than outrage or anger. Your sense of good and evil may be the same as theirs, or very close to it. In that case, you have to excuse them or find a way to be patient. Or, your sense of good and evil may differ significantly from theirs. In that case, they are misguided and deserve your compassion. Is that so hard to do?

27. Value What You Have, But Not Too Much Treat what you don’t currently have as if it doesn’t exist at all. Then, look at what you do have—the things you value most. Think about how much you’d crave them if you didn’t have them. But be careful. Don’t feel such intense satisfaction in possessing these things that you start to overvalue them. Don’t value them to the point where it would deeply upset you if you were to lose them.

28. The Mind’s Contentment Self-contraction means focusing the mind inward, on its own principles. The mind’s true requirements are satisfied by doing what we should, by acting rightly. They are also satisfied by the calm and peace that this brings us.

29. A To-Do List for Inner Peace

• Discard your misperceptions and false judgments.
• Stop being jerked around like a puppet by your impulses and emotions.
• Limit yourself to the present moment.
• Understand what is happening—both to you and to others.
• Analyze everything that exists. Break it all down into its material components and its underlying cause.
• Anticipate your final hours; be prepared for death.
• As for other people’s mistakes? Leave those to their makers; they are not your responsibility.

30. Focus Your Mind

• Direct your thoughts to what is being said.
• Focus your mind on what is happening and on what causes it to happen.

31. Inner Cleansing Wash yourself clean. Do it with:

• Simplicity.
• Humility.
• Indifference to everything except what is truly right and wrong. Care for other human beings. Follow God (the divine order).

31a. Atoms and Relativity “…all things are relative (dependent on perspective and relationship),” it’s been said. “And in reality, perhaps only atoms exist.” It’s enough for you to remember the first part of that: “all things are relative.” And that, in itself, is a small enough concept to grasp, yet profound.

32. On Death: Dispersal or Transformation Regarding death: If the universe is ultimately made of atoms, then death means your atoms will be dispersed. If the universe is a unified whole (oneness), then death means your individual essence will either be quenched (extinguished) or changed and reabsorbed into the whole.

33. On Pain: Endurable or Self-Ending Regarding pain: Pain that is truly unendurable brings its own end with it. It might cause death or unconsciousness. Pain that is chronic (long-lasting) is always endurable. The intelligence can maintain its serenity by cutting itself off from the physical sensations of the body. The mind can remain undiminished. And as for the parts of the body that are actually affected by pain—let them speak for themselves, if they can, by signaling the discomfort.

34. On Ambition: Fleeting Desires Regarding ambition and those who pursue it: Think about how their minds work. Think of the kinds of things they long for, and the things they fear. Their achievements and anxieties are like piles of sand, constantly shifting. Each new drift is soon hidden by the next one that comes along.

35. A Philosopher’s View on Life and Death (This sounds like a quote from Plato’s writings): “‘If a person’s mind is filled with nobility, with a profound grasp of all time and all existence, do you think our brief human life will mean much to him at all?’ ‘How could it?’ he said. ‘Or would death be very frightening to such a person?’ ‘Not in the least.’”

36. A Saying About Kingship “Kingship means earning a bad reputation by doing good deeds.” This suggests that rulers who do what is right may be misunderstood or criticized by those who don’t understand the greater good.

37. The Mind Should Master Itself It is a disgrace that the mind should be able to control the face. It can shape and mold its expressions as it pleases. But it should not be unable to shape and mold itself.

38. Does the World Notice Our Anger? “And why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice!” This quote expresses the futility of raging against impersonal events.

39. A Prayer for Joy “May you bring joy to us and to those on high (the gods).” This is a traditional prayer or hopeful expression.

40. Life and Harvest “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain, Some grown and flourishing, some cut down in their turn.” This is a poetic comparison of human lives to a harvest.

41. The Gods’ Reasons “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, The gods must have their reasons for not granting our request.” This quote, likely from a tragic play, expresses resignation to divine will.

42. Justice on My Side “For what is just and good is on my side.” This is a statement of moral confidence.

43. No Excessive Mourning No need for a chorus of loud lamentation. No hysterics or overly dramatic displays of grief.

44. Socrates on Right Action vs. Death (This sounds like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Apology): “Then the only proper response for me to make is this: ‘You are much mistaken, my friend, if you think that any man worth his salt cares about the risk of death. Such a man doesn’t concentrate on personal safety. He focuses on this alone: whether what he’s doing is right or wrong, and whether his behavior is that of a good man or a bad one.’”

45. Socrates on Duty Over Life (This also sounds like Socrates from Plato’s Apology): “It’s like this, gentlemen of the jury: The spot where a person decides to station himself, or wherever his commanding officer stations him—well, I think that’s where he ought to take his stand and face the enemy. He should not worry about being killed, or about anything else, except doing his duty.”

46. Socrates on Living Well vs. Living Long (This is like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Crito or similar dialogues): “But, my good friend, consider this possibility: true nobility and virtue are not the same as merely preserving one’s life or losing it. Is it not possible that a real man should forget about living a certain number of years? Shouldn’t he avoid clinging desperately to life? Instead, shouldn’t he leave such matters up to the gods? He should accept, as women often say, that ‘no one can escape his fate.’ Then he should turn his full attention to how he can best live the life that is actually before him, for however long it may be.”

47. Cosmic Perspective Washes Away Earthly Mud Watch the courses of the stars as if you were revolving with them in the heavens. Keep constantly in mind how the elements of the universe alter and transform into one another. Thoughts like these help to wash off the mud and grime of life down here on earth.

48. Plato’s View from Above Plato has it right. If you truly want to talk about human affairs with perspective, you need to look down on the earth as if from a great height. You would see herds of animals, armies marching, farms being tilled. You’d see weddings and divorces, births and deaths. You’d observe the noisy chaos of courtrooms, and the quiet of desert places. You’d see all the foreign peoples of the world. You’d see their holidays and their days of mourning, their market days and festivals… all of it mixed together, a vibrant harmony of opposites.

49. The Rhythm of Events: Past and Future Are Similar Look at the past. See how empires rise and fall, one succeeding another. And from that, you can extrapolate what the future will be like: much the same thing. There is no escaping this fundamental rhythm of events. This is why observing life for forty years is essentially as good as observing it for a thousand. Would you really see anything fundamentally new?

50. Earth to Earth, Heaven to Heaven (This quotes a common ancient idea or poem): ”…Earth’s offspring back to earth they go, But all that’s born of heaven’s light, To heaven returns again, to endless day.” Either that happens (a return to a divine source), or the cluster of atoms that makes you up simply pulls apart. One way or another the elements that feel no sensation disperse.

51. Trying to Frustrate Death (This quotes a poetic fragment about human efforts to avoid death): “…with food and drink and magic spells they try, Seeking some novel way to frustrate death.”

51a. Enduring Heaven’s Wind (This is another poetic fragment): “To labor cheerfully and so endure The wind that blows from heaven (fate).”

52. More Than Just a Better Wrestler It’s possible to be a better wrestler than someone else. But that doesn’t necessarily make you a better citizen. It doesn’t make you a better person overall. It doesn’t make you a better resource in tight situations, or a more forgiving person when others make mistakes.

53. Order and Fearlessness Wherever something can be done in accordance with the universal Reason (Logos) that is shared by gods and human beings, there all is in order and as it should be. Where there is profit and benefit because our effort is productive and advances in step with our nature, there we have nothing to fear.

54. Your Options in Every Moment Everywhere, and at each moment, you have the option:

• To accept this current event with humility and without resistance (as fated).
• To treat this person before you as he or she should be treated (justly and with understanding).
• To approach this thought or impression with care. Make sure that nothing irrational or unexamined creeps into your mind.

55. Follow Nature’s Lead Don’t pay too much attention to what is going on in other people’s minds. Instead, look straight ahead to where nature is leading you. Universal Nature leads you through the things that happen to you. Your own individual nature leads you through the actions you choose to take. Everything in the universe has to do what it was made for. And other things (lesser things) were made for the sake of those beings that possess reason (Logos). In this respect, as in others, it’s a general principle: lower things exist for the sake of higher ones, and higher things exist for the sake of one another.

Now, the main thing we human beings were made for is to work with and for others. Secondly, we were made to resist the inappropriate urges of our body. This is because things driven by reason—by thought—have the capacity for detachment. They can resist mere impulses and sensations. Both of these are primarily physical and temporary. Thought rightly seeks to be their master, not their subject. And so it should be: these lower impulses and sensations were created for the use of thought, not the other way around. And the third important thing we were made for is to avoid rashness in judgment and to avoid being easily deceived. The mind that grasps these principles and steers a straight course by them should be able to hold its own and maintain its stability.

56. Live the Rest of Your Life Properly Think of yourself as already dead. You have lived your life up to this point. Now, take whatever time is left and live it properly, according to your true nature and principles.

57. The Greatest Harmony To love only what happens to you, what was destined for you by fate. There is no greater harmony than this.

58. Learning from Others’ Reactions to Adversity In all that happens, keep before your eyes the examples of those who experienced similar things before you. Remember how they felt shock, outrage, and resentment at those events. And now, where are they? They are nowhere; they are gone. Is that what you want to be like? Instead of doing that, why not avoid all these distracting emotional assaults? Leave the alarms and panicked flight to others. Concentrate instead on what you can do with it all. Because you can use what happens. You can treat it as raw material for virtuous action. Just pay attention. Resolve to live up to your own best expectations of yourself in everything you do. And when you are faced with a choice, remember: our real business in life is with things that truly matter.

59. Dig Deep for Goodness Dig deep within yourself. The water—which is goodness—is down there. And as long as you keep digging, it will keep bubbling up.

60. The Body’s Stability and Beauty What the body needs is stability. It needs to be as impervious as possible to jolts and disturbances in all that it is and all that it does. The kind of cohesiveness and beauty that intelligence and a calm mind lend to the face—that’s the kind of inner stability the body also needs. But this should come about naturally, without forced effort or pretense.

61. A Wrestler, Not a Dancer Be not like a dancer, who needs a clear space and choreographed moves. Be like a wrestler: waiting, poised and firmly dug in, ready for sudden and unexpected assaults.

62. The Minds of Those Whose Approval You Seek Look closely at who they really are, these people whose approval you sometimes long for. Examine what their minds are really like. If you do this, you won’t blame them when they make mistakes they can’t help making. These mistakes are due to their ignorance or flawed values. And you won’t feel such a pressing need for their approval. You will have seen the sources of both their judgments and their actions.

63. Truth and Patience Someone once said, “Against our will, our souls are cut off from truth.” This applies not only to abstract truth. It also applies to justice, self-control, kindness, and other virtues. It’s important to keep this in mind. It will help you be more patient with other people when they seem to lack these qualities.

64. Dealing with Pain For times when you feel pain:

• See that the pain doesn’t disgrace you morally, or degrade your intelligence. It doesn’t have to keep your mind from acting rationally or unselfishly.
• And in most cases, what the philosopher Epicurus said about pain should help. He said that pain is neither unbearable nor unending, as long as you keep in mind its natural limits and don’t magnify them in your imagination.
• And also keep in mind that pain often comes in disguise—as drowsiness, fever, or loss of appetite. When you’re bothered by things like that, remind yourself: “I’m currently giving in to pain.”

65. Don’t Mirror Inhumanity Take care that you don’t treat inhumanity in others with the same kind of inhumanity that it shows to human beings.

66. Judging True Worth: Socrates vs. Telauges How do we really know that Telauges (a relatively unknown contemporary of Socrates) wasn’t a better man than Socrates himself? It’s not enough to ask:

• Whether Socrates’ death was nobler.
• Whether he debated with the sophists (teachers of rhetoric) more adeptly.
• Whether he showed greater physical endurance by spending the night out in the cold.
• And whether, when he was ordered to arrest the innocent man from Salamis, he decided it was preferable to refuse. This was an act of civil disobedience.
• Or whether he “swaggered about the streets.” This detail was mentioned by others, which one could reasonably doubt or interpret differently. What truly matters is what kind of soul Socrates had.
• Was he satisfied to treat other human beings with justice and the gods with reverence?
• Did he avoid losing his temper unpredictably at the evil done by others?
• Did he refuse to make himself a slave to other people’s ignorance or opinions?
• Did he avoid treating anything that nature brought about as abnormal or out of place?
• Did he refuse to put up with natural events as if they were unbearable impositions?
• And did he avoid putting his mind entirely in his body’s keeping, becoming a slave to physical sensations?

67. You Can Be Good Unnoticed; Happiness Needs Little Nature did not blend things together in the world so inextricably that you can’t draw your own boundaries. You can place your own well-being primarily in your own hands. It’s quite possible to be a good man without anyone else realizing it. Remember that. And remember this too: you don’t need much to live happily. And just because you’ve abandoned your hopes of becoming a great thinker or a renowned scientist, don’t for that reason give up on attaining freedom, achieving humility, serving others, and obeying God.

68. Immune to Compulsion, Ready for Anything Your goal is to live life in peace, immune to all external compulsion. Let other people scream whatever they want. Let wild animals dismember this soft flesh that covers you. How could any of that stop you from:

• Keeping your mind calm?
• Reliably sizing up what’s around you?
• And being ready to make good use of whatever happens? So that your faculty of Judgment can look the event squarely in the eye and say, “This is what you really are, regardless of what you may look like.” While your faculty of Adaptability adds, “You’re just what I was looking for.” Because to me, the present moment is always a chance for the exercise of rational virtue—civic virtue (acting for the good of the community)—in short, the art of living that human beings share with the gods.

Book 8

1. Humility and the True Path to Living Here’s another thought to encourage humility: you can’t honestly claim to have lived your entire life as a true philosopher—not even your whole adulthood. You can see for yourself how far you still are from philosophy. And many other people can see it too. You’re tainted by worldly concerns. It’s not so easy now—at this stage in your life—to gain a reputation as a philosopher. And your position as emperor is also an obstacle.

So, you know how things really stand. Now, forget what other people think of you. Be satisfied if you can live the rest of your life, however short it may be, as your nature demands. Focus on that, and don’t let anything distract you. You’ve wandered all over the place in your thoughts and studies and finally realized that you never found what you were truly searching for: how to live a good life. You didn’t find it in clever logical arguments (syllogisms), not in money, not in fame, or in self-indulgence. You found it nowhere in those things.

—Then where is it to be found? It is to be found in doing what human nature requires. —How do you do that? You do it by following first principles. These principles should govern your intentions and your actions. —What principles are these? They are the principles that deal with good and evil. These principles state that nothing is truly good except what leads to fairness, self-control, courage, and free will. And nothing is truly bad except what leads to the opposite of these virtues.

2. Questions for Every Action For every action you consider, ask yourself:

• How does this affect me?
• Could I change my mind about it later if I realize it was a mistake? But remember, soon I’ll be dead, and the slate of my life will be empty. So, this is the only truly important question: Is this action the action of a responsible being, someone who is part of society, and someone who is subject to the same divine laws as God?

3. Rulers vs. Philosophers Think of Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Pompey. Now compare them with philosophers like Diogenes, Heraclitus, and Socrates. The philosophers knew the “what” (the nature of things), the “why” (the reasons behind things), and the “how” (the way things work). Their minds were their own; they were free thinkers. As for the others, the famous rulers? Their lives were often filled with nothing but anxiety and enslavement to their ambitions and circumstances.

4. Futile Resistance You can hold your breath until you turn blue with frustration, but people will still go on doing what they do. (This means it’s often futile to try to force others to change against their will.)

5. Two Steps to Inner Peace

• The first step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls everything. And before long, you’ll be no one, nowhere—just like the great emperors Hadrian and Augustus are now.
• The second step: Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your main task is to be a good human being. Remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But do so with kindness, with humility, and without hypocrisy.

6. Nature’s Constant Transformation Nature’s job is to shift things from one place or state to another, to transform them, to pick them up here and move them there. It’s a process of constant alteration. But don’t worry about this: there’s nothing new here. Everything that happens is familiar. Even the proportions and patterns of change remain largely unchanged.

7. Progress for a Rational Mind Every kind of nature thrives on forward progress. And progress for a rational mind means:

• Not accepting falsehood or uncertainty in its perceptions.
• Making unselfish actions its only aim.
• Seeking and trying to avoid only those things it has actual control over.
• Embracing what universal nature demands of it—that same nature in which it participates, just as a leaf’s nature participates in the nature of the tree it belongs to. There’s a difference, though. The nature shared by the leaf is without consciousness or reason, and it can be blocked by external obstacles. But the nature shared by human beings is without such impediments (in its core rational function). It is rational and just, because it allots to each and every thing an equal and proportionate share of time, existence, purpose, action, and chance. Examine this closely. Don’t just check if things are identical point by point. Look at the bigger picture: this thing weighed against that thing, in aggregate.

8. Time for What Truly Matters You may say you have no time for extensive reading. But you do have time for:

• Controlling your arrogance, yes.
• Overcoming pain and pleasure, yes.
• Outgrowing your ambition, yes.
• Not feeling anger at stupid and unpleasant people—and even for caring about them—for that, yes, you have time.

9. No Complaining About Court Life Don’t ever be overheard complaining about life at the imperial court. Not even to yourself.

10. Understanding Remorse Remorse is annoyance at yourself for having missed an opportunity to gain something that would have been to your benefit. But if something is truly to your benefit, it must be something good—something a truly good person would be concerned about. But no truly good person would feel remorse at passing up a mere pleasure. Therefore, that pleasure cannot truly be to your benefit, nor can it be truly good.

11. Fundamental Questions About Anything When you encounter something, ask these questions:

• What is this, fundamentally?
• What is its true nature and substance?
• What is its reason for being?
• What is it doing in the world?
• How long is it meant to be here?

12. Why You Get Out of Bed When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your defining characteristic—what truly defines you as a human being—is to work with others and for the common good. Even animals know how to sleep. And it’s the characteristic activity of your nature that is the more natural one—more innate and ultimately more satisfying.

13. Three Fields of Study to Apply Constantly Apply these principles constantly, to everything that happens:

• Physics: Understanding the nature of the material world and its processes.
• Ethics: Understanding how to live well and act rightly.
• Logic: Understanding how to think clearly and reason correctly.

14. Understanding Others’ Values When you have to deal with someone, ask yourself: What does this person consider good and bad? If they think such-and-such about pleasure and pain (and what produces them), or about fame and disgrace, or about death and life, then it shouldn’t shock or surprise you when they act in ways consistent with those beliefs. In fact, I’ll remind myself that, given their beliefs, they feel they have no real choice but to act as they do.

15. Nature’s Consistent Productions Remember: you shouldn’t be surprised that a fig tree produces figs. Nor should you be surprised that the world produces the kinds of events it produces. A good doctor isn’t surprised when his patients have fevers. A skilled ship’s captain isn’t surprised when the wind blows against him.

16. Freedom in Changing Your Mind Remember that to change your mind and to accept correction when you are wrong are also acts of freedom. The action is yours, based on your own will, your own decision—and your own mind.

17. Blaming Others is Pointless If the problematic action is within your control, why do you do it? If it’s in someone else’s control, then who are you blaming? Atoms? The gods? Blaming either is stupid. Blame no one.

• Set people straight, if you can.
• If not, at least try to repair the damage caused by the action.
• And suppose you can’t even do that. Then where does blaming people get you? Engage in no pointless actions.

18. Nothing Vanishes, All is Transformed What dies doesn’t truly vanish from the universe. It stays here in the world. It is transformed, dissolved, and becomes parts of the world, and eventually parts of you. And those parts are transformed in their turn—all without grumbling or complaint from nature.

19. Everything Has a Purpose Everything is here for a purpose, from horses to vine shoots. What’s surprising about that? Even the sun will tell you, “I have a purpose,” and the other gods will say the same. And why were you born? For pleasure? See if that answer will stand up to serious questioning.

20. The Ball, The Bubble, The Candle Nature is like someone throwing a ball in the air. It gauges its rise and its arc—and where it will eventually fall.

• And what does the ball gain as it flies upward? Or what does it lose when it plummets back to earth?
• What does a soap bubble gain from its brief existence? Or what does it lose when it bursts? And the same questions apply to a candle’s flame. (The point is about the transience and indifference of matter to its temporary forms.)

21. The Reality Behind Appearances Turn any object or situation inside out: What is it truly like? What will it be like when it’s old? Or sick? Or being sold cheaply on the streets? Everyone and everything dies soon—the person who praises and the person who is praised, the one who remembers and the one who is remembered. And even if remembered for a while, it’s often only in these parts of the world, or just in a small corner of them. Even there, people don’t all agree with each other about you (or they don’t even agree with themselves from one day to the next). And remember, the whole earth is just a mere point in the vastness of space.

22. Focus on What’s Before You Stick to what’s directly in front of you—the idea you are considering, the action you are taking, the words you are uttering.

22a. Today, Not Tomorrow (A self-reproach): This difficult situation is what you deserve for putting things off. You could choose to be good and act rightly today. But instead, you often choose to delay until tomorrow.

23. Attributing Actions and Events What I do? I attribute my good actions to human beneficence—my desire to act well towards others. What is done to me? I accept it—and I attribute it to the gods, and to that ultimate source from which all things in the universe together flow.

24. Life’s Unpleasant Aspects Think of the public baths—the oil, the sweat, the dirt, the grayish water, all of it rather disgusting. The whole of life, and all of the visible world, has aspects like that.

25. The Procession of Deaths Verus died, leaving Lucilla behind; then Lucilla died. Maximus died, leaving Secunda; then Secunda died. Diotimus died, leaving Epitynchanus; then Epitynchanus died. Faustina (my wife) died, leaving me, Antoninus; then I, Antoninus, will die. So it is with all of them. Hadrian died, leaving Celer; then Celer died. Where have they all gone—the brilliant ones, the insightful ones, the proud ones? People as brilliant as Charax, Demetrius the Platonist, Eudaemon, and all the rest of them. They were all short-lived creatures, and they have been dead for a long time. Some of them are not remembered at all. Some have become legends. Some have faded even from legend. So remember: your physical components will be scattered too. The life force within you will be quenched. Or, you will receive new marching orders and a different posting in the universe.

26. Human Joy True joy for human beings lies in performing distinctively human actions. Human actions include:

• Kindness to others.
• A healthy contempt for the misleading messages of the senses.
• The careful examination of appearances to discern truth from falsehood.
• Observation of nature and of events in nature, understanding their order.

27. Three Key Relationships You have three primary relationships: i. With the physical body you inhabit. ii. With the divine (God or universal reason), which is the ultimate cause of everything in all things. iii. With the people around you.

28. The Soul’s Immunity to Bodily Pain Either pain affects the body (in which case, it’s the body’s problem to deal with), or it affects the soul. But the soul can choose not to be affected by physical pain. It can preserve its own serenity, its own tranquility. All our decisions, urges, desires, and aversions lie within the soul. No external evil can truly touch them.

29. Protecting Your Soul To erase false perceptions and troubling thoughts, tell yourself: I have it within me to keep my soul from any evil, from any lust, and from all confusion. I have the power to see things as they truly are and to treat them as they deserve. Don’t overlook this innate ability.

30. Speaking Appropriately Whether speaking to the Senate—or to anyone at all—do so in the right tone, without being overbearing or arrogant. Choose the right words to convey your meaning clearly and respectfully.

31. The Death of a Whole Court Think of Emperor Augustus’s court: his wife, his daughter, his grandsons, his stepsons, his sister, his key advisor Agrippa, all his relatives, servants, friends, other advisors like Areius and Maecenas, the doctors, the sacrificial priests… the entire court is dead and gone. And then consider the deaths in other families and groups, not just the passing of individuals (like the family of the Pompeys, which eventually died out). Think of that line they sometimes write on tombs: “last surviving descendant.” Consider the anxiety their ancestors must have felt—that there should be a successor to carry on the family line. But someone always has to be the last. There, too, you see the death of a whole house.

32. Assembling Your Life, Action by Action You have to assemble your life yourself—action by action. And you should be satisfied if each action achieves its proper goal, as far as it can. No one can keep that from happening. You might say: —“But there are external obstacles that can get in the way…” My response: Yes, but no external obstacle can prevent you from behaving with justice, self-control, and good sense. You might counter: —“Well, but perhaps an obstacle can prevent me from performing some more concrete, physical action.” My response: But if you accept the obstacle calmly and work with what you’re given, an alternative action will usually present itself—another piece of the larger project you’re trying to assemble. Life is built action by action.

33. Acceptance and Indifference To accept what comes without arrogance, and to let it go with indifference.

34. Self-Inflicted Separation from Unity Have you ever seen a severed hand or foot, or a decapitated head, just lying somewhere far away from the body it once belonged to? That’s what we do to ourselves—or at least try to do—when we rebel against what happens to us, when we isolate ourselves from others, or when we do something purely selfish. You have, in a sense, torn yourself away from the natural unity of humanity—a state you were born to share in. Now you’ve cut yourself off from it. But you have one great advantage here: you can reattach yourself. This is a privilege God has granted to no other part of no other whole—to be separated, cut away, and then allowed to be reunited. But look how He has singled out human beings. He has allowed us not to be broken off from this unity in the first place. And even when we are broken off, He has allowed us to return, to graft ourselves back on, and to take up our old position once again: as an integral part of a larger whole.

35. Turning Setbacks into Fuel We human beings have various abilities, present in all rational creatures as inherent in the very nature of rationality itself. And this is one of them: Just as universal nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it—turns it to its own purposes, incorporates it into itself—so, too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve his or her own goal.

36. Minimizing the Present Burden Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole. Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen all at once. Instead, stick with the situation at hand, and ask yourself, “Why is this particular thing so unbearable? Why can’t I endure it?” You’ll likely be embarrassed to answer that you can’t. Then remind yourself that the past and the future have no real power over you. Only the present moment does—and even that can be minimized in your mind. Just mark off its limits; see it as a small, manageable segment of time. And if your mind tries to claim that it can’t hold out against even that small segment… well, then, heap shame upon it for being so weak.

37. The Futility of Perpetual Mourning Are Pantheia or Pergamos (devoted servants or companions) still keeping watch at the tomb of Emperor Verus (Marcus’s adoptive brother and co-emperor)? Are Chabrias or Diotimus still mourning at the tomb of Emperor Hadrian? Of course they aren’t. And even if they were, would the dead emperors know it? And even if the emperors knew, would it please them? And even if it did please them, would the mourners live forever? Were they, too, not fated to grow old and then die? And when that happened, what good would their mourning do the emperors then?

38. The Stench of Decay The stench of decay. Rotting meat in a bag. Look at it clearly and unflinchingly. If you can.

39. Virtue Against Pleasure “To the best of my judgment, when I look at the human character, I see no virtue specifically placed there to counter the power of justice. But I do see one virtue placed there to counter the allure of pleasure: that virtue is self-control.”

40. The Logos and Pain Stop perceiving the pain you imagine you are feeling, and you’ll remain completely unaffected by it in your core being. Someone asks: —“Unaffected in what part of you?” Your logos (your reasoning mind). Someone objects: —“But I’m not just logos; I also have a body and feelings.” Fine. Just don’t let your logos be injured by these judgments about pain. If any other part of you is suffering—your body, your emotions—let that part decide that for itself.

41. What Constitutes Harm? For animate beings (living creatures), “harmful” is whatever obstructs the natural operation of their senses—or obstructs the fulfillment of what they intend to do. Similar kinds of obstructions constitute harm to plants. So too for rational creatures like humans, anything that obstructs the proper operation of the mind is harmful to the mind. Apply this understanding to yourself. Do pain and pleasure have their hooks in you? Let your senses deal with that. Are there obstacles to your intended actions? If you failed to reckon with the possibility of such obstacles (if you acted without foresight), then that failure of foresight would indeed harm you, as a rational being. But if you use common sense and accept that obstacles are part of life, then you haven’t truly been harmed or even fundamentally obstructed in your rational capacity. Remember, no one can truly obstruct the operations of your mind. Nothing external can really get at your mind—not fire or steel, not tyrants, not verbal abuse—nothing. As long as your mind remains like “a sphere… in perfect stillness,” self-contained and at peace.

42. Doing No Injury I have no right to do myself an injury. And in my life, have I ever intentionally injured anyone else if I could avoid it?

43. Different Pleasures People find pleasure in different ways. I find my pleasure in keeping my guiding mind clear and untroubled. I find it in not turning away from any human being or from any of the things that happen to them. I find it in accepting and welcoming everything I see, and in treating each thing as it truly deserves.

44. The Gift of the Present; The Futility of Fame Give yourself a gift: the present moment. People who are eager for posthumous fame (to be famous after they die) forget that the Generations To Come will be made up of the same kind of annoying people they know right now. And those future people will be just as mortal. What does it truly matter to you if they say such-and-such about you, or think this or that?

45. The Gracious Spirit Lift me up and hurl me down. Throw me wherever you will. My spirit (my inner self) will remain gracious to me there—gracious and satisfied—as long as its own existence and its actions match its true nature. Is there any valid reason why my soul should suffer and be degraded by external circumstances—why it should become miserable, tense, huddled, or frightened? How could there possibly be?

46. Experience Proper to Each Being What humans experience is part of human experience. The experience of the ox is part of the experience of oxen, just as the vine’s experience is proper to the vine, and the stone’s experience is what is proper to stones. Nothing that can happen to a being is unusual or unnatural for that type of being. Therefore, there’s no sense in complaining when things happen according to their nature. Universal Nature does not make us endure the unendurable.

47. Overcoming Problems: Internal and External Are external things the problem? No, it’s your assessment of them. And you can erase that assessment right now. Is the problem something in your own character? Well, who’s stopping you from setting your mind straight and correcting your character? And if the problem is that you’re not doing something you think you should be doing, why not just do it, if it’s possible? You might say: —“But there are insuperable obstacles.” Then it’s not really your problem to solve if it’s truly impossible. The cause of your inaction lies outside your control. You might then ask: —“But how can I go on living if this important thing remains undone?” Then, if it truly must be so, depart from life with a good conscience. Die as if you had accomplished it, embracing the obstacles too as part of life’s fated course.

48. The Mind as a Fortress Remember that when it withdraws into itself and finds contentment there, the mind is invulnerable. It does nothing against its own will, even if its resistance in a particular case might seem irrational to an outsider. And if its judgment is deliberate and grounded in logic…? The mind free from disruptive passions is a fortress. There is no place more secure for a human being to retreat to. Once we take refuge there, we are safe forever. Not to see this truth is a sign of ignorance. To see it and not seek that safety within means inevitable misery.

49. First Impressions vs. Extrapolations Deal with nothing more than what you get from your first impressions. For instance, you hear that someone has insulted you. That is the first impression—but not the additional thought that this insult has actually done you any harm. The fact that my son is sick—that I can see as a first impression. But the thought “that he might die of it”—that is an extrapolation, an added fear, not a direct perception. Stick with first impressions. Don’t add your own judgments and interpretations (extrapolations). If you do this, nothing truly bad can happen to you internally. Or, if you must extrapolate, do so with a calm knowledge of all that can possibly happen in the world, understanding the nature of things.

50. Dealing with Life’s Unwanted Bits Is the cucumber bitter? Then throw it out. Are there brambles in your path? Then go around them. That’s all you need to know. Nothing more is required. Don’t demand to know “why such things exist in the world.” Anyone who truly understands the workings of the world will laugh at you for such a question. They’d react just as a carpenter would if you seemed shocked at finding sawdust in his workshop, or as a shoemaker would if you were surprised by scraps of leather left over from his work. Of course, carpenters and shoemakers have a place to dispose of these scraps; universal nature, however, has no “outside door” to sweep things out of. But the wonderful thing about nature’s workmanship is how, even faced with that apparent limitation, it takes everything within it that seems broken, old, and useless, transforms it into itself, and makes new things from it. Nature does this in such a way that it doesn’t need material from any outside source, nor does it need a place anywhere to dispose of what’s left over. It relies entirely on itself for all it needs: its own space, its own material, and its own creative labor.

51. Inner Composure Amidst Chaos

• No carelessness in your actions.
• No confusion in your words.
• No imprecision or wandering in your thoughts.
• No sense of your soul retreating into itself in fear, or trying to escape its duties.
• No overactivity or frantic busyness. They can kill you, cut you with knives, shower you with curses. And how does any of that somehow cut your mind off from remaining clear, sane, self-controlled, and just? Imagine a man standing by a spring of clear, sweet water and cursing it. All the while, the fresh water keeps on bubbling up. He can shovel mud into it, or even dung, but the stream will quickly carry it away, wash itself clean, and remain unstained. To have that kind of inner purity. Not like a cistern that holds a limited supply of water, but like a perpetual spring. How can you achieve this? By working to win your freedom, hour by hour, through patience, honesty, and humility.

52. Ignorance of Self and World

• Not to know what the world is, is to be ignorant of where you are.
• Not to know why the world is here (its purpose), is to be ignorant of who you are, and also what the world itself is.
• Not to know any of this, is to be ignorant of why you are here. And what are we to make of anyone who eagerly seeks the applause of such people—people who don’t even know where or who they are?

53. Self-Despising Approval Seekers Do you really want praise from people who mentally kick themselves every fifteen minutes? Do you seek the approval of people who despise themselves? (Is it really a sign of self-respect to regret nearly everything you do?)

54. Connecting with Universal Reason Our goal should be to join ourselves not just to the air surrounding us, through the act of breathing, but more importantly, to the universal Reason that embraces all things, through the act of conscious thought.

Okay, here’s what you should do until that time of death or transformation comes:

• Honor and respect the gods.
• Treat other human beings as they deserve.
• Be tolerant and patient with other people, but be strict with yourself. Remember, the only things that truly belong to you are your physical body—your flesh and blood. Nothing else is actually under your control.

34. Living an Untroubled Life You can lead a life free from trouble. This is possible if you can continue to grow as a person. It’s also possible if you can learn to think and act in a systematic, principled way. Gods and human beings (and every rational creature) share two important characteristics: i. They don’t let others stop them from doing what is right. ii. They find goodness in thinking and doing the right thing, and they limit their desires to achieving only that.

35. When Not to Worry Ask yourself this:

• Is this bad situation something I caused? No.
• Is it a direct result of my actions? No.
• Is the community or society as a whole endangered by it? No. If the answers are no, then why should it bother me? Where is the real danger for the community?

36. Don’t Let Imagination Overwhelm You Don’t let your imagination run away with you and overwhelm you. Just do what you can and what you should in the present moment. If you happen to suffer setbacks in unimportant matters, don’t treat that as a true defeat. That’s a bad habit to get into. It’s like an old man at a festival. As he’s leaving, he asks for the toy rattle that was meant for an orphan child. He does this even though he knew it was just a toy and not truly significant. Your anxieties can be like that—focused on things that aren’t as important as they seem.

36a. A Note About a Public Scene (This seems to be a brief, possibly fragmented note about a specific incident, perhaps on a public stage or platform.) Someone might be on a platform, in the public eye. You might think to yourself: “Have you forgotten what’s truly important here, what really matters?” That person might reply: “I know, but this particular thing was important to them (the audience, or other people).” And a wise response could be: “Just because it was important to them, do you have to act like a fool as well?”

37. Making Your Own Good Fortune I was once what people call a fortunate man. But at some point, that external good fortune seemed to abandon me. But remember, true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Real good fortune means having:

• Good character.
• Good intentions.
• And good actions.

Book 6

1. Nature and Its Guiding Reason Nature itself is flexible and obedient. The universal Reason (Logos) that governs nature has no reason to do evil. Reason knows no evil, does no evil, and causes no harm to anything. It guides all beginnings and all endings.

2. Just Do the Right Thing Simply make sure you do the right thing in every situation. The rest doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you are:

• Feeling cold or warm.
• Tired or well-rested.
• Despised by others or honored.
• In the process of dying… or busy with other tasks. Dying, too, is one of our assignments in life. In death, as in life, our main task is simply “to do what needs doing.”

3. Look Inward for Value Look within yourself. Don’t let the true nature or real value of anything escape your understanding.

4. Everything Will Be Transformed Before long, all existing things will be transformed. They will either rise like smoke and become part of a unified whole (if all things eventually combine into one). Or they will be scattered like fragments.

5. Reason Knows Its Work The universal Reason (Logos) understands its own position. It knows what it has to do. It knows what materials it has to work with.

6. The Best Form of Revenge The best way to get revenge on someone who has wronged you is not to become like them.

7. Unselfish Action and Inner Peace Focus on moving from one unselfish action to another. Always keep God (the divine principle of the universe) in your thoughts. Only in this way can you find true delight and inner peace.

8. The Mind’s Power The mind is the part of you that is awakened and directed by itself. It makes of itself whatever it chooses to be. It also makes whatever it chooses of its own experiences.

9. All Things Through Nature Everything that happens is brought about by nature. Nothing happens because of some power beyond nature. Nothing happens from something hidden within nature, or something entirely separate from nature.

10. Two Ways to See the Universe There are two main ways to think about how the universe works: i. It’s a random mixture of things. These things constantly interact and then disperse. ii. Or, it’s a state of unity, order, and intelligent design.

Consider the first view (a random mixture):

• If this is true, why would I want to live in a world of disorder and confusion?
• Why would I care about anything except eventually returning “from dust to dust”?
• And why would I feel any anxiety? Dispersal into atoms is going to happen no matter what I do.

Now consider the second view (unity and design):

• If this is true, then I should feel reverence and awe.
• I should feel serene and peaceful.
• I should have faith in the guiding power responsible for this order.

11. Regain Your Inner Rhythm When circumstances unavoidably jolt you and throw you off balance, return to yourself at once. Don’t lose your inner rhythm more than you absolutely have to. You’ll have a better grasp of harmony if you keep practicing returning to it.

12. Philosophy: Your True Mother If you had both a stepmother and a real mother, you would certainly pay your respects to your stepmother. But it’s your real mother you’d truly feel at home with and always return to. Think of the imperial court (or your demanding public life) as your stepmother. Think of philosophy as your real mother. Keep returning to philosophy, to rest in its embrace. Philosophy is what makes the court—and you yourself—endurable.

13. Seeing Things for What They Really Are It’s like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you. Suddenly you realize: This is a dead fish. This is a dead bird. This is a dead pig. Or you realize that this expensive vintage wine is just fermented grape juice. These beautiful purple robes are merely sheep wool dyed with shellfish blood. Or, when making love, you might realize it’s just one body part rubbing against another. This is followed by a brief spasm and then a little cloudy liquid.

Perceptions like these get to the heart of things. They pierce through surface appearances. They help us see what things really are. That’s what we need to do all the time, throughout our lives. When things present themselves as trustworthy or valuable, we need to lay them bare. We need to see how ultimately pointless or simple they are. We must strip away the exaggerated stories and legends that make them seem more important than they are. Pride is a master of deception. When you think you’re engaged in the most important business, that’s often when pride has you completely fooled.

14. What Different People Admire vs. True Value Things that ordinary people are impressed by usually fall into these categories:

• Things held together by simple physical forces, like stones or wood.
• Things held together by natural growth, like figs, vines, or olive trees. Things admired by more advanced minds are often those held together by a living soul. Examples are flocks of sheep or herds of cows. Still more sophisticated people might admire what is guided by a rational mind. This is not necessarily the universal mind. It might be a mind admired for its technical knowledge, some other particular skill, or simply because its owner happens to possess a lot of slaves.

But those who truly revere that other mind—the universal one we all share as human beings and as citizens of the cosmos—are not primarily interested in those other things. Their main focus is on the state of their own minds. They work to:

• Avoid all selfishness and irrational thinking.
• Cooperate with others to achieve that common goal of living rationally and virtuously.

15. The Flow of Existence Some things are rushing into existence. Others are rushing out of it. Some of what exists right now is already disappearing. Constant change and flow continually remake the world. The relentless progression of time constantly remakes eternity. We find ourselves in this flowing river of existence. Which of the things around us should we truly value? None of them can offer a firm place to stand. Trying to get attached to something in this flow is like trying to fall in love with a little sparrow. You glimpse it for only a moment before it flies away and is gone forever. Life itself is like this. It’s like the drawing in and expelling of blood from our bodies. Or it’s like the drawing in of air. We expel the very same power of breathing that we drew in when we were born. It seems so recent in the grand scheme of things. We breathe it out just like the air we exhale at each and every moment.

16. What Should We Truly Prize in Ourselves? What is it in ourselves that we should truly prize and value?

• Not just basic biological functions like how plants release water vapor. Even plants do that.
• Or breathing. Even beasts and wild animals breathe.
• Or being struck by passing thoughts that come and go in our minds.
• Or being jerked around like a puppet by our own impulses and desires.
• Or moving in herds like animals.
• Or simply eating food and then relieving ourselves afterwards.

Then what is to be prized?

• An audience clapping for us? The sound of public praise? No. That’s no more valuable than the mere clacking of their tongues. Public praise really just amounts to a lot of tongues clacking.

So, if we discard the recognition and approval of other people as a primary goal, what’s left for us to prize? I think it’s this: to do (and not do) what we were designed for by nature. That’s the ultimate goal of all trades and all arts. What each of them aims at is that the thing they create should effectively do what it was designed to do. The gardener who cares for the vines, the horse trainer, the dog breeder—this is what they all aim at. And what about teaching and education? What else are they trying to accomplish but to help individuals function as they were meant to?

So, that’s what we should prize in ourselves. Hold on to that principle. Then you won’t be tempted to aim at anything else. What if you can’t stop prizing a lot of other external things? Then you’ll never be truly free—free, independent, and untroubled. You’ll always be envious and jealous of others. You’ll be afraid that people might come and take those prized things away from you. You’ll find yourself plotting against those who possess them—those very things you value so much. People who need those external things to be happy are bound to be a mess. They are bound to take out their frustrations on the gods. However, to respect your own mind—to prize it above all else—will leave you satisfied with your own self. It will help you be well integrated into your community. It will help you be in tune with the gods as well. You will embrace whatever they assign you and whatever they ordain for you.

17. The Motion of Virtue The physical elements (earth, water, air, fire) move upward, downward, and in all directions. But the motion of virtue is different—it is deeper and more profound. Virtue moves at a steady pace on a road that can sometimes be hard to discern. But it always moves forward.

18. Seeking Fame from People You’ll Never Meet Look at how people behave. They often refuse to admire or appreciate their contemporaries. These are the very people whose lives they share. No, instead, they set their hearts on being admired by Posterity—by people they’ve never met and never will meet! That’s as ridiculous as being upset that your great-grandfather wasn’t around to be a great admirer of yours.

19. If It’s Possible for Humans, It’s Possible for You Don’t assume something is impossible for you just because you find it hard. Instead, recognize that if it’s humanly possible for someone to do it, then you can do it too.

20. Dealing with Opponents in Life’s Arena In the wrestling ring, our opponents might scratch us with their nails. They might butt us with their heads and leave a bruise. But we don’t denounce them for it. We don’t get upset with them. We don’t regard them from then on as violent or malicious types. We simply keep a closer eye on them after that. We do this not out of hatred or suspicion. We do it just by maintaining a friendly and cautious distance. We need to do the same thing in other areas of life. We need to excuse what our “sparring partners” in life do. We should simply keep our distance from their harmful behaviors—without harboring suspicion or hatred.

21. The Truth Never Harms If anyone can refute me—show me that I’m making a mistake in my thinking or looking at things from the wrong perspective—I’ll gladly change my mind. It’s the truth I’m seeking. The truth has never harmed anyone. What truly harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.

22. My Part and What Doesn’t Concern Me I focus on doing what is mine to do. The rest of the world doesn’t need to disturb me. The rest of the world is either inanimate (without life or consciousness). Or it has no reason (Logos) to guide it. Or it just wanders around at random and has lost its way.

23. Interacting with the World

• When you deal with irrational animals, or with mere things and circumstances, be generous and straightforward. You are a rational being; they are not.
• When you deal with fellow human beings, behave as one human to another. Recognize that they too share in reason (the Logos).
• And in all situations, remember to invoke the gods. Don’t worry about how long you’ll go on doing this. Even a single afternoon lived according to these principles would be enough.

24. The Same End for Alexander and His Mule Driver Alexander the Great and his humble mule driver both died. The same thing ultimately happened to both of them. They were either absorbed alike back into the life force of the world. Or they were dissolved alike into atoms.

25. The Universe Within and Without You Think about how much is going on inside you every single second—in your soul and in your body. Given all that internal activity, why should it astonish you that so much more—everything that happens in that all-embracing unity, the universe—is happening at the same time?

26. Methodical Action, Not Anger If someone asked you how to write your name, would you clench your teeth and angrily spit out the letters one by one? Of course not. If the person asking lost their temper, would you lose yours as well? Or would you just calmly and clearly spell out the individual letters? Remember this example. Your responsibilities in life can also be broken down into individual parts. Concentrate on those parts. Finish the job methodically—without getting stirred up by emotion or meeting other people’s anger with your own.

27. Understanding Others’ Perceived Good How cruel it is to forbid people to want what they think is good and beneficial for them. And yet, that’s precisely what you do when you get angry at their misbehavior. They are acting in ways they are drawn to because they believe those actions will bring them something good. You might argue: —“But what they are doing is not actually good for them.” My response: Then show them that. Prove it to them patiently. Instead of losing your temper.

28. What Death Brings to an End Death is the end of:

• Our ability to perceive through our senses.
• Being controlled and pulled about by our emotions and desires.
• The discursive activity of our minds (our internal chatter and step-by-step reasoning).
• Our enslavement to the needs and pains of our physical bodies.

29. A Disgraceful Surrender It is a disgraceful thing for the soul to give up on its principles and its strength while the body is still physically going strong.

30. Avoid Being Corrupted by Power (“Imperialization”) Make every effort to escape “imperialization.” This is that permanent, corrupting stain that holding great power can leave on a person. It happens. So, make sure you remain:

• Straightforward and honest.
• Upright in your character.
• Reverent towards the divine.
• Serious and thoughtful.
• Unadorned and natural in your manner.
• An ally of justice.
• Pious (devoted to what is sacred).
• Kind and compassionate.
• Affectionate towards others.
• And doing your duty with determination and goodwill. Fight hard to be the person that philosophy (the love of wisdom) tried to make you.

Revere the gods. Watch over and care for human beings. Our lives are short. The only true rewards of our existence here on earth are an unstained character and unselfish acts that benefit others. Take Emperor Antoninus (your adoptive father) as your model in all things. Remember:

• His energy in doing what was rational and right.
• His emotional steadiness in any situation.
• His deep sense of reverence.
• His calm and composed facial expression.
• His gentleness.
• His modesty and lack of arrogance.
• His eagerness to grasp things fully.
• How he never let matters go before he was completely sure he had examined them thoroughly and understood them perfectly.
• The way he patiently put up with unfair criticism, without ever returning it in kind.
• How he couldn’t be hurried into making decisions.
• How he refused to listen to informers or slanderous gossip.
• How reliable and fair he was as a judge of people’s character and of their actions.
• He was not prone to backbiting, or cowardice, or jealousy, or using empty, showy rhetoric.
• He was content with the basics in life—in his living quarters, his bedding, his clothes, his food, and the number of his servants.
• How hard he worked, and how much he was able to endure.
• His remarkable ability to work straight through till dusk. This was possible because of his simple diet. He didn’t even need to relieve himself, except at set, regular times.
• His constancy and unwavering reliability as a friend.
• His tolerance of people who openly questioned his views. His genuine delight when someone could show him a way to improve his ideas.
• His piety and religious devotion—which was completely without a trace of superstition. Your goal should be that when your time comes to die, your conscience will be as clear and untroubled as his was.

31. Awaken to True Reality Awaken fully. Return to your true self. Now that you are no longer asleep and you realize that the troubles and anxieties you experienced were only dreams, become clear-headed again. With this newfound clarity, look at everything around you in your waking life as you would look at a dream—with detachment, understanding its transient nature.

32. Body, Soul, and What Truly Matters I am composed of a body and a soul. Things that happen to the body are ultimately meaningless in the quest for inner peace. The body itself cannot discriminate between them or assign them value. Nothing has true meaning to my mind except its own actions. And these actions are within its own control. Furthermore, it’s only the actions happening right now, in the present moment, that truly matter for my state of mind. My mind’s past actions and its potential future actions are also meaningless in terms of causing current worry or being under my immediate control.

33. Normal Pains and Stresses It’s normal to feel pain in your hands and feet if you’re actually using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is normal—if they are living a normal, engaged human life. And if it’s normal, how can it be considered truly bad or something to be completely avoided?

34. The “Pleasures” of Wicked People Think about the kind of “pleasures” that are enjoyed by thieves, sexual perverts, those who murder their own parents, and dictators. This implies that their pleasures are not true or worthy ones, and are based on harmful actions.

35. Our Responsibility to Reason Have you noticed how professionals, like builders or pharmacists, will meet an ordinary person halfway in explaining things? But they will not compromise the fundamental principles (the logos or guiding reason) of their trade. Should we, as human beings, feel less responsibility to our own guiding principle (our own logos)? This logos we share with the divine. Should we feel less responsibility to it than these craftsmen do to theirs?

36. Cosmic Perspective on Scale

• The continents of Asia and Europe are just distant, tiny recesses of the vast universe.
• The entire ocean is like a single drop of water in that immense expanse.
• Mount Athos (a very large mountain) is like a tiny molehill on the surface of the Earth.
• The present moment is just a fleeting split second in the endlessness of eternity. All these things are minuscule, temporary, and ultimately insignificant when viewed from a cosmic perspective.

36a. “Harmful” Things as By-Products of the Good Everything in the universe comes from that one universal mind. It comes either as a direct effect of its creative power or as an indirect consequence. Even things that seem harmful, like the lion’s jaws, poisonous substances, or everyday annoyances like thorns or mud, are by-products of what is fundamentally good and beautiful in the universe’s overall design. So don’t look at these things as alien or contrary to what you revere as good. Instead, focus on understanding the single source from which all things, including these apparent negatives, ultimately spring.

37. The Eternal Present If you’ve truly seen and understood the nature of the present moment, then you’ve essentially seen everything. For everything that has happened since the very beginning of time, and everything that will happen until the very end of time, is made of the same substance and takes the same fundamental form. All of it is one and the same.

38. The Interconnectedness of All Things Keep reminding yourself of the way all things in the universe are connected and related to each other. All things are intertwined with one another. They exist in a state of sympathy and harmony with each other. This event happening to you now is the consequence of some other event that came before it. Things constantly push and pull on each other. They seem to breathe together. They are all part of one unified and coherent whole.

39. Embrace Your Fate, Love Your Fellow Humans The things ordained for you by fate—teach yourself to be at one with those. And the people who share this life and this fate with you—treat them with love. With real, genuine love.

40. The Designing Force Within Nature Implements, tools, and various kinds of equipment work well if they do what they were designed for. This is true even if the person who designed and made them is miles away. But with naturally occurring things, the creative and designing force that brought them into being is present within them and remains there. That is why we owe this inner, natural force a special kind of reverence and respect. We should recognize that if you live and act as this inner intelligence dictates, then everything in you is intelligently ordered. This is just as everything in the wider world is.

41. Mistaken Definitions of Good and Bad You often take things that you don’t actually control. Examples are health, wealth, reputation, or external events. You define them as “good” or “bad.” And so, of course, when the things you labeled “bad” happen, or the things you labeled “good” don’t materialize, you end up blaming the gods. You feel hatred for the people you think are responsible—or those you simply decide to make responsible. Much of our bad behavior and inner turmoil stems from trying to apply these mistaken criteria of good and bad to external things that are not truly up to us. If we limited our definitions of “good” and “bad” to our own actions, our own character, and our own choices (which are up to us), we’d have no reason to challenge God or to treat other people as enemies.

42. Everyone Contributes to the Cosmic Project All of us, whether we realize it or not, are working together on the same vast project—the unfolding and functioning of the universe. Some of us do this consciously and with understanding. Some do it without knowing it. I believe this is what the philosopher Heraclitus meant when he said that “those who sleep are also hard at work.” He meant that they too collaborate in what happens in the world. Some of us work in one way, and some in others. And even those who complain and try to obstruct and thwart the course of things—they help just as much as anyone else. The world, in its comprehensive order, needs them as well. So, make up your mind: who will you choose to align yourself with and work alongside? The force that directs all things will make good use of you regardless. It will put you on its payroll, so to speak, and assign you a task. But make sure it’s not the kind of useless or comical job that the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus spoke of. Don’t be like the bad line in a play, put there only for laughs and serving no constructive purpose.

43. Different Functions, Common Purpose Does the sun try to do the rain’s work? Or does Asclepius (the god of healing) try to do Demeter’s (the goddess of the harvest) work? And what about each of the stars in the sky? They are all different, yet they work together for a common universal purpose, don’t they?

44. Trusting Divine Order or Personal Reason If the gods have made decisions about me and about the specific things that happen to me, then I must trust that they were good decisions. It’s hard to imagine a god who makes bad or flawed decisions. And why would they use their divine energies to try to cause me harm? What good would that possibly do them—or the world, which is their primary concern and creation?

And if the gods haven’t made specific decisions about me as an individual, they certainly have made decisions about the general welfare and order of the cosmos. Anything that happens to me as a consequence of that overarching plan is something I must welcome and embrace. I must see it as part of a larger, beneficial design.

And if (though it’s blasphemous even to think this) the gods make no decisions about anything at all—because if that were true, then let’s stop sacrificing, praying, swearing oaths, and doing all the other religious rituals we do. We do these things believing the whole time that the gods are right here with us and aware of our actions. Well, even if they were to decide nothing about our lives, I can still make decisions. I can still consider what it’s to my own benefit to do. And what benefits any individual is to do what his own essential nature requires. And my nature is rational. My nature is also civic, meaning I am a social being designed to live and cooperate with others. My city and state, in my role as Emperor Antoninus, are Rome. But as a human being? My city and state are the entire world, the cosmos. So for me, “good” can only mean what’s good for both of these communities—Rome and the world.

45. Good for the Whole, Good for the Parts Whatever happens to you as an individual is ultimately for the good of the world, the universe as a whole. That understanding alone should be enough to bring you peace. But if you look closely, you’ll generally notice something else as well: whatever happens to a single person is often also for the good of other people. Here, “good” is meant in the ordinary, common sense of the word—as the world generally defines benefits and advantages.

46. The Weariness of Repetition Just as the bloody spectacles in the arena and other similar public shows eventually make you feel weary—you’ve seen them all before—and the constant repetition grates on your nerves, so too with life in general. When you look at it broadly, it’s often the same things, happening for the same underlying reasons, on all sides. How much longer will this cycle of sameness go on?

47. The Great Procession of the Dead Keep this thought constantly in your mind: all sorts of people have died. People from all professions, from all nationalities and backgrounds. Follow this thought all the way down to specific historical examples like Philistion, Phoebus, and Origanion. Now extend this reflection to include other species beyond humans. We all have to go to that same place where so many countless beings have already gone:

• The eloquent speakers and the wise philosophers—great minds like Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Socrates…
• The heroes of ancient times, and the soldiers and kings who followed them…
• Brilliant thinkers and scientists like Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Archimedes…
• People who were smart, or generous, or hardworking, or cunning, or selfish…
• And even satirists like Menippus and his followers, who made fun of the whole brief, fragile, and often absurd business of human life. All of them have been underground, dead and gone, for a long time now. And what harm does it do them now? Or what harm does it do to the others who died—the ones whose names we don’t even know? The only thing in this life that isn’t worthless is this: to live this life out truthfully and rightly, in accordance with nature. And to be patient and understanding with those who do not live this way.

48. Encouragement from the Virtues of Others When you need encouragement, think of the good qualities that the people around you possess. This one’s energy and drive, that one’s modesty and humility, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging and uplifting as when virtues are visibly embodied in the characters and actions of the people around us. We are practically showered with positive examples. It’s good to keep this thought in mind.

49. Accepting Limits: Body and Time It doesn’t bother you that you weigh only a certain number of pounds or kilograms, and not, say, three hundred pounds. So why should it bother you that you have only a certain number of years to live, and not more? Just as you accept the physical limits placed on your body, you should also accept the limits placed on your time.

50. Act Justly, Adapt to Obstacles Do your best to convince others of the right way. But act on your own, according to your principles, if justice requires it. Do this even if others don’t agree. If you are met with force or opposition, then fall back on acceptance and peacefulness. Use this setback as an opportunity to practice other virtues, like patience or resilience. Remember that our efforts are always subject to circumstances. You weren’t aiming to do the impossible. —What were you aiming to do, then? You were aiming to try. And in that, you have succeeded. What you set out to do—to make the attempt—is accomplished.

51. Sources of Well-Being

• Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do.
• Self-indulgence means tying your well-being to the pleasant things that happen to you.
• Sanity (or wisdom) means tying your well-being to your own actions.

52. Things Can’t Shape Our Decisions by Themselves You don’t have to turn this event or situation into something that it isn’t. It doesn’t have to upset you. External things can’t shape our inner decisions and judgments by themselves.

53. Understand Others’ Minds Practice really hearing what people say. Do your best to get inside their minds and understand their perspectives.

54. Harm to One is Harm to All What injures the hive (the bee community) also injures the individual bee. This applies to human communities as well.

55. The Need for Authority and Order If the ship’s crew constantly talked back to the captain, or if patients constantly argued with their doctor, then whose authority would they ultimately accept? How could the passengers on the ship be kept safe, or how could the patient become healthy? This is an analogy for the need for order and respect for proper guidance in any collective endeavor.

56. Those Who Have Gone Before Think of all those people who came into the world with me and who have already left it, who have already died.

57. Distorted Perceptions

• Honey tastes bitter to a person suffering from jaundice.
• People with rabies are terrified of water.
• A child’s idea of beauty might simply be a colorful ball. Why does it upset you if someone else has a distorted perception of things? Do you think falsehood or a mistaken view is any less powerful in its effects on a person than physical conditions like an excess of bile or the bite of a rabid dog?

58. Living According to Nature No one can keep you from living as your own nature requires. And nothing can happen to you that is not required by Universal Nature.

59. The Fleeting Nature of Social Climbing Think about the people they try so hard to impress. Think of the results they are aiming for. Think of the things they do in the process of trying to achieve those results. How quickly it will all be erased by time. How much has been erased already.

Book 7

1. Evil: It’s Always the Same Story Evil: it’s the same old thing. No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It’s the same old story. It’s repeated from one end of the world to the other. This pattern fills the history books, both ancient and modern. It fills our cities, and it fills our houses too. There is nothing new at all. It’s all familiar, and it all passes away quickly.

2. You Can Rekindle Your Insights You cannot extinguish your understanding unless you put out the specific insights and thoughts that make it up. But you can rekindle those insights at will. It’s like stirring up glowing coals in a fire. I can control my thoughts as necessary. So how can I be troubled? What is outside my own mind means nothing to it. Absorb that lesson, and your feet will stand firm. You can return to life; you can start anew. Look at things as you did before you were troubled. And in doing so, life returns.

3. Pointless Busyness vs. True Worth So much of life can seem like the pointless bustling of public processions. It can seem like the dramatic but empty arias of an opera. It can be like the passive movement of herds of sheep and cattle, or the repetitive drills of military exercises. Life can also seem like a bone flung to pet poodles, or a little bit of food dropped into a fish tank. It can resemble the miserable, pointless servitude of ants. It can be like the frantic scampering of frightened mice, or puppets being jerked around on strings. Surrounded as we are by all of this, we need to practice acceptance. We should not look down on it all with disdain. But we must also remember that our own true worth is measured by what we choose to devote our energy to.

4. Focus on Speech and Action Focus carefully on what is being said when you or others speak. Also, focus on what results from each action that is taken. In other words, know what the speech aims at. Understand what the action really means or accomplishes.

5. Using Your Intellect Wisely Is my intellect up to this task? If it is, then I’ll put it to work. I’ll use it like a tool that nature has provided. And if my intellect isn’t up to it on its own, then I’ll turn the job over to someone who can do it better—unless I have absolutely no other choice but to do it myself. Or, I will do the best I can with it. I will collaborate with whoever can make good use of my contribution. I will do this in order to do what the community needs done. Because whatever I do—whether alone or with others—should aim at one thing only: what fits with the requirements of the community and the common good.

6. The Forgotten Rememberers So many people who were once famous and well-remembered are now already forgotten. And the people who remembered them? They too are long gone.

7. Don’t Be Ashamed to Need Help Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a castle wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to help pull you up? So what? That’s part of the effort.

8. Resources for the Future Forget worrying about the future. When and if it comes, you’ll have the same inner resources to draw on—the same reason (Logos)—that you have now.

9. The Holy Web of Interconnection Everything in the universe is interwoven with everything else. The resulting web is holy and sacred. None of its parts are unconnected to the others. They are all arranged harmoniously. Together they compose the orderly beauty of the world (the cosmos). There is:

• One world, made up of all things.
• One divinity (God or divine principle), present in them all.
• One substance (the underlying matter of everything) and one law—the universal Reason (Logos) that all rational beings share.
• And one truth… If this is indeed the culmination of one single creative process, then all beings share the same spiritual birth and the same guiding Reason.

10. The Swift Return of All Things All physical substance is soon absorbed back into the universal nature. All that animates that substance (the individual soul or life force) is soon restored to the universal Reason (Logos). And all trace or memory of them both is soon covered over and erased by time.

11. Unnatural Action for a Rational Being To a being that possesses reason (Logos), an unnatural action is one that conflicts with that reason.

12. Be Straight, Not Straightened Be upright in your character naturally. Don’t be upright because you are forced or straightened out by others.

13. Rational Beings as Limbs of One Body The rational principle in different beings is related. It’s like the individual limbs of a single living being. These parts are meant to function together as a unit. This idea will be clearer to you if you constantly remind yourself: “I am a single limb (melos in Greek) of a larger body—a body composed of all rational beings.” Or, you could say you are “a part” (meros in Greek)—the difference in spelling is only a single letter. But if you think of yourself as merely “a part,” then you’re not yet truly embracing other people with love. Helping them isn’t yet its own reward for you. You’re still seeing it only as “The Right Thing To Do” from a sense of duty. You don’t yet realize who you’re really helping when you help others. You are helping yourself and the whole of which you are a limb.

14. Choosing Not to Be Harmed Let external events happen, if they want to. Let them happen to whatever parts of you or the world they can happen to. And whatever is affected by those events can complain about it if it wants. But it doesn’t hurt me (my inner self, my mind) unless I interpret its happening as harmful to me. And I can choose not to make that interpretation.

15. Be Like Gold, Emerald, or Purple No matter what anyone else says or does, my task is to be good. I should be like gold, or an emerald, or the color purple. I should constantly repeat to myself: “No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to remain a true emerald, and my color must remain undiminished.”

16. The Mind’s Self-Protection The mind doesn’t get in its own way. It doesn’t frighten itself into having inappropriate desires. If other things outside the mind can scare it or hurt it, let them try. The mind itself won’t go down that road of fear or pain based on its own perceptions or judgments. Let the body try to avoid discomfort (if it can). And if it does feel discomfort, let the body announce it. But it is the soul (or the mind as the seat of judgment) that actually feels fear and pain. It’s the soul that conceives of these things in the first place. And the soul suffers nothing if it refuses to conclude that it has suffered. The mind in itself has no needs, except for those needs it creates for itself. It is undisturbed, except by its own disturbances. It knows no obstructions, except for those that come from within itself.

17. Defining Well-Being Well-being (or happiness) is either good luck, or it is good character.

17a. Dismissing Troubling Perceptions (Imagine speaking to your own troubling perceptions or thoughts): “But what are you doing here, Perceptions? Get back to where you came from, and good riddance. I don’t need you right now. Yes, I know, it was only force of habit that brought you into my mind. No, I’m not angry with you. Just go away.”

18. The Necessity of Change Are you frightened of change? But what can even exist without change? What is closer to nature’s heart? What does nature love more than change?

• Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood exactly as it was, unburned?
• Can you eat food without transforming it through digestion?
• Can any vital life process take place without something being changed? Can’t you see? It’s just the same with you—change is essential for your existence. It’s just as vital to the processes of universal nature.

19. Life’s Rushing Rapids We are all carried through existence as if through rushing rapids. All bodies are part of this flow. They are sprung from universal nature and they cooperate with it. This is just as our own limbs cooperate with each other. Time has swallowed a Chrysippus, a Socrates, and an Epictetus, many times over. Even the greatest philosophers and their ideas are subject to the flow of time and may be forgotten or reinterpreted. And when I say “Epictetus,” you can substitute any person, and any thing.

20. My Only Fear My only fear is doing something contrary to human nature. I fear doing the wrong thing, or doing something in the wrong way, or at the wrong time.

21. Approaching Oblivion I am close to forgetting it all. I am close to being forgotten by all.

22. Affection for Imperfect Humans To feel affection for people even when they make mistakes is a uniquely human quality. You can do this, if you simply recognize these truths:

• That they are human too, just like you.
• That they often act out of ignorance, not malice. Sometimes they act against their own better judgment.
• That you and they will all be dead before long.
• And, above all, that they haven’t really hurt you in any essential way. They haven’t diminished your ability to choose your own responses and maintain your own character.

23. Nature as a Sculptor Nature takes the underlying substance of the world and makes a horse. It’s much like a sculptor works with wax. And then, nature melts that horse down and uses the same material to make a tree. Then that tree becomes material for a person. Then that person becomes material for something else. Each individual thing exists for only a brief time. It does the container (the form or specific object) no harm to be put together. It does it no harm to be taken apart and reformed into something else.

24. Anger is Unnatural Anger showing in the face is deeply unnatural. If this expression of anger becomes fixed, or if the capacity for natural expression is finally extinguished for good so that it can’t be rekindled, it signals a kind of death of natural responsiveness. Try to understand how unnatural anger is from this observation. If even the awareness of acting badly is gone from a person, why should they go on living?

25. The World Renewed by Change Before long, nature, which controls and governs it all, will alter everything you see. It will use the substance of current things as material for something else. It will do this over and over again. This is how the world is continually renewed.

26. Understanding Why People Injure You When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of their actions. If you can understand their motivation (however misguided), you’ll feel sympathy for them rather than outrage or anger. Your sense of good and evil may be the same as theirs, or very close to it. In that case, you have to excuse them or find a way to be patient. Or, your sense of good and evil may differ significantly from theirs. In that case, they are misguided and deserve your compassion. Is that so hard to do?

27. Value What You Have, But Not Too Much Treat what you don’t currently have as if it doesn’t exist at all. Then, look at what you do have—the things you value most. Think about how much you’d crave them if you didn’t have them. But be careful. Don’t feel such intense satisfaction in possessing these things that you start to overvalue them. Don’t value them to the point where it would deeply upset you if you were to lose them.

28. The Mind’s Contentment Self-contraction means focusing the mind inward, on its own principles. The mind’s true requirements are satisfied by doing what we should, by acting rightly. They are also satisfied by the calm and peace that this brings us.

29. A To-Do List for Inner Peace

• Discard your misperceptions and false judgments.
• Stop being jerked around like a puppet by your impulses and emotions.
• Limit yourself to the present moment.
• Understand what is happening—both to you and to others.
• Analyze everything that exists. Break it all down into its material components and its underlying cause.
• Anticipate your final hours; be prepared for death.
• As for other people’s mistakes? Leave those to their makers; they are not your responsibility.

30. Focus Your Mind

• Direct your thoughts to what is being said.
• Focus your mind on what is happening and on what causes it to happen.

31. Inner Cleansing Wash yourself clean. Do it with:

• Simplicity.
• Humility.
• Indifference to everything except what is truly right and wrong. Care for other human beings. Follow God (the divine order).

31a. Atoms and Relativity “…all things are relative (dependent on perspective and relationship),” it’s been said. “And in reality, perhaps only atoms exist.” It’s enough for you to remember the first part of that: “all things are relative.” And that, in itself, is a small enough concept to grasp, yet profound.

32. On Death: Dispersal or Transformation Regarding death: If the universe is ultimately made of atoms, then death means your atoms will be dispersed. If the universe is a unified whole (oneness), then death means your individual essence will either be quenched (extinguished) or changed and reabsorbed into the whole.

33. On Pain: Endurable or Self-Ending Regarding pain: Pain that is truly unendurable brings its own end with it. It might cause death or unconsciousness. Pain that is chronic (long-lasting) is always endurable. The intelligence can maintain its serenity by cutting itself off from the physical sensations of the body. The mind can remain undiminished. And as for the parts of the body that are actually affected by pain—let them speak for themselves, if they can, by signaling the discomfort.

34. On Ambition: Fleeting Desires Regarding ambition and those who pursue it: Think about how their minds work. Think of the kinds of things they long for, and the things they fear. Their achievements and anxieties are like piles of sand, constantly shifting. Each new drift is soon hidden by the next one that comes along.

35. A Philosopher’s View on Life and Death (This sounds like a quote from Plato’s writings): “‘If a person’s mind is filled with nobility, with a profound grasp of all time and all existence, do you think our brief human life will mean much to him at all?’ ‘How could it?’ he said. ‘Or would death be very frightening to such a person?’ ‘Not in the least.’”

36. A Saying About Kingship “Kingship means earning a bad reputation by doing good deeds.” This suggests that rulers who do what is right may be misunderstood or criticized by those who don’t understand the greater good.

37. The Mind Should Master Itself It is a disgrace that the mind should be able to control the face. It can shape and mold its expressions as it pleases. But it should not be unable to shape and mold itself.

38. Does the World Notice Our Anger? “And why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice!” This quote expresses the futility of raging against impersonal events.

39. A Prayer for Joy “May you bring joy to us and to those on high (the gods).” This is a traditional prayer or hopeful expression.

40. Life and Harvest “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain, Some grown and flourishing, some cut down in their turn.” This is a poetic comparison of human lives to a harvest.

41. The Gods’ Reasons “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, The gods must have their reasons for not granting our request.” This quote, likely from a tragic play, expresses resignation to divine will.

42. Justice on My Side “For what is just and good is on my side.” This is a statement of moral confidence.

43. No Excessive Mourning No need for a chorus of loud lamentation. No hysterics or overly dramatic displays of grief.

44. Socrates on Right Action vs. Death (This sounds like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Apology): “Then the only proper response for me to make is this: ‘You are much mistaken, my friend, if you think that any man worth his salt cares about the risk of death. Such a man doesn’t concentrate on personal safety. He focuses on this alone: whether what he’s doing is right or wrong, and whether his behavior is that of a good man or a bad one.’”

45. Socrates on Duty Over Life (This also sounds like Socrates from Plato’s Apology): “It’s like this, gentlemen of the jury: The spot where a person decides to station himself, or wherever his commanding officer stations him—well, I think that’s where he ought to take his stand and face the enemy. He should not worry about being killed, or about anything else, except doing his duty.”

46. Socrates on Living Well vs. Living Long (This is like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Crito or similar dialogues): “But, my good friend, consider this possibility: true nobility and virtue are not the same as merely preserving one’s life or losing it. Is it not possible that a real man should forget about living a certain number of years? Shouldn’t he avoid clinging desperately to life? Instead, shouldn’t he leave such matters up to the gods? He should accept, as women often say, that ‘no one can escape his fate.’ Then he should turn his full attention to how he can best live the life that is actually before him, for however long it may be.”

47. Cosmic Perspective Washes Away Earthly Mud Watch the courses of the stars as if you were revolving with them in the heavens. Keep constantly in mind how the elements of the universe alter and transform into one another. Thoughts like these help to wash off the mud and grime of life down here on earth.

48. Plato’s View from Above Plato has it right. If you truly want to talk about human affairs with perspective, you need to look down on the earth as if from a great height. You would see herds of animals, armies marching, farms being tilled. You’d see weddings and divorces, births and deaths. You’d observe the noisy chaos of courtrooms, and the quiet of desert places. You’d see all the foreign peoples of the world. You’d see their holidays and their days of mourning, their market days and festivals… all of it mixed together, a vibrant harmony of opposites.

49. The Rhythm of Events: Past and Future Are Similar Look at the past. See how empires rise and fall, one succeeding another. And from that, you can extrapolate what the future will be like: much the same thing. There is no escaping this fundamental rhythm of events. This is why observing life for forty years is essentially as good as observing it for a thousand. Would you really see anything fundamentally new?

50. Earth to Earth, Heaven to Heaven (This quotes a common ancient idea or poem): ”…Earth’s offspring back to earth they go, But all that’s born of heaven’s light, To heaven returns again, to endless day.” Either that happens (a return to a divine source), or the cluster of atoms that makes you up simply pulls apart. One way or another the elements that feel no sensation disperse.

51. Trying to Frustrate Death (This quotes a poetic fragment about human efforts to avoid death): “…with food and drink and magic spells they try, Seeking some novel way to frustrate death.”

51a. Enduring Heaven’s Wind (This is another poetic fragment): “To labor cheerfully and so endure The wind that blows from heaven (fate).”

52. More Than Just a Better Wrestler It’s possible to be a better wrestler than someone else. But that doesn’t necessarily make you a better citizen. It doesn’t make you a better person overall. It doesn’t make you a better resource in tight situations, or a more forgiving person when others make mistakes.

53. Order and Fearlessness Wherever something can be done in accordance with the universal Reason (Logos) that is shared by gods and human beings, there all is in order and as it should be. Where there is profit and benefit because our effort is productive and advances in step with our nature, there we have nothing to fear.

54. Your Options in Every Moment Everywhere, and at each moment, you have the option:

• To accept this current event with humility and without resistance (as fated).
• To treat this person before you as he or she should be treated (justly and with understanding).
• To approach this thought or impression with care. Make sure that nothing irrational or unexamined creeps into your mind.

55. Follow Nature’s Lead Don’t pay too much attention to what is going on in other people’s minds. Instead, look straight ahead to where nature is leading you. Universal Nature leads you through the things that happen to you. Your own individual nature leads you through the actions you choose to take. Everything in the universe has to do what it was made for. And other things (lesser things) were made for the sake of those beings that possess reason (Logos). In this respect, as in others, it’s a general principle: lower things exist for the sake of higher ones, and higher things exist for the sake of one another.

Now, the main thing we human beings were made for is to work with and for others. Secondly, we were made to resist the inappropriate urges of our body. This is because things driven by reason—by thought—have the capacity for detachment. They can resist mere impulses and sensations. Both of these are primarily physical and temporary. Thought rightly seeks to be their master, not their subject. And so it should be: these lower impulses and sensations were created for the use of thought, not the other way around. And the third important thing we were made for is to avoid rashness in judgment and to avoid being easily deceived. The mind that grasps these principles and steers a straight course by them should be able to hold its own and maintain its stability.

56. Live the Rest of Your Life Properly Think of yourself as already dead. You have lived your life up to this point. Now, take whatever time is left and live it properly, according to your true nature and principles.

57. The Greatest Harmony To love only what happens to you, what was destined for you by fate. There is no greater harmony than this.

58. Learning from Others’ Reactions to Adversity In all that happens, keep before your eyes the examples of those who experienced similar things before you. Remember how they felt shock, outrage, and resentment at those events. And now, where are they? They are nowhere; they are gone. Is that what you want to be like? Instead of doing that, why not avoid all these distracting emotional assaults? Leave the alarms and panicked flight to others. Concentrate instead on what you can do with it all. Because you can use what happens. You can treat it as raw material for virtuous action. Just pay attention. Resolve to live up to your own best expectations of yourself in everything you do. And when you are faced with a choice, remember: our real business in life is with things that truly matter.

59. Dig Deep for Goodness Dig deep within yourself. The water—which is goodness—is down there. And as long as you keep digging, it will keep bubbling up.

60. The Body’s Stability and Beauty What the body needs is stability. It needs to be as impervious as possible to jolts and disturbances in all that it is and all that it does. The kind of cohesiveness and beauty that intelligence and a calm mind lend to the face—that’s the kind of inner stability the body also needs. But this should come about naturally, without forced effort or pretense.

61. A Wrestler, Not a Dancer Be not like a dancer, who needs a clear space and choreographed moves. Be like a wrestler: waiting, poised and firmly dug in, ready for sudden and unexpected assaults.

62. The Minds of Those Whose Approval You Seek Look closely at who they really are, these people whose approval you sometimes long for. Examine what their minds are really like. If you do this, you won’t blame them when they make mistakes they can’t help making. These mistakes are due to their ignorance or flawed values. And you won’t feel such a pressing need for their approval. You will have seen the sources of both their judgments and their actions.

63. Truth and Patience Someone once said, “Against our will, our souls are cut off from truth.” This applies not only to abstract truth. It also applies to justice, self-control, kindness, and other virtues. It’s important to keep this in mind. It will help you be more patient with other people when they seem to lack these qualities.

64. Dealing with Pain For times when you feel pain:

• See that the pain doesn’t disgrace you morally, or degrade your intelligence. It doesn’t have to keep your mind from acting rationally or unselfishly.
• And in most cases, what the philosopher Epicurus said about pain should help. He said that pain is neither unbearable nor unending, as long as you keep in mind its natural limits and don’t magnify them in your imagination.
• And also keep in mind that pain often comes in disguise—as drowsiness, fever, or loss of appetite. When you’re bothered by things like that, remind yourself: “I’m currently giving in to pain.”

65. Don’t Mirror Inhumanity Take care that you don’t treat inhumanity in others with the same kind of inhumanity that it shows to human beings.

66. Judging True Worth: Socrates vs. Telauges How do we really know that Telauges (a relatively unknown contemporary of Socrates) wasn’t a better man than Socrates himself? It’s not enough to ask:

• Whether Socrates’ death was nobler.
• Whether he debated with the sophists (teachers of rhetoric) more adeptly.
• Whether he showed greater physical endurance by spending the night out in the cold.
• And whether, when he was ordered to arrest the innocent man from Salamis, he decided it was preferable to refuse. This was an act of civil disobedience.
• Or whether he “swaggered about the streets.” This detail was mentioned by others, which one could reasonably doubt or interpret differently. What truly matters is what kind of soul Socrates had.
• Was he satisfied to treat other human beings with justice and the gods with reverence?
• Did he avoid losing his temper unpredictably at the evil done by others?
• Did he refuse to make himself a slave to other people’s ignorance or opinions?
• Did he avoid treating anything that nature brought about as abnormal or out of place?
• Did he refuse to put up with natural events as if they were unbearable impositions?
• And did he avoid putting his mind entirely in his body’s keeping, becoming a slave to physical sensations?

67. You Can Be Good Unnoticed; Happiness Needs Little Nature did not blend things together in the world so inextricably that you can’t draw your own boundaries. You can place your own well-being primarily in your own hands. It’s quite possible to be a good man without anyone else realizing it. Remember that. And remember this too: you don’t need much to live happily. And just because you’ve abandoned your hopes of becoming a great thinker or a renowned scientist, don’t for that reason give up on attaining freedom, achieving humility, serving others, and obeying God.

68. Immune to Compulsion, Ready for Anything Your goal is to live life in peace, immune to all external compulsion. Let other people scream whatever they want. Let wild animals dismember this soft flesh that covers you. How could any of that stop you from:

• Keeping your mind calm?
• Reliably sizing up what’s around you?
• And being ready to make good use of whatever happens? So that your faculty of Judgment can look the event squarely in the eye and say, “This is what you really are, regardless of what you may look like.” While your faculty of Adaptability adds, “You’re just what I was looking for.” Because to me, the present moment is always a chance for the exercise of rational virtue—civic virtue (acting for the good of the community)—in short, the art of living that human beings share with the gods.

Book 8

1. Humility and the True Path to Living Here’s another thought to encourage humility: you can’t honestly claim to have lived your entire life as a true philosopher—not even your whole adulthood. You can see for yourself how far you still are from philosophy. And many other people can see it too. You’re tainted by worldly concerns. It’s not so easy now—at this stage in your life—to gain a reputation as a philosopher. And your position as emperor is also an obstacle.

So, you know how things really stand. Now, forget what other people think of you. Be satisfied if you can live the rest of your life, however short it may be, as your nature demands. Focus on that, and don’t let anything distract you. You’ve wandered all over the place in your thoughts and studies and finally realized that you never found what you were truly searching for: how to live a good life. You didn’t find it in clever logical arguments (syllogisms), not in money, not in fame, or in self-indulgence. You found it nowhere in those things.

—Then where is it to be found? It is to be found in doing what human nature requires. —How do you do that? You do it by following first principles. These principles should govern your intentions and your actions. —What principles are these? They are the principles that deal with good and evil. These principles state that nothing is truly good except what leads to fairness, self-control, courage, and free will. And nothing is truly bad except what leads to the opposite of these virtues.

2. Questions for Every Action For every action you consider, ask yourself:

• How does this affect me?
• Could I change my mind about it later if I realize it was a mistake? But remember, soon I’ll be dead, and the slate of my life will be empty. So, this is the only truly important question: Is this action the action of a responsible being, someone who is part of society, and someone who is subject to the same divine laws as God?

3. Rulers vs. Philosophers Think of Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Pompey. Now compare them with philosophers like Diogenes, Heraclitus, and Socrates. The philosophers knew the “what” (the nature of things), the “why” (the reasons behind things), and the “how” (the way things work). Their minds were their own; they were free thinkers. As for the others, the famous rulers? Their lives were often filled with nothing but anxiety and enslavement to their ambitions and circumstances.

4. Futile Resistance You can hold your breath until you turn blue with frustration, but people will still go on doing what they do. This means it’s often futile to try to force others to change against their will.

5. Two Steps to Inner Peace

• The first step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls everything. And before long, you’ll be no one, nowhere—just like the great emperors Hadrian and Augustus are now.
• The second step: Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your main task is to be a good human being. Remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But do so with kindness, with humility, and without hypocrisy.

6. Nature’s Constant Transformation Nature’s job is to shift things from one place or state to another, to transform them, to pick them up here and move them there. It’s a process of constant alteration. But don’t worry about this: there’s nothing new here. Everything that happens is familiar. Even the proportions and patterns of change remain largely unchanged.

7. Progress for a Rational Mind Every kind of nature thrives on forward progress. And progress for a rational mind means:

• Not accepting falsehood or uncertainty in its perceptions.
• Making unselfish actions its only aim.
• Seeking and trying to avoid only those things it has actual control over.
• Embracing what universal nature demands of it—that same nature in which it participates, just as a leaf’s nature participates in the nature of the tree it belongs to. There’s a difference, though. The nature shared by the leaf is without consciousness or reason, and it can be blocked by external obstacles. But the nature shared by human beings is without such impediments (in its core rational function). It is rational and just, because it allots to each and every thing an equal and proportionate share of time, existence, purpose, action, and chance. Examine this closely. Don’t just check if things are identical point by point. Look at the bigger picture: this thing weighed against that thing, in aggregate.

8. Time for What Truly Matters You may say you have no time for extensive reading. But you do have time for:

• Controlling your arrogance, yes.
• Overcoming pain and pleasure, yes.
• Outgrowing your ambition, yes.
• Not feeling anger at stupid and unpleasant people—and even for caring about them—for that, yes, you have time.

9. No Complaining About Court Life Don’t ever be overheard complaining about life at the imperial court. Not even to yourself.

10. Understanding Remorse Remorse is annoyance at yourself for having missed an opportunity to gain something that would have been to your benefit. But if something is truly to your benefit, it must be something good—something a truly good person would be concerned about. But no truly good person would feel remorse at passing up a mere pleasure. Therefore, that pleasure cannot truly be to your benefit, nor can it be truly good.

11. Fundamental Questions About Anything When you encounter something, ask these questions:

• What is this, fundamentally?
• What is its true nature and substance?
• What is its reason for being?
• What is it doing in the world?
• How long is it meant to be here?

12. Why You Get Out of Bed When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your defining characteristic—what truly defines you as a human being—is to work with others and for the common good. Even animals know how to sleep. And it’s the characteristic activity of your nature that is the more natural one—more innate and ultimately more satisfying.

13. Three Fields of Study to Apply Constantly Apply these principles constantly, to everything that happens:

• Physics: Understanding the nature of the material world and its processes.
• Ethics: Understanding how to live well and act rightly.
• Logic: Understanding how to think clearly and reason correctly.

14. Understanding Others’ Values When you have to deal with someone, ask yourself: What does this person consider good and bad? If they think such-and-such about pleasure and pain (and what produces them), or about fame and disgrace, or about death and life, then it shouldn’t shock or surprise you when they act in ways consistent with those beliefs. In fact, I’ll remind myself that, given their beliefs, they feel they have no real choice but to act as they do.

15. Nature’s Consistent Productions Remember: you shouldn’t be surprised that a fig tree produces figs. Nor should you be surprised that the world produces the kinds of events it produces. A good doctor isn’t surprised when his patients have fevers. A skilled ship’s captain isn’t surprised when the wind blows against him.

16. Freedom in Changing Your Mind Remember that to change your mind and to accept correction when you are wrong are also acts of freedom. The action is yours, based on your own will, your own decision—and your own mind.

17. Blaming Others is Pointless If the problematic action is within your control, why do you do it? If it’s in someone else’s control, then who are you blaming? Atoms? The gods? Blaming either is stupid. Blame no one.

• Set people straight, if you can.
• If not, at least try to repair the damage caused by the action.
• And suppose you can’t even do that. Then where does blaming people get you? Engage in no pointless actions.

18. Nothing Vanishes, All is Transformed What dies doesn’t truly vanish from the universe. It stays here in the world. It is transformed, dissolved, and becomes parts of the world, and eventually parts of you. And those parts are transformed in their turn—all without grumbling or complaint from nature.

19. Everything Has a Purpose Everything is here for a purpose, from horses to vine shoots. What’s surprising about that? Even the sun will tell you, “I have a purpose,” and the other gods will say the same. And why were you born? For pleasure? See if that answer will stand up to serious questioning.

20. The Ball, The Bubble, The Candle Nature is like someone throwing a ball in the air. It gauges its rise and its arc—and where it will eventually fall.

• And what does the ball gain as it flies upward? Or what does it lose when it plummets back to earth?
• What does a soap bubble gain from its brief existence? Or what does it lose when it bursts? And the same questions apply to a candle’s flame. (The point is about the transience and indifference of matter to its temporary forms.)

21. The Reality Behind Appearances Turn any object or situation inside out: What is it truly like? What will it be like when it’s old? Or sick? Or being sold cheaply on the streets? Everyone and everything dies soon—the person who praises and the person who is praised, the one who remembers and the one who is remembered. And even if remembered for a while, it’s often only in these parts of the world, or just in a small corner of them. Even there, people don’t all agree with each other about you (or they don’t even agree with themselves from one day to the next). And remember, the whole earth is just a mere point in the vastness of space.

22. Focus on What’s Before You Stick to what’s directly in front of you—the idea you are considering, the action you are taking, the words you are uttering.

22a. Today, Not Tomorrow (A self-reproach): This difficult situation is what you deserve for putting things off. You could choose to be good and act rightly today. But instead, you often choose to delay until tomorrow.

23. Attributing Actions and Events What I do? I attribute my good actions to human beneficence—my desire to act well towards others. What is done to me? I accept it—and I attribute it to the gods, and to that ultimate source from which all things in the universe together flow.

24. Life’s Unpleasant Aspects Think of the public baths—the oil, the sweat, the dirt, the grayish water, all of it rather disgusting. The whole of life, and all of the visible world, has aspects like that.

25. The Procession of Deaths Verus died, leaving Lucilla behind; then Lucilla died. Maximus died, leaving Secunda; then Secunda died. Diotimus died, leaving Epitynchanus; then Epitynchanus died. Faustina (my wife) died, leaving me, Antoninus; then I, Antoninus, will die. So it is with all of them. Hadrian died, leaving Celer; then Celer died. Where have they all gone—the brilliant ones, the insightful ones, the proud ones? People as brilliant as Charax, Demetrius the Platonist, Eudaemon, and all the rest of them. They were all short-lived creatures, and they have been dead for a long time. Some of them are not remembered at all. Some have become legends. Some have faded even from legend. So remember: your physical components will be scattered too. The life force within you will be quenched. Or, you will receive new marching orders and a different posting in the universe.

26. Human Joy True joy for human beings lies in performing distinctively human actions. Human actions include:

• Kindness to others.
• A healthy contempt for the misleading messages of the senses.
• The careful examination of appearances to discern truth from falsehood.
• Observation of nature and of events in nature, understanding their order.

27. Three Key Relationships You have three primary relationships: i. With the physical body you inhabit. ii. With the divine (God or universal reason), which is the ultimate cause of everything in all things. iii. With the people around you.

28. The Soul’s Immunity to Bodily Pain Either pain affects the body (in which case, it’s the body’s problem to deal with), or it affects the soul. But the soul can choose not to be affected by physical pain. It can preserve its own serenity, its own tranquility. All our decisions, urges, desires, and aversions lie within the soul. No external evil can truly touch them.

29. Protecting Your Soul To erase false perceptions and troubling thoughts, tell yourself: I have it within me to keep my soul from any evil, from any lust, and from all confusion. I have the power to see things as they truly are and to treat them as they deserve. Don’t overlook this innate ability.

30. Speaking Appropriately Whether speaking to the Senate—or to anyone at all—do so in the right tone, without being overbearing or arrogant. Choose the right words to convey your meaning clearly and respectfully.

31. The Death of a Whole Court Think of Emperor Augustus’s court: his wife, his daughter, his grandsons, his stepsons, his sister, his key advisor Agrippa, all his relatives, servants, friends, other advisors like Areius and Maecenas, the doctors, the sacrificial priests… the entire court is dead and gone. And then consider the deaths in other families and groups, not just the passing of individuals (like the family of the Pompeys, which eventually died out). Think of that line they sometimes write on tombs: “last surviving descendant.” Consider the anxiety their ancestors must have felt—that there should be a successor to carry on the family line. But someone always has to be the last. There, too, you see the death of a whole house.

32. Assembling Your Life, Action by Action You have to assemble your life yourself—action by action. And you should be satisfied if each action achieves its proper goal, as far as it can. No one can keep that from happening. You might say: —“But there are external obstacles that can get in the way…” My response: Yes, but no external obstacle can prevent you from behaving with justice, self-control, and good sense. You might counter: —“Well, but perhaps an obstacle can prevent me from performing some more concrete, physical action.” My response: But if you accept the obstacle calmly and work with what you’re given, an alternative action will usually present itself—another piece of the larger project you’re trying to assemble. Life is built action by action.

33. Acceptance and Indifference To accept what comes without arrogance, and to let it go with indifference.

34. Self-Inflicted Separation from Unity Have you ever seen a severed hand or foot, or a decapitated head, just lying somewhere far away from the body it once belonged to? That’s what we do to ourselves—or at least try to do—when we rebel against what happens to us, when we isolate ourselves from others, or when we do something purely selfish. You have, in a sense, torn yourself away from the natural unity of humanity—a state you were born to share in. Now you’ve cut yourself off from it. But you have one great advantage here: you can reattach yourself. This is a privilege God has granted to no other part of no other whole—to be separated, cut away, and then allowed to be reunited. But look how He has singled out human beings. He has allowed us not to be broken off from this unity in the first place. And even when we are broken off, He has allowed us to return, to graft ourselves back on, and to take up our old position once again: as an integral part of a larger whole.

35. Turning Setbacks into Fuel We human beings have various abilities, present in all rational creatures as inherent in the very nature of rationality itself. And this is one of them: Just as universal nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it—turns it to its own purposes, incorporates it into itself—so, too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve his or her own goal.

36. Minimizing the Present Burden Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole. Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen all at once. Instead, stick with the situation at hand, and ask yourself, “Why is this particular thing so unbearable? Why can’t I endure it?” You’ll likely be embarrassed to answer that you can’t. Then remind yourself that the past and the future have no real power over you. Only the present moment does—and even that can be minimized in your mind. Just mark off its limits; see it as a small, manageable segment of time. And if your mind tries to claim that it can’t hold out against even that small segment… well, then, heap shame upon it for being so weak.

37. The Futility of Perpetual Mourning Are Pantheia or Pergamos (devoted servants or companions) still keeping watch at the tomb of Emperor Verus (Marcus’s adoptive brother and co-emperor)? Are Chabrias or Diotimus still mourning at the tomb of Emperor Hadrian? Of course they aren’t. And even if they were, would the dead emperors know it? And even if the emperors knew, would it please them? And even if it did please them, would the mourners live forever? Were they, too, not fated to grow old and then die? And when that happened, what good would their mourning do the emperors then?

38. The Stench of Decay The stench of decay. Rotting meat in a bag. Look at it clearly and unflinchingly. If you can.

39. Virtue Against Pleasure “To the best of my judgment, when I look at the human character, I see no virtue specifically placed there to counter the power of justice. But I do see one virtue placed there to counter the allure of pleasure: that virtue is self-control.”

40. The Logos and Pain Stop perceiving the pain you imagine you are feeling, and you’ll remain completely unaffected by it in your core being. Someone asks: —“Unaffected in what part of you?” Your logos (your reasoning mind). Someone objects: —“But I’m not just logos; I also have a body and feelings.” Fine. Just don’t let your logos be injured by these judgments about pain. If any other part of you is suffering—your body, your emotions—let that part decide that for itself.

41. What Constitutes Harm? For animate beings (living creatures), “harmful” is whatever obstructs the natural operation of their senses—or obstructs the fulfillment of what they intend to do. Similar kinds of obstructions constitute harm to plants. So too for rational creatures like humans, anything that obstructs the proper operation of the mind is harmful to the mind. Apply this understanding to yourself. Do pain and pleasure have their hooks in you? Let your senses deal with that. Are there obstacles to your intended actions? If you failed to reckon with the possibility of such obstacles (if you acted without foresight), then that failure of foresight would indeed harm you, as a rational being. But if you use common sense and accept that obstacles are part of life, then you haven’t truly been harmed or even fundamentally obstructed in your rational capacity. Remember, no one can truly obstruct the operations of your mind. Nothing external can really get at your mind—not fire or steel, not tyrants, not verbal abuse—nothing. As long as your mind remains like “a sphere… in perfect stillness,” self-contained and at peace.

42. Doing No Injury I have no right to do myself an injury. And in my life, have I ever intentionally injured anyone else if I could avoid it?

The universal Reason is present everywhere. It is as widely spread throughout those who accept it as air is for those who breathe it.

55. Evil Doesn’t Harm the World or Necessarily the Victim The existence of evil does not harm the world itself. And an individual act of evil does not necessarily harm the person it’s aimed at. Only one person is truly harmed by it—the wrongdoer. And that person can stop being harmed as soon as they decide to change their ways.

56. Your Will is Your Own Other people’s wills (their choices and intentions) are as independent of mine as their breath and their physical bodies are. We may exist for the sake of one another, and cooperation is natural. But ultimately, our own will rules its own domain. Otherwise, the harm other people do could directly cause harm to my inner self. This is not what God (or universal Nature) intended. My happiness should not rest entirely on someone else’s actions.

57. The Nature of Light and Thought We speak of the sun’s light as “pouring down on us,” as if it’s “pouring over us” in all directions. Yet, the sun’s light is never actually “poured out” or used up. This is because it doesn’t really pour; it extends. Its beams get their name from this very act of extension.

To understand the nature of a sunbeam, look at light as it streams through a narrow opening into a dark room. It extends in a straight line. It strikes any solid object that stands in its way and blocks the space beyond that object. There, the light remains—it doesn’t just vanish or fall away.

That’s what the outpouring—the diffusion—of your thought should be like:

• It should not be emptied out or exhausted, but extended outward.
• It should not strike at obstacles with fury and violence.
• It should not simply fall away weakly when it meets resistance.
• Instead, your thought should hold its ground and illuminate whatever it touches that is receptive to it. Anything that doesn’t transmit or reflect that light simply creates its own darkness.

58. Fear of Death is Fear of Experience The fear of death is really a fear of what we may experience after death. We might experience nothing at all, or we might experience something quite new and different.

• If we experience nothing, then we can experience nothing bad.
• And if our experience changes, then our existence will change along with it—it will change, but it will not cease to be.

59. People: Instruct or Endure People exist for one another. Your role regarding others is either to instruct them or to endure them patiently.

60. The Mind’s Motion An arrow has one kind of motion. The mind has another. Even when the mind is pausing to reflect, even when it is carefully weighing conclusions, it is still moving forward, progressing toward its goal of understanding and right action.

61. Mutual Understanding Try to enter into other people’s minds and understand their perspectives. And, equally, allow them to enter yours.

Book 9

1. Injustice and Lying are Blasphemy Injustice is a kind of blasphemy, an offense against the divine order. Universal Nature designed rational beings (humans) for each other’s sake. We are meant to help—not harm—one another, treating each person as they deserve. To go against this natural will, then, is to commit blasphemy against the oldest of the gods, which is Nature itself.

To lie is also to commit blasphemy against Nature. This is because “Nature” means the fundamental nature of that which is (reality). And that which is and that which is the case (truth) are very closely linked. So, Nature is synonymous with Truth—the ultimate source of all true things.

• To lie deliberately is to blaspheme. The liar commits deceit, and by doing so, commits an injustice.
• To lie without realizing it is also a form of blasphemy. This is because the involuntary liar disrupts the harmony and order of Nature. He is in conflict with the way the world is structured. This is true for anyone who deviates toward what is opposed to the truth—even if they do so against their will. Nature gave him the resources (reason, perception) to distinguish between true and false. If he neglected them, he now can’t tell the difference.

To pursue pleasure as if it were the ultimate good, and to flee from pain as if it were the ultimate evil—that too is blasphemous. Someone who does that is bound to find himself constantly finding fault with Nature. He will complain that Nature doesn’t treat good people and bad people as they deserve. He’ll grumble that Nature often lets bad people enjoy pleasure and the things that produce pleasure, while making good people suffer pain and the things that produce pain. Furthermore, to fear pain is to fear something that’s bound to happen in the world, the world being what it is. This fear itself is a form of blasphemy. And if you excessively pursue pleasure, you can hardly avoid doing wrong in the process—which is clearly blasphemous.

Some things Nature is indifferent to; if it privileged one outcome over another (like pleasure over pain, or life over death), it would hardly have created both as part of its design. And if we want to follow Nature, to be of one mind with it, we need to share its indifference to these external things. To treat pleasure as inherently better than pain, life as better than death, or fame as better than anonymity—this is clearly blasphemous, because Nature certainly doesn’t show such preferences.

And when I say that Nature is indifferent to them, I mean that these things happen indifferently (without discrimination based on virtue) to all things that exist and to all things that come into being after them. This happens through some ancient decree of Providence—the divine plan by which Nature, from some initial starting point, embarked on the creation of the world as we know it. It did this by laying down the principles of what was to come and by determining the generative forces that drive existence, change, and all their successive stages.

2. The Best and Next Best Voyage in Life Real good luck would be to go through life and abandon it without ever encountering dishonesty, hypocrisy, self-indulgence, or pride in yourself or others. But the “next best voyage,” if you can’t achieve that perfect state, is to die when you’ve finally had enough of these evils. Or are you actually determined to lie down and continue living with evil? Hasn’t your experience even taught you that much—to avoid it like the plague? Because evil is a plague—a cancer of the mind. It’s far worse than anything caused by tainted air or an unhealthy climate. Physical diseases like those can only threaten your life; this mental disease attacks your very humanity.

3. Welcome Death as Natural Don’t look down on death, but welcome it. It, too, is one of the things required by nature, a natural process. It’s like youth and old age. It’s like growth and maturity. It’s like getting a new set of teeth, growing a beard, or seeing the first gray hair appear. It’s like sex, pregnancy, and childbirth. Just like all the other physical changes that occur at each stage of life, our dissolution (death) is no different.

So, this is how a thoughtful person should await death:

• Not with indifference (as if it doesn’t matter at all).
• Not with impatience (eagerly rushing towards it).
• Not with disdain (looking down on it or others who fear it). Instead, simply view it as one of the many things that happen to us in the course of nature. Right now, you might anticipate a child’s emergence from its mother’s womb; that’s the same calm and accepting way you should await the hour when your soul will emerge from its current bodily compartment.

Or perhaps you need some tidy, memorable saying to tuck away in the back of your mind to help you face death. Well, consider two things that should help reconcile you to it:

1. The nature of the things and the world you’ll be leaving behind you.
2. The kind of people whose company you’ll no longer be mixed up with. There’s no need to feel resentment toward these people—in fact, you should continue to look out for their well-being and be gentle with them. But also keep in mind that everything you believe and value will likely be meaningless to many of those you leave behind. Because that thought—that you might be able to live with people who share your vision—is perhaps the only thing that could restrain us (if anything could) and make us want to stay here longer. But as things are now? Look how tiring it is—this noisy, discordant world we live in. It’s enough to make you say to death, “Come quickly. Before I start to forget my own principles and become just like them.”

4. Harming Others is Harming Yourself To do harm to another person is, in a deeper sense, to do yourself harm. To commit an injustice is to do yourself an injustice—it degrades your own character.

5. Injustice by Inaction And you can also commit injustice by doing nothing when you should have acted.

6. The Essentials for a Good Life

• Objective judgment, right now, at this very moment.
• Unselfish action, right now, at this very moment.
• Willing acceptance—now, at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you truly need.

7. Clear Your Inner World

• Blot out your distracting imagination.
• Turn your raging desires to stone; make them immobile.
• Quench your burning appetites.
• Keep your guiding mind centered on itself and its own principles.

8. Shared Soul, Shared Reason Animals that lack reason (Logos) are all assigned the same kind of non-rational soul. And those beings that do have reason (Logos), like humans, share in one too—a rational, intelligent soul. This is just as all earthly creatures share one earth. It’s just as we all see by the same light, and breathe the same air—all of us who can see and who are alive and breathing.

9. The Attraction of Like to Like All things that are made of a certain substance are drawn toward other things of the same substance, if such things exist nearby.

• All earthly things feel the earth’s gravitational pull.
• All wet things naturally flow together.
• And airy things behave similarly, so much so that they have to be forcibly separated or contained to prevent them from mixing. Fire is naturally drawn upward by the celestial fire (the sun and stars), but it is also ready to ignite at the slightest touch of any other earthly flame. This is why anything that is drier than usual makes good fuel—because less of what hinders combustion (like moisture) is mixed in with it.

And things that share an intelligent nature are just as prone, if not more so, to seek out and connect with what is like them. Their superiority in other ways (like consciousness and reason) is matched by their greater readiness to mix and mingle with their counterparts.

• Even in irrational beings, we see swarms and herds, birds nesting together, and expressions of affection not unlike ours. This is because they do have souls of a sort, and the bonding instinct is found in them in a developed form—something we don’t see in plants, or stones, or trees.
• And this bonding instinct is still more developed in rational beings, with their states, friendships, families, social groups, and even their treaties and truces between nations.
• And in those beings who are even more developed spiritually, there is a kind of unity that can exist even between separate things—the kind of distant sympathy we sometimes imagine connecting the stars. An advanced level of development can produce a sense of connection even in things that are physically quite distinct.

But look at how things are now among humans. Rational beings are often the only ones that seem to have lost that natural sense of attraction—that urge for convergence and unity. Only among humans do we often fail to see that natural intermingling and cooperation. But however much they try to avoid it, they can’t escape their interconnectedness. Nature is stronger than their individual efforts to isolate themselves. You can see this if you look closely. It’s easier for concrete physical objects to pull free from the earth’s gravity than it is for individual human beings to truly escape their shared humanity.

10. The Fruit of Reason Humanity, divinity, and the entire world: all of them bear fruit. Each is fruitful in its proper season. We normally limit the word “fruit” to vines and other plants. This is an unnecessary restriction. The “fruit” of reason (Logos) nourishes both us (as individuals who use reason) and reason itself (as a universal principle). And many other good things spring from reason too—things of the same species and quality as reason itself.

11. Try to Convince Them; If Not, Be Patient Try to convince people not to act wrongly or foolishly. Do this if you can. And if you cannot, remember that the capacity for patience was given to us for a reason. The gods themselves are patient with such people too. They even sometimes help them to acquire concrete things like health, money, and fame. Such is the goodness of the gods. And you could show such patience and helpfulness too, if you wanted. What’s stopping you?

12. The Aim of Your Work Your work should:

• Not be done to rouse pity in others.
• Not be done to win sympathy or admiration. Your only aim should be this:
• Activity (when action is needed).
• Stillness (when rest or inaction is appropriate). Always act as the reason (Logos) of your community or state requires.

13. Escaping Anxiety Today I escaped from anxiety. Or no, that’s not quite right. I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions and judgments—not in the external world.

14. The Nature of Things: Experienced, Limited, Debased Everything I experience is:

• Known to me by long experience with similar things.
• Limited in its life span; it won’t last forever.
• Debased in its substance; it’s made of common, perishable stuff. All of it is now as it was then, in the time of those people we have buried.

15. External Things Know Nothing of Themselves Things wait outside us, as if hovering at the door. They keep to themselves. If you could ask them who or what they are, they wouldn’t know; they could give no account of themselves. What, then, accounts for them and gives them meaning or attributes? The mind does. Your mind does.

16. Doing, Not Being Done To, is the Source of Good and Bad Not merely being done to by external forces, but doing—our own actions—is the true source of good and bad for rational and social beings. This is where our own goodness and badness are truly found—not in what happens to us, but in what we choose to do.

17. The Rock Thrown in the Air Imagine a rock thrown into the air. It loses nothing by coming down, and it gained nothing by going up.

18. The Judges Judged Enter into the minds of others, and you’ll find that the “judges” you’re so afraid of are often quite busy judging themselves—and often quite harshly and injudiciously.

19. All in Flux, Including You Everything is in flux, constantly changing. And you too will alter in this whirl of change and eventually perish. And the world as a whole will also undergo its transformations.

20. Leave Others’ Mistakes with Them Leave other people’s mistakes where they lie—with the people who made them.

21. Transformations Are a Kind of Dying When we cease from a particular activity, or when we follow a thought to its final conclusion, it’s like a kind of death for that activity or that train of thought. And it doesn’t harm us. Now, think about your own life: your childhood, your boyhood, your youth, your old age. Every transformation from one stage to the next was a kind of dying to the previous stage. Was that so terrible? Think about the life you shared with your grandfather, then with your mother, then with your adopted father. Realize how many other deaths, transformations, and endings there have been in your experience, and ask yourself: Was any of that so terrible? Then neither will the close of your own life be—its final ending and transformation.

22. Go to the Seat of Intelligence Go straight to the seat of intelligence—your own, the world’s, and your neighbor’s.

• Your own: to ground it in justice and make your actions fair.
• The world’s (universal intelligence): to remind yourself what larger whole it is that you’re a part of.
• Your neighbor’s: to try to distinguish whether their actions come from ignorance or from deliberate calculation. And also, to recognize that their intelligence is fundamentally like yours.

23. Participate Fully in Society By your very existence, you participate in a society. Therefore, you should also participate fully in its life through your actions—all your actions. Any action that is not directed toward a social end (either directly or indirectly) is a disturbance to your life. It’s an obstacle to your own wholeness and a source of dissension and conflict. It’s like the disruptive man in the public Assembly—a faction unto himself, always out of step with the majority.

24. More Real Life Than Shadows Childish tantrums, children’s make-believe games, and tales of “spirits carrying corpses” are superficial. Even Odysseus’s journey into the Underworld in the epic poems, where he encountered shades of the dead, probably involved seeing more “real life” and substance than these trivialities.

25. Analyze and Calculate Duration Identify the purpose of any given thing—what makes it what it is—and examine that purpose carefully, ignoring its mere concrete or physical form. Then, try to calculate the length of time that such a thing, by its nature, was meant to last.

26. The Pain of Not Using Your Mind You have endured endless suffering—all of it resulting from not allowing your guiding mind to do its proper job. Enough of that!

27. Look at Their Soul, Wish Them Well When you face someone’s insults, hatred, or any other kind of negative behavior, try to look at their soul. Get inside their mind. Look at what sort of person they truly are. If you do this, you’ll likely find that you don’t need to strain yourself to impress them or win their approval. But you do have to wish them well. In a fundamental sense, they are your closest relatives. The gods assist them just as they assist you—through signs and dreams and every other way—to help them get the things they (often mistakenly) want.

28. Cycles of the World; Atoms or Unity The world’s cycles of change and transformation never alter—they go up and down, from age to age, endlessly.

• Option 1: The world’s intelligence (Providence) actively wills each individual thing that happens. If so, you should accept its will.
• Option 2: The world’s intelligence exercised its will once, at the very beginning, setting everything in motion—once and for all—and all else follows as a necessary consequence. If this is the case, then why worry about individual events, since they are just part of an established chain? One way or another: either the world is a collection of atoms randomly combining and dispersing, or it is a unified, ordered system. If it’s ultimately governed by God (a unified, rational principle), then all is well. If it’s merely arbitrary and random, then don’t try to imitate that randomness in your own life.

The earth will eventually cover all of us. Then the earth itself will be transformed into something else. And that something else will also change, endlessly. And that too, endlessly. Think about these waves of change and alteration, endlessly breaking one upon another. And when you do, see our brief human mortality for what it truly is.

29. The Foolishness of Men; The Modesty of Philosophy The grand design of the world is like a powerful flood, sweeping everything before it. How foolish they are, then—these little men busy with their affairs of state, with their superficial philosophy, or what they think of as philosophy. They are concerned with nothing but phlegm and mucus (trivial, base things). —Well, then what should one do? Do what nature demands of you. Get a move on—if you have it in you—and don’t worry whether anyone will see or give you credit for it. And don’t go around expecting Plato’s ideal Republic to materialize here on earth. Be satisfied with even the smallest amount of progress, and treat the ultimate outcome of it all as something relatively unimportant.

Who can truly change other people’s fundamental beliefs and character? And without that change, what is there but a life of groaning, of being enslaved to circumstances, and of merely pretending to obey? Go on and cite the examples of great rulers like Alexander, Philip, or Demetrius of Phalerum. Whether they truly understood nature’s will and made themselves its humble student is for them to say, or for history to judge. And if they preferred to “play the king” and act with arrogance? Well, no one has forced me to be their understudy or to imitate their flaws. The true task of philosophy is modest and straightforward. Don’t tempt me to arrogance or presumption by expecting grand, world-changing results.

30. A View from Above; The Worthlessness of Fame Imagine seeing human affairs from a great height: the thousands of animal herds, the countless religious rituals, the myriad voyages on calm or stormy seas, the different ways we humans come into the world, share it with one another, and eventually leave it. Consider also the lives led once by others, long ago. Think of the lives that will be led by others after you are gone. And consider the lives being led even now, in foreign lands. How many people don’t even know your name. How many will soon have forgotten it. How many offer you praise now—and tomorrow, perhaps, will offer only contempt. Realize that to be remembered after death is ultimately worthless. The same goes for fame. And for pretty much everything else people strive for.

31. Your Focus: Indifference to Externals, Justice in Actions

• Cultivate indifference to external events that are outside your control.
• And maintain a strong commitment to justice in your own acts. Which means: your thoughts and actions should always result in promoting the common good. That is what you were born to do.

32. Clearing Out Mental Clutter You can discard most of the junk that clutters your mind—things that exist only in your imagination or as anxieties—and clear out a wide, open space for yourself by:

• Comprehending the true scale of the universe.
• Contemplating the infinity of time.
• Thinking of the incredible speed with which all things change—each part of every single thing. Consider the narrow space between our birth and our death; the infinite time that came before us; and the equally unbounded time that will follow after us.

33. All Vanishes Soon All that you see around you will soon have vanished. And those who see these things vanish will soon vanish themselves. And the ones who reached a ripe old age have no real advantage in this regard over those who died young and untimely.

34. Understand Their Minds Consider what their guiding minds are like. What sort of things do they work at? What kinds of things evoke their love and admiration? Imagine their souls stripped bare of all pretense. And think about their vanity. To suppose that their disdain could actually harm anyone—or that their praise could truly help anyone.

35. Decomposition is Recomposition To decompose is to be recomposed. That is what nature does. Nature is the power through whom all things happen as they should. Things have happened forever in just the same way, and they will continue to happen, one way or another, endlessly. How can you say that things happen for the worst and always will? How can you claim that the gods have no power to regulate them, and that the world is condemned to never-ending evil?

36. The Grimy Reality of Things Think about the disgust you might feel at what things are truly made of:

• Liquid, dust, bones, filth.
• Or consider that marble is just hardened dirt.
• Gold and silver are just residues, sediments.
• Clothes are made of animal hair.
• Purple dye comes from the blood of shellfish. And all the rest of the things in the world are like that. And it’s the same with our living breath—it too is transformed from one thing (like air) to another (part of our being) and back again.

37. Enough of This Wretched Life Enough of this wretched, whining, monkey-like existence. What’s the matter? Is any of this new or surprising to you? What is it you find so shocking?

• Is it the underlying purpose of things? Look at it closely.
• Is it the material they are made of? Look at that. That’s all there is to them. And as for the gods? Well, you could try being simpler and gentler in your relationship with them, even now. Whether you live a hundred years or three… it makes no real difference in the end.

38. If They’ve Injured You, They Suffer If other people have injured you, then ultimately, they are the ones who suffer the consequences for it in their own character. But first, ask yourself: have they really injured you?

39. One Source or Atoms? Your Response.

• Option 1: Either all things spring from one intelligent source and form a single, interconnected body (and in that case, the part should accept the actions of the whole).
• Option 2: Or there are only atoms, randomly joining and splitting forever, and nothing else. So, given these possibilities, why feel anxiety? Say to your guiding mind: Are you dead? Are you damaged? Are you acting like a brute? Are you being dishonest? Are you behaving like one of the herd? Or are you just grazing thoughtlessly like one?

40. Pray for Strength, Not Outcomes Either the gods have power, or they don’t.

• If they don’t have power, why bother praying to them?
• If they do have power, then why not pray for something else instead of merely for certain things to happen or not to happen? Why not pray to them to help you not to feel fear? Or to help you not to feel excessive desire? Or to help you not to feel overwhelming grief? If the gods can do anything, they can surely do that for us. You might say: —“But those are things the gods left up to me; they are within my own control.” My response: Then isn’t it better to use your own power to do what’s up to you—like a free man—than to be passively controlled by what isn’t up to you, like a slave or a beggar? And what makes you so sure the gods don’t care about helping us with what’s up to us? Start praying like this, and you’ll see what happens.
• Don’t pray: “Oh, for some way to sleep with her.” Instead, pray for a way to stop wanting to sleep with her.
• Don’t pray: “Oh, for some way to get rid of him.” Instead, pray for a way to stop trying to get rid of him.
• Don’t pray: “Oh, for some way to save my child.” Instead, pray for a way to lose your fear about your child’s safety. Redirect your prayers like that, focusing on your inner state rather than external outcomes, and watch what happens.

41. Epicurus on Illness and Philosophy The philosopher Epicurus said something like this: “During my illness, my conversations were not about my physical state or my bodily pains; I did not waste my visitors’ time with complaints or details of that sort. Instead, I went on discussing important points of philosophy. I concentrated on one point in particular: how the mind can be aware of the strong sensations of the body and yet maintain its own serenity, and continue to focus on its own well-being. Nor did I let my doctors strut about like grand saviors, as if they were doing something incredibly important. I simply went on living my life the way it should be lived.” You should aim to be like that, whether in illness or in any other difficult situation.

• Don’t let go of philosophy, no matter what happens.
• Don’t waste time in pointless arguments with crackpots or those ignorant of philosophy (philistines). These are good rules for any philosopher. Concentrate on what you’re doing right now, and on the tool (your mind) you’re doing it with.

42. The Inevitability of Shameless People When you run up against someone else’s shamelessness or arrogance, ask yourself this: Is a world without any shameless people possible? No, it’s not. Then don’t ask for the impossible. There have to be shameless people in the world. This person you’ve encountered is just one of them. Apply the same reasoning when you meet someone who is vicious, or untrustworthy, or has any other kind of defect. Remembering that the whole category or class of such people has to exist will make you more tolerant of its individual members. Here’s another useful point to bear in mind: What qualities has nature given us to counter that specific defect in others? For example, as an antidote to unkindness, nature gave us kindness. And it has given us other positive qualities to balance out other flaws.

Okay, here’s what you should do until that time of death or transformation comes:

• Honor and respect the gods.
• Treat other human beings as they deserve.
• Be tolerant and patient with other people, but be strict with yourself. Remember, the only things that truly belong to you are your physical body—your flesh and blood. Nothing else is actually under your control.

34. Living an Untroubled Life You can lead a life free from trouble. This is possible if you can continue to grow as a person. It’s also possible if you can learn to think and act in a systematic, principled way. Gods and human beings (and every rational creature) share two important characteristics: i. They don’t let others stop them from doing what is right. ii. They find goodness in thinking and doing the right thing, and they limit their desires to achieving only that.

35. When Not to Worry Ask yourself this:

• Is this bad situation something I caused? No.
• Is it a direct result of my actions? No.
• Is the community or society as a whole endangered by it? No. If the answers are no, then why should it bother me? Where is the real danger for the community?

36. Don’t Let Imagination Overwhelm You Don’t let your imagination run away with you and overwhelm you. Just do what you can and what you should in the present moment. If you happen to suffer setbacks in unimportant matters, don’t treat that as a true defeat. That’s a bad habit to get into. It’s like an old man at a festival. As he’s leaving, he asks for the toy rattle that was meant for an orphan child. He does this even though he knew it was just a toy and not truly significant. Your anxieties can be like that—focused on things that aren’t as important as they seem.

36a. A Note About a Public Scene (This seems to be a brief, possibly fragmented note about a specific incident, perhaps on a public stage or platform.) Someone might be on a platform, in the public eye. You might think to yourself: “Have you forgotten what’s truly important here, what really matters?” That person might reply: “I know, but this particular thing was important to them (the audience, or other people).” And a wise response could be: “Just because it was important to them, do you have to act like a fool as well?”

37. Making Your Own Good Fortune I was once what people call a fortunate man. But at some point, that external good fortune seemed to abandon me. But remember, true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Real good fortune means having:

• Good character.
• Good intentions.
• And good actions.

Book 6

1. Nature and Its Guiding Reason Nature itself is flexible and obedient. The universal Reason (Logos) that governs nature has no reason to do evil. Reason knows no evil, does no evil, and causes no harm to anything. It guides all beginnings and all endings.

2. Just Do the Right Thing Simply make sure you do the right thing in every situation. The rest doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you are:

• Feeling cold or warm.
• Tired or well-rested.
• Despised by others or honored.
• In the process of dying… or busy with other tasks. Dying, too, is one of our assignments in life. In death, as in life, our main task is simply “to do what needs doing.”

3. Look Inward for Value Look within yourself. Don’t let the true nature or real value of anything escape your understanding.

4. Everything Will Be Transformed Before long, all existing things will be transformed. They will either rise like smoke and become part of a unified whole (if all things eventually combine into one). Or they will be scattered like fragments.

5. Reason Knows Its Work The universal Reason (Logos) understands its own position. It knows what it has to do. It knows what materials it has to work with.

6. The Best Form of Revenge The best way to get revenge on someone who has wronged you is not to become like them.

7. Unselfish Action and Inner Peace Focus on moving from one unselfish action to another. Always keep God (the divine principle of the universe) in your thoughts. Only in this way can you find true delight and inner peace.

8. The Mind’s Power The mind is the part of you that is awakened and directed by itself. It makes of itself whatever it chooses to be. It also makes whatever it chooses of its own experiences.

9. All Things Through Nature Everything that happens is brought about by nature. Nothing happens because of some power beyond nature. Nothing happens from something hidden within nature, or something entirely separate from nature.

10. Two Ways to See the Universe There are two main ways to think about how the universe works: i. It’s a random mixture of things. These things constantly interact and then disperse. ii. Or, it’s a state of unity, order, and intelligent design.

Consider the first view (a random mixture):

• If this is true, why would I want to live in a world of disorder and confusion?
• Why would I care about anything except eventually returning “from dust to dust”?
• And why would I feel any anxiety? Dispersal into atoms is going to happen no matter what I do.

Now consider the second view (unity and design):

• If this is true, then I should feel reverence and awe.
• I should feel serene and peaceful.
• I should have faith in the guiding power responsible for this order.

11. Regain Your Inner Rhythm When circumstances unavoidably jolt you and throw you off balance, return to yourself at once. Don’t lose your inner rhythm more than you absolutely have to. You’ll have a better grasp of harmony if you keep practicing returning to it.

12. Philosophy: Your True Mother If you had both a stepmother and a real mother, you would certainly pay your respects to your stepmother. But it’s your real mother you’d truly feel at home with and always return to. Think of the imperial court (or your demanding public life) as your stepmother. Think of philosophy as your real mother. Keep returning to philosophy, to rest in its embrace. Philosophy is what makes the court—and you yourself—endurable.

13. Seeing Things for What They Really Are It’s like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you. Suddenly you realize: This is a dead fish. This is a dead bird. This is a dead pig. Or you realize that this expensive vintage wine is just fermented grape juice. These beautiful purple robes are merely sheep wool dyed with shellfish blood. Or, when making love, you might realize it’s just one body part rubbing against another. This is followed by a brief spasm and then a little cloudy liquid.

Perceptions like these get to the heart of things. They pierce through surface appearances. They help us see what things really are. That’s what we need to do all the time, throughout our lives. When things present themselves as trustworthy or valuable, we need to lay them bare. We need to see how ultimately pointless or simple they are. We must strip away the exaggerated stories and legends that make them seem more important than they are. Pride is a master of deception. When you think you’re engaged in the most important business, that’s often when pride has you completely fooled.

14. What Different People Admire vs. True Value Things that ordinary people are impressed by usually fall into these categories:

• Things held together by simple physical forces, like stones or wood.
• Things held together by natural growth, like figs, vines, or olive trees. Things admired by more advanced minds are often those held together by a living soul. Examples are flocks of sheep or herds of cows. Still more sophisticated people might admire what is guided by a rational mind. This is not necessarily the universal mind. It might be a mind admired for its technical knowledge, some other particular skill, or simply because its owner happens to possess a lot of slaves.

But those who truly revere that other mind—the universal one we all share as human beings and as citizens of the cosmos—are not primarily interested in those other things. Their main focus is on the state of their own minds. They work to:

• Avoid all selfishness and irrational thinking.
• Cooperate with others to achieve that common goal of living rationally and virtuously.

15. The Flow of Existence Some things are rushing into existence. Others are rushing out of it. Some of what exists right now is already disappearing. Constant change and flow continually remake the world. The relentless progression of time constantly remakes eternity. We find ourselves in this flowing river of existence. Which of the things around us should we truly value? None of them can offer a firm place to stand. Trying to get attached to something in this flow is like trying to fall in love with a little sparrow. You glimpse it for only a moment before it flies away and is gone forever. Life itself is like this. It’s like the drawing in and expelling of blood from our bodies. Or it’s like the drawing in of air. We expel the very same power of breathing that we drew in when we were born. It seems so recent in the grand scheme of things. We breathe it out just like the air we exhale at each and every moment.

16. What Should We Truly Prize in Ourselves? What is it in ourselves that we should truly prize and value?

• Not just basic biological functions like how plants release water vapor. Even plants do that.
• Or breathing. Even beasts and wild animals breathe.
• Or being struck by passing thoughts that come and go in our minds.
• Or being jerked around like a puppet by our own impulses and desires.
• Or moving in herds like animals.
• Or simply eating food and then relieving ourselves afterwards.

Then what is to be prized?

• An audience clapping for us? The sound of public praise? No. That’s no more valuable than the mere clacking of their tongues. Public praise really just amounts to a lot of tongues clacking.

So, if we discard the recognition and approval of other people as a primary goal, what’s left for us to prize? I think it’s this: to do (and not do) what we were designed for by nature. That’s the ultimate goal of all trades and all arts. What each of them aims at is that the thing they create should effectively do what it was designed to do. The gardener who cares for the vines, the horse trainer, the dog breeder—this is what they all aim at. And what about teaching and education? What else are they trying to accomplish but to help individuals function as they were meant to?

So, that’s what we should prize in ourselves. Hold on to that principle. Then you won’t be tempted to aim at anything else. What if you can’t stop prizing a lot of other external things? Then you’ll never be truly free—free, independent, and untroubled. You’ll always be envious and jealous of others. You’ll be afraid that people might come and take those prized things away from you. You’ll find yourself plotting against those who possess them—those very things you value so much. People who need those external things to be happy are bound to be a mess. They are bound to take out their frustrations on the gods. However, to respect your own mind—to prize it above all else—will leave you satisfied with your own self. It will help you be well integrated into your community. It will help you be in tune with the gods as well. You will embrace whatever they assign you and whatever they ordain for you.

17. The Motion of Virtue The physical elements (earth, water, air, fire) move upward, downward, and in all directions. But the motion of virtue is different—it is deeper and more profound. Virtue moves at a steady pace on a road that can sometimes be hard to discern. But it always moves forward.

18. Seeking Fame from People You’ll Never Meet Look at how people behave. They often refuse to admire or appreciate their contemporaries. These are the very people whose lives they share. No, instead, they set their hearts on being admired by Posterity—by people they’ve never met and never will meet! That’s as ridiculous as being upset that your great-grandfather wasn’t around to be a great admirer of yours.

19. If It’s Possible for Humans, It’s Possible for You Don’t assume something is impossible for you just because you find it hard. Instead, recognize that if it’s humanly possible for someone to do it, then you can do it too.

20. Dealing with Opponents in Life’s Arena In the wrestling ring, our opponents might scratch us with their nails. They might butt us with their heads and leave a bruise. But we don’t denounce them for it. We don’t get upset with them. We don’t regard them from then on as violent or malicious types. We simply keep a closer eye on them after that. We do this not out of hatred or suspicion. We do it just by maintaining a friendly and cautious distance. We need to do the same thing in other areas of life. We need to excuse what our “sparring partners” in life do. We should simply keep our distance from their harmful behaviors—without harboring suspicion or hatred.

21. The Truth Never Harms If anyone can refute me—show me that I’m making a mistake in my thinking or looking at things from the wrong perspective—I’ll gladly change my mind. It’s the truth I’m seeking. The truth has never harmed anyone. What truly harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.

22. My Part and What Doesn’t Concern Me I focus on doing what is mine to do. The rest of the world doesn’t need to disturb me. The rest of the world is either inanimate (without life or consciousness). Or it has no reason (Logos) to guide it. Or it just wanders around at random and has lost its way.

23. Interacting with the World

• When you deal with irrational animals, or with mere things and circumstances, be generous and straightforward. You are a rational being; they are not.
• When you deal with fellow human beings, behave as one human to another. Recognize that they too share in reason (the Logos).
• And in all situations, remember to invoke the gods. Don’t worry about how long you’ll go on doing this. Even a single afternoon lived according to these principles would be enough.

24. The Same End for Alexander and His Mule Driver Alexander the Great and his humble mule driver both died. The same thing ultimately happened to both of them. They were either absorbed alike back into the life force of the world. Or they were dissolved alike into atoms.

25. The Universe Within and Without You Think about how much is going on inside you every single second—in your soul and in your body. Given all that internal activity, why should it astonish you that so much more—everything that happens in that all-embracing unity, the universe—is happening at the same time?

26. Methodical Action, Not Anger If someone asked you how to write your name, would you clench your teeth and angrily spit out the letters one by one? Of course not. If the person asking lost their temper, would you lose yours as well? Or would you just calmly and clearly spell out the individual letters? Remember this example. Your responsibilities in life can also be broken down into individual parts. Concentrate on those parts. Finish the job methodically—without getting stirred up by emotion or meeting other people’s anger with your own.

27. Understanding Others’ Perceived Good How cruel it is to forbid people to want what they think is good and beneficial for them. And yet, that’s precisely what you do when you get angry at their misbehavior. They are acting in ways they are drawn to because they believe those actions will bring them something good. You might argue: —“But what they are doing is not actually good for them.” My response: Then show them that. Prove it to them patiently. Instead of losing your temper.

28. What Death Brings to an End Death is the end of:

• Our ability to perceive through our senses.
• Being controlled and pulled about by our emotions and desires.
• The discursive activity of our minds (our internal chatter and step-by-step reasoning).
• Our enslavement to the needs and pains of our physical bodies.

29. A Disgraceful Surrender It is a disgraceful thing for the soul to give up on its principles and its strength while the body is still physically going strong.

30. Avoid Being Corrupted by Power (“Imperialization”) Make every effort to escape “imperialization.” This is that permanent, corrupting stain that holding great power can leave on a person. It happens. So, make sure you remain:

• Straightforward and honest.
• Upright in your character.
• Reverent towards the divine.
• Serious and thoughtful.
• Unadorned and natural in your manner.
• An ally of justice.
• Pious (devoted to what is sacred).
• Kind and compassionate.
• Affectionate towards others.
• And doing your duty with determination and goodwill. Fight hard to be the person that philosophy (the love of wisdom) tried to make you.

Revere the gods. Watch over and care for human beings. Our lives are short. The only true rewards of our existence here on earth are an unstained character and unselfish acts that benefit others. Take Emperor Antoninus (your adoptive father) as your model in all things. Remember:

• His energy in doing what was rational and right.
• His emotional steadiness in any situation.
• His deep sense of reverence.
• His calm and composed facial expression.
• His gentleness.
• His modesty and lack of arrogance.
• His eagerness to grasp things fully.
• How he never let matters go before he was completely sure he had examined them thoroughly and understood them perfectly.
• The way he patiently put up with unfair criticism, without ever returning it in kind.
• How he couldn’t be hurried into making decisions.
• How he refused to listen to informers or slanderous gossip.
• How reliable and fair he was as a judge of people’s character and of their actions.
• He was not prone to backbiting, or cowardice, or jealousy, or using empty, showy rhetoric.
• He was content with the basics in life—in his living quarters, his bedding, his clothes, his food, and the number of his servants.
• How hard he worked, and how much he was able to endure.
• His remarkable ability to work straight through till dusk. This was possible because of his simple diet. He didn’t even need to relieve himself, except at set, regular times.
• His constancy and unwavering reliability as a friend.
• His tolerance of people who openly questioned his views. His genuine delight when someone could show him a way to improve his ideas.
• His piety and religious devotion—which was completely without a trace of superstition. Your goal should be that when your time comes to die, your conscience will be as clear and untroubled as his was.

31. Awaken to True Reality Awaken fully. Return to your true self. Now that you are no longer asleep and you realize that the troubles and anxieties you experienced were only dreams, become clear-headed again. With this newfound clarity, look at everything around you in your waking life as you would look at a dream—with detachment, understanding its transient nature.

32. Body, Soul, and What Truly Matters I am composed of a body and a soul. Things that happen to the body are ultimately meaningless in the quest for inner peace. The body itself cannot discriminate between them or assign them value. Nothing has true meaning to my mind except its own actions. And these actions are within its own control. Furthermore, it’s only the actions happening right now, in the present moment, that truly matter for my state of mind. My mind’s past actions and its potential future actions are also meaningless in terms of causing current worry or being under my immediate control.

33. Normal Pains and Stresses It’s normal to feel pain in your hands and feet if you’re actually using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is normal—if they are living a normal, engaged human life. And if it’s normal, how can it be considered truly bad or something to be completely avoided?

34. The “Pleasures” of Wicked People Think about the kind of “pleasures” that are enjoyed by thieves, sexual perverts, those who murder their own parents, and dictators. This implies that their pleasures are not true or worthy ones, and are based on harmful actions.

35. Our Responsibility to Reason Have you noticed how professionals, like builders or pharmacists, will meet an ordinary person halfway in explaining things? But they will not compromise the fundamental principles (the logos or guiding reason) of their trade. Should we, as human beings, feel less responsibility to our own guiding principle (our own logos)? This logos we share with the divine. Should we feel less responsibility to it than these craftsmen do to theirs?

36. Cosmic Perspective on Scale

• The continents of Asia and Europe are just distant, tiny recesses of the vast universe.
• The entire ocean is like a single drop of water in that immense expanse.
• Mount Athos (a very large mountain) is like a tiny molehill on the surface of the Earth.
• The present moment is just a fleeting split second in the endlessness of eternity. All these things are minuscule, temporary, and ultimately insignificant when viewed from a cosmic perspective.

36a. “Harmful” Things as By-Products of the Good Everything in the universe comes from that one universal mind. It comes either as a direct effect of its creative power or as an indirect consequence. Even things that seem harmful, like the lion’s jaws, poisonous substances, or everyday annoyances like thorns or mud, are by-products of what is fundamentally good and beautiful in the universe’s overall design. So don’t look at these things as alien or contrary to what you revere as good. Instead, focus on understanding the single source from which all things, including these apparent negatives, ultimately spring.

37. The Eternal Present If you’ve truly seen and understood the nature of the present moment, then you’ve essentially seen everything. For everything that has happened since the very beginning of time, and everything that will happen until the very end of time, is made of the same substance and takes the same fundamental form. All of it is one and the same.

38. The Interconnectedness of All Things Keep reminding yourself of the way all things in the universe are connected and related to each other. All things are intertwined with one another. They exist in a state of sympathy and harmony with each other. This event happening to you now is the consequence of some other event that came before it. Things constantly push and pull on each other. They seem to breathe together. They are all part of one unified and coherent whole.

39. Embrace Your Fate, Love Your Fellow Humans The things ordained for you by fate—teach yourself to be at one with those. And the people who share this life and this fate with you—treat them with love. With real, genuine love.

40. The Designing Force Within Nature Implements, tools, and various kinds of equipment work well if they do what they were designed for. This is true even if the person who designed and made them is miles away. But with naturally occurring things, the creative and designing force that brought them into being is present within them and remains there. That is why we owe this inner, natural force a special kind of reverence and respect. We should recognize that if you live and act as this inner intelligence dictates, then everything in you is intelligently ordered. This is just as everything in the wider world is.

41. Mistaken Definitions of Good and Bad You often take things that you don’t actually control. Examples are health, wealth, reputation, or external events. You define them as “good” or “bad.” And so, of course, when the things you labeled “bad” happen, or the things you labeled “good” don’t materialize, you end up blaming the gods. You feel hatred for the people you think are responsible—or those you simply decide to make responsible. Much of our bad behavior and inner turmoil stems from trying to apply these mistaken criteria of good and bad to external things that are not truly up to us. If we limited our definitions of “good” and “bad” to our own actions, our own character, and our own choices (which are up to us), we’d have no reason to challenge God or to treat other people as enemies.

42. Everyone Contributes to the Cosmic Project All of us, whether we realize it or not, are working together on the same vast project—the unfolding and functioning of the universe. Some of us do this consciously and with understanding. Some do it without knowing it. I believe this is what the philosopher Heraclitus meant when he said that “those who sleep are also hard at work.” He meant that they too collaborate in what happens in the world. Some of us work in one way, and some in others. And even those who complain and try to obstruct and thwart the course of things—they help just as much as anyone else. The world, in its comprehensive order, needs them as well. So, make up your mind: who will you choose to align yourself with and work alongside? The force that directs all things will make good use of you regardless. It will put you on its payroll, so to speak, and assign you a task. But make sure it’s not the kind of useless or comical job that the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus spoke of. Don’t be like the bad line in a play, put there only for laughs and serving no constructive purpose.

43. Different Functions, Common Purpose Does the sun try to do the rain’s work? Or does Asclepius (the god of healing) try to do Demeter’s (the goddess of the harvest) work? And what about each of the stars in the sky? They are all different, yet they work together for a common universal purpose, don’t they?

44. Trusting Divine Order or Personal Reason If the gods have made decisions about me and about the specific things that happen to me, then I must trust that they were good decisions. It’s hard to imagine a god who makes bad or flawed decisions. And why would they use their divine energies to try to cause me harm? What good would that possibly do them—or the world, which is their primary concern and creation?

And if the gods haven’t made specific decisions about me as an individual, they certainly have made decisions about the general welfare and order of the cosmos. Anything that happens to me as a consequence of that overarching plan is something I must welcome and embrace. I must see it as part of a larger, beneficial design.

And if (though it’s blasphemous even to think this) the gods make no decisions about anything at all—because if that were true, then let’s stop sacrificing, praying, swearing oaths, and doing all the other religious rituals we do. We do these things believing the whole time that the gods are right here with us and aware of our actions. Well, even if they were to decide nothing about our lives, I can still make decisions. I can still consider what it’s to my own benefit to do. And what benefits any individual is to do what his own essential nature requires. And my nature is rational. My nature is also civic, meaning I am a social being designed to live and cooperate with others. My city and state, in my role as Emperor Antoninus, are Rome. But as a human being? My city and state are the entire world, the cosmos. So for me, “good” can only mean what’s good for both of these communities—Rome and the world.

45. Good for the Whole, Good for the Parts Whatever happens to you as an individual is ultimately for the good of the world, the universe as a whole. That understanding alone should be enough to bring you peace. But if you look closely, you’ll generally notice something else as well: whatever happens to a single person is often also for the good of other people. Here, “good” is meant in the ordinary, common sense of the word—as the world generally defines benefits and advantages.

46. The Weariness of Repetition Just as the bloody spectacles in the arena and other similar public shows eventually make you feel weary—you’ve seen them all before—and the constant repetition grates on your nerves, so too with life in general. When you look at it broadly, it’s often the same things, happening for the same underlying reasons, on all sides. How much longer will this cycle of sameness go on?

47. The Great Procession of the Dead Keep this thought constantly in your mind: all sorts of people have died. People from all professions, from all nationalities and backgrounds. Follow this thought all the way down to specific historical examples like Philistion, Phoebus, and Origanion. Now extend this reflection to include other species beyond humans. We all have to go to that same place where so many countless beings have already gone:

• The eloquent speakers and the wise philosophers—great minds like Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Socrates…
• The heroes of ancient times, and the soldiers and kings who followed them…
• Brilliant thinkers and scientists like Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Archimedes…
• People who were smart, or generous, or hardworking, or cunning, or selfish…
• And even satirists like Menippus and his followers, who made fun of the whole brief, fragile, and often absurd business of human life. All of them have been underground, dead and gone, for a long time now. And what harm does it do them now? Or what harm does it do to the others who died—the ones whose names we don’t even know? The only thing in this life that isn’t worthless is this: to live this life out truthfully and rightly, in accordance with nature. And to be patient and understanding with those who do not live this way.

48. Encouragement from the Virtues of Others When you need encouragement, think of the good qualities that the people around you possess. This one’s energy and drive, that one’s modesty and humility, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging and uplifting as when virtues are visibly embodied in the characters and actions of the people around us. We are practically showered with positive examples. It’s good to keep this thought in mind.

49. Accepting Limits: Body and Time It doesn’t bother you that you weigh only a certain number of pounds or kilograms, and not, say, three hundred pounds. So why should it bother you that you have only a certain number of years to live, and not more? Just as you accept the physical limits placed on your body, you should also accept the limits placed on your time.

50. Act Justly, Adapt to Obstacles Do your best to convince others of the right way. But act on your own, according to your principles, if justice requires it. Do this even if others don’t agree. If you are met with force or opposition, then fall back on acceptance and peacefulness. Use this setback as an opportunity to practice other virtues, like patience or resilience. Remember that our efforts are always subject to circumstances. You weren’t aiming to do the impossible. —What were you aiming to do, then? You were aiming to try. And in that, you have succeeded. What you set out to do—to make the attempt—is accomplished.

51. Sources of Well-Being

• Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do.
• Self-indulgence means tying your well-being to the pleasant things that happen to you.
• Sanity (or wisdom) means tying your well-being to your own actions.

52. Things Can’t Shape Our Decisions by Themselves You don’t have to turn this event or situation into something that it isn’t. It doesn’t have to upset you. External things can’t shape our inner decisions and judgments by themselves.

53. Understand Others’ Minds Practice really hearing what people say. Do your best to get inside their minds and understand their perspectives.

54. Harm to One is Harm to All What injures the hive (the bee community) also injures the individual bee. This applies to human communities as well.

55. The Need for Authority and Order If the ship’s crew constantly talked back to the captain, or if patients constantly argued with their doctor, then whose authority would they ultimately accept? How could the passengers on the ship be kept safe, or how could the patient become healthy? This is an analogy for the need for order and respect for proper guidance in any collective endeavor.

56. Those Who Have Gone Before Think of all those people who came into the world with me and who have already left it, who have already died.

57. Distorted Perceptions

• Honey tastes bitter to a person suffering from jaundice.
• People with rabies are terrified of water.
• A child’s idea of beauty might simply be a colorful ball. Why does it upset you if someone else has a distorted perception of things? Do you think falsehood or a mistaken view is any less powerful in its effects on a person than physical conditions like an excess of bile or the bite of a rabid dog?

58. Living According to Nature No one can keep you from living as your own nature requires. And nothing can happen to you that is not required by Universal Nature.

59. The Fleeting Nature of Social Climbing Think about the people they try so hard to impress. Think of the results they are aiming for. Think of the things they do in the process of trying to achieve those results. How quickly it will all be erased by time. How much has been erased already.

Book 7

1. Evil: It’s Always the Same Story Evil: it’s the same old thing. No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It’s the same old story. It’s repeated from one end of the world to the other. This pattern fills the history books, both ancient and modern. It fills our cities, and it fills our houses too. There is nothing new at all. It’s all familiar, and it all passes away quickly.

2. You Can Rekindle Your Insights You cannot extinguish your understanding unless you put out the specific insights and thoughts that make it up. But you can rekindle those insights at will. It’s like stirring up glowing coals in a fire. I can control my thoughts as necessary. So how can I be troubled? What is outside my own mind means nothing to it. Absorb that lesson, and your feet will stand firm. You can return to life; you can start anew. Look at things as you did before you were troubled. And in doing so, life returns.

3. Pointless Busyness vs. True Worth So much of life can seem like the pointless bustling of public processions. It can seem like the dramatic but empty arias of an opera. It can be like the passive movement of herds of sheep and cattle, or the repetitive drills of military exercises. Life can also seem like a bone flung to pet poodles, or a little bit of food dropped into a fish tank. It can resemble the miserable, pointless servitude of ants. It can be like the frantic scampering of frightened mice, or puppets being jerked around on strings. Surrounded as we are by all of this, we need to practice acceptance. We should not look down on it all with disdain. But we must also remember that our own true worth is measured by what we choose to devote our energy to.

4. Focus on Speech and Action Focus carefully on what is being said when you or others speak. Also, focus on what results from each action that is taken. In other words, know what the speech aims at. Understand what the action really means or accomplishes.

5. Using Your Intellect Wisely Is my intellect up to this task? If it is, then I’ll put it to work. I’ll use it like a tool that nature has provided. And if my intellect isn’t up to it on its own, then I’ll turn the job over to someone who can do it better—unless I have absolutely no other choice but to do it myself. Or, I will do the best I can with it. I will collaborate with whoever can make good use of my contribution. I will do this in order to do what the community needs done. Because whatever I do—whether alone or with others—should aim at one thing only: what fits with the requirements of the community and the common good.

6. The Forgotten Rememberers So many people who were once famous and well-remembered are now already forgotten. And the people who remembered them? They too are long gone.

7. Don’t Be Ashamed to Need Help Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a castle wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to help pull you up? So what? That’s part of the effort.

8. Resources for the Future Forget worrying about the future. When and if it comes, you’ll have the same inner resources to draw on—the same reason (Logos)—that you have now.

9. The Holy Web of Interconnection Everything in the universe is interwoven with everything else. The resulting web is holy and sacred. None of its parts are unconnected to the others. They are all arranged harmoniously. Together they compose the orderly beauty of the world (the cosmos). There is:

• One world, made up of all things.
• One divinity (God or divine principle), present in them all.
• One substance (the underlying matter of everything) and one law—the universal Reason (Logos) that all rational beings share.
• And one truth… If this is indeed the culmination of one single creative process, then all beings share the same spiritual birth and the same guiding Reason.

10. The Swift Return of All Things All physical substance is soon absorbed back into the universal nature. All that animates that substance (the individual soul or life force) is soon restored to the universal Reason (Logos). And all trace or memory of them both is soon covered over and erased by time.

11. Unnatural Action for a Rational Being To a being that possesses reason (Logos), an unnatural action is one that conflicts with that reason.

12. Be Straight, Not Straightened Be upright in your character naturally. Don’t be upright because you are forced or straightened out by others.

13. Rational Beings as Limbs of One Body The rational principle in different beings is related. It’s like the individual limbs of a single living being. These parts are meant to function together as a unit. This idea will be clearer to you if you constantly remind yourself: “I am a single limb (melos in Greek) of a larger body—a body composed of all rational beings.” Or, you could say you are “a part” (meros in Greek)—the difference in spelling is only a single letter. But if you think of yourself as merely “a part,” then you’re not yet truly embracing other people with love. Helping them isn’t yet its own reward for you. You’re still seeing it only as “The Right Thing To Do” from a sense of duty. You don’t yet realize who you’re really helping when you help others. You are helping yourself and the whole of which you are a limb.

14. Choosing Not to Be Harmed Let external events happen, if they want to. Let them happen to whatever parts of you or the world they can happen to. And whatever is affected by those events can complain about it if it wants. But it doesn’t hurt me (my inner self, my mind) unless I interpret its happening as harmful to me. And I can choose not to make that interpretation.

15. Be Like Gold, Emerald, or Purple No matter what anyone else says or does, my task is to be good. I should be like gold, or an emerald, or the color purple. I should constantly repeat to myself: “No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to remain a true emerald, and my color must remain undiminished.”

16. The Mind’s Self-Protection The mind doesn’t get in its own way. It doesn’t frighten itself into having inappropriate desires. If other things outside the mind can scare it or hurt it, let them try. The mind itself won’t go down that road of fear or pain based on its own perceptions or judgments. Let the body try to avoid discomfort (if it can). And if it does feel discomfort, let the body announce it. But it is the soul (or the mind as the seat of judgment) that actually feels fear and pain. It’s the soul that conceives of these things in the first place. And the soul suffers nothing if it refuses to conclude that it has suffered. The mind in itself has no needs, except for those needs it creates for itself. It is undisturbed, except by its own disturbances. It knows no obstructions, except for those that come from within itself.

17. Defining Well-Being Well-being (or happiness) is either good luck, or it is good character.

17a. Dismissing Troubling Perceptions (Imagine speaking to your own troubling perceptions or thoughts): “But what are you doing here, Perceptions? Get back to where you came from, and good riddance. I don’t need you right now. Yes, I know, it was only force of habit that brought you into my mind. No, I’m not angry with you. Just go away.”

18. The Necessity of Change Are you frightened of change? But what can even exist without change? What is closer to nature’s heart? What does nature love more than change?

• Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood exactly as it was, unburned?
• Can you eat food without transforming it through digestion?
• Can any vital life process take place without something being changed? Can’t you see? It’s just the same with you—change is essential for your existence. It’s just as vital to the processes of universal nature.

19. Life’s Rushing Rapids We are all carried through existence as if through rushing rapids. All bodies are part of this flow. They are sprung from universal nature and they cooperate with it. This is just as our own limbs cooperate with each other. Time has swallowed a Chrysippus, a Socrates, and an Epictetus, many times over. Even the greatest philosophers and their ideas are subject to the flow of time and may be forgotten or reinterpreted. And when I say “Epictetus,” you can substitute any person, and any thing.

20. My Only Fear My only fear is doing something contrary to human nature. I fear doing the wrong thing, or doing something in the wrong way, or at the wrong time.

21. Approaching Oblivion I am close to forgetting it all. I am close to being forgotten by all.

22. Affection for Imperfect Humans To feel affection for people even when they make mistakes is a uniquely human quality. You can do this, if you simply recognize these truths:

• That they are human too, just like you.
• That they often act out of ignorance, not malice. Sometimes they act against their own better judgment.
• That you and they will all be dead before long.
• And, above all, that they haven’t really hurt you in any essential way. They haven’t diminished your ability to choose your own responses and maintain your own character.

23. Nature as a Sculptor Nature takes the underlying substance of the world and makes a horse. It’s much like a sculptor works with wax. And then, nature melts that horse down and uses the same material to make a tree. Then that tree becomes material for a person. Then that person becomes material for something else. Each individual thing exists for only a brief time. It does the container (the form or specific object) no harm to be put together. It does it no harm to be taken apart and reformed into something else.

24. Anger is Unnatural Anger showing in the face is deeply unnatural. When this expression of anger becomes fixed, it loses its natural look. When it’s put out for good and cannot be rekindled, that is a kind of end. Try to understand from this how unnatural anger is. If even the awareness of acting badly has gone from a person, why should they go on living?

25. The World Renewed by Change Before long, nature, which controls and governs it all, will alter everything you see. It will use the substance of current things as material for something else. It will do this over and over again. This is how the world is continually renewed.

26. Understanding Why People Injure You When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of their actions. If you can understand their motivation (however misguided), you’ll feel sympathy for them rather than outrage or anger. Your sense of good and evil may be the same as theirs, or very close to it. In that case, you have to excuse them or find a way to be patient. Or, your sense of good and evil may differ significantly from theirs. In that case, they are misguided and deserve your compassion. Is that so hard to do?

27. Value What You Have, But Not Too Much Treat what you don’t currently have as if it doesn’t exist at all. Then, look at what you do have—the things you value most. Think about how much you’d crave them if you didn’t have them. But be careful. Don’t feel such intense satisfaction in possessing these things that you start to overvalue them. Don’t value them to the point where it would deeply upset you if you were to lose them.

28. The Mind’s Contentment Self-contraction means focusing the mind inward, on its own principles. The mind’s true requirements are satisfied by doing what we should, by acting rightly. They are also satisfied by the calm and peace that this brings us.

29. A To-Do List for Inner Peace

• Discard your misperceptions and false judgments.
• Stop being jerked around like a puppet by your impulses and emotions.
• Limit yourself to the present moment.
• Understand what is happening—both to you and to others.
• Analyze everything that exists. Break it all down into its material components and its underlying cause.
• Anticipate your final hours; be prepared for death.
• As for other people’s mistakes? Leave those to their makers; they are not your responsibility.

30. Focus Your Mind

• Direct your thoughts to what is being said.
• Focus your mind on what is happening and on what causes it to happen.

31. Inner Cleansing Wash yourself clean. Do it with:

• Simplicity.
• Humility.
• Indifference to everything except what is truly right and wrong. Care for other human beings. Follow God (the divine order).

31a. Atoms and Relativity Someone said, “…all things are relative (dependent on perspective and relationship). And in reality, perhaps only atoms exist.” It’s enough for you to remember the first part of that: “all things are relative.” And that, in itself, is a small enough concept to grasp, yet it holds a deep truth.

32. On Death: Dispersal or Transformation Regarding death: If the universe is ultimately made of atoms, then death means your atoms will be dispersed. If the universe is a unified whole (oneness), then death means your individual essence will either be quenched (extinguished) or changed and reabsorbed into the whole.

33. On Pain: Endurable or Self-Ending Regarding pain: Pain that is truly unendurable brings its own end with it. It might cause death or unconsciousness. Pain that is chronic (long-lasting) is always endurable. The intelligence can maintain its serenity by cutting itself off from the physical sensations of the body. The mind can remain undiminished. And as for the parts of the body that are actually affected by pain—let them speak for themselves, if they can, by signaling the discomfort.

34. On Ambition: Fleeting Desires Regarding ambition and those who pursue it: Think about how their minds work. Think of the kinds of things they long for, and the things they fear. Their achievements and anxieties are like piles of sand, constantly shifting. Each new drift is soon hidden by the next one that comes along.

35. A Philosopher’s View on Life and Death (This sounds like a quote from Plato’s writings): “‘If a person’s mind is filled with nobility, with a profound grasp of all time and all existence, do you think our brief human life will mean much to him at all?’ ‘How could it?’ he said. ‘Or would death be very frightening to such a person?’ ‘Not in the least.’”

36. A Saying About Kingship “Kingship means earning a bad reputation by doing good deeds.” This suggests that rulers who do what is right may be misunderstood or criticized by those who don’t understand the greater good.

37. The Mind Should Master Itself It is a disgrace that the mind should be able to control the face. It can shape and mold its expressions as it pleases. But it should not be unable to shape and mold itself.

38. Does the World Notice Our Anger? “And why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice!” This quote expresses the futility of raging against impersonal events.

39. A Prayer for Joy “May you bring joy to us and to those on high (the gods).” This is a traditional prayer or hopeful expression.

40. Life and Harvest “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain, Some grown and flourishing, some cut down in their turn.” This is a poetic comparison of human lives to a harvest.

41. The Gods’ Reasons “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, The gods must have their reasons for not granting our request.” This quote, likely from a tragic play, expresses resignation to divine will.

42. Justice on My Side “For what is just and good is on my side.” This is a statement of moral confidence.

43. No Excessive Mourning No need for a chorus of loud lamentation. No hysterics or overly dramatic displays of grief.

44. Socrates on Right Action vs. Death (This sounds like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Apology): “Then the only proper response for me to make is this: ‘You are much mistaken, my friend, if you think that any man worth his salt cares about the risk of death. Such a man doesn’t concentrate on personal safety. He focuses on this alone: whether what he’s doing is right or wrong, and whether his behavior is that of a good man or a bad one.’”

45. Socrates on Duty Over Life (This also sounds like Socrates from Plato’s Apology): “It’s like this, gentlemen of the jury: The spot where a person decides to station himself, or wherever his commanding officer stations him—well, I think that’s where he ought to take his stand and face the enemy. He should not worry about being killed, or about anything else, except doing his duty.”

46. Socrates on Living Well vs. Living Long (This is like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Crito or similar dialogues): “But, my good friend, consider this possibility: true nobility and virtue are not the same as merely preserving one’s life or losing it. Is it not possible that a real man should forget about living a certain number of years? Shouldn’t he avoid clinging desperately to life? Instead, shouldn’t he leave such matters up to the gods? He should accept, as women often say, that ‘no one can escape his fate.’ Then he should turn his full attention to how he can best live the life that is actually before him, for however long it may be.”

47. Cosmic Perspective Washes Away Earthly Mud Watch the courses of the stars as if you were revolving with them in the heavens. Keep constantly in mind how the elements of the universe alter and transform into one another. Thoughts like these help to wash off the mud and grime of life down here on earth.

48. Plato’s View from Above Plato has it right. If you truly want to talk about human affairs with perspective, you need to look down on the earth as if from a great height. You would see herds of animals, armies marching, farms being tilled. You’d see weddings and divorces, births and deaths. You’d observe the noisy chaos of courtrooms, and the quiet of desert places. You’d see all the foreign peoples of the world. You’d see their holidays and their days of mourning, their market days and festivals… all of it mixed together, a vibrant harmony of opposites.

49. The Rhythm of Events: Past and Future Are Similar Look at the past. See how empires rise and fall, one succeeding another. And from that, you can extrapolate what the future will be like: much the same thing. There is no escaping this fundamental rhythm of events. This is why observing life for forty years is essentially as good as observing it for a thousand. Would you really see anything fundamentally new?

50. Earth to Earth, Heaven to Heaven (This quotes a common ancient idea or poem): ”…Earth’s offspring back to earth they go, But all that’s born of heaven’s light, To heaven returns again, to endless day.” Either that happens (a return to a divine source), or the cluster of atoms that makes you up simply pulls apart. One way or another the elements that feel no sensation disperse.

51. Trying to Frustrate Death (This quotes a poetic fragment about human efforts to avoid death): “…with food and drink and magic spells they try, Seeking some novel way to frustrate death.”

51a. Enduring Heaven’s Wind (This is another poetic fragment): “To labor cheerfully and so endure The wind that blows from heaven (fate).”

52. More Than Just a Better Wrestler It’s possible to be a better wrestler than someone else. But that doesn’t necessarily make you a better citizen. It doesn’t make you a better person overall. It doesn’t make you a better resource in tight situations, or a more forgiving person when others make mistakes.

53. Order and Fearlessness Wherever something can be done in accordance with the universal Reason (Logos) that is shared by gods and human beings, there all is in order and as it should be. Where there is profit and benefit because our effort is productive and advances in step with our nature, there we have nothing to fear.

54. Your Options in Every Moment Everywhere, and at each moment, you have the option:

• To accept this current event with humility and without resistance (as fated).
• To treat this person before you as he or she should be treated (justly and with understanding).
• To approach this thought or impression with care. Make sure that nothing irrational or unexamined creeps into your mind.

55. Follow Nature’s Lead Don’t pay too much attention to what is going on in other people’s minds. Instead, look straight ahead to where nature is leading you. Universal Nature leads you through the things that happen to you. Your own individual nature leads you through the actions you choose to take. Everything in the universe has to do what it was made for. And other things (lesser things) were made for the sake of those beings that possess reason (Logos). In this respect, as in others, it’s a general principle: lower things exist for the sake of higher ones, and higher things exist for the sake of one another.

Now, the main thing we human beings were made for is to work with and for others. Secondly, we were made to resist the inappropriate urges of our body. This is because things driven by reason—by thought—have the capacity for detachment. They can resist mere impulses and sensations. Both of these are primarily physical and temporary. Thought rightly seeks to be their master, not their subject. And so it should be: these lower impulses and sensations were created for the use of thought, not the other way around. And the third important thing we were made for is to avoid rashness in judgment and to avoid being easily deceived. The mind that grasps these principles and steers a straight course by them should be able to hold its own and maintain its stability.

56. Live the Rest of Your Life Properly Think of yourself as already dead. You have lived your life up to this point. Now, take whatever time is left and live it properly, according to your true nature and principles.

57. The Greatest Harmony To love only what happens to you, what was destined for you by fate. There is no greater harmony than this.

58. Learning from Others’ Reactions to Adversity In all that happens, keep before your eyes the examples of those who experienced similar things before you. Remember how they felt shock, outrage, and resentment at those events. And now, where are they? They are nowhere; they are gone. Is that what you want to be like? Instead of doing that, why not avoid all these distracting emotional assaults? Leave the alarms and panicked flight to others. Concentrate instead on what you can do with it all. Because you can use what happens. You can treat it as raw material for virtuous action. Just pay attention. Resolve to live up to your own best expectations of yourself in everything you do. And when you are faced with a choice, remember: our real business in life is with things that truly matter.

59. Dig Deep for Goodness Dig deep within yourself. The water—which is goodness—is down there. And as long as you keep digging, it will keep bubbling up.

60. The Body’s Stability and Beauty What the body needs is stability. It needs to be as impervious as possible to jolts and disturbances in all that it is and all that it does. The kind of cohesiveness and beauty that intelligence and a calm mind lend to the face—that’s the kind of inner stability the body also needs. But this should come about naturally, without forced effort or pretense.

61. A Wrestler, Not a Dancer Be not like a dancer, who needs a clear space and choreographed moves. Be like a wrestler: waiting, poised and firmly dug in, ready for sudden and unexpected assaults.

62. The Minds of Those Whose Approval You Seek Look closely at who they really are, these people whose approval you sometimes long for. Examine what their minds are really like. If you do this, you won’t blame them when they make mistakes they can’t help making. These mistakes are due to their ignorance or flawed values. And you won’t feel such a pressing need for their approval. You will have seen the sources of both their judgments and their actions.

63. Truth and Patience Someone once said, “Against our will, our souls are cut off from truth.” This applies not only to abstract truth. It also applies to justice, self-control, kindness, and other virtues. It’s important to keep this in mind. It will help you be more patient with other people when they seem to lack these qualities.

64. Dealing with Pain For times when you feel pain:

• See that the pain doesn’t disgrace you morally, or degrade your intelligence. It doesn’t have to keep your mind from acting rationally or unselfishly.
• And in most cases, what the philosopher Epicurus said about pain should help. He said that pain is neither unbearable nor unending, as long as you keep in mind its natural limits and don’t magnify them in your imagination.
• And also keep in mind that pain often comes in disguise—as drowsiness, fever, or loss of appetite. When you’re bothered by things like that, remind yourself: “I’m currently giving in to pain.”

65. Don’t Mirror Inhumanity Take care that you don’t treat inhumanity in others with the same kind of inhumanity that it shows to human beings.

66. Judging True Worth: Socrates vs. Telauges How do we really know that Telauges (a relatively unknown contemporary of Socrates) wasn’t a better man than Socrates himself? It’s not enough to ask:

• Whether Socrates’ death was nobler.
• Whether he debated with the sophists (teachers of rhetoric) more adeptly.
• Whether he showed greater physical endurance by spending the night out in the cold.
• And whether, when he was ordered to arrest the innocent man from Salamis, he decided it was preferable to refuse. This was an act of civil disobedience.
• Or whether he “swaggered about the streets.” This detail was mentioned by others, which one could reasonably doubt or interpret differently. What truly matters is what kind of soul Socrates had.
• Was he satisfied to treat other human beings with justice and the gods with reverence?
• Did he avoid losing his temper unpredictably at the evil done by others?
• Did he refuse to make himself a slave to other people’s ignorance or opinions?
• Did he avoid treating anything that nature brought about as abnormal or out of place?
• Did he refuse to put up with natural events as if they were unbearable impositions?
• And did he avoid putting his mind entirely in his body’s keeping, becoming a slave to physical sensations?

67. You Can Be Good Unnoticed; Happiness Needs Little Nature did not blend things together in the world so inextricably that you can’t draw your own boundaries. You can place your own well-being primarily in your own hands. It’s quite possible to be a good man without anyone else realizing it. Remember that. And remember this too: you don’t need much to live happily. And just because you’ve abandoned your hopes of becoming a great thinker or a renowned scientist, don’t for that reason give up on attaining freedom, achieving humility, serving others, and obeying God.

68. Immune to Compulsion, Ready for Anything Your goal is to live life in peace, immune to all external compulsion. Let other people scream whatever they want. Let wild animals dismember this soft flesh that covers you. How could any of that stop you from:

• Keeping your mind calm?
• Reliably sizing up what’s around you?
• And being ready to make good use of whatever happens? So that your faculty of Judgment can look the event squarely in the eye and say, “This is what you really are, regardless of what you may look like.” While your faculty of Adaptability adds, “You’re just what I was looking for.” Because to me, the present moment is always a chance for the exercise of rational virtue—civic virtue (acting for the good of the community)—in short, the art of living that human beings share with the gods.

Book 8

1. Humility and the True Path to Living Here’s another thought to encourage humility: you can’t honestly claim to have lived your entire life as a true philosopher—not even your whole adulthood. You can see for yourself how far you still are from philosophy. And many other people can see it too. You’re tainted by worldly concerns. It’s not so easy now—at this stage in your life—to gain a reputation as a philosopher. And your position as emperor is also an obstacle.

So, you know how things really stand. Now, forget what other people think of you. Be satisfied if you can live the rest of your life, however short it may be, as your nature demands. Focus on that, and don’t let anything distract you. You’ve wandered all over the place in your thoughts and studies and finally realized that you never found what you were truly searching for: how to live a good life. You didn’t find it in clever logical arguments (syllogisms), not in money, not in fame, or in self-indulgence. You found it nowhere in those things.

—Then where is it to be found? It is to be found in doing what human nature requires. —How do you do that? You do it by following first principles. These principles should govern your intentions and your actions. —What principles are these? They are the principles that deal with good and evil. These principles state that nothing is truly good except what leads to fairness, self-control, courage, and free will. And nothing is truly bad except what leads to the opposite of these virtues.

2. Questions for Every Action For every action you consider, ask yourself:

• How does this affect me?
• Could I change my mind about it later if I realize it was a mistake? But remember, soon I’ll be dead, and the slate of my life will be empty. So, this is the only truly important question: Is this action the action of a responsible being, someone who is part of society, and someone who is subject to the same divine laws as God?

3. Rulers vs. Philosophers Think of Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Pompey. Now compare them with philosophers like Diogenes, Heraclitus, and Socrates. The philosophers knew the “what” (the nature of things), the “why” (the reasons behind things), and the “how” (the way things work). Their minds were their own; they were free thinkers. As for the others, the famous rulers? Their lives were often filled with nothing but anxiety and enslavement to their ambitions and circumstances.

4. Futile Resistance You can hold your breath until you turn blue with frustration, but people will still go on doing what they do. This means it’s often futile to try to force others to change against their will.

5. Two Steps to Inner Peace

• The first step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls everything. And before long, you’ll be no one, nowhere—just like the great emperors Hadrian and Augustus are now.
• The second step: Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your main task is to be a good human being. Remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But do so with kindness, with humility, and without hypocrisy.

6. Nature’s Constant Transformation Nature’s job is to shift things from one place or state to another, to transform them, to pick them up here and move them there. It’s a process of constant alteration. But don’t worry about this: there’s nothing new here. Everything that happens is familiar. Even the proportions and patterns of change remain largely unchanged.

7. Progress for a Rational Mind Every kind of nature thrives on forward progress. And progress for a rational mind means:

• Not accepting falsehood or uncertainty in its perceptions.
• Making unselfish actions its only aim.
• Seeking and trying to avoid only those things it has actual control over.
• Embracing what universal nature demands of it—that same nature in which it participates, just as a leaf’s nature participates in the nature of the tree it belongs to. There’s a difference, though. The nature shared by the leaf is without consciousness or reason, and it can be blocked by external obstacles. But the nature shared by human beings is without such impediments (in its core rational function). It is rational and just, because it allots to each and every thing an equal and proportionate share of time, existence, purpose, action, and chance. Examine this closely. Don’t just check if things are identical point by point. Look at the bigger picture: this thing weighed against that thing, in aggregate.

8. Time for What Truly Matters You may say you have no time for extensive reading. But you do have time for:

• Controlling your arrogance, yes.
• Overcoming pain and pleasure, yes.
• Outgrowing your ambition, yes.
• Not feeling anger at stupid and unpleasant people—and even for caring about them—for that, yes, you have time.

9. No Complaining About Court Life Don’t ever be overheard complaining about life at the imperial court. Not even to yourself.

10. Understanding Remorse Remorse is annoyance at yourself for having missed an opportunity to gain something that would have been to your benefit. But if something is truly to your benefit, it must be something good—something a truly good person would be concerned about. But no truly good person would feel remorse at passing up a mere pleasure. Therefore, that pleasure cannot truly be to your benefit, nor can it be truly good.

11. Fundamental Questions About Anything When you encounter something, ask these questions:

• What is this, fundamentally?
• What is its true nature and substance?
• What is its reason for being?
• What is it doing in the world?
• How long is it meant to be here?

12. Why You Get Out of Bed When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your defining characteristic—what truly defines you as a human being—is to work with others and for the common good. Even animals know how to sleep. And it’s the characteristic activity of your nature that is the more natural one—more innate and ultimately more satisfying.

13. Three Fields of Study to Apply Constantly Apply these principles constantly, to everything that happens:

• Physics: Understanding the nature of the material world and its processes.
• Ethics: Understanding how to live well and act rightly.
• Logic: Understanding how to think clearly and reason correctly.

14. Understanding Others’ Values When you have to deal with someone, ask yourself: What does this person consider good and bad? If they think such-and-such about pleasure and pain (and what produces them), or about fame and disgrace, or about death and life, then it shouldn’t shock or surprise you when they act in ways consistent with those beliefs. In fact, I’ll remind myself that, given their beliefs, they feel they have no real choice but to act as they do.

15. Nature’s Consistent Productions Remember: you shouldn’t be surprised that a fig tree produces figs. Nor should you be surprised that the world produces the kinds of events it produces. A good doctor isn’t surprised when his patients have fevers. A skilled ship’s captain isn’t surprised when the wind blows against him.

16. Freedom in Changing Your Mind Remember that to change your mind and to accept correction when you are wrong are also acts of freedom. The action is yours, based on your own will, your own decision—and your own mind.

17. Blaming Others is Pointless If the problematic action is within your control, why do you do it? If it’s in someone else’s control, then who are you blaming? Atoms? The gods? Blaming either is stupid. Blame no one.

• Set people straight, if you can.
• If not, at least try to repair the damage caused by the action.
• And suppose you can’t even do that. Then where does blaming people get you? Engage in no pointless actions.

18. Nothing Vanishes, All is Transformed What dies doesn’t truly vanish from the universe. It stays here in the world. It is transformed, dissolved, and becomes parts of the world, and eventually parts of you. And those parts are transformed in their turn—all without grumbling or complaint from nature.

19. Everything Has a Purpose Everything is here for a purpose, from horses to vine shoots. What’s surprising about that? Even the sun will tell you, “I have a purpose,” and the other gods will say the same. And why were you born? For pleasure? See if that answer will stand up to serious questioning.

20. The Ball, The Bubble, The Candle Nature is like someone throwing a ball in the air. It gauges its rise and its arc—and where it will eventually fall.

• And what does the ball gain as it flies upward? Or what does it lose when it plummets back to earth?
• What does a soap bubble gain from its brief existence? Or what does it lose when it bursts? And the same questions apply to a candle’s flame. (The point is about the transience and indifference of matter to its temporary forms.)

21. The Reality Behind Appearances Turn any object or situation inside out: What is it truly like? What will it be like when it’s old? Or sick? Or being sold cheaply on the streets? Everyone and everything dies soon—the person who praises and the person who is praised, the one who remembers and the one who is remembered. And even if remembered for a while, it’s often only in these parts of the world, or just in a small corner of them. Even there, people don’t all agree with each other about you (or they don’t even agree with themselves from one day to the next). And remember, the whole earth is just a mere point in the vastness of space.

22. Focus on What’s Before You Stick to what’s directly in front of you—the idea you are considering, the action you are taking, the words you are uttering.

22a. Today, Not Tomorrow (A self-reproach): This difficult situation is what you deserve for putting things off. You could choose to be good and act rightly today. But instead, you often choose to delay until tomorrow.

23. Attributing Actions and Events What I do? I attribute my good actions to human beneficence—my desire to act well towards others. What is done to me? I accept it—and I attribute it to the gods, and to that ultimate source from which all things in the universe together flow.

24. Life’s Unpleasant Aspects Think of the public baths—the oil, the sweat, the dirt, the grayish water, all of it rather disgusting. The whole of life, and all of the visible world, has aspects like that.

25. The Procession of Deaths Verus died, leaving Lucilla behind; then Lucilla died. Maximus died, leaving Secunda; then Secunda died. Diotimus died, leaving Epitynchanus; then Epitynchanus died. Faustina (my wife) died, leaving me, Antoninus; then I, Antoninus, will die. So it is with all of them. Hadrian died, leaving Celer; then Celer died. Where have they all gone—the brilliant ones, the insightful ones, the proud ones? People as brilliant as Charax, Demetrius the Platonist, Eudaemon, and all the rest of them. They were all short-lived creatures, and they have been dead for a long time. Some of them are not remembered at all. Some have become legends. Some have faded even from legend. So remember: your physical components will be scattered too. The life force within you will be quenched. Or, you will receive new marching orders and a different posting in the universe.

26. Human Joy True joy for human beings lies in performing distinctively human actions. Human actions include:

• Kindness to others.
• A healthy contempt for the misleading messages of the senses.
• The careful examination of appearances to discern truth from falsehood.
• Observation of nature and of events in nature, understanding their order.

27. Three Key Relationships You have three primary relationships: i. With the physical body you inhabit. ii. With the divine (God or universal reason), which is the ultimate cause of everything in all things. iii. With the people around you.

28. The Soul’s Immunity to Bodily Pain Either pain affects the body (in which case, it’s the body’s problem to deal with), or it affects the soul. But the soul can choose not to be affected by physical pain. It can preserve its own serenity, its own tranquility. All our decisions, urges, desires, and aversions lie within the soul. No external evil can truly touch them.

29. Protecting Your Soul To erase false perceptions and troubling thoughts, tell yourself: I have it within me to keep my soul from any evil, from any lust, and from all confusion. I have the power to see things as they truly are and to treat them as they deserve. Don’t overlook this innate ability.

30. Speaking Appropriately Whether speaking to the Senate—or to anyone at all—do so in the right tone, without being overbearing or arrogant. Choose the right words to convey your meaning clearly and respectfully.

31. The Death of a Whole Court Think of Emperor Augustus’s court: his wife, his daughter, his grandsons, his stepsons, his sister, his key advisor Agrippa, all his relatives, servants, friends, other advisors like Areius and Maecenas, the doctors, the sacrificial priests… the entire court is dead and gone. And then consider the deaths in other families and groups, not just the passing of individuals (like the family of the Pompeys, which eventually died out). Think of that line they sometimes write on tombs: “last surviving descendant.” Consider the anxiety their ancestors must have felt—that there should be a successor to carry on the family line. But someone always has to be the last. There, too, you see the death of a whole house.

32. Assembling Your Life, Action by Action You have to assemble your life yourself—action by action. And you should be satisfied if each action achieves its proper goal, as far as it can. No one can keep that from happening. You might say: —“But there are external obstacles that can get in the way…” My response: Yes, but no external obstacle can prevent you from behaving with justice, self-control, and good sense. You might counter: —“Well, but perhaps an obstacle can prevent me from performing some more concrete, physical action.” My response: But if you accept the obstacle calmly and work with what you’re given, an alternative action will usually present itself—another piece of the larger project you’re trying to assemble. Life is built action by action.

33. Acceptance and Indifference To accept what comes without arrogance, and to let it go with indifference.

34. Self-Inflicted Separation from Unity Have you ever seen a severed hand or foot, or a decapitated head, just lying somewhere far away from the body it once belonged to? That’s what we do to ourselves—or at least try to do—when we rebel against what happens to us, when we isolate ourselves from others, or when we do something purely selfish. You have, in a sense, torn yourself away from the natural unity of humanity—a state you were born to share in. Now you’ve cut yourself off from it. But you have one great advantage here: you can reattach yourself. This is a privilege God has granted to no other part of no other whole—to be separated, cut away, and then allowed to be reunited. But look how He has singled out human beings. He has allowed us not to be broken off from this unity in the first place. And even when we are broken off, He has allowed us to return, to graft ourselves back on, and to take up our old position once again: as an integral part of a larger whole.

35. Turning Setbacks into Fuel We human beings have various abilities, present in all rational creatures as inherent in the very nature of rationality itself. And this is one of them: Just as universal nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it—turns it to its own purposes, incorporates it into itself—so, too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve his or her own goal.

36. Minimizing the Present Burden Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole. Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen all at once. Instead, stick with the situation at hand, and ask yourself, “Why is this particular thing so unbearable? Why can’t I endure it?” You’ll likely be embarrassed to answer that you can’t. Then remind yourself that the past and the future have no real power over you. Only the present moment does—and even that can be minimized in your mind. Just mark off its limits; see it as a small, manageable segment of time. And if your mind tries to claim that it can’t hold out against even that small segment… well, then, heap shame upon it for being so weak.

37. The Futility of Perpetual Mourning Are Pantheia or Pergamos (devoted servants or companions) still keeping watch at the tomb of Emperor Verus (Marcus’s adoptive brother and co-emperor)? Are Chabrias or Diotimus still mourning at the tomb of Emperor Hadrian? Of course they aren’t. And even if they were, would the dead emperors know it? And even if the emperors knew, would it please them? And even if it did please them, would the mourners live forever? Were they, too, not fated to grow old and then die? And when that happened, what good would their mourning do the emperors then?

38. The Stench of Decay The stench of decay. Rotting meat in a bag. Look at it clearly and unflinchingly. If you can.

39. Virtue Against Pleasure “To the best of my judgment, when I look at the human character, I see no virtue specifically placed there to counter the power of justice. But I do see one virtue placed there to counter the allure of pleasure: that virtue is self-control.”

40. The Logos and Pain Stop perceiving the pain you imagine you are feeling, and you’ll remain completely unaffected by it in your core being. Someone asks: —“Unaffected in what part of you?” Your logos (your reasoning mind). Someone objects: —“But I’m not just logos; I also have a body and feelings.” Fine. Just don’t let your logos be injured by these judgments about pain. If any other part of you is suffering—your body, your emotions—let that part decide that for itself.

41. What Constitutes Harm? For animate beings (living creatures), “harmful” is whatever obstructs the natural operation of their senses—or obstructs the fulfillment of what they intend to do. Similar kinds of obstructions constitute harm to plants. So too for rational creatures like humans, anything that obstructs the proper operation of the mind is harmful to the mind. Apply this understanding to yourself. Do pain and pleasure have their hooks in you? Let your senses deal with that. Are there obstacles to your intended actions? If you failed to reckon with the possibility of such obstacles (if you acted without foresight), then that failure of foresight would indeed harm you, as a rational being. But if you use common sense and accept that obstacles are part of life, then you haven’t truly been harmed or even fundamentally obstructed in your rational capacity. Remember, no one can truly obstruct the operations of your mind. Nothing external can really get at your mind—not fire or steel, not tyrants, not verbal abuse—nothing. As long as your mind remains like “a sphere… in perfect stillness,” self-contained and at peace.

42. Doing No Injury I have no right to do myself an injury. And in my life, have I ever intentionally injured anyone else if I could avoid it?

The universal Reason is present everywhere. It is as widely spread throughout those who accept it as air is for those who breathe it.

55. Evil Doesn’t Harm the World or Necessarily the Victim The existence of evil does not harm the world itself. And an individual act of evil does not necessarily harm the person it’s aimed at. Only one person is truly harmed by it—the wrongdoer. And that person can stop being harmed as soon as they decide to change their ways.

56. Your Will is Your Own Other people’s wills (their choices and intentions) are as independent of mine as their breath and their physical bodies are. We may exist for the sake of one another, and cooperation is natural. But ultimately, our own will rules its own domain. Otherwise, the harm other people do could directly cause harm to my inner self. This is not what God (or universal Nature) intended. My happiness should not rest entirely on someone else’s actions.

57. The Nature of Light and Thought We speak of the sun’s light as “pouring down on us,” as if it’s “pouring over us” in all directions. Yet, the sun’s light is never actually “poured out” or used up. This is because it doesn’t really pour; it extends. Its beams get their name from this very act of extension.

To understand the nature of a sunbeam, look at light as it streams through a narrow opening into a dark room. It extends in a straight line. It strikes any solid object that stands in its way and blocks the space beyond that object. There, the light remains—it doesn’t just vanish or fall away.

That’s what the outpouring—the diffusion—of your thought should be like:

• It should not be emptied out or exhausted, but extended outward.
• It should not strike at obstacles with fury and violence.
• It should not simply fall away weakly when it meets resistance.
• Instead, your thought should hold its ground and illuminate whatever it touches that is receptive to it. Anything that doesn’t transmit or reflect that light simply creates its own darkness.

58. Fear of Death is Fear of Experience The fear of death is really a fear of what we may experience after death. We might experience nothing at all, or we might experience something quite new and different.

• If we experience nothing, then we can experience nothing bad.
• And if our experience changes, then our existence will change along with it—it will change, but it will not cease to be.

59. People: Instruct or Endure People exist for one another. Your role regarding others is either to instruct them or to endure them patiently.

60. The Mind’s Motion An arrow has one kind of motion. The mind has another. Even when the mind is pausing to reflect, even when it is carefully weighing conclusions, it is still moving forward, progressing toward its goal of understanding and right action.

61. Mutual Understanding Try to enter into other people’s minds and understand their perspectives. And, equally, allow them to enter yours.

Book 9

1. Injustice and Lying are Offenses Against Nature Injustice is a kind of offense against the divine order of Nature. Universal Nature designed rational beings, like humans, for each other’s sake. We are meant to help—not harm—one another, treating each person fairly. To go against this natural will, then, is like disrespecting the oldest of the gods, which is Nature itself.

To lie is also an offense against Nature. This is because “Nature” refers to the fundamental nature of reality, of what is. Reality and truth are very closely linked. So, Nature is essentially the same as Truth—the ultimate source of all true things.

• To lie deliberately is an offense. The liar commits deceit and, by doing so, acts unjustly.
• To lie without realizing it is also an offense. This is because the unintentional liar disrupts the harmony and order of Nature. They are in conflict with the way the world is structured. This applies to anyone who moves toward what is opposed to the truth, even if they do so unwillingly. Nature gave them the tools (reason, perception) to tell true from false. If they neglected to develop or use these tools, they now can’t tell the difference.

To chase after pleasure as if it were the ultimate good, and to run from pain as if it were the ultimate evil—that too is an offense against Nature. Someone who does that will constantly find themselves criticizing Nature. They will complain that Nature doesn’t treat good people and bad people as they deserve. They’ll grumble that Nature often lets bad people enjoy pleasure and all the things that bring pleasure, while making good people suffer pain and all the things that bring pain. Furthermore, to fear pain is to fear something that is a natural and unavoidable part of the world. This fear itself is an offense. And if you focus only on chasing pleasure, you can hardly avoid doing wrong in the process—which is clearly an offense.

Some things Nature itself is indifferent to; if it preferred one thing over another (like pleasure over pain, or life over death), it would hardly have created both as part of its system. If we want to follow Nature and be in harmony with it, we need to share its indifference to these external things. To treat pleasure as inherently better than pain, life as better than death, or fame as better than being unknown—this is clearly an offense, because Nature certainly doesn’t show such preferences.

When I say that Nature is indifferent to them, I mean that these things happen without discrimination based on a person’s virtue. They happen to all things that exist and to all things that come into being after them. This occurs through some ancient plan of Providence—the divine design by which Nature, from some initial starting point, began the creation of the world as we know it. It did this by establishing the principles of what was to come and by setting in motion the forces that generate existence, change, and all their ongoing stages.

2. The Best Ways to Leave Life Real good luck would be to go through your whole life and leave it without ever having encountered deep dishonesty, hypocrisy, self-indulgence, or pride in yourself or others. But the “next best voyage,” if you can’t achieve that perfect state of purity, is to be ready to die when you’ve finally had enough of these evils. Or are you actually determined to keep on living alongside evil? Hasn’t your own experience taught you anything—like to avoid evil as you would avoid a deadly plague? Because moral evil is a plague—it’s a cancer of the mind. It’s far worse than any physical illness caused by bad air or an unhealthy environment. Physical diseases like those can only threaten your physical life; this mental disease attacks your very humanity.

3. Welcome Death as a Natural Process Don’t look down on death; instead, welcome it. Death, too, is one of the things required by nature, a natural process. It’s just like:

• Youth and old age.
• Growth and maturity.
• Getting a new set of teeth, growing a beard, or seeing the first gray hair appear.
• Sex, pregnancy, and childbirth. Just like all the other physical changes that happen at each stage of life, our final dissolution (death) is no different.

So, this is how a thoughtful person should await death:

• Not with indifference (as if it doesn’t matter at all).
• Not with impatience (eagerly rushing towards it).
• Not with disdain (looking down on it or on others who might fear it). Instead, simply view death as one of the many things that happen to us in the course of nature. Right now, you might anticipate a child’s emergence from its mother’s womb; you should await the hour when your soul will emerge from its current bodily “compartment” with the same calm and acceptance.

Or perhaps you need a short, memorable saying to keep in mind to help you face death. Well, consider two thoughts that should help reconcile you to it:

1. Think about the nature of the things and the world you’ll be leaving behind.
2. Think about the kind of people whose company you’ll no longer be involved with. There’s no need to feel resentment toward these people—in fact, you should continue to care for their well-being and be gentle with them. But also keep in mind that everything you believe in and value will likely be meaningless to many of those you leave behind. Because that thought—that you might be able to live with people who share your deepest values and vision—is perhaps the only thing that could hold us back (if anything could) and make us want to stay in this life longer. But as things are now? Look at how tiring it often is—this noisy, discordant world we live in. It’s sometimes enough to make you say to death, “Come quickly. Before I start to forget my own principles and become just like them.”

4. Harming Others Harms Yourself To do harm to another person is, in a deeper sense, to do yourself harm. To commit an injustice against someone else is to do an injustice to yourself—it degrades your own character.

5. Injustice Through Inaction And remember, you can also commit injustice by doing nothing when you should have acted to prevent harm or promote good.

6. The Three Essentials for Right Now

• Objective judgment, right now, at this very moment.
• Unselfish action, right now, at this very moment.
• Willing acceptance—now, at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you truly need.

7. Clear Your Inner World

• Blot out your distracting imagination.
• Turn your raging desires to stone; make them immobile and powerless.
• Quench your burning appetites and cravings.
• Keep your guiding mind centered on itself and its own principles.

8. Shared Souls and Reason Animals that lack reason (Logos) are all assigned the same kind of non-rational soul. And those beings that do possess reason (Logos), like human beings, all share in one kind of soul too—a rational, intelligent soul. This is just as all earthly creatures share one common earth. It’s just as we all see by the same light, and we all breathe the same air—all of us who can see and who are alive and breathing.

9. The Natural Attraction of Like to Like All things that are made of a certain substance are naturally drawn toward other things of the same substance, if such similar things exist nearby.

• All earthly things feel the earth’s gravitational pull and tend towards it.
• All wet or moist things naturally flow together.
• And airy things behave similarly, so much so that they have to be forcibly separated or contained to prevent them from mixing completely. Fire is naturally drawn upward by the celestial fire (the sun and stars in ancient thought), but it is also ready to ignite at the slightest touch of any other earthly flame. This is why anything that is drier than usual makes good fuel—because less of what hinders combustion (like moisture) is mixed in with it.

And things that share an intelligent nature are just as prone, if not more so, to seek out and connect with what is like them. Their superiority in other ways (like having consciousness and reason) is matched by their greater readiness to mix and mingle with their counterparts.

• Even in irrational beings, we observe swarms of insects, herds of animals, birds nesting together, and expressions of affection and bonding that are not unlike our own. This is because they do have souls of a sort, and the instinct to bond and connect is found in them in a developed form—something we don’t see in plants, or stones, or trees.
• And this bonding instinct is still more developed in rational beings, with their creation of states, friendships, families, social groups, and even their treaties and truces between different communities.
• And in those beings who are even more spiritually developed, there can exist a kind of unity even between things that are physically separate—the kind of distant sympathy or connection we sometimes imagine existing between the stars. An advanced level of spiritual development can produce a sense of connection and sympathy even in things that are physically quite distinct from one another.

But look at how things are among humans now. Rational beings are often the only ones that seem to have lost that natural sense of attraction—that deep urge for convergence and unity. Only among humans do we often fail to see that natural intermingling and cooperation. But however much they may try to avoid this interconnectedness, they can’t truly escape it. Nature is stronger than their individual efforts to isolate themselves. You can see this clearly if you look closely at how human society actually functions. It’s probably easier for concrete physical objects to pull free from the earth’s gravity than it is for individual human beings to truly escape their shared humanity and interconnectedness.

10. The Many Fruits of Reason Humanity, divinity, and the entire world: all of them bear fruit. Each is fruitful in its proper season and in its own way. We normally limit the word “fruit” to refer only to the produce of vines and other plants. This is an unnecessarily narrow restriction. The “fruit” of reason (Logos)—good thoughts, right actions, wisdom—nourishes both us (as individuals who use reason) and reason itself (as a universal guiding principle). And many other good things also spring from reason—things that are of the same species and quality as reason itself.

11. Instruct or Be Patient Try to convince people not to act wrongly or foolishly. Do this gently and reasonably, if you can. And if you cannot convince them, remember that the capacity for patience was given to us for a reason. The gods themselves are patient with such people too. They even sometimes help them to acquire concrete things they desire, like health, money, or fame. Such is the goodness of the gods. And you could show such patience and even helpfulness too, if you wanted. What’s stopping you?

11a. The Dedicated Individual (This describes an ideal sage or wise person): He has stripped away all concern for his physical body. He realizes that at some point soon he will have to abandon humankind and leave all this earthly existence behind. Therefore, he has dedicated himself entirely to these two things:

1. To serving justice in all his actions.
2. To accepting and aligning himself with nature in all that happens. What other people say about him, or think about him, or how they treat him—these are not things he worries about. He is concerned with only these two questions:

• Is what I am doing right now the right thing to be doing?
• Do I accept and welcome what has been assigned to me by fate or nature? He has stripped away all other occupations, all other tasks. He wants only to travel a straight path—to God (or the divine order), by way of living according to natural law.

Book 10

1. A Call to Your Soul Listen, my soul: Are you ever going to achieve true goodness? Are you ever going to be simple, whole, and as clear and “naked” as the body that contains you—plain for all to see your true nature? Will you ever know what a truly affectionate and loving disposition would feel like from within? Will you ever be completely fulfilled and content? Will you ever stop desiring and longing—lusting and craving for more people and things to enjoy? Or for more time to enjoy them? Or for some other place or country, perhaps “a more temperate clime”? Or for people who are easier to get along with?

Instead of all that, will you ever simply be satisfied with what you have right now, and accept the present moment—all of it? Will you convince yourself that everything you have and everything that happens is a gift from the gods? Will you believe that all things are good and always will be, whatever the gods decide and have in store for the preservation of that perfect, universal entity—which is itself good, just, and beautiful? This entity creates all things, connects and embraces them, and even gathers in their separated fragments to create more like them.

Will you ever reach the point where you can take your stand as a true fellow citizen with gods and human beings, blaming no one, and deserving no one’s censure or blame?

2. Follow Nature’s Demands, Step by Step First, focus on what universal Nature demands of all things, as if you were governed by that alone. Then, do that and accept it, unless your specific nature as a living being would somehow be degraded or harmed by it. Next, focus on what that nature (your nature as a living being) demands. Accept that too—unless your higher nature as a rational being would be degraded or harmed by it. And, of course, being “rational” also implies being “civic”—a social being meant to live well with others. Follow these guidelines carefully, and don’t waste your time on anything else.

3. Endurable or Not? Everything that happens to you is either endurable or it is not.

• If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining.
• If it’s unendurable… then stop complaining. Your destruction or cessation will mean its end as well. Just remember this: you can endure anything that your mind can make endurable, by treating it as if it is in your interest to do so. It might be in your interest because it builds character, or simply because it is your nature to face challenges.

4. Correct Gently, or Blame Yourself (or No One) If other people have made a mistake, correct them gently and show them where they went wrong. If you can’t do that, then the blame for the unresolved error lies with you for not being a better teacher. Or, perhaps, it lies with no one at all, as some errors are simply inevitable.

5. Fated from the Beginning Whatever happens to you specifically has been waiting to happen since the very beginning of time. The twining strands of fate wove both of these together simultaneously: your own individual existence and the sequence of events that happen to you.

6. Your Place in the Whole Whether the universe is ultimately made of atoms or governed by a unified Nature, the first thing to be said is this: I am a part of a larger world, a cosmos, controlled by Nature. Secondly, I must recognize that I have a close relationship with other, similar parts of this cosmos (other human beings, other creatures, other components of nature). With that understanding in mind, I have no right, as merely a part, to complain about what is assigned to me by the whole. This is because what benefits the whole universe cannot truly harm its individual parts. And the whole does nothing that doesn’t ultimately benefit it. That principle of acting for the good of the whole is a trait shared by all specific natures. But the Nature of the world (Universal Nature) is defined by a second important characteristic as well: no outside force can compel it to cause itself harm.

So, by keeping in mind that I am a part of this great whole, I will accept whatever happens to me. And because of my relationship to other parts, I will do nothing selfish. Instead, I will aim to join with them. I will direct my every action toward what benefits us all, and I will avoid doing anything that doesn’t. If I consistently do all that, then my life should go smoothly. This is how you might expect a good citizen’s life to go—the life of one whose actions serve his fellow citizens, and who willingly embraces whatever the community, through its laws and customs, decrees.

7. The “Destruction” of Parts and the Good of the Whole The whole universe is naturally composed of individual parts. The “destruction” of these parts—meaning their transformation from one state to another—is inevitable. If this process of transformation is somehow harmful to the individual parts and yet is unavoidable, then it’s hard to see how the whole universe can run smoothly. How can it function well if its parts are constantly passing from one state to another, and all of them seem built only to be “destroyed” (transformed) in different ways? Does Nature intentionally set out to cause its own components harm? Does it deliberately make them vulnerable to harm—indeed, predestined to it? Or is Nature somehow oblivious to what goes on within itself? Neither one of these possibilities seems very plausible.

But suppose we discard the idea of “Nature” as a guiding force and try to explain these changes through the inherent properties of matter itself. Even then, it would still be absurd to say that the individual things in the world are inherently prone to change, and at the same time be astonished at this change or complain about it—especially on the grounds that it was happening “contrary to nature.” This is particularly true when things merely return to the state from which they originally came. This is because our physical elements are either simply dispersed at death, or they are subject to a kind of natural gravitation—the solid portions being pulled toward the earth, and what is ethereal or airy being drawn up into the air. Eventually, they are absorbed back into the universal Logos (Reason or creative principle)—which itself is subject to periodic conflagrations (in some Stoic theories) or is renewed through continual change.

And don’t imagine that these elements—the solid ones and the ethereal ones that make up your body—have been with you unchanged since your birth. Their influx into your system took place relatively recently—yesterday, or the day before—from the food you ate and the air you breathed. And that—the collection of recently acquired elements—is what changes and is eventually dispersed, not the essential person your mother gave birth to. You might argue: —“But I’m inextricably linked to this physical body through my sense of individuality and identity!” My response: That’s a complex issue, but it’s not what we’re primarily talking about here in this specific context of physical transformation.

8. Good Names for Yourself; A New Life Here are some good names or epithets to give yourself:

• Upright
• Modest
• Straightforward
• Sane
• Cooperative
• Disinterested (acting without self-interest, impartially) Try not to exchange these for other, less worthy names. And if you should ever feel you’ve forfeited these qualities, set about immediately to get them back.

Keep in mind that:

• “Sanity” means understanding things—each individual thing—for what they truly are, and not losing the thread of reason.
• “Cooperation” means accepting what universal Nature assigns you—accepting it willingly and without complaint.
• “Disinterest” means that your intelligence, your guiding reason, should rise above the mere movements of the flesh—the rough sensations and the smooth ones alike. It should rise above the desire for fame, above the fear of death, and above everything like them.

If you can maintain your claim to these epithets—without caring whether other people apply them to you or not—you’ll become a new person, living a new and better life. To keep on being the person that you’ve been up to now—to keep on being mauled and degraded by the kind of life you’re currently living—is to be devoid of sense and much too fond of mere physical existence. It’s like those animal fighters at the gladiatorial games—torn half to pieces, covered in blood and gore, and still pathetically pleading to be held over till the next day… only to be bitten and clawed all over again.

So, set sail, then, with this handful of good epithets to guide you. And steer a steady course, if you can, as if you were an emigrant heading to the mythical islands of the blest (a place of eternal happiness). And if you ever feel yourself adrift—as if you’ve lost control of your inner state—then hope for the best, take a deep breath, and metaphorically “put in” somewhere safe where you can regain your composure and control. Or, if things become truly unbearable and you see no other way, then leave this life altogether—not in anger or despair, but matter-of-factly, straightforwardly, without arrogance, and in the knowledge that you’ve at least done that much with your life by making a conscious choice.

And as you try to keep these epithets in mind, it will help you a great deal to keep the gods (or the divine principle) in mind as well. What they want from us is not flattery or empty rituals, but for all rational things to become as much like them as possible. They want figs to do what figs were meant to do, dogs to do what dogs were meant to do, bees to do what bees were meant to do… and people to do what people were meant to do.

9. Daily Threats to Your Principles Things like operatic performances (empty spectacles), warfare, and general confusion, or states like sloth and servility—every day, these kinds of influences work to blot out those sacred principles of yours. These are principles which you, when you’re not paying attention, either daydream thoughtlessly about or just let slide into neglect. Your actions and your perceptions need to aim carefully:

• At accomplishing practical, useful ends.
• At the proper exercise of your faculty of thought.
• At maintaining a kind of confidence that is founded on true understanding—an unobtrusive confidence, one that is hidden in plain sight, not showy or arrogant.

When will you finally allow yourself to enjoy true straightforwardness? When will you enjoy genuine seriousness? When will you enjoy a deep understanding of individual things—their real nature and substance, their proper place in the world, their natural life span, what they are composed of, who can rightfully possess them, and whose they are to give and to receive?

10. The Pride of the Predator Spiders are proud when they catch flies. Some men are proud when they catch little hares. Others are proud when they catch fish in a net. Others take pride in catching wild boars or bears. And some, like the Sarmatians (a nomadic people known for their warfare), are proud of capturing other human beings in battle. But if you look at their motivations, aren’t they all just different forms of criminal psychology, different types of robbers and predators?

11. See How Things Change; Grow Spiritually Observe how all things constantly change into one another. Acquire the ability to see this universal process of transformation. Apply this understanding constantly in your thoughts; use it to train yourself. Nothing is as conducive to true spiritual growth as this practice.

11a. The Path of the Dedicated Sage (This describes an ideal wise person): He has stripped away all attachment to his physical body. He realizes that at some point soon he will have to abandon humankind and leave all this earthly existence behind. Because of this, he has dedicated himself entirely to two things:

1. Serving justice in all he does.
2. Accepting and aligning himself with universal Nature in all that happens. What other people say about him, or think about him, or how they choose to treat him—these are not things he worries about. He is concerned with only these two questions:

• Is what I am doing right now the right thing to be doing?
• Do I accept and welcome what has been assigned to me by fate or nature? He has stripped away all other occupations, all other tasks. He wants only to travel a straight path—to God (or the divine order), by way of living according to natural law.

12. Why Guess? Act or Seek Counsel. Why engage in all this guesswork and uncertainty? You can often see what needs to be done. If you can see the road ahead clearly, then follow it. Do so cheerfully and without constantly turning back or second-guessing yourself. If you cannot see the road clearly, then hold up for a moment and get the best advice you can. If anything still gets in the way of your well-advised plan, then forge on ahead cautiously, making good use of the resources you have on hand, and always sticking to what seems right and just. (Remember, the best goal is to achieve what is right. We fall short of that ideal when we fail to act or act wrongly.)

12a. Following Reason: A Balanced State To follow reason (the Logos) in all things is to be relaxed and energetic, joyful and serious, all at the same time.

13. The Irrelevance of Others’ Blame When you wake up, ask yourself: Does it make any real difference to me if other people blame me for doing what is right? It makes no difference at all. Have you forgotten what the people who are so loud in their praise or blame of others are really like when they sleep and when they eat? Have you forgotten their typical behavior, their fears, their desires, their acts of theft and depredation—not necessarily physical ones, but those committed by what should be the highest part of them, their minds? This is the part that, when it chooses, creates loyalty, humility, truth, order, and true well-being.

14. Nature Gives and Takes Nature gives all things, and Nature takes all things away. Anyone who has sense and humility will say to her, “Give and take as you please.” They will say this not out of defiance, but out of simple obedience and goodwill.

15. The World is Your City You have only a short time left to live. Live as if you were alone—perhaps out in the wilderness. It makes no difference whether you live here or there, if you consider that the city you truly live in is the entire world. Let people see a person who is genuinely living according to nature, and let them understand what that truly means. If they can’t stand to see such a person, let them kill him. (That would be better than living like this—meaning, living a false or compromised life just to please them.)

16. Be a Good Man, Don’t Just Talk About It It’s time to stop talking about what the good man is like, and just be one.

17. The Immensity of Time and Space Maintain a continual awareness of all time and all space. Understand the true size and life span of the individual things around us. A single grape seed is lost in the context of infinite space. A half twist of a corkscrew is nothing when measured against the backdrop of eternity.

18. All Things Are Decaying Bear in mind that everything that exists is already fraying at the edges. It is in transition, subject to fragmentation and to eventual rot. Or, put another way, everything was born only to die.

19. People’s Behavior and Their Inner State Consider how people act when they eat, sleep, have sex, defecate, and all the rest. Then, consider how they behave when they are in positions of power, ordering others about and exulting in their status, or when they are raging and thundering down from on high. And yet, just consider the demeaning things they submitted to only a moment ago, and the reasons they did so. And think about the things they’ll be submitting to again before very long.

20. Nature Gives What We Need, When We Need It Each of us needs what universal Nature gives us, and we need it at the time when Nature gives it.

21. Longing with the World A poet once wrote: “The earth knows longing for the rain, the sky knows longing too…” And the world itself longs to create whatever new thing will come to be. I tell the world: “I share your longing.” (And isn’t that what we really mean when we say something is “inclined to happen” or “bound to occur”?)

22. Your Options in Life You have these possibilities: i. To keep on living (you should be used to how life is by now). ii. To end your life (that was your choice to make, after all, if things become truly unbearable and dishonorable). iii. To die (having met your obligations and completed your service). These are really your only options. There is reason for optimism and courage in facing them.

23. Simplicity is Universal Keep always before you the thought that “this simple way of life is no different from living in an empty field.” The essential things in life are the same whether you are on a mountaintop, on the seashore, or wherever you happen to be. Plato gets to the heart of this when he describes a shepherd “fencing a sheepfold in the mountains, and milking goats or sheep”—finding contentment in simple, natural activities.

24. Examining Your Mind My mind:

• What is it, really?
• What am I currently making of it?
• What am I using it for? Is it empty of productive thought? Is it isolated and torn loose from connection with those around me? Is it melted into my flesh and blended with it, so that it merely shares my body’s urges and impulses?

25. The Fugitive from Nature’s Law When a slave runs away from his master, we call him a fugitive slave. But the law of nature is a master too. To break that law is also to become a kind of fugitive. To feel excessive grief, anger, or fear is to try to escape from something that has been decreed by the ruler of all things—Nature, or Fate—whether that decree applies to the present, the past, or the future. And that ruler is Law, the principle which governs what happens to each of us. Therefore, to feel overwhelming grief, anger, or fear is to become a fugitive—a fugitive from cosmic justice and order.

26. The Silent Forces of Creation A man deposits his sperm and then leaves. After that, a force that is not his own takes that sperm and goes to work, eventually creating a child. This amazing creation… from that simple beginning? Or consider this: A person pours food down his throat. And then, a force that is not his own takes that food and creates sensations, desires, the very substance of daily life, physical strength, and so much else besides. The lesson is to look at these things that go on silently within us and around us, and to see the incredible force that drives them. We should see this force just as clearly as we see the physical force that pushes things and pulls them—not necessarily with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of our understanding.

27. History Repeats Itself Bear in mind constantly that all of this has happened before. And it will happen again—the same plot from beginning to end, the identical staging. Produce these scenes in your mind, as you know them either from your own experience or from reading history: the court of Emperor Hadrian, the court of Emperor Antoninus. Think of the courts of Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great, or King Croesus of Lydia. They were all just the same in essence. Only the individual people involved were different.

28. Resisting Fate is Like a Squealing Pig People who feel hurt and resentment at what happens to them are like the pig at a religious sacrifice, kicking and squealing all the way. Or they are like the man who lies alone in his bed at night, silently weeping over the chains of fate that bind us all. Remember that everything has to submit to fate. But only rational beings are capable of submitting to it voluntarily and with understanding.

29. Fear of Death and Loss of Activities Stop whatever you’re doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do this particular thing anymore?

30. Understanding Others’ Mistakes (and Your Own) When you are faced with other people’s bad behavior, turn around and ask yourself if you have ever acted in a similar way. For example, have you ever seen money as an ultimate good, or pursued pleasure excessively, or desperately sought social position? Your anger will often subside as soon as you recognize that they, like you perhaps at other times, acted under a kind of compulsion—they felt they had to do it, or didn’t know any better. (Given their current understanding, what else could they do?) Or, if you can, try to remove the compulsion or the misunderstanding that leads them to act that way.

31. Seeing the Dead in the Living, and All as Smoke When you look at someone like Satyron (a philosopher), try to see in him a Socraticus, or a Eutyches, or a Hymen (other respected figures). When you look at Euphrates (another philosopher), see in him a Eutychion or a Silvanus. With Alciphron, see a Tropaeophorus. When you look at the writer Xenophon, see in him a Crito (Socrates’ friend) or a Severus (a respected contemporary). When you look at yourself, see any of the past emperors. And do the same with everyone else. Then let this thought hit you: Where are all those people now? They are nowhere… or wherever departed spirits go. Looking at things this way, you’ll see human life for what it truly is: like smoke, like nothingness. This is especially true when you recall that once things alter and pass away, they cease to exist in that form through all the endless years to come. Then why all this turmoil and anxiety? To live your brief life rightly and in accordance with nature, isn’t that enough? The raw material of life you think you’re missing, the opportunities you believe have passed you by…! What is any of this but training—training for your reason (Logos), through a life observed accurately and scientifically (with understanding)? So, keep at it, until this understanding is fully digested and becomes part of you. A strong stomach digests whatever food it is given. A blazing fire takes whatever you throw on it and makes it light and flame.

32. The Unstoppable Power of Honesty Make it so that no one can ever say truthfully that you are not a straightforward or honest person. Ensure that anyone who thinks that about you believes a falsehood. The responsibility for this is all yours; no one can stop you from being honest or straightforward. Simply resolve not to go on living if you are not such a person. That kind of compromised existence would be contrary to your rational nature (Logos).

33. The Sanest Course; The Mind’s Freedom Given the material circumstances we’re made of, what’s the sanest and most rational thing that we can do or say? Whatever it may be, you can do it or say it. Don’t pretend that anything is truly stopping you.

You’ll never stop complaining and feeling dissatisfied until you feel the same kind of genuine pleasure that the hedonist (someone who lives only for pleasure) gets from self-indulgence—but you must find this pleasure only from doing what’s proper to human beings, as far as your circumstances (whether inherent in your nature or resulting from fortune) allow. “Enjoyment” for a rational being means doing as much of what your true nature requires as you possibly can. And you can do that anywhere. This is a privilege not granted to a cylinder—it cannot determine its own action. Nor is it granted to water, or fire, or any of the other things governed by physical nature alone, or by an irrational soul. Too many things obstruct them and get in their way. But the human intellect and reason (Logos) are able to make their way through anything that seems to be in their path—either by their inborn capacity or by sheer force of will. Keep before your eyes the ease with which they do this—the ease with which reason is carried through all things, just as fire is naturally drawn upward, or a stone naturally falls to earth, or as a cylinder naturally rolls down an inclined plane.

That’s all you need to remember. All other obstacles either affect only the lifeless physical body, or they have no power to shake or harm anything unless misperception takes over or reason itself surrenders voluntarily. Otherwise, those things they obstruct would be immediately degraded and harmed by them. In all other entities in the world, when anything bad happens to them, it genuinely affects them for the worse. But in this case—with a human being facing obstacles—a person is actually improved by them (if I can put it like that). We admire a person for reacting to adversity as a rational and virtuous person should.

And keep in mind that nothing can truly harm one of nature’s citizens (a person living in accordance with nature) except what harms the larger community (the city or state) to which he belongs. And nothing truly harms that community except what harms its fundamental law and order. And there is no so-called misfortune that can do that. So long as the law is safe and upheld, so is the city—and so is the citizen.

34. Brief Reminders Dispel Fear and Pain If you’ve truly immersed yourself in the principles of truth, then even the briefest, most random reminder is often enough to dispel all your fear and pain. For example, a line from Homer: “…leaves that the wind Drives earthward; such are the generations of men.” Your children are like leaves. People applauding you loyally and heaping praise upon you, or, conversely, turning around and calling down curses, sneering and mocking you from a safe distance—they too are like leaves. A glorious reputation handed down by others—also like leaves. All of these “spring up in the springtime”—and then the wind of time blows them all away. And the tree of humanity puts forth other leaves to replace them. None of us have much time. And yet you often act as if things were eternal—judging by the way you fear some things and long for others… Before long, darkness will come for you. And whoever buries you will soon be mourned in their turn.

35. Healthy Senses Accept All A healthy pair of eyes should be able to see everything that can be seen. They should not say, “No! That’s too bright!” (That kind of reaction is a symptom of eye disease, like ophthalmia). A healthy sense of hearing or smell should be prepared for any sound or any scent. A healthy stomach should have the same neutral reaction to all kinds of foods, just as a mill grinds whatever grain is put into it.

36. Disgust at What Things Are Made Of Think about the disgust you might feel at what things are truly made of: Liquid, dust, bones, filth. Or consider that marble is just hardened dirt, gold and silver are just residues from the earth, clothes are made of animal hair, and expensive purple dye comes from the blood of shellfish. And all the rest of the things in the world are like that. And it’s the same with our living breath—it too is constantly being transformed from one thing (like the air around us) to another (part of our own being) and back again.

37. Enough of This Wretched Life Enough of this wretched, whining, monkey-like existence. What’s the matter? Is any of this genuinely new to you? What is it that you find so surprising?

• Is it the underlying purpose or cause of things? Look at it carefully.
• Is it the material they are made of? Look at that too. That’s all there is to them. And as for the gods? Well, you could try being simpler and gentler in your relationship with them, even now, at this stage of your life. Whether you live for a hundred years or only three… in the grand scheme of things, it makes no real difference.

38. If They’ve Injured You, They Suffer If other people have truly injured you, then ultimately, they are the ones who suffer the consequences for it in their own character. But first, pause and ask yourself: have they really injured me?

Why should it bother you that you have only a certain number of years to live and not more? You accept the physical limits placed on your body, like your weight. In the same way, accept the limits placed on your time.

50. Act Rightly, Adapt to Obstacles Do your best to convince other people of the right course of action. But, if justice requires it, you must act on your own principles, even if others don’t agree. If you are met with force or strong opposition, then fall back on acceptance and peacefulness. Use this setback as an opportunity to practice other virtues, like patience or resilience. Remember that our efforts are always subject to circumstances you can’t control; you weren’t aiming to do the impossible. —What were you aiming to do, then? You were aiming to try. And in that, you have succeeded. What you set out to do—to make the sincere attempt—is accomplished.

51. Where Do You Tie Your Well-Being?

• Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say about you or do.
• Self-indulgence means tying your well-being to the pleasant things that happen to you.
• Sanity (or wisdom) means tying your well-being to your own actions and character.

52. Things Don’t Have to Upset You You don’t have to turn this event or situation into something dramatic or upsetting. External things can’t shape our inner decisions and judgments by themselves.

53. Understand Others’ Minds Practice really hearing what people say. Do your best to get inside their minds and understand their perspectives.

54. Harm to One is Harm to All What injures the hive (the bee community) also injures the individual bee. This applies to human communities as well: what harms the community ultimately harms the individual.

55. The Need for Order If the ship’s crew constantly talked back to the captain, or if patients constantly argued with their doctor, then whose authority would they ultimately accept? How could the passengers on the ship be kept safe, or how could the patient become healthy? (This is an analogy for the need for order and respect for proper guidance in any group endeavor.)

56. Those Who Have Died Before You Think of all those people who came into the world with you and who have already left it, who have already died.

57. Distorted Perceptions and Their Power

• Honey tastes bitter to a person suffering from jaundice.
• People with rabies are terrified of water.
• A child’s idea of beauty might simply be a colorful ball. Why does it upset you if someone else has a distorted perception of things? Do you think falsehood or a mistaken view is any less powerful in its effects on a person than physical conditions like an excess of bile or the bite of a rabid dog?

58. No One Can Stop You Living by Nature No one can keep you from living as your own true nature requires. And nothing can happen to you that is not required by Universal Nature, the overarching order of the cosmos.

59. The Fleeting Efforts of Social Climbers Think about the people they try so hard to impress, the results they are aiming for, and the things they do in the process of trying to achieve those results. How quickly it will all be erased by time. How much has been erased already.

Book 7

1. Evil: It’s Always the Same Story Evil: it’s the same old thing. No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It’s the same old story, repeated from one end of the world to the other. This pattern fills the history books, both ancient and modern. It fills our cities, and it fills our houses too. There is nothing new at all. It’s all familiar, and it all passes away quickly.

2. You Can Rekindle Your Insights You cannot extinguish your understanding unless you put out the specific insights and thoughts that make it up. But you can rekindle those insights at will. It’s like stirring up glowing coals in a fire. I can control my thoughts as necessary. So how can I be troubled? What is outside my own mind means nothing to it. Absorb that lesson, and your feet will stand firm. You can return to life; you can start anew. Look at things as you did before you were troubled. And in doing so, life returns.

3. Pointless Busyness vs. True Worth So much of life can seem like the pointless bustling of public processions. It can seem like the dramatic but empty arias of an opera. It can be like the passive movement of herds of sheep and cattle, or the repetitive drills of military exercises. Life can also seem like a bone flung to pet poodles, or a little bit of food dropped into a fish tank. It can resemble the miserable, pointless servitude of ants. It can be like the frantic scampering of frightened mice, or puppets being jerked around on strings. Surrounded as we are by all of this, we need to practice acceptance. We should not look down on it all with disdain. But we must also remember that our own true worth is measured by what we choose to devote our energy to.

4. Focus on Speech and Action Focus carefully on what is being said when you or others speak. Also, focus on what results from each action that is taken. In other words, know what the speech aims at. Understand what the action really means or accomplishes.

5. Using Your Intellect Wisely Is my intellect up to this task? If it is, then I’ll put it to work. I’ll use it like a tool that nature has provided. And if my intellect isn’t up to it on its own, then I’ll turn the job over to someone who can do it better—unless I have absolutely no other choice but to do it myself. Or, I will do the best I can with it. I will collaborate with whoever can make good use of my contribution. I will do this in order to do what the community needs done. Because whatever I do—whether alone or with others—should aim at one thing only: what fits with the requirements of the community and the common good.

6. The Forgotten Rememberers So many people who were once famous and well-remembered are now already forgotten. And the people who remembered them? They too are long gone.

7. Don’t Be Ashamed to Need Help Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a castle wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to help pull you up? So what? That’s part of the effort.

8. Resources for the Future Forget worrying about the future. When and if it comes, you’ll have the same inner resources to draw on—the same reason (Logos)—that you have now.

9. The Holy Web of Interconnection Everything in the universe is interwoven with everything else. The resulting web is holy and sacred. None of its parts are unconnected to the others. They are all arranged harmoniously. Together they compose the orderly beauty of the world (the cosmos). There is:

• One world, made up of all things.
• One divinity (God or divine principle), present in them all.
• One substance (the underlying matter of everything) and one law—the universal Reason (Logos) that all rational beings share.
• And one truth… If this is indeed the culmination of one single creative process, then all beings share the same spiritual birth and the same guiding Reason.

10. The Swift Return of All Things All physical substance is soon absorbed back into the universal nature. All that animates that substance (the individual soul or life force) is soon restored to the universal Reason (Logos). And all trace or memory of them both is soon covered over and erased by time.

11. Unnatural Action for a Rational Being To a being that possesses reason (Logos), an unnatural action is one that conflicts with that reason.

12. Be Straight, Not Straightened Be upright in your character naturally. Don’t be upright because you are forced or straightened out by others.

13. Rational Beings as Limbs of One Body The rational principle in different beings is related. It’s like the individual limbs of a single living being. These parts are meant to function together as a unit. This idea will be clearer to you if you constantly remind yourself: “I am a single limb of a larger body—a body composed of all rational beings.” Or, you could say you are “a part”—the difference in spelling is only a single letter. But if you think of yourself as merely “a part,” then you’re not yet truly embracing other people with love. Helping them isn’t yet its own reward for you. You’re still seeing it only as “The Right Thing To Do” from a sense of duty. You don’t yet realize who you’re really helping when you help others. You are helping yourself and the whole of which you are a limb.

14. Choosing Not to Be Harmed Let external events happen, if they want to. Let them happen to whatever parts of you or the world they can happen to. And whatever is affected by those events can complain about it if it wants. But it doesn’t hurt me (my inner self, my mind) unless I interpret its happening as harmful to me. And I can choose not to make that interpretation.

15. Be Like Gold, Emerald, or Purple No matter what anyone else says or does, my task is to be good. I should be like gold, or an emerald, or the color purple. I should constantly repeat to myself: “No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to remain a true emerald, and my color must remain undiminished.”

16. The Mind’s Self-Protection The mind doesn’t get in its own way. It doesn’t frighten itself into having inappropriate desires. If other things outside the mind can scare it or hurt it, let them try. The mind itself won’t go down that road of fear or pain based on its own perceptions or judgments. Let the body try to avoid discomfort (if it can). And if it does feel discomfort, let the body announce it. But it is the soul (or the mind as the seat of judgment) that actually feels fear and pain. It’s the soul that conceives of these things in the first place. And the soul suffers nothing if it refuses to conclude that it has suffered. The mind in itself has no needs, except for those needs it creates for itself. It is undisturbed, except by its own disturbances. It knows no obstructions, except for those that come from within itself.

17. Defining Well-Being Well-being (or happiness) is either good luck, or it is good character.

17a. Dismissing Troubling Perceptions (Imagine speaking to your own troubling perceptions or thoughts): “But what are you doing here, Perceptions? Get back to where you came from, and good riddance. I don’t need you right now. Yes, I know, it was only force of habit that brought you into my mind. No, I’m not angry with you. Just go away.”

18. The Necessity of Change Are you frightened of change? But what can even exist without change? What is closer to nature’s heart? What does nature love more than change?

• Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood exactly as it was, unburned?
• Can you eat food without transforming it through digestion?
• Can any vital life process take place without something being changed? Can’t you see? It’s just the same with you—change is essential for your existence. It’s just as vital to the processes of universal nature.

19. Life’s Rushing Rapids We are all carried through existence as if through rushing rapids. All bodies are part of this flow. They are sprung from universal nature and they cooperate with it. This is just as our own limbs cooperate with each other. Time has swallowed a Chrysippus, a Socrates, and an Epictetus, many times over. Even the greatest philosophers and their ideas are subject to the flow of time and may be forgotten or reinterpreted. And when I say “Epictetus,” you can substitute any person, and any thing.

20. My Only Fear My only fear is doing something contrary to human nature. I fear doing the wrong thing, or doing something in the wrong way, or at the wrong time.

21. Approaching Oblivion I am close to forgetting it all. I am close to being forgotten by all.

22. Affection for Imperfect Humans To feel affection for people even when they make mistakes is a uniquely human quality. You can do this, if you simply recognize these truths:

• That they are human too, just like you.
• That they often act out of ignorance, not malice. Sometimes they act against their own better judgment.
• That you and they will all be dead before long.
• And, above all, that they haven’t really hurt you in any essential way. They haven’t diminished your ability to choose your own responses and maintain your own character.

23. Nature as a Sculptor Nature takes the underlying substance of the world and makes a horse. It’s much like a sculptor works with wax. And then, nature melts that horse down and uses the same material to make a tree. Then that tree becomes material for a person. Then that person becomes material for something else. Each individual thing exists for only a brief time. It does the container (the form or specific object) no harm to be put together. It does it no harm to be taken apart and reformed into something else.

24. Anger is Unnatural Anger showing in the face is deeply unnatural. If this expression of anger becomes fixed, it loses its natural look. If it is put out for good and cannot be rekindled, that is a kind of end to natural expression. Try to understand from this how unnatural anger is. If even the awareness of acting badly has gone from a person, why should they go on living?

25. The World Renewed by Change Before long, nature, which controls and governs it all, will alter everything you see. It will use the substance of current things as material for something else. It will do this over and over again. This is how the world is continually renewed.

26. Understanding Why People Injure You When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of their actions. If you can understand their motivation (however misguided), you’ll feel sympathy for them rather than outrage or anger. Your sense of good and evil may be the same as theirs, or very close to it. In that case, you have to excuse them or find a way to be patient. Or, your sense of good and evil may differ significantly from theirs. In that case, they are misguided and deserve your compassion. Is that so hard to do?

27. Value What You Have, But Not Too Much Treat what you don’t currently have as if it doesn’t exist at all. Then, look at what you do have—the things you value most. Think about how much you’d crave them if you didn’t have them. But be careful. Don’t feel such intense satisfaction in possessing these things that you start to overvalue them. Don’t value them to the point where it would deeply upset you if you were to lose them.

28. The Mind’s Contentment Self-contraction means focusing the mind inward, on its own principles. The mind’s true requirements are satisfied by doing what we should, by acting rightly. They are also satisfied by the calm and peace that this brings us.

29. A To-Do List for Inner Peace

• Discard your misperceptions and false judgments.
• Stop being jerked around like a puppet by your impulses and emotions.
• Limit yourself to the present moment.
• Understand what is happening—both to you and to others.
• Analyze everything that exists. Break it all down into its material components and its underlying cause.
• Anticipate your final hours; be prepared for death.
• As for other people’s mistakes? Leave those to their makers; they are not your responsibility.

30. Focus Your Mind

• Direct your thoughts to what is being said.
• Focus your mind on what is happening and on what causes it to happen.

31. Inner Cleansing Wash yourself clean. Do it with:

• Simplicity.
• Humility.
• Indifference to everything except what is truly right and wrong. Care for other human beings. Follow God (the divine order).

31a. Atoms and Relativity Someone said, “…all things are relative (dependent on perspective and relationship). And in reality, perhaps only atoms exist.” It’s enough for you to remember the first part of that: “all things are relative.” And that, in itself, is a small enough concept to grasp, yet it holds a deep truth.

32. On Death: Dispersal or Transformation Regarding death: If the universe is ultimately made of atoms, then death means your atoms will be dispersed. If the universe is a unified whole (oneness), then death means your individual essence will either be quenched (extinguished) or changed and reabsorbed into the whole.

33. On Pain: Endurable or Self-Ending Regarding pain: Pain that is truly unendurable brings its own end with it. It might cause death or unconsciousness. Pain that is chronic (long-lasting) is always endurable. The intelligence can maintain its serenity by cutting itself off from the physical sensations of the body. The mind can remain undiminished. And as for the parts of the body that are actually affected by pain—let them speak for themselves, if they can, by signaling the discomfort.

34. On Ambition: Fleeting Desires Regarding ambition and those who pursue it: Think about how their minds work. Think of the kinds of things they long for, and the things they fear. Their achievements and anxieties are like piles of sand, constantly shifting. Each new drift is soon hidden by the next one that comes along.

35. A Philosopher’s View on Life and Death (This sounds like a quote from Plato’s writings): “‘If a person’s mind is filled with nobility, with a profound grasp of all time and all existence, do you think our brief human life will mean much to him at all?’ ‘How could it?’ he said. ‘Or would death be very frightening to such a person?’ ‘Not in the least.’”

36. A Saying About Kingship “Kingship means earning a bad reputation by doing good deeds.” This suggests that rulers who do what is right may be misunderstood or criticized by those who don’t understand the greater good.

37. The Mind Should Master Itself It is a disgrace that the mind should be able to control the face. It can shape and mold its expressions as it pleases. But it should not be unable to shape and mold itself.

38. Does the World Notice Our Anger? “And why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice!” This quote expresses the futility of raging against impersonal events.

39. A Prayer for Joy “May you bring joy to us and to those on high (the gods).” This is a traditional prayer or hopeful expression.

40. Life and Harvest “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain, Some grown and flourishing, some cut down in their turn.” This is a poetic comparison of human lives to a harvest.

41. The Gods’ Reasons “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, The gods must have their reasons for not granting our request.” This quote, likely from a tragic play, expresses resignation to divine will.

42. Justice on My Side “For what is just and good is on my side.” This is a statement of moral confidence.

43. No Excessive Mourning No need for a chorus of loud lamentation. No hysterics or overly dramatic displays of grief.

44. Socrates on Right Action vs. Death (This sounds like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Apology): “Then the only proper response for me to make is this: ‘You are much mistaken, my friend, if you think that any man worth his salt cares about the risk of death. Such a man doesn’t concentrate on personal safety. He focuses on this alone: whether what he’s doing is right or wrong, and whether his behavior is that of a good man or a bad one.’”

45. Socrates on Duty Over Life (This also sounds like Socrates from Plato’s Apology): “It’s like this, gentlemen of the jury: The spot where a person decides to station himself, or wherever his commanding officer stations him—well, I think that’s where he ought to take his stand and face the enemy. He should not worry about being killed, or about anything else, except doing his duty.”

46. Socrates on Living Well vs. Living Long (This is like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Crito or similar dialogues): “But, my good friend, consider this possibility: true nobility and virtue are not the same as merely preserving one’s life or losing it. Is it not possible that a real man should forget about living a certain number of years? Shouldn’t he avoid clinging desperately to life? Instead, shouldn’t he leave such matters up to the gods? He should accept, as women often say, that ‘no one can escape his fate.’ Then he should turn his full attention to how he can best live the life that is actually before him, for however long it may be.”

47. Cosmic Perspective Washes Away Earthly Mud Watch the courses of the stars as if you were revolving with them in the heavens. Keep constantly in mind how the elements of the universe alter and transform into one another. Thoughts like these help to wash off the mud and grime of life down here on earth.

48. Plato’s View from Above Plato has it right. If you truly want to talk about human affairs with perspective, you need to look down on the earth as if from a great height. You would see herds of animals, armies marching, farms being tilled. You’d see weddings and divorces, births and deaths. You’d observe the noisy chaos of courtrooms, and the quiet of desert places. You’d see all the foreign peoples of the world. You’d see their holidays and their days of mourning, their market days and festivals… all of it mixed together, a vibrant harmony of opposites.

49. The Rhythm of Events: Past and Future Are Similar Look at the past. See how empires rise and fall, one succeeding another. And from that, you can extrapolate what the future will be like: much the same thing. There is no escaping this fundamental rhythm of events. This is why observing life for forty years is essentially as good as observing it for a thousand. Would you really see anything fundamentally new?

50. Earth to Earth, Heaven to Heaven (This quotes a common ancient idea or poem): ”…Earth’s offspring back to earth they go, But all that’s born of heaven’s light, To heaven returns again, to endless day.” Either that happens (a return to a divine source), or the cluster of atoms that makes you up simply pulls apart. One way or another the elements that feel no sensation disperse.

51. Trying to Frustrate Death (This quotes a poetic fragment about human efforts to avoid death): “…with food and drink and magic spells they try, Seeking some novel way to frustrate death.”

51a. Enduring Heaven’s Wind (This is another poetic fragment): “To labor cheerfully and so endure The wind that blows from heaven (fate).”

52. More Than Just a Better Wrestler It’s possible to be a better wrestler than someone else. But that doesn’t necessarily make you a better citizen. It doesn’t make you a better person overall. It doesn’t make you a better resource in tight situations, or a more forgiving person when others make mistakes.

53. Order and Fearlessness Wherever something can be done in accordance with the universal Reason (Logos) that is shared by gods and human beings, there all is in order and as it should be. Where there is profit and benefit because our effort is productive and advances in step with our nature, there we have nothing to fear.

54. Your Options in Every Moment Everywhere, and at each moment, you have the option:

• To accept this current event with humility and without resistance (as fated).
• To treat this person before you as he or she should be treated (justly and with understanding).
• To approach this thought or impression with care. Make sure that nothing irrational or unexamined creeps into your mind.

55. Follow Nature’s Lead Don’t pay too much attention to what is going on in other people’s minds. Instead, look straight ahead to where nature is leading you. Universal Nature leads you through the things that happen to you. Your own individual nature leads you through the actions you choose to take. Everything in the universe has to do what it was made for. And other things (lesser things) were made for the sake of those beings that possess reason (Logos). In this respect, as in others, it’s a general principle: lower things exist for the sake of higher ones, and higher things exist for the sake of one another.

Now, the main thing we human beings were made for is to work with and for others. Secondly, we were made to resist the inappropriate urges of our body. This is because things driven by reason—by thought—have the capacity for detachment. They can resist mere impulses and sensations. Both of these are primarily physical and temporary. Thought rightly seeks to be their master, not their subject. And so it should be: these lower impulses and sensations were created for the use of thought, not the other way around. And the third important thing we were made for is to avoid rashness in judgment and to avoid being easily deceived. The mind that grasps these principles and steers a straight course by them should be able to hold its own and maintain its stability.

56. Live the Rest of Your Life Properly Think of yourself as already dead. You have lived your life up to this point. Now, take whatever time is left and live it properly, according to your true nature and principles.

57. The Greatest Harmony To love only what happens to you, what was destined for you by fate. There is no greater harmony than this.

58. Learning from Others’ Reactions to Adversity In all that happens, keep before your eyes the examples of those who experienced similar things before you. Remember how they felt shock, outrage, and resentment at those events. And now, where are they? They are nowhere; they are gone. Is that what you want to be like? Instead of doing that, why not avoid all these distracting emotional assaults? Leave the alarms and panicked flight to others. Concentrate instead on what you can do with it all. Because you can use what happens. You can treat it as raw material for virtuous action. Just pay attention. Resolve to live up to your own best expectations of yourself in everything you do. And when you are faced with a choice, remember: our real business in life is with things that truly matter.

59. Dig Deep for Goodness Dig deep within yourself. The water—which is goodness—is down there. And as long as you keep digging, it will keep bubbling up.

60. The Body’s Stability and Beauty What the body needs is stability. It needs to be as impervious as possible to jolts and disturbances in all that it is and all that it does. The kind of cohesiveness and beauty that intelligence and a calm mind lend to the face—that’s the kind of inner stability the body also needs. But this should come about naturally, without forced effort or pretense.

61. A Wrestler, Not a Dancer Be not like a dancer, who needs a clear space and choreographed moves. Be like a wrestler: waiting, poised and firmly dug in, ready for sudden and unexpected assaults.

62. The Minds of Those Whose Approval You Seek Look closely at who they really are, these people whose approval you sometimes long for. Examine what their minds are really like. If you do this, you won’t blame them when they make mistakes they can’t help making. These mistakes are due to their ignorance or flawed values. And you won’t feel such a pressing need for their approval. You will have seen the sources of both their judgments and their actions.

63. Truth and Patience Someone once said, “Against our will, our souls are cut off from truth.” This applies not only to abstract truth. It also applies to justice, self-control, kindness, and other virtues. It’s important to keep this in mind. It will help you be more patient with other people when they seem to lack these qualities.

64. Dealing with Pain For times when you feel pain:

• See that the pain doesn’t disgrace you morally, or degrade your intelligence. It doesn’t have to keep your mind from acting rationally or unselfishly.
• And in most cases, what the philosopher Epicurus said about pain should help. He said that pain is neither unbearable nor unending, as long as you keep in mind its natural limits and don’t magnify them in your imagination.
• And also keep in mind that pain often comes in disguise—as drowsiness, fever, or loss of appetite. When you’re bothered by things like that, remind yourself: “I’m currently giving in to pain.”

65. Don’t Mirror Inhumanity Take care that you don’t treat inhumanity in others with the same kind of inhumanity that it shows to human beings.

66. Judging True Worth: Socrates vs. Telauges How do we really know that Telauges (a relatively unknown contemporary of Socrates) wasn’t a better man than Socrates himself? It’s not enough to ask:

• Whether Socrates’ death was nobler.
• Whether he debated with the sophists (teachers of rhetoric) more adeptly.
• Whether he showed greater physical endurance by spending the night out in the cold.
• And whether, when he was ordered to arrest the innocent man from Salamis, he decided it was preferable to refuse. This was an act of civil disobedience.
• Or whether he “swaggered about the streets.” This detail was mentioned by others, which one could reasonably doubt or interpret differently. What truly matters is what kind of soul Socrates had.
• Was he satisfied to treat other human beings with justice and the gods with reverence?
• Did he avoid losing his temper unpredictably at the evil done by others?
• Did he refuse to make himself a slave to other people’s ignorance or opinions?
• Did he avoid treating anything that nature brought about as abnormal or out of place?
• Did he refuse to put up with natural events as if they were unbearable impositions?
• And did he avoid putting his mind entirely in his body’s keeping, becoming a slave to physical sensations?

67. You Can Be Good Unnoticed; Happiness Needs Little Nature did not blend things together in the world so inextricably that you can’t draw your own boundaries. You can place your own well-being primarily in your own hands. It’s quite possible to be a good man without anyone else realizing it. Remember that. And remember this too: you don’t need much to live happily. And just because you’ve abandoned your hopes of becoming a great thinker or a renowned scientist, don’t for that reason give up on attaining freedom, achieving humility, serving others, and obeying God.

68. Immune to Compulsion, Ready for Anything Your goal is to live life in peace, immune to all external compulsion. Let other people scream whatever they want. Let wild animals dismember this soft flesh that covers you. How could any of that stop you from:

• Keeping your mind calm?
• Reliably sizing up what’s around you?
• And being ready to make good use of whatever happens? So that your faculty of Judgment can look the event squarely in the eye and say, “This is what you really are, regardless of what you may look like.” While your faculty of Adaptability adds, “You’re just what I was looking for.” Because to me, the present moment is always a chance for the exercise of rational virtue—civic virtue (acting for the good of the community)—in short, the art of living that human beings share with the gods.

Book 8

1. Humility and the True Path to Living Here’s another thought to encourage humility: you can’t honestly claim to have lived your entire life as a true philosopher—not even your whole adulthood. You can see for yourself how far you still are from philosophy. And many other people can see it too. You’re tainted by worldly concerns. It’s not so easy now—at this stage in your life—to gain a reputation as a philosopher. And your position as emperor is also an obstacle.

So, you know how things really stand. Now, forget what other people think of you. Be satisfied if you can live the rest of your life, however short it may be, as your nature demands. Focus on that, and don’t let anything distract you. You’ve wandered all over the place in your thoughts and studies and finally realized that you never found what you were truly searching for: how to live a good life. You didn’t find it in clever logical arguments (syllogisms), not in money, not in fame, or in self-indulgence. You found it nowhere in those things.

—Then where is it to be found? It is to be found in doing what human nature requires. —How do you do that? You do it by following first principles. These principles should govern your intentions and your actions. —What principles are these? They are the principles that deal with good and evil. These principles state that nothing is truly good except what leads to fairness, self-control, courage, and free will. And nothing is truly bad except what leads to the opposite of these virtues.

2. Questions for Every Action For every action you consider, ask yourself:

• How does this affect me?
• Could I change my mind about it later if I realize it was a mistake? But remember, soon I’ll be dead, and the slate of my life will be empty. So, this is the only truly important question: Is this action the action of a responsible being, someone who is part of society, and someone who is subject to the same divine laws as God?

3. Rulers vs. Philosophers Think of Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Pompey. Now compare them with philosophers like Diogenes, Heraclitus, and Socrates. The philosophers knew the “what” (the nature of things), the “why” (the reasons behind things), and the “how” (the way things work). Their minds were their own; they were free thinkers. As for the others, the famous rulers? Their lives were often filled with nothing but anxiety and enslavement to their ambitions and circumstances.

4. Futile Resistance You can hold your breath until you turn blue with frustration, but people will still go on doing what they do. This means it’s often futile to try to force others to change against their will.

5. Two Steps to Inner Peace

• The first step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls everything. And before long, you’ll be no one, nowhere—just like the great emperors Hadrian and Augustus are now.
• The second step: Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your main task is to be a good human being. Remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But do so with kindness, with humility, and without hypocrisy.

6. Nature’s Constant Transformation Nature’s job is to shift things from one place or state to another, to transform them, to pick them up here and move them there. It’s a process of constant alteration. But don’t worry about this: there’s nothing new here. Everything that happens is familiar. Even the proportions and patterns of change remain largely unchanged.

7. Progress for a Rational Mind Every kind of nature thrives on forward progress. And progress for a rational mind means:

• Not accepting falsehood or uncertainty in its perceptions.
• Making unselfish actions its only aim.
• Seeking and trying to avoid only those things it has actual control over.
• Embracing what universal nature demands of it—that same nature in which it participates, just as a leaf’s nature participates in the nature of the tree it belongs to. There’s a difference, though. The nature shared by the leaf is without consciousness or reason, and it can be blocked by external obstacles. But the nature shared by human beings is without such impediments (in its core rational function). It is rational and just, because it allots to each and every thing an equal and proportionate share of time, existence, purpose, action, and chance. Examine this closely. Don’t just check if things are identical point by point. Look at the bigger picture: this thing weighed against that thing, in aggregate.

8. Time for What Truly Matters You may say you have no time for extensive reading. But you do have time for:

• Controlling your arrogance, yes.
• Overcoming pain and pleasure, yes.
• Outgrowing your ambition, yes.
• Not feeling anger at stupid and unpleasant people—and even for caring about them—for that, yes, you have time.

9. No Complaining About Court Life Don’t ever be overheard complaining about life at the imperial court. Not even to yourself.

10. Understanding Remorse Remorse is annoyance at yourself for having missed an opportunity to gain something that would have been to your benefit. But if something is truly to your benefit, it must be something good—something a truly good person would be concerned about. But no truly good person would feel remorse at passing up a mere pleasure. Therefore, that pleasure cannot truly be to your benefit, nor can it be truly good.

11. Fundamental Questions About Anything When you encounter something, ask these questions:

• What is this, fundamentally?
• What is its true nature and substance?
• What is its reason for being?
• What is it doing in the world?
• How long is it meant to be here?

12. Why You Get Out of Bed When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your defining characteristic—what truly defines you as a human being—is to work with others and for the common good. Even animals know how to sleep. And it’s the characteristic activity of your nature that is the more natural one—more innate and ultimately more satisfying.

13. Three Fields of Study to Apply Constantly Apply these principles constantly, to everything that happens:

• Physics: Understanding the nature of the material world and its processes.
• Ethics: Understanding how to live well and act rightly.
• Logic: Understanding how to think clearly and reason correctly.

14. Understanding Others’ Values When you have to deal with someone, ask yourself: What does this person consider good and bad? If they think such-and-such about pleasure and pain (and what produces them), or about fame and disgrace, or about death and life, then it shouldn’t shock or surprise you when they act in ways consistent with those beliefs. In fact, I’ll remind myself that, given their beliefs, they feel they have no real choice but to act as they do.

15. Nature’s Consistent Productions Remember: you shouldn’t be surprised that a fig tree produces figs. Nor should you be surprised that the world produces the kinds of events it produces. A good doctor isn’t surprised when his patients have fevers. A skilled ship’s captain isn’t surprised when the wind blows against him.

16. Freedom in Changing Your Mind Remember that to change your mind and to accept correction when you are wrong are also acts of freedom. The action is yours, based on your own will, your own decision—and your own mind.

17. Blaming Others is Pointless If the problematic action is within your control, why do you do it? If it’s in someone else’s control, then who are you blaming? Atoms? The gods? Blaming either is stupid. Blame no one.

• Set people straight, if you can.
• If not, at least try to repair the damage caused by the action.
• And suppose you can’t even do that. Then where does blaming people get you? Engage in no pointless actions.

18. Nothing Vanishes, All is Transformed What dies doesn’t truly vanish from the universe. It stays here in the world. It is transformed, dissolved, and becomes parts of the world, and eventually parts of you. And those parts are transformed in their turn—all without grumbling or complaint from nature.

19. Everything Has a Purpose Everything is here for a purpose, from horses to vine shoots. What’s surprising about that? Even the sun will tell you, “I have a purpose,” and the other gods will say the same. And why were you born? For pleasure? See if that answer will stand up to serious questioning.

20. The Ball, The Bubble, The Candle Nature is like someone throwing a ball in the air. It gauges its rise and its arc—and where it will eventually fall.

• And what does the ball gain as it flies upward? Or what does it lose when it plummets back to earth?
• What does a soap bubble gain from its brief existence? Or what does it lose when it bursts? And the same questions apply to a candle’s flame. (The point is about the transience and indifference of matter to its temporary forms.)

21. The Reality Behind Appearances Turn any object or situation inside out: What is it truly like? What will it be like when it’s old? Or sick? Or being sold cheaply on the streets? Everyone and everything dies soon—the person who praises and the person who is praised, the one who remembers and the one who is remembered. And even if remembered for a while, it’s often only in these parts of the world, or just in a small corner of them. Even there, people don’t all agree with each other about you (or they don’t even agree with themselves from one day to the next). And remember, the whole earth is just a mere point in the vastness of space.

22. Focus on What’s Before You Stick to what’s directly in front of you—the idea you are considering, the action you are taking, the words you are uttering.

22a. Today, Not Tomorrow (A self-reproach): This difficult situation is what you deserve for putting things off. You could choose to be good and act rightly today. But instead, you often choose to delay until tomorrow.

23. Attributing Actions and Events What I do? I attribute my good actions to human beneficence—my desire to act well towards others. What is done to me? I accept it—and I attribute it to the gods, and to that ultimate source from which all things in the universe together flow.

24. Life’s Unpleasant Aspects Think of the public baths—the oil, the sweat, the dirt, the grayish water, all of it rather disgusting. The whole of life, and all of the visible world, has aspects like that.

25. The Procession of Deaths Verus died, leaving Lucilla behind; then Lucilla died. Maximus died, leaving Secunda; then Secunda died. Diotimus died, leaving Epitynchanus; then Epitynchanus died. Faustina (my wife) died, leaving me, Antoninus; then I, Antoninus, will die. So it is with all of them. Hadrian died, leaving Celer; then Celer died. Where have they all gone—the brilliant ones, the insightful ones, the proud ones? People as brilliant as Charax, Demetrius the Platonist, Eudaemon, and all the rest of them. They were all short-lived creatures, and they have been dead for a long time. Some of them are not remembered at all. Some have become legends. Some have faded even from legend. So remember: your physical components will be scattered too. The life force within you will be quenched. Or, you will receive new marching orders and a different posting in the universe.

26. Human Joy True joy for human beings lies in performing distinctively human actions. Human actions include:

• Kindness to others.
• A healthy contempt for the misleading messages of the senses.
• The careful examination of appearances to discern truth from falsehood.
• Observation of nature and of events in nature, understanding their order.

27. Three Key Relationships You have three primary relationships: i. With the physical body you inhabit. ii. With the divine (God or universal reason), which is the ultimate cause of everything in all things. iii. With the people around you.

28. The Soul’s Immunity to Bodily Pain Either pain affects the body (in which case, it’s the body’s problem to deal with), or it affects the soul. But the soul can choose not to be affected by physical pain. It can preserve its own serenity, its own tranquility. All our decisions, urges, desires, and aversions lie within the soul. No external evil can truly touch them.

29. Protecting Your Soul To erase false perceptions and troubling thoughts, tell yourself: I have it within me to keep my soul from any evil, from any lust, and from all confusion. I have the power to see things as they truly are and to treat them as they deserve. Don’t overlook this innate ability.

30. Speaking Appropriately Whether speaking to the Senate—or to anyone at all—do so in the right tone, without being overbearing or arrogant. Choose the right words to convey your meaning clearly and respectfully.

31. The Death of a Whole Court Think of Emperor Augustus’s court: his wife, his daughter, his grandsons, his stepsons, his sister, his key advisor Agrippa, all his relatives, servants, friends, other advisors like Areius and Maecenas, the doctors, the sacrificial priests… the entire court is dead and gone. And then consider the deaths in other families and groups, not just the passing of individuals (like the family of the Pompeys, which eventually died out). Think of that line they sometimes write on tombs: “last surviving descendant.” Consider the anxiety their ancestors must have felt—that there should be a successor to carry on the family line. But someone always has to be the last. There, too, you see the death of a whole house.

32. Assembling Your Life, Action by Action You have to assemble your life yourself—action by action. And you should be satisfied if each action achieves its proper goal, as far as it can. No one can keep that from happening. You might say: —“But there are external obstacles that can get in the way…” My response: Yes, but no external obstacle can prevent you from behaving with justice, self-control, and good sense. You might counter: —“Well, but perhaps an obstacle can prevent me from performing some more concrete, physical action.” My response: But if you accept the obstacle calmly and work with what you’re given, an alternative action will usually present itself—another piece of the larger project you’re trying to assemble. Life is built action by action.

33. Acceptance and Indifference To accept what comes without arrogance, and to let it go with indifference.

34. Self-Inflicted Separation from Unity Have you ever seen a severed hand or foot, or a decapitated head, just lying somewhere far away from the body it once belonged to? That’s what we do to ourselves—or at least try to do—when we rebel against what happens to us, when we isolate ourselves from others, or when we do something purely selfish. You have, in a sense, torn yourself away from the natural unity of humanity—a state you were born to share in. Now you’ve cut yourself off from it. But you have one great advantage here: you can reattach yourself. This is a privilege God has granted to no other part of no other whole—to be separated, cut away, and then allowed to be reunited. But look how He has singled out human beings. He has allowed us not to be broken off from this unity in the first place. And even when we are broken off, He has allowed us to return, to graft ourselves back on, and to take up our old position once again: as an integral part of a larger whole.

35. Turning Setbacks into Fuel We human beings have various abilities, present in all rational creatures as inherent in the very nature of rationality itself. And this is one of them: Just as universal nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it—turns it to its own purposes, incorporates it into itself—so, too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve his or her own goal.

36. Minimizing the Present Burden Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole. Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen all at once. Instead, stick with the situation at hand, and ask yourself, “Why is this particular thing so unbearable? Why can’t I endure it?” You’ll likely be embarrassed to answer that you can’t. Then remind yourself that the past and the future have no real power over you. Only the present moment does—and even that can be minimized in your mind. Just mark off its limits; see it as a small, manageable segment of time. And if your mind tries to claim that it can’t hold out against even that small segment… well, then, heap shame upon it for being so weak.

37. The Futility of Perpetual Mourning Are Pantheia or Pergamos (devoted servants or companions) still keeping watch at the tomb of Emperor Verus (Marcus’s adoptive brother and co-emperor)? Are Chabrias or Diotimus still mourning at the tomb of Emperor Hadrian? Of course they aren’t. And even if they were, would the dead emperors know it? And even if the emperors knew, would it please them? And even if it did please them, would the mourners live forever? Were they, too, not fated to grow old and then die? And when that happened, what good would their mourning do the emperors then?

38. The Stench of Decay The stench of decay. Rotting meat in a bag. Look at it clearly and unflinchingly. If you can.

39. Virtue Against Pleasure A wise person once said: “When I look at human character, I see no virtue specifically designed to counter justice. But I do see one virtue designed to counter pleasure: that is self-control.”

40. Your Reasoning Mind and Pain Stop seeing the pain you imagine and you’ll remain completely unaffected in your core. “Unaffected in what part of me?” you ask. In your reasoning mind. “But I’m more than just my reasoning mind,” you say. Fine. Just don’t let your reasoning mind be injured by judgments about pain. If any other part of you is suffering, let that part decide that for itself.

41. What Harms Living Beings For any living thing, “harmful” means whatever blocks its senses or stops it from doing what it intends. Similar blocks are harmful to plants. So, for rational creatures, anything that blocks the mind’s operation is harmful. Apply this to yourself. Are pain and pleasure getting to you? Let your senses handle that. Are there obstacles to your actions? If you didn’t consider that obstacles might arise, that failure to foresee would harm you as a rational being. But if you use common sense, you haven’t been truly harmed or blocked. Nothing can block your mind’s operations – not fire, steel, tyrants, or insults – as long as it remains like a “perfectly still sphere.”

42. Doing No Injury to Self or Others I have no right to hurt myself. And have I ever intentionally hurt anyone else if I could avoid it?

The universal Reason is present everywhere. It is as widely spread throughout those who accept it as air is for those who breathe it.

55. Evil Harms the Doer, Not the World The existence of evil doesn’t harm the universe. And an individual evil act doesn’t necessarily harm the victim in an essential way. Only one person is truly harmed by it: the person doing the evil. And they can stop being harmed as soon as they decide to change.

56. Your Will is Your Own Other people’s choices are as separate from mine as their breath and their bodies are. We exist for each other, yes, but our own guiding mind is its own ruler. Otherwise, the bad things others do would directly harm me. That’s not what God or Nature intended – for my happiness to depend on someone else.

57. Light and Thought Extend, Not Pour Out We talk about sunlight “pouring down.” But it never runs out. That’s because it doesn’t pour; it extends. Think of a sunbeam: it’s light extending. Look at light coming through a small opening into a dark room. It extends in a straight line. It hits any solid object in its path and stops there, illuminating it. It doesn’t just disappear or fall away. That’s how your thoughts should be: not emptied out, but extended. They shouldn’t hit obstacles with anger or give up. They should hold their ground and light up whatever accepts them. Anything that doesn’t receive light creates its own darkness.

58. Fear of Death is Fear of New Experiences (or None) Fearing death is fearing what we might experience after death. It might be nothing at all, or something entirely new.

• If we experience nothing, we can’t experience anything bad.
• If our experience changes, our existence will change with it – but it won’t end.

59. People: Teach Them or Tolerate Them People exist for one another. So, you can either teach them or tolerate them.

60. The Mind’s Forward Motion An arrow flies in one way. The mind moves in another. Even when it pauses or considers things carefully, the mind is always moving forward, toward its goal.

61. Enter Others’ Minds Try to understand what goes on in other people’s minds. And let them understand what goes on in yours.

Book 9

1. Injustice and Lies Offend Nature (Truth) Injustice is a kind of disrespect for the divine order. Nature, the oldest god, designed rational beings to help each other, not harm each other, according to what each deserves. To go against Nature’s will is to disrespect it.

Lying is also a disrespect for Nature. Nature is the nature of what truly exists. What exists and what is true are closely linked. So, Nature is the same as Truth, the source of all true things.

• To lie on purpose is to disrespect Nature. You deceive and act unjustly.
• Even lying without meaning to disrupts Nature’s harmony and order. You conflict with how the world is structured. This happens to anyone who turns away from truth, even unwillingly. Nature gave you tools to tell true from false. If you neglected them, you can no longer tell the difference.

Chasing pleasure as the highest good, and running from pain as the greatest evil—this is also disrespectful to Nature. If you do this, you’ll constantly criticize Nature. You’ll complain it doesn’t give good and bad people what they deserve. You’ll say it often lets bad people have pleasure while good people suffer. Fearing pain means fearing something that’s bound to happen in this world. This fear is also disrespectful. And if you only chase pleasure, you’ll likely do wrong things—which is clearly disrespectful to Nature.

Nature is indifferent to some things; if it preferred one over the other, it wouldn’t have made both. To follow Nature, we must share its indifference. To prefer pleasure over pain, life over death, or fame over being unknown is clearly disrespectful. Nature doesn’t show these preferences. When I say Nature is indifferent, I mean these things happen without discrimination. They happen to things that exist and things that come after them, all according to an ancient plan of Providence. This plan set up the principles of creation and the forces that drive existence and change.

2. Dying Well: The Best and Next-Best Departures The best luck would be to leave life without ever having seen dishonesty, hypocrisy, self-indulgence, or pride in yourself or others. But the “next-best voyage” is to die when you’ve had enough of these evils. Or are you determined to keep living with evil? Hasn’t experience taught you to avoid it like a deadly illness? Because that’s what evil is—a disease of the mind, worse than any physical sickness. Physical diseases only threaten your life; this one attacks your humanity.

3. Welcome Death as Natural Don’t look down on death; welcome it. It’s also one of the things Nature requires. It’s like youth and old age, growth and maturity, getting new teeth, a beard, or gray hair. It’s like sex, pregnancy, and childbirth. Just like all other physical changes at each stage of life, our end is no different. A thoughtful person should wait for death like this:

• Not indifferently.
• Not impatiently.
• Not with contempt. Simply view it as one of the things that happen to us. You anticipate a baby emerging from its mother’s womb; that’s how you should wait for your soul to emerge from your body.

If you need a simple saying to help, remember two things that can reconcile you to death:

1. The nature of the things you’ll leave behind.
2. The kind of people you’ll no longer be involved with. You don’t need to resent them. In fact, you should care for them and be gentle. But remember that what you believe in will be meaningless to those you leave behind. The only thing that might make us want to stay here is the chance to live with people who share our values. But look how tiring this noisy, conflicting world is now. It’s enough to make you say to death, “Come quickly, before I forget who I am and become like them.”

4. Harming Others Harms Yourself To harm someone else is to harm yourself. To do an injustice is to do an injustice to your own character—it degrades you.

5. Injustice by Doing Nothing You can also commit injustice by failing to act when you should.

6. All You Need Right Now

• Objective judgment, now, at this very moment.
• Unselfish action, now, at this very moment.
• Willing acceptance—now, at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you need.

7. Control Your Inner World

• Wipe out your imagination.
• Stop your desires in their tracks.
• Put out your cravings.
• Keep your mind focused on itself and its principles.

8. Shared Souls, Shared Reason Animals without reason (Logos) have one kind of soul. Those with reason share another kind—a rational one. It’s like how all earthly creatures share one earth. We all see by the same light and breathe the same air—all of us who see and breathe.

9. Like Attracts Like; Humanity’s Bond Things are drawn to things like themselves. Earthly things are pulled to the earth. Wet things flow together. Airy things mix unless forced apart. Fire is drawn upward to the greater fire, ready to ignite with any earthly flame. Anything dry is good fuel because it has less to hinder combustion. Things with an intelligent nature are even more prone to seek out what is like them. Their superiority in other ways matches their readiness to connect with their counterparts. Even in irrational beings, we see swarms, herds, nesting, and love. They have souls, and the bonding instinct is developed. We don’t see this in plants or stones. It’s even more developed in rational beings, with their societies, friendships, families, groups, treaties, and truces. In those even more developed, there’s a kind of unity even between separate things, like we see in the stars. Advanced development can create sympathy even between distinct things. But look how it is now. Rational beings are often the only ones who have lost that sense of attraction and unity. Only among them do we not see that natural coming together. But no matter how much they try to avoid it, they can’t escape it. Nature is stronger. You can see this if you look closely. Physical objects can pull free from the earth more easily than humans can truly escape their shared humanity.

10. The Fruits of Reason Humanity, divinity, and the world itself all produce fruit. Each is fruitful in its own season. We usually only use the word “fruit” for vines and plants, but that’s too narrow. The fruit of Reason (Logos) nourishes both us and Reason itself. And other good things, similar in nature to Reason, also spring from it.

11. Instruct or Be Patient (Again) If you can, try to convince people not to do wrong. If you can’t, remember that patience was given to us for a reason. The gods are patient with them too, and sometimes even help them get things like health, money, or fame. That’s how good the gods are. You can be patient and helpful too, if you choose. What’s stopping you?

11a. The Dedicated Sage This describes a person dedicated to living by wisdom: He has let go of concerns about his body. He knows that soon he will have to leave humankind and all this behind. So, he has dedicated himself to two things:

1. Justice in all his actions.
2. Accepting Nature in all that happens. He doesn’t worry about what people say, think, or do about him. He only asks himself these two questions:

• Is what I’m doing now the right thing?
• Do I accept and welcome what has been given to me by fate? He has removed all other jobs and tasks from his life. He only wants to follow a straight path—to God, by living according to universal law.

Book 10

1. A Challenge to Your Soul My soul, listen to me: Are you ever going to be truly good? Will you ever be simple, whole, and clear—as easy to see as the body that surrounds you? Will you ever know what it feels like to have a truly affectionate and loving nature? Will you ever be completely fulfilled and satisfied? Will you ever stop desiring and longing for more—lusting after people and things to enjoy? Or wanting more time to enjoy them? Or wishing for some other place or country, maybe “a warmer climate”? Or for people who are easier to get along with?

Instead of all that, will you ever just be satisfied with what you have right now? Will you accept the present moment—all of it? Will you convince yourself that everything is a gift from the gods? Will you believe that all things are good and always will be, whatever the gods decide and plan for the preservation of that perfect, universal Being—which is itself good, just, and beautiful? This Being creates all things, connects and embraces them, and even gathers their scattered pieces to create more like them.

Will you ever reach the point where you can stand as a true fellow citizen with gods and human beings, blaming no one, and deserving no one’s criticism?

2. Follow Nature’s Demands First, focus on what universal Nature demands, as if that alone governed you. Do that, and accept it, unless your basic nature as a living being would be harmed by it. Then, focus on what your nature as a living being demands. Accept that too—unless your higher nature as a rational being would be harmed by it. And remember, being “rational” also means being “civic”—a social being meant to live well with others. Follow these guidelines, and don’t waste time on anything else.

3. Endurable or Unendurable Everything that happens is either something you can endure or something you cannot.

• If you can endure it, then endure it. Stop complaining.
• If you cannot endure it… then stop complaining. Your destruction will also be its end. Just remember: you can endure anything your mind can make endurable by deciding that doing so is in your best interest, or that it is in line with your nature.

4. Correct Gently, or It’s on You (or No One) If people have made a mistake, correct them gently. Show them where they went wrong. If you can’t do that, then the blame for the uncorrected mistake lies with you. Or perhaps, with no one at all.

5. Woven by Fate Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time. The intertwined threads of fate wove together your existence and the events that occur in your life.

6. Part of a Whole Controlled by Nature Whether the universe is made of atoms or is a unified system governed by Nature, the first thing to understand is this: I am a part of a world controlled by Nature. Secondly, I have a relationship with other similar parts of this world. With that in mind, as a part, I have no right to complain about what is assigned to me by the whole. This is because what benefits the whole cannot harm its parts, and the whole only does what benefits it. All natural systems share this trait. But the Nature of the world has another characteristic: no outside force can make it harm itself. So, by remembering that I am part of this whole, I will accept whatever happens. And because of my relationship with other parts, I will do nothing selfish. Instead, I will aim to join with them. I will direct all my actions toward what benefits everyone and avoid what doesn’t. If I do all that, my life should go smoothly—just as you would expect a citizen’s life to go when their actions serve fellow citizens and they embrace the community’s decisions.

7. The “Destruction” of Parts is Natural Transformation The whole universe is naturally made of individual parts. The “destruction” of these parts (which really means their transformation into something else) is inevitable. If this process were truly harmful to the parts and also unavoidable, then it’s hard to see how the whole could function smoothly. How could it work well if its parts are always changing from one state to another, all designed only to be “destroyed” in various ways? Does Nature intentionally set out to harm its own components, making them vulnerable and destined for harm? Or is Nature simply unaware of what’s going on within itself? Neither idea seems very believable. But even if we forget about “Nature” as a guiding force and try to explain these changes by the inherent properties of things, it would still be absurd. It’s absurd to say that individual things are naturally prone to change, and then at the same time be surprised or complain when they do change—especially if you claim it’s happening “contrary to nature.” This is most true when things simply return to where they came from. Our physical elements either just scatter, or they are drawn by a kind of gravity—solid parts toward earth, airy parts into the air—until they’re reabsorbed into the universal intelligence (Logos). This Logos itself might undergo periodic destructions by fire (as some Stoics believed) or be renewed through constant change. And don’t think these elements—solid and airy—have been part of you since birth. They came into your system just yesterday or the day before, from the food you ate and the air you breathed. So, it’s that collection of recently acquired matter that changes, not the essential person your mother gave birth to. —But what if you feel deeply connected to this changing matter through your sense of self? That’s a different, more complex question and not the main point here.

8. Good Names to Live By Give yourself these titles:

• Upright
• Modest
• Straightforward
• Sane
• Cooperative
• Disinterested (acting without self-interest) Try not to exchange these for other, less worthy titles. And if you feel you’ve lost them, start working to get them back immediately. Remember:
• “Sane” means understanding each thing for what it truly is, without losing your grip on reality.
• “Cooperative” means willingly accepting what Nature assigns you.
• “Disinterested” means your intelligence should rise above physical sensations (both rough and smooth), above fame, above fear of death, and similar things. If you hold onto these titles—whether others call you by them or not—you’ll become a new person, living a new life. To keep being the person you’ve been, to keep being harmed and degraded by your current way of life, means you lack sense and are too attached to mere physical existence. It’s like those animal fighters in the arena—torn apart, bleeding, yet begging to fight again tomorrow, only to be bitten and clawed once more. So, set your course with this small handful of titles. Steer steadily if you can, like someone migrating to a peaceful, blessed land. If you feel lost or out of control, hope for the best and find a temporary refuge where you can regain your stability. Or, leave life altogether—not in anger, but simply, straightforwardly, without arrogance, knowing you’ve at least done that much. As you try to remember these titles, it will also help to remember the gods. They don’t want flattery; they want all rational beings to become like them. They want fig trees to do what fig trees do, dogs to do what dogs do, bees to do what bees do… and people to do what people are meant to do.

9. Daily Threats to Your Principles; Aims for Action Showy performances, battles and confusion, laziness and servitude—every day, these things try to erase your sacred principles. These are principles you either imagine without careful thought or just let slip away. Your actions and perceptions need to have clear aims:

• To accomplish practical and useful things.
• To exercise your ability to think clearly.
• To maintain a confidence based on real understanding—a quiet confidence, not showy but clearly present. When will you finally let yourself enjoy being straightforward? Or serious? Or truly understanding individual things—their nature, their substance, their place in the world, how long they last, what they’re made of, who can truly own them, and who has the right to give or receive them?

10. The Psychology of Predators Spiders are proud when they catch flies. Some men are proud when they catch rabbits. Others when they catch fish in a net, or wild boars, or bears. Some, like certain warriors, are proud of capturing other people. If you look at their core motivations, aren’t they all just behaving like thieves or predators?

11. See How Things Change; Grow Spiritually Observe how all things constantly change into one another. Make an effort to truly see and understand this process. Apply this understanding constantly in your thoughts; use it to train yourself. Nothing helps you grow spiritually as much as this practice.

11a. The Dedicated Individual (This describes an ideal wise person): He has let go of all concern for his physical body. He knows that soon he will have to leave humankind and all this earthly existence behind. So, he has dedicated himself entirely to these two things:

1. Serving justice in all his actions.
2. Accepting and aligning himself with universal Nature in all that happens. He doesn’t worry about what other people say, think, or do about him. He only asks himself these two questions:

• Is what I’m doing right now the right thing?
• Do I accept and welcome what has been given to me by fate? He has removed all other jobs and tasks from his life. He only wants to follow a straight path—to God (or the divine order), by living according to universal law.

12. No Need for Guesswork Why all this guesswork and uncertainty? You can often see what needs to be done. If you can see the road ahead clearly, then follow it. Do so cheerfully and without constantly turning back or second-guessing yourself. If you cannot see the road clearly, then pause and get the best advice you can. If anything still gets in the way of your well-advised plan, then keep moving forward cautiously. Make good use of the resources you have on hand. Always stick to what seems right and just. (The best goal is to achieve what is right. We fall short of that ideal when we fail to act or act wrongly.)

12a. The Balance of Following Reason To follow reason (the Logos) in all things is to be relaxed and energetic, joyful and serious, all at the same time.

13. The Irrelevance of Others’ Blame for Right Action When you wake up, ask yourself: Does it make any real difference to me if other people blame me for doing what is right? It makes no difference at all. Have you forgotten what the people who are so loud in their praise or blame of others are really like when they sleep and when they eat? Have you forgotten their typical behavior, their fears, their desires, their acts of theft and wrongdoing—not necessarily physical thefts, but those committed by what should be the highest part of them, their minds? This is the part that, when it chooses, creates loyalty, humility, truth, order, and true well-being.

14. Nature Gives and Takes Nature gives all things, and Nature takes all things away. Anyone who has sense and humility will say to her, “Give and take as you please.” They will say this not out of defiance, but out of simple obedience and goodwill.

15. Live Simply; The World is Your City You have only a short time left to live. Live as if you were alone—perhaps out in the wilderness. It makes no difference whether you live here or there, if you consider that the city you truly live in is the entire world. Let people see a person who is genuinely living according to nature, and let them understand what that truly means. If they can’t stand to see such a person, let them kill him. (That would be better than living like this—meaning, living a false or compromised life just to please them.)

16. Be a Good Man It’s time to stop talking about what the good man is like, and just be one.

17. Vast Time and Space, Tiny Things Maintain a continual awareness of all time and all space. Understand the true size and life span of the individual things around us. A single grape seed is almost nothing in the context of infinite space. A half twist of a corkscrew is an insignificant moment when measured against the backdrop of eternity.

18. All Things Are Fraying and Dying Bear in mind that everything that exists is already fraying at the edges. It is in transition, subject to fragmentation and to eventual rot. Or, put another way, everything was born only to die.

19. People’s Actions and Inner States Consider how people act when they eat, sleep, have sex, defecate, and all the rest. Then, consider how they behave when they are in positions of power, ordering others about and exulting in their status, or when they are raging and thundering down from on high. And yet, just consider the demeaning things they submitted to only a moment ago, and the reasons they did so. And think about the things they’ll be submitting to again before very long.

20. Nature Gives What We Need, When We Need It Each of us needs what universal Nature gives us, and we need it at the time when Nature gives it.

21. Longing with the World A poet once wrote: “The earth knows longing for the rain, the sky knows longing too…” And the world itself longs to create whatever new thing will come to be. I tell the world: “I share your longing.” (And isn’t that what we really mean when we say something is “inclined to happen” or “bound to occur”?)

22. Your Options in Life You have these possibilities: i. To keep on living (you should be used to how life is by now). ii. To end your life (that was your choice to make, after all, if things become truly unbearable and dishonorable). iii. To die (having met your obligations and completed your service). These are really your only options. There is reason for optimism and courage in facing them.

23. Simplicity is Universal Keep always before you the thought that “this simple way of life is no different from living in an empty field.” The essential things in life are the same whether you are on a mountaintop, on the seashore, or wherever you happen to be. Plato gets to the heart of this when he describes a shepherd “fencing a sheepfold in the mountains, and milking goats or sheep”—finding contentment in simple, natural activities.

24. Examining Your Mind My mind:

• What is it, really?
• What am I currently making of it?
• What am I using it for? Is it empty of productive thought? Is it isolated and torn loose from connection with those around me? Is it melted into my flesh and blended with it, so that it merely shares my body’s urges and impulses?

25. The Fugitive from Nature’s Law When a slave runs away from his master, we call him a fugitive slave. But the law of nature is a master too. To break that law is also to become a kind of fugitive. To feel excessive grief, anger, or fear is to try to escape from something that has been decreed by the ruler of all things—Nature, or Fate—whether that decree applies to the present, the past, or the future. And that ruler is Law, the principle which governs what happens to each of us. Therefore, to feel overwhelming grief, anger, or fear is to become a fugitive—a fugitive from cosmic justice and order.

26. The Silent Forces of Creation A man deposits his sperm and then leaves. After that, a force that is not his own takes that sperm and goes to work, eventually creating a child. This amazing creation… from that simple beginning? Or consider this: A person pours food down his throat. And then, a force that is not his own takes that food and creates sensations, desires, the very substance of daily life, physical strength, and so much else besides. The lesson is to look at these things that go on silently within us and around us, and to see the incredible force that drives them. We should see this force just as clearly as we see the physical force that pushes things and pulls them—not necessarily with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of our understanding.

27. History Repeats Itself Bear in mind constantly that all of this has happened before. And it will happen again—the same plot from beginning to end, the identical staging. Produce these scenes in your mind, as you know them either from your own experience or from reading history: the court of Emperor Hadrian, the court of Emperor Antoninus. Think of the courts of Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great, or King Croesus of Lydia. They were all just the same in essence. Only the individual people involved were different.

28. Resisting Fate is Like a Squealing Pig People who feel hurt and resentment at what happens to them are like the pig at a religious sacrifice, kicking and squealing all the way. Or they are like the man who lies alone in his bed at night, silently weeping over the chains of fate that bind us all. Remember that everything has to submit to fate. But only rational beings are capable of submitting to it voluntarily and with understanding.

29. Fear of Death and Loss of Activities Stop whatever you’re doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do this particular thing anymore?

30. Understanding Others’ Mistakes (and Your Own) When you are faced with other people’s bad behavior, turn around and ask yourself if you have ever acted in a similar way. For example, have you ever seen money as an ultimate good, or pursued pleasure excessively, or desperately sought social position? Your anger will often subside as soon as you recognize that they, like you perhaps at other times, acted under a kind of compulsion—they felt they had to do it, or didn’t know any better. (Given their current understanding, what else could they do?) Or, if you can, try to remove the compulsion or the misunderstanding that leads them to act that way.

31. Seeing the Dead in the Living, and All as Smoke When you look at someone like Satyron (a philosopher), try to see in him a Socraticus, or a Eutyches, or a Hymen (other respected figures). When you look at Euphrates (another philosopher), see in him a Eutychion or a Silvanus. With Alciphron, see a Tropaeophorus. When you look at the writer Xenophon, see in him a Crito (Socrates’ friend) or a Severus (a respected contemporary). When you look at yourself, see any of the past emperors. And do the same with everyone else. Then let this thought hit you: Where are all those people now? They are nowhere… or wherever departed spirits go. Looking at things this way, you’ll see human life for what it truly is: like smoke, like nothingness. This is especially true when you recall that once things alter and pass away, they cease to exist in that form through all the endless years to come. Then why all this turmoil and anxiety? To live your brief life rightly and in accordance with nature, isn’t that enough? The raw material of life you think you’re missing, the opportunities you believe have passed you by…! What is any of this but training—training for your reason (Logos), through a life observed accurately and scientifically (with understanding)? So, keep at it, until this understanding is fully digested and becomes part of you. A strong stomach digests whatever food it is given. A blazing fire takes whatever you throw on it and makes it light and flame.

32. The Unstoppable Power of Honesty Make it so that no one can ever say truthfully that you are not a straightforward or honest person. Ensure that anyone who thinks that about you believes a falsehood. The responsibility for this is all yours; no one can stop you from being honest or straightforward. Simply resolve not to go on living if you are not such a person. That kind of compromised existence would be contrary to your rational nature (Logos).

33. The Sanest Course; The Mind’s Freedom Given the material circumstances we’re made of, what’s the sanest and most rational thing that we can do or say? Whatever it may be, you can do it or say it. Don’t pretend that anything is truly stopping you.

You’ll never stop complaining and feeling dissatisfied until you feel the same kind of genuine pleasure that the hedonist (someone who lives only for pleasure) gets from self-indulgence—but you must find this pleasure only from doing what’s proper to human beings, as far as your circumstances (whether inherent in your nature or resulting from fortune) allow. “Enjoyment” for a rational being means doing as much of what your true nature requires as you possibly can. And you can do that anywhere. This is a privilege not granted to a cylinder—it cannot determine its own action. Nor is it granted to water, or fire, or any of the other things governed by physical nature alone, or by an irrational soul. Too many things obstruct them and get in their way. But the human intellect and reason (Logos) are able to make their way through anything that seems to be in their path—either by their inborn capacity or by sheer force of will. Keep before your eyes the ease with which they do this—the ease with which reason is carried through all things, just as fire is naturally drawn upward, or a stone naturally falls to earth, or as a cylinder naturally rolls down an inclined plane.

That’s all you need to remember. All other obstacles either affect only the lifeless physical body, or they have no power to shake or harm anything unless misperception takes over or reason itself surrenders voluntarily. Otherwise, those things they obstruct would be immediately degraded and harmed by them. In all other entities in the world, when anything bad happens to them, it genuinely affects them for the worse. But in this case—with a human being facing obstacles—a person is actually improved by them (if I can put it like that). We admire a person for reacting to adversity as a rational and virtuous person should.

And keep in mind that nothing can truly harm one of nature’s citizens (a person living in accordance with nature) except what harms the larger community (the city or state) to which he belongs. And nothing truly harms that community except what harms its fundamental law and order. And there is no so-called misfortune that can do that. So long as the law is safe and upheld, so is the city—and so is the citizen.

34. Brief Reminders Dispel Fear and Pain If you’ve truly immersed yourself in the principles of truth, then even the briefest, most random reminder is often enough to dispel all your fear and pain. For example, a line from Homer: “…leaves that the wind Drives earthward; such are the generations of men.” Your children are like leaves. People applauding you loyally and heaping praise upon you, or, conversely, turning around and calling down curses, sneering and mocking you from a safe distance—they too are like leaves. A glorious reputation handed down by others—also like leaves. All of these “spring up in the springtime”—and then the wind of time blows them all away. And the tree of humanity puts forth other leaves to replace them. None of us have much time. And yet you often act as if things were eternal—judging by the way you fear some things and long for others… Before long, darkness will come for you. And whoever buries you will soon be mourned in their turn.

35. Healthy Senses Accept All A healthy pair of eyes should be able to see everything that can be seen. They should not say, “No! That’s too bright!” (That kind of reaction is a symptom of eye disease, like ophthalmia). A healthy sense of hearing or smell should be prepared for any sound or any scent. A healthy stomach should have the same neutral reaction to all kinds of foods, just as a mill grinds whatever grain is put into it.

36. Disgust at What Things Are Made Of Think about the disgust you might feel at what things are truly made of: Liquid, dust, bones, filth. Or consider that marble is just hardened dirt, gold and silver are just residues from the earth, clothes are made of animal hair, and expensive purple dye comes from the blood of shellfish. And all the rest of the things in the world are like that. And it’s the same with our living breath—it too is constantly being transformed from one thing (like the air around us) to another (part of our own being) and back again.

37. Enough of This Wretched Life Enough of this wretched, whining, monkey-like existence. What’s the matter? Is any of this genuinely new to you? What is it that you find so surprising?

• Is it the underlying purpose or cause of things? Look at it carefully.
• Is it the material they are made of? Look at that too. That’s all there is to them. And as for the gods? Well, you could try being simpler and gentler in your relationship with them, even now, at this stage of your life. Whether you live for a hundred years or only three… in the grand scheme of things, it makes no real difference.

38. If They’ve Injured You, They Suffer If other people have truly injured you, then ultimately, they are the ones who suffer the consequences for it in their own character. But first, pause and ask yourself: have they really injured me?

Book 11

1. Qualities of the Rational Soul The rational soul has these characteristics:

• It can see itself, examine itself, and shape itself into whatever it wants to be.
• It reaps its own harvest. This is unlike plants (and, in a different way, animals), whose fruits or products are gathered by others.
• It reaches its intended goal in life, no matter when its life might end. It’s not like a dance or a play, where the performance is incomplete if it’s cut off in the middle. At any point it stops, the rational soul can say it has fulfilled its mission and done its work completely. It can say, “I have what I came for.”

More qualities:

• It surveys the entire world, the empty space around it, and how the world is put together.
• It reaches into the endlessness of time. It tries to grasp and understand the repeating cycles of birth and rebirth that the world goes through.
• It knows that those who come after us will see nothing fundamentally different from what we see. It knows that those who came before us saw no more than we do. And it knows that anyone who has lived for about forty years and has reasonably good sense has, in effect, seen both the past and the future—because they are both essentially alike.

Also characteristic of the rational soul are:

• Affection for its neighbors (other people).
• Truthfulness.
• Humility.
• Not placing anything above itself—which is also a characteristic of law and good order. In this, there’s no real difference between the guiding principle (Logos) of rationality and the guiding principle of justice.

2. Becoming Indifferent to Distractions Here’s how to become indifferent to things like pretty singing, captivating dancing, or impressive martial arts:

• For singing: Analyze the melody into the individual notes that make it up. As you hear each separate note, ask yourself if you are powerless against that single note. Realizing that each individual component has little power over you should be enough to make you less captivated by the whole.
• For dancing: Do the same. Break it down into individual movements and poses.
• For martial arts: Analyze the individual techniques and stances. Apply this method to everything in life—except for true virtue and the good actions that come from it. Look at the individual parts of things, and by analyzing them, move towards a healthy indifference to their superficial appeal. Apply this to your life as a whole.

3. True Resolution The soul that is truly resolute is firm in its decision to separate from the body when the time comes. It is firm whether that means dissolution (ceasing to be), fragmentation (scattering of atoms), or continuity in some other form. But this resolution has to be the result of its own decision, based on careful judgment. It shouldn’t just be a reaction to outside forces or pressures (like the way some early Christians faced martyrdom, which some might see as driven by external factors or group identity rather than pure individual reason). This resolution has to be considered, serious, and based on reasons that would be persuasive to other thoughtful people. It should be without theatrics or emotional display.

4. Benefits of Common Good Actions Have I done something for the common good? If so, then I too share in the benefits of that action. Focus on this truth. Don’t give up on working for the good of all.

5. Your Profession: Goodness Someone asks: “And what is your profession?” Answer: “Goodness.” (And how is that goodness to be achieved, except by deep thought—about the nature of the world, and about the true nature of human beings?)

6. Lessons from Theater First, consider Greek tragedies. They were important because they reminded people of what can happen in life, and that such events happen inevitably according to fate or nature. They showed that if something gives you pleasure or moves you deeply on the tragic stage, it shouldn’t cause you anger or despair when similar things happen on the stage of real life. Watching tragedies helps you realize that these are difficulties we all have to go through. Even those characters in the plays who cry aloud in their suffering, like Oedipus on Mount Cithaeron, still have to endure them. Tragedies also contain some excellent lines. For example:

• “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, / The gods must have their reasons.”
• Or: “And why should we feel anger at the world?”
• And: “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain…” …and many other good ones.

Then, after tragedy, came Old Comedy. This was instructive because of its frankness and its plain speaking, which was often designed to puncture people’s pretensions and arrogance. (The philosopher Diogenes used similar straightforward tactics for similar ends.) Then consider Middle Comedy (and later New Comedy) and what it aimed at. It gradually degenerated into mere realism (just copying everyday life) and empty technical skill in writing. There are undeniably good passages, even in those later writers, but what was the overall point of it all—the scripts and the staging alike? Often, not much beyond entertainment.

7. Philosophy Suits Your Current Role It stares you right in the face: no role in life is so well suited to practicing philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now.

8. Branches Cut from the Tree A branch cut away from the branch next to it is, at the same time, cut away from the whole tree. In the same way, a human being who is separated from another human being is cut loose from the entire community. A branch is usually cut off by someone else. But people often cut themselves off from others—through hatred, or through rejection—and they don’t realize that by doing so, they’re cutting themselves off from the whole civic enterprise, the human community. Except, we also have a special gift, given to us by Zeus (the divine order), who founded this community of ours. We can reattach ourselves to others and become once more components of the whole. But if this rupture, this cutting off, is too often repeated, it makes the severed part harder to reconnect and to restore to its former health. You can see the difference between a branch that’s been there since the beginning, remaining on the tree and growing with it, and one that’s been cut off and then grafted back on. As the gardeners say, it becomes like “one trunk, but two different kinds of growth (or minds).”

9. Dealing with Obstruction and Intolerance As you move forward in living according to reason (the Logos), people will sometimes stand in your way. They can’t keep you from doing what’s healthy for your character; don’t let them stop you from being tolerant and patient with them either. Take care on both counts:

• Maintain sound judgments and solid, virtuous actions.
• At the same time, maintain tolerance for those who try to obstruct you or give you trouble in other ways. Because anger is also a weakness, just as much as breaking down under pressure and giving up the struggle. Both the person who breaks and runs from a challenge, and the one who lets himself become alienated from his fellow human beings, are deserters from their post.

10. Nature is Superior to Art What is natural can never be inferior to what is artificial. Art, in fact, imitates nature, not the other way around. If this is true, then that most highly developed and comprehensive nature—Nature itself, the universe as a whole—cannot possibly fall short of artifice or human craftsmanship in its design and workings. Now, all the arts and crafts aim to move from lower, simpler goals to higher, more complex ones. Won’t Nature, the greatest craftsman, do the same? This leads to the idea of justice. Justice is the source of all the other virtues. For how could we truly do what justice requires if we are constantly distracted by things that don’t really matter, if we are naive and easily fooled, or if we are gullible and inconstant in our principles?

11. You Seek Turmoil, Not the Other Way Around It’s the pursuit of external things, and your attempts to avoid other external things, that leave you in such turmoil. And yet, those things themselves aren’t seeking you out; you are the one seeking them. Try to suspend your judgment about these external things. At once, they will seem to lie still and untroubling, and you will be freed from the exhausting cycle of fleeing some things and pursuing others.

12. The Soul Like a Stable Sphere The soul is like a sphere in perfect equilibrium when it:

• Does not grasp at things beyond itself.
• Does not retreat inward in fear or contraction.
• Does not fragment outward in distraction.
• Does not sink back on itself in despair. Instead, it remains ablaze with an inner light, and by this light, it looks at the truth of all things, both without and within itself.

13. Dealing with Others’ Contempt or Hatred Someone despises me. That’s their problem. My problem is to ensure that I do not do or say anything that is actually despicable. Someone hates me. That’s also their problem. My responsibility is to be patient and cheerful with everyone, including them. I should be ready to show them their mistake, not in a spiteful way, or to show off my own self-control, but honestly and uprightly. Be like the statesman Phocion (if he wasn’t just pretending to be so virtuous). That’s what we should be like on the inside. We should ensure that the gods never catch us feeling anger or resentment. As long as you are doing what’s proper to your nature, and as long as you accept what the world’s nature has in store for you—as long as you are working for the good of others, by any and all means—what is there that can truly harm you?

14. Flattery and Submission Due to Contempt and Ambition People often flatter one another out of an underlying contempt. And their desire to rule over one another often makes them bow and scrape before those they secretly despise.

15. The Ugliness of False Sincerity The despicable phoniness of people who say, “Listen, I’m going to be completely honest with you here.” What does that even mean? Honesty shouldn’t even need to be announced. It should be obvious—as if written in block letters on your forehead. It should be audible in the tone of your voice, visible in your eyes, just like a lover who looks into your face and takes in the whole story of your affection at a single glance. A truly straightforward and honest person should be like someone who has a strong, natural body odor: when you’re in the same room with him, you know it. It’s unmistakable. But false straightforwardness, a pretense of honesty, is like a knife hidden in the back. False friendship is the worst kind of phoniness. Avoid it at all costs. If you’re truly honest and straightforward and mean well, it should show clearly in your eyes. It should be unmistakable.

16. How to Live a Good Life To live a good life: We all have the potential for it. We can achieve it if we can learn to be indifferent to those things that make no real difference to our character or our ability to act virtuously. This is how we learn this indifference: by looking at each thing, both its individual parts and the whole it forms. Keep in mind that none of these external things can dictate how we perceive or judge it. They don’t impose themselves on us with their own inherent value or meaning. They simply hover before us, unmoving. It is we who generate the judgments about them—we are, in effect, inscribing these judgments on ourselves. And we don’t have to do that. We could choose to leave the page of our mind blank—and if a mistaken mark or judgment slips through, we can erase it instantly. Remember how brief is the period of attentiveness required for this kind of self-correction. And then, our lives will eventually end. And why should it seem so hard when things go against your preferences?

• If the difficult thing is imposed by nature, accept it gladly and stop fighting it.
• And if it’s not imposed by nature (meaning it’s something you can influence or avoid through your own choices), then work out what your own true nature requires, and aim at that, even if it brings you no public glory or recognition. None of us is forbidden to pursue our own genuine good.

17. The Nature of Transformation Consider the source and substance of each thing. Think about what it changes into, and what it’s like when it is transformed. Understand that, in its essence, nothing can truly harm it in these transformations.

18. Nine Points for Dealing with Others, Plus One More i. My relationship to them: Remember that we human beings came into the world for the sake of one another. Or, from another point of view, I, as a leader, came into it to be their guardian—just as the ram is the guardian of the flock, and the bull is the guardian of the herd. Start from this fundamental principle: if the universe is not just a random collection of atoms, then it is governed by Nature, which directs everything. In that case, lower things exist for the sake of higher ones, and higher ones exist for the sake of one another. ii. What they’re like: Consider what they are really like when they are eating, in bed, and so on. Think about how driven they are by their beliefs and opinions, and how proud they are of the things they do. iii. Are they right? If they’re right to do what they’re doing, then you have no right to complain. And if they aren’t right, then they are likely acting involuntarily, out of ignorance. Because all souls are prevented from willingly embracing truth, just as they are unwillingly kept from treating others as they truly deserve. This is why they resent being called unjust, or arrogant, or greedy—or any suggestion that they aren’t good neighbors. iv. Your own faults: Remember that you’ve made enough mistakes yourself. You’re just like them in many ways. Even if there are some specific faults you’ve managed to avoid, you still have the potential within you to commit them. Perhaps it was only cowardice that kept you from them, or fear of what people would say, or some other equally bad reason. v. You don’t know for sure: You often don’t know for sure that what they are doing is a mistake. A lot of actions that seem wrong on the surface are actually means to some other, perhaps hidden, end. You have to know an awful lot before you can judge other people’s actions with real understanding. vi. Life is short: When you start to lose your temper, or even just feel irritated, remember that human life is very short. Before long, all of us will be laid out side by side in death. vii. It’s your perception, not their action: Realize that it’s not what they do that truly bothers us (that’s a problem for their minds, not ours). It’s our own misperceptions and judgments about their actions. Discard those judgments. Be willing to give up thinking of this situation as a catastrophe, and your anger will disappear. How do you do that? By recognizing that you’ve suffered no real disgrace from their actions. Unless you believe that disgrace is the only thing that can truly hurt you, you’re doomed to commit innumerable offenses yourself—to become a thief in your reactions, or heaven only knows what else. viii. Anger does more damage: How much more damage do our own anger and grief do to us than the things that actually cause them? ix. Kindness is invincible: Kindness is invincible, provided it’s sincere—not sarcastic or just an act. What can even the most vicious person do to you if you keep treating him with kindness? If you get the chance, gently try to set him straight. Correct him cheerfully at the exact moment that he’s trying to do you harm. Say something like: “No, no, my friend. That isn’t what we’re here for. It isn’t me who’s primarily harmed by that. It’s you who are harming yourself.” And show him, gently and without pointing fingers, that this is so. Explain that bees don’t behave like this—nor do any other animals that have a natural sense of community. Don’t do it sardonically or meanly, but with genuine affection—with no hatred in your heart. And don’t say it like a lecturer from a high platform, or to impress any third parties who might be listening, but speak directly and simply to him, even if there are other people around.

Keep these nine points in mind, as if they were gifts from the nine Muses. Use them to help you start becoming a true human being, now and for the rest of your life. And along with not getting angry at others, also try not to excessively flatter or pander to them. Both anger and fawning are forms of selfishness; both of them will ultimately do you harm. When you start to lose your temper, remember this: There’s nothing manly or strong about rage. It’s courtesy and kindness that truly define a human being—and a man of character. That’s the person who possesses real strength, nerves, and guts, not the angry whiners. To react with kindness brings you closer to impassivity (calmness unshaken by emotion)—and therefore closer to true strength. Pain is the opposite of strength, and so is anger. Both are states in which we suffer, and to which we yield our inner peace.

…and one more thought, as if from the god Apollo: x. The folly of expecting the wicked to be otherwise: To expect bad people not to injure others is crazy. It’s asking for the impossible. And to let them behave like that towards other people but somehow expect them to make an exception for you and not harm you—that is arrogant and the thinking of a tyrant.

19. Four Habits of Thought to Erase There are four particular habits of thought to watch out for. When you catch them in your mind, erase them by telling yourself:

• “This thought is unnecessary.”
• “This thought is destructive to the people around me and to social harmony.”
• “This thought wouldn’t be what I really think (because to say what you don’t truly think is the definition of absurdity and insincerity).” And the fourth reason for self-reproach is this: when the more divine part of you (your reason) has been beaten and subdued by the degraded, mortal part of you—your body and its stupid, uncontrolled self-indulgence.

20. Your Intellect Should Comply with Nature Your spirit and the element of fire contained within you are naturally drawn upward. But they comply with the designs of the universe and submit to being mingled with other elements here below on earth. Similarly, the elements of earth and water in you are naturally drawn downward. But they too are often forced to rise against their primary tendency and take up a position that is not their own most natural one. So even the physical elements obey the ordering principle of the world—when they are ordered and compelled—and they patiently man their stations until the signal to abandon those posts and disperse eventually arrives. So why should your intellect, your mind, be the only dissenter—the only part of you complaining about its posting and its duties? It’s not as if anything is being forced on it that is contrary to its nature. It is only asked to do what its own nature requires. And yet, it often refuses to comply and instead sets off in the opposite direction. This is because to be drawn toward what is wrong and self-indulgent, or toward anger, fear, and pain, is to revolt against your own rational nature. And for your mind to complain about anything that happens in the course of nature is also to desert its post. Your mind was created to show reverence—respect for the divine order—no less than it was created to act justly. That reverence, too, is an essential element of social coexistence and a prerequisite for true justice.

21. The Need for a Consistent Goal Someone once said, “If you don’t have a consistent goal in life, you can’t live your life in a consistent way.” That statement is unhelpful, however, unless you also specify what kind of goal one should have. There is no common benchmark or standard for all the various things that different people think are good—except for a very few things, the ones that affect the well-being of us all. Therefore, the goal you aim for should be a common one—a civic one, one that benefits the community. If you direct all your energies toward that kind of goal, your actions will be consistent. And so will you.

22. The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Remember the fable of the town mouse and the country mouse. The town mouse experienced much distress and agitation from the complexities and dangers of city life, unlike the simple country mouse. (This implies that a simpler life aligned with nature is less troubling).

23. Popular Beliefs as “Monsters Under the Bed” Socrates used to call popular, unexamined beliefs “the monsters under the bed”—things that are only really useful for frightening children with.

24. Spartan Hospitality At festivals, the Spartans would put their guests’ seats in the shade, but they themselves would sit down anywhere, enduring any discomfort. (This illustrates their hardiness and focus on others’ comfort).

25. Socrates and the Unpayable Favor Socrates once declined an invitation from King Perdiccas of Macedon, saying it was “so as to avoid dying a thousand deaths.” He meant he wanted to avoid accepting a favor he couldn’t possibly pay back, which would put him in a state of perpetual obligation and moral discomfort.

26. Epicurean Advice: Remember Virtuous Men of Old This advice comes from Epicurean writings: to think continually of one of the great men of old who lived a virtuous life. (This serves as a model and inspiration).

27. The Pythagoreans and the Stars The Pythagoreans (followers of the philosopher Pythagoras) tell us to look at the stars at daybreak. We should do this to remind ourselves of how consistently they complete the tasks assigned to them—always the same tasks, in the same orderly way. We should also be reminded of their order, their purity, and their nakedness (their unadorned, unconcealed nature). Stars wear no concealment.

28. Socrates’ Indifference to Appearance Remember the story about Socrates when his wife Xanthippe took his cloak and went out. He simply dressed himself in a towel. When his friends were embarrassed and avoided him because they saw him dressed like that, Socrates said something to them (likely pointing out the foolishness of being concerned with mere appearances).

29. Mastery in Life Requires a Master Mastery of reading and writing requires a master or teacher. Still more so does the art of living life well.

30. A Slave to Reason? (This is a harsh quote, possibly aimed at someone perceived as unreasoning): ”…For you are but a slave and have no rightful claim to reason (Logos).”

31. A Heart Rejoicing (A simple quote expressing joy): “But my heart rejoiced.”

32. Jeering at Virtue (A quote about how some people react to virtue): “And they jeer at virtue with their taunts and sneers.”

33. Expecting Figs in Winter It’s a sign of stupidity to expect figs to grow in winter, or to expect to have children when you are very old. (Meaning, understand the natural order and limits of things).

34. Epictetus on Kissing Your Child Good Night As you kiss your son good night, Epictetus says, whisper to yourself, “He may be dead in the morning.” You might say, “Don’t say such ill-omened things; don’t tempt fate!” But is it tempting fate merely by talking about a natural event? Is fate tempted when we speak of grain being reaped at harvest time?

35. The Life Cycle of Grapes Grapes are first unripe… then they ripen… then they become raisins. These are all constant transitions. It’s not that something ceases to be (“the not”) but that it is in a state of becoming something else (“the not yet”).

36. No Theft of Free Will “No thefts of free will have ever been reported.” (This is a quote from Epictetus, meaning that your power of choice, your will, cannot be stolen from you by external forces.)

37. Epictetus on Self-Discipline Epictetus also said: “We need to master the art of acquiescence (calm acceptance of what we cannot change). We also need to pay careful attention to our impulses, making sure they don’t go unmoderated (unchecked), that they benefit others, and that they are worthy of us. We need to steer clear of desire in any excessive form, and not try to avoid things that are genuinely beyond our control.”

38. A Debate About Sanity “This is not a debate about just anything,” he said, “but about sanity itself.” (Highlighting the importance of a philosophical discussion).

39. Socrates on Seeking Rational Minds Socrates asked: “What do you want, rational minds or irrational ones?” —“Rational ones,” they replied. “And do you want healthy rational minds or sick ones?” —“Healthy ones.” “Then why don’t you work to obtain them?” —“We already have them,” they claimed. “Then why all this squabbling and disagreement among you?” Socrates concluded.

Book 12

1. You Could Have It All Right Now Everything you’re trying to reach—by taking the long, roundabout way—you could have right now, this very moment. You could have it if you’d only stop thwarting your own attempts to achieve it. You could have it if you’d only:

• Let go of the past.
• Entrust the future to Providence (the guiding wisdom of the universe).
• And guide your present actions toward reverence and justice.

Reverence means this: You’ll accept what you’re allotted by fate or nature. Nature intended it for you, and it intended you for it. Justice means this: You’ll speak the truth, frankly and without evasions. And you’ll act as you should—and as other people deserve.

Okay, here’s what you should do until that time of death or transformation comes:

• Honor and respect the gods.
• Treat other human beings as they deserve.
• Be tolerant and patient with other people. Be strict with yourself. Remember, the only things that truly belong to you are your physical body—your flesh and blood. Nothing else is actually under your control.

34. Living an Untroubled Life You can lead a life free from trouble. This is possible if you can continue to grow as a person. It’s also possible if you can learn to think and act in a systematic, principled way. Gods and human beings (and every rational creature) share two important characteristics: i. They don’t let others stop them from doing what is right. ii. They find goodness in thinking and doing the right thing, and they limit their desires to achieving only that.

35. When Not to Worry Ask yourself this:

• Is this bad situation something I caused? No.
• Is it a direct result of my actions? No.
• Is the community or society as a whole endangered by it? No. If the answers are no, then why should it bother me? Where is the real danger for the community?

36. Don’t Let Imagination Overwhelm You Don’t let your imagination run away with you and overwhelm you. Just do what you can and what you should in the present moment. If you happen to suffer setbacks in unimportant matters, don’t treat that as a true defeat. That’s a bad habit to get into. It’s like an old man at a festival. As he’s leaving, he asks for the toy rattle that was meant for an orphan child. He does this even though he knew it was just a toy and not truly significant. Your anxieties can be like that—focused on things that aren’t as important as they seem.

36a. A Note About a Public Scene (This seems to be a brief, possibly fragmented note about a specific incident, perhaps on a public stage or platform.) Someone might be on a platform, in the public eye. You might think to yourself: “Have you forgotten what’s truly important here, what really matters?” That person might reply: “I know, but this particular thing was important to them (the audience, or other people).” And a wise response could be: “Just because it was important to them, do you have to act like a fool as well?”

37. Making Your Own Good Fortune I was once what people call a fortunate man. But at some point, that external good fortune seemed to abandon me. But remember, true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Real good fortune means having:

• Good character.
• Good intentions.
• And good actions.

Book 6

1. Nature and Its Guiding Reason Nature itself is flexible and obedient. The universal Reason (Logos) that governs nature has no reason to do evil. Reason knows no evil, does no evil, and causes no harm to anything. It guides all beginnings and all endings.

2. Just Do the Right Thing Simply make sure you do the right thing in every situation. The rest doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you are:

• Feeling cold or warm.
• Tired or well-rested.
• Despised by others or honored.
• In the process of dying… or busy with other tasks. Dying, too, is one of our assignments in life. In death, as in life, our main task is simply “to do what needs doing.”

3. Look Inward for Value Look within yourself. Don’t let the true nature or real value of anything escape your understanding.

4. Everything Will Be Transformed Before long, all existing things will be transformed. They will either rise like smoke and become part of a unified whole (if all things eventually combine into one). Or they will be scattered like fragments.

5. Reason Knows Its Work The universal Reason (Logos) understands its own position. It knows what it has to do. It knows what materials it has to work with.

6. The Best Form of Revenge The best way to get revenge on someone who has wronged you is not to become like them.

7. Unselfish Action and Inner Peace Focus on moving from one unselfish action to another. Always keep God (the divine principle of the universe) in your thoughts. Only in this way can you find true delight and inner peace.

8. The Mind’s Power The mind is the part of you that is awakened and directed by itself. It makes of itself whatever it chooses to be. It also makes whatever it chooses of its own experiences.

9. All Things Through Nature Everything that happens is brought about by nature. Nothing happens because of some power beyond nature. Nothing happens from something hidden within nature, or something entirely separate from nature.

10. Two Ways to See the Universe There are two main ways to think about how the universe works: i. It’s a random mixture of things. These things constantly interact and then disperse. ii. Or, it’s a state of unity, order, and intelligent design.

Consider the first view (a random mixture):

• If this is true, why would I want to live in a world of disorder and confusion?
• Why would I care about anything except eventually returning “from dust to dust”?
• And why would I feel any anxiety? Dispersal into atoms is going to happen no matter what I do.

Now consider the second view (unity and design):

• If this is true, then I should feel reverence and awe.
• I should feel serene and peaceful.
• I should have faith in the guiding power responsible for this order.

11. Regain Your Inner Rhythm When circumstances unavoidably jolt you and throw you off balance, return to yourself at once. Don’t lose your inner rhythm more than you absolutely have to. You’ll have a better grasp of harmony if you keep practicing returning to it.

12. Philosophy: Your True Mother If you had both a stepmother and a real mother, you would certainly pay your respects to your stepmother. But it’s your real mother you’d truly feel at home with and always return to. Think of the imperial court (or your demanding public life) as your stepmother. Think of philosophy as your real mother. Keep returning to philosophy, to rest in its embrace. Philosophy is what makes the court—and you yourself—endurable.

13. Seeing Things for What They Really Are It’s like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you. Suddenly you realize: This is a dead fish. This is a dead bird. This is a dead pig. Or you realize that this expensive vintage wine is just fermented grape juice. These beautiful purple robes are merely sheep wool dyed with shellfish blood. Or, when making love, you might realize it’s just one body part rubbing against another. This is followed by a brief spasm and then a little cloudy liquid.

Perceptions like these get to the heart of things. They pierce through surface appearances. They help us see what things really are. That’s what we need to do all the time, throughout our lives. When things present themselves as trustworthy or valuable, we need to lay them bare. We need to see how ultimately pointless or simple they are. We must strip away the exaggerated stories and legends that make them seem more important than they are. Pride is a master of deception. When you think you’re engaged in the most important business, that’s often when pride has you completely fooled.

14. What Different People Admire vs. True Value Things that ordinary people are impressed by usually fall into these categories:

• Things held together by simple physical forces, like stones or wood.
• Things held together by natural growth, like figs, vines, or olive trees. Things admired by more advanced minds are often those held together by a living soul. Examples are flocks of sheep or herds of cows. Still more sophisticated people might admire what is guided by a rational mind. This is not necessarily the universal mind. It might be a mind admired for its technical knowledge, some other particular skill, or simply because its owner happens to possess a lot of slaves.

But those who truly revere that other mind—the universal one we all share as human beings and as citizens of the cosmos—are not primarily interested in those other things. Their main focus is on the state of their own minds. They work to:

• Avoid all selfishness and irrational thinking.
• Cooperate with others to achieve that common goal of living rationally and virtuously.

15. The Flow of Existence Some things are rushing into existence. Others are rushing out of it. Some of what exists right now is already disappearing. Constant change and flow continually remake the world. The relentless progression of time constantly remakes eternity. We find ourselves in this flowing river of existence. Which of the things around us should we truly value? None of them can offer a firm place to stand. Trying to get attached to something in this flow is like trying to fall in love with a little sparrow. You glimpse it for only a moment before it flies away and is gone forever. Life itself is like this. It’s like the drawing in and expelling of blood from our bodies. Or it’s like the drawing in of air. We expel the very same power of breathing that we drew in when we were born. It seems so recent in the grand scheme of things. We breathe it out just like the air we exhale at each and every moment.

16. What Should We Truly Prize in Ourselves? What is it in ourselves that we should truly prize and value?

• Not just basic biological functions like how plants release water vapor. Even plants do that.
• Or breathing. Even beasts and wild animals breathe.
• Or being struck by passing thoughts that come and go in our minds.
• Or being jerked around like a puppet by our own impulses and desires.
• Or moving in herds like animals.
• Or simply eating food and then relieving ourselves afterwards.

Then what is to be prized?

• An audience clapping for us? The sound of public praise? No. That’s no more valuable than the mere clacking of their tongues. Public praise really just amounts to a lot of tongues clacking.

So, if we discard the recognition and approval of other people as a primary goal, what’s left for us to prize? I think it’s this: to do (and not do) what we were designed for by nature. That’s the ultimate goal of all trades and all arts. What each of them aims at is that the thing they create should effectively do what it was designed to do. The gardener who cares for the vines, the horse trainer, the dog breeder—this is what they all aim at. And what about teaching and education? What else are they trying to accomplish but to help individuals function as they were meant to?

So, that’s what we should prize in ourselves. Hold on to that principle. Then you won’t be tempted to aim at anything else. What if you can’t stop prizing a lot of other external things? Then you’ll never be truly free—free, independent, and untroubled. You’ll always be envious and jealous of others. You’ll be afraid that people might come and take those prized things away from you. You’ll find yourself plotting against those who possess them—those very things you value so much. People who need those external things to be happy are bound to be a mess. They are bound to take out their frustrations on the gods. However, to respect your own mind—to prize it above all else—will leave you satisfied with your own self. It will help you be well integrated into your community. It will help you be in tune with the gods as well. You will embrace whatever they assign you and whatever they ordain for you.

17. The Motion of Virtue The physical elements (earth, water, air, fire) move upward, downward, and in all directions. But the motion of virtue is different—it is deeper and more profound. Virtue moves at a steady pace on a road that can sometimes be hard to discern. But it always moves forward.

18. Seeking Fame from People You’ll Never Meet Look at how people behave. They often refuse to admire or appreciate their contemporaries. These are the very people whose lives they share. No, instead, they set their hearts on being admired by Posterity—by people they’ve never met and never will meet! That’s as ridiculous as being upset that your great-grandfather wasn’t around to be a great admirer of yours.

19. If It’s Possible for Humans, It’s Possible for You Don’t assume something is impossible for you just because you find it hard. Instead, recognize that if it’s humanly possible for someone to do it, then you can do it too.

20. Dealing with Opponents in Life’s Arena In the wrestling ring, our opponents might scratch us with their nails. They might butt us with their heads and leave a bruise. But we don’t denounce them for it. We don’t get upset with them. We don’t regard them from then on as violent or malicious types. We simply keep a closer eye on them after that. We do this not out of hatred or suspicion. We do it just by maintaining a friendly and cautious distance. We need to do the same thing in other areas of life. We need to excuse what our “sparring partners” in life do. We should simply keep our distance from their harmful behaviors—without harboring suspicion or hatred.

21. The Truth Never Harms If anyone can refute me—show me that I’m making a mistake in my thinking or looking at things from the wrong perspective—I’ll gladly change my mind. It’s the truth I’m seeking. The truth has never harmed anyone. What truly harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.

22. My Part and What Doesn’t Concern Me I focus on doing what is mine to do. The rest of the world doesn’t need to disturb me. The rest of the world is either inanimate (without life or consciousness). Or it has no reason (Logos) to guide it. Or it just wanders around at random and has lost its way.

23. Interacting with the World

• When you deal with irrational animals, or with mere things and circumstances, be generous and straightforward. You are a rational being; they are not.
• When you deal with fellow human beings, behave as one human to another. Recognize that they too share in reason (the Logos).
• And in all situations, remember to invoke the gods. Don’t worry about how long you’ll go on doing this. Even a single afternoon lived according to these principles would be enough.

24. The Same End for Alexander and His Mule Driver Alexander the Great and his humble mule driver both died. The same thing ultimately happened to both of them. They were either absorbed alike back into the life force of the world. Or they were dissolved alike into atoms.

25. The Universe Within and Without You Think about how much is going on inside you every single second—in your soul and in your body. Given all that internal activity, why should it astonish you that so much more—everything that happens in that all-embracing unity, the universe—is happening at the same time?

26. Methodical Action, Not Anger If someone asked you how to write your name, would you clench your teeth and angrily spit out the letters one by one? Of course not. If the person asking lost their temper, would you lose yours as well? Or would you just calmly and clearly spell out the individual letters? Remember this example. Your responsibilities in life can also be broken down into individual parts. Concentrate on those parts. Finish the job methodically—without getting stirred up by emotion or meeting other people’s anger with your own.

27. Understanding Others’ Perceived Good How cruel it is to forbid people to want what they think is good and beneficial for them. And yet, that’s precisely what you do when you get angry at their misbehavior. They are acting in ways they are drawn to because they believe those actions will bring them something good. You might argue: —“But what they are doing is not actually good for them.” My response: Then show them that. Prove it to them patiently. Instead of losing your temper.

28. What Death Brings to an End Death is the end of:

• Our ability to perceive through our senses.
• Being controlled and pulled about by our emotions and desires.
• The discursive activity of our minds (our internal chatter and step-by-step reasoning).
• Our enslavement to the needs and pains of our physical bodies.

29. A Disgraceful Surrender It is a disgraceful thing for the soul to give up on its principles and its strength while the body is still physically going strong.

30. Avoid Being Corrupted by Power (“Imperialization”) Make every effort to escape “imperialization.” This is that permanent, corrupting stain that holding great power can leave on a person. It happens. So, make sure you remain:

• Straightforward and honest.
• Upright in your character.
• Reverent towards the divine.
• Serious and thoughtful.
• Unadorned and natural in your manner.
• An ally of justice.
• Pious (devoted to what is sacred).
• Kind and compassionate.
• Affectionate towards others.
• And doing your duty with determination and goodwill. Fight hard to be the person that philosophy (the love of wisdom) tried to make you.

Revere the gods. Watch over and care for human beings. Our lives are short. The only true rewards of our existence here on earth are an unstained character and unselfish acts that benefit others. Take Emperor Antoninus (your adoptive father) as your model in all things. Remember:

• His energy in doing what was rational and right.
• His emotional steadiness in any situation.
• His deep sense of reverence.
• His calm and composed facial expression.
• His gentleness.
• His modesty and lack of arrogance.
• His eagerness to grasp things fully.
• How he never let matters go before he was completely sure he had examined them thoroughly and understood them perfectly.
• The way he patiently put up with unfair criticism, without ever returning it in kind.
• How he couldn’t be hurried into making decisions.
• How he refused to listen to informers or slanderous gossip.
• How reliable and fair he was as a judge of people’s character and of their actions.
• He was not prone to backbiting, or cowardice, or jealousy, or using empty, showy rhetoric.
• He was content with the basics in life—in his living quarters, his bedding, his clothes, his food, and the number of his servants.
• How hard he worked, and how much he was able to endure.
• His remarkable ability to work straight through till dusk. This was possible because of his simple diet. He didn’t even need to relieve himself, except at set, regular times.
• His constancy and unwavering reliability as a friend.
• His tolerance of people who openly questioned his views. His genuine delight when someone could show him a way to improve his ideas.
• His piety and religious devotion—which was completely without a trace of superstition. Your goal should be that when your time comes to die, your conscience will be as clear and untroubled as his was.

31. Awaken to True Reality Awaken fully. Return to your true self. Now that you are no longer asleep and you realize that the troubles and anxieties you experienced were only dreams, become clear-headed again. With this newfound clarity, look at everything around you in your waking life as you would look at a dream—with detachment, understanding its transient nature.

32. Body, Soul, and What Truly Matters I am composed of a body and a soul. Things that happen to the body are ultimately meaningless in the quest for inner peace. The body itself cannot discriminate between them or assign them value. Nothing has true meaning to my mind except its own actions. And these actions are within its own control. Furthermore, it’s only the actions happening right now, in the present moment, that truly matter for my state of mind. My mind’s past actions and its potential future actions are also meaningless in terms of causing current worry or being under my immediate control.

33. Normal Pains and Stresses It’s normal to feel pain in your hands and feet if you’re actually using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is normal—if they are living a normal, engaged human life. And if it’s normal, how can it be considered truly bad or something to be completely avoided?

34. The “Pleasures” of Wicked People Think about the kind of “pleasures” that are enjoyed by thieves, sexual perverts, those who murder their own parents, and dictators. This implies that their pleasures are not true or worthy ones, and are based on harmful actions.

35. Our Responsibility to Reason Have you noticed how professionals, like builders or pharmacists, will meet an ordinary person halfway in explaining things? But they will not compromise the fundamental principles (the logos or guiding reason) of their trade. Should we, as human beings, feel less responsibility to our own guiding principle (our own logos)? This logos we share with the divine. Should we feel less responsibility to it than these craftsmen do to theirs?

36. Cosmic Perspective on Scale

• The continents of Asia and Europe are just distant, tiny recesses of the vast universe.
• The entire ocean is like a single drop of water in that immense expanse.
• Mount Athos (a very large mountain) is like a tiny molehill on the surface of the Earth.
• The present moment is just a fleeting split second in the endlessness of eternity. All these things are minuscule, temporary, and ultimately insignificant when viewed from a cosmic perspective.

36a. “Harmful” Things as By-Products of the Good Everything in the universe comes from that one universal mind. It comes either as a direct effect of its creative power or as an indirect consequence. Even things that seem harmful, like the lion’s jaws, poisonous substances, or everyday annoyances like thorns or mud, are by-products of what is fundamentally good and beautiful in the universe’s overall design. So don’t look at these things as alien or contrary to what you revere as good. Instead, focus on understanding the single source from which all things, including these apparent negatives, ultimately spring.

37. The Eternal Present If you’ve truly seen and understood the nature of the present moment, then you’ve essentially seen everything. For everything that has happened since the very beginning of time, and everything that will happen until the very end of time, is made of the same substance and takes the same fundamental form. All of it is one and the same.

38. The Interconnectedness of All Things Keep reminding yourself of the way all things in the universe are connected and related to each other. All things are intertwined with one another. They exist in a state of sympathy and harmony with each other. This event happening to you now is the consequence of some other event that came before it. Things constantly push and pull on each other. They seem to breathe together. They are all part of one unified and coherent whole.

39. Embrace Your Fate, Love Your Fellow Humans The things ordained for you by fate—teach yourself to be at one with those. And the people who share this life and this fate with you—treat them with love. With real, genuine love.

40. The Designing Force Within Nature Implements, tools, and various kinds of equipment work well if they do what they were designed for. This is true even if the person who designed and made them is miles away. But with naturally occurring things, the creative and designing force that brought them into being is present within them and remains there. That is why we owe this inner, natural force a special kind of reverence and respect. We should recognize that if you live and act as this inner intelligence dictates, then everything in you is intelligently ordered. This is just as everything in the wider world is.

41. Mistaken Definitions of Good and Bad You often take things that you don’t actually control. Examples are health, wealth, reputation, or external events. You define them as “good” or “bad.” And so, of course, when the things you labeled “bad” happen, or the things you labeled “good” don’t materialize, you end up blaming the gods. You feel hatred for the people you think are responsible—or those you simply decide to make responsible. Much of our bad behavior and inner turmoil stems from trying to apply these mistaken criteria of good and bad to external things that are not truly up to us. If we limited our definitions of “good” and “bad” to our own actions, our own character, and our own choices (which are up to us), we’d have no reason to challenge God or to treat other people as enemies.

42. Everyone Contributes to the Cosmic Project All of us, whether we realize it or not, are working together on the same vast project—the unfolding and functioning of the universe. Some of us do this consciously and with understanding. Some do it without knowing it. I believe this is what the philosopher Heraclitus meant when he said that “those who sleep are also hard at work.” He meant that they too collaborate in what happens in the world. Some of us work in one way, and some in others. And even those who complain and try to obstruct and thwart the course of things—they help just as much as anyone else. The world, in its comprehensive order, needs them as well. So, make up your mind: who will you choose to align yourself with and work alongside? The force that directs all things will make good use of you regardless. It will put you on its payroll, so to speak, and assign you a task. But make sure it’s not the kind of useless or comical job that the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus spoke of. Don’t be like the bad line in a play, put there only for laughs and serving no constructive purpose.

43. Different Functions, Common Purpose Does the sun try to do the rain’s work? Or does Asclepius (the god of healing) try to do Demeter’s (the goddess of the harvest) work? And what about each of the stars in the sky? They are all different, yet they work together for a common universal purpose, don’t they?

44. Trusting Divine Order or Personal Reason If the gods have made decisions about me and about the specific things that happen to me, then I must trust that they were good decisions. It’s hard to imagine a god who makes bad or flawed decisions. And why would they use their divine energies to try to cause me harm? What good would that possibly do them—or the world, which is their primary concern and creation?

And if the gods haven’t made specific decisions about me as an individual, they certainly have made decisions about the general welfare and order of the cosmos. Anything that happens to me as a consequence of that overarching plan is something I must welcome and embrace. I must see it as part of a larger, beneficial design.

And if (though it’s blasphemous even to think this) the gods make no decisions about anything at all—because if that were true, then let’s stop sacrificing, praying, swearing oaths, and doing all the other religious rituals we do. We do these things believing the whole time that the gods are right here with us and aware of our actions. Well, even if they were to decide nothing about our lives, I can still make decisions. I can still consider what it’s to my own benefit to do. And what benefits any individual is to do what his own essential nature requires. And my nature is rational. My nature is also civic, meaning I am a social being designed to live and cooperate with others. My city and state, in my role as Emperor Antoninus, are Rome. But as a human being? My city and state are the entire world, the cosmos. So for me, “good” can only mean what’s good for both of these communities—Rome and the world.

45. Good for the Whole, Good for the Parts Whatever happens to you as an individual is ultimately for the good of the world, the universe as a whole. That understanding alone should be enough to bring you peace. But if you look closely, you’ll generally notice something else as well: whatever happens to a single person is often also for the good of other people. Here, “good” is meant in the ordinary, common sense of the word—as the world generally defines benefits and advantages.

46. The Weariness of Repetition Just as the bloody spectacles in the arena and other similar public shows eventually make you feel weary—you’ve seen them all before—and the constant repetition grates on your nerves, so too with life in general. When you look at it broadly, it’s often the same things, happening for the same underlying reasons, on all sides. How much longer will this cycle of sameness go on?

47. The Great Procession of the Dead Keep this thought constantly in your mind: all sorts of people have died. People from all professions, from all nationalities and backgrounds. Follow this thought all the way down to specific historical examples like Philistion, Phoebus, and Origanion. Now extend this reflection to include other species beyond humans. We all have to go to that same place where so many countless beings have already gone:

• The eloquent speakers and the wise philosophers—great minds like Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Socrates…
• The heroes of ancient times, and the soldiers and kings who followed them…
• Brilliant thinkers and scientists like Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Archimedes…
• People who were smart, or generous, or hardworking, or cunning, or selfish…
• And even satirists like Menippus and his followers, who made fun of the whole brief, fragile, and often absurd business of human life. All of them have been underground, dead and gone, for a long time now. And what harm does it do them now? Or what harm does it do to the others who died—the ones whose names we don’t even know? The only thing in this life that isn’t worthless is this: to live this life out truthfully and rightly, in accordance with nature. And to be patient and understanding with those who do not live this way.

48. Encouragement from the Virtues of Others When you need encouragement, think of the good qualities that the people around you possess. This one’s energy and drive, that one’s modesty and humility, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging and uplifting as when virtues are visibly embodied in the characters and actions of the people around us. We are practically showered with positive examples. It’s good to keep this thought in mind.

49. Accepting Limits: Body and Time It doesn’t bother you that you weigh only a certain number of pounds or kilograms, and not, say, three hundred pounds. So why should it bother you that you have only a certain number of years to live, and not more? Just as you accept the physical limits placed on your body, you should also accept the limits placed on your time.

50. Act Justly, Adapt to Obstacles Do your best to convince others of the right way. But act on your own, according to your principles, if justice requires it. Do this even if others don’t agree. If you are met with force or opposition, then fall back on acceptance and peacefulness. Use this setback as an opportunity to practice other virtues, like patience or resilience. Remember that our efforts are always subject to circumstances. You weren’t aiming to do the impossible. —What were you aiming to do, then? You were aiming to try. And in that, you have succeeded. What you set out to do—to make the attempt—is accomplished.

51. Sources of Well-Being

• Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do.
• Self-indulgence means tying your well-being to the pleasant things that happen to you.
• Sanity (or wisdom) means tying your well-being to your own actions.

52. Things Can’t Shape Our Decisions by Themselves You don’t have to turn this event or situation into something that it isn’t. It doesn’t have to upset you. External things can’t shape our inner decisions and judgments by themselves.

53. Understand Others’ Minds Practice really hearing what people say. Do your best to get inside their minds and understand their perspectives.

54. Harm to One is Harm to All What injures the hive (the bee community) also injures the individual bee. This applies to human communities as well.

55. The Need for Authority and Order If the ship’s crew constantly talked back to the captain, or if patients constantly argued with their doctor, then whose authority would they ultimately accept? How could the passengers on the ship be kept safe, or how could the patient become healthy? This is an analogy for the need for order and respect for proper guidance in any collective endeavor.

56. Those Who Have Gone Before Think of all those people who came into the world with me and who have already left it, who have already died.

57. Distorted Perceptions

• Honey tastes bitter to a person suffering from jaundice.
• People with rabies are terrified of water.
• A child’s idea of beauty might simply be a colorful ball. Why does it upset you if someone else has a distorted perception of things? Do you think falsehood or a mistaken view is any less powerful in its effects on a person than physical conditions like an excess of bile or the bite of a rabid dog?

58. Living According to Nature No one can keep you from living as your own nature requires. And nothing can happen to you that is not required by Universal Nature.

59. The Fleeting Nature of Social Climbing Think about the people they try so hard to impress. Think of the results they are aiming for. Think of the things they do in the process of trying to achieve those results. How quickly it will all be erased by time. How much has been erased already.

Book 7

1. Evil: It’s Always the Same Story Evil: it’s the same old thing. No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It’s the same old story. It’s repeated from one end of the world to the other. This pattern fills the history books, both ancient and modern. It fills our cities, and it fills our houses too. There is nothing new at all. It’s all familiar, and it all passes away quickly.

2. You Can Rekindle Your Insights You cannot extinguish your understanding unless you put out the specific insights and thoughts that make it up. But you can rekindle those insights at will. It’s like stirring up glowing coals in a fire. I can control my thoughts as necessary. So how can I be troubled? What is outside my own mind means nothing to it. Absorb that lesson, and your feet will stand firm. You can return to life; you can start anew. Look at things as you did before you were troubled. And in doing so, life returns.

3. Pointless Busyness vs. True Worth So much of life can seem like the pointless bustling of public processions. It can seem like the dramatic but empty arias of an opera. It can be like the passive movement of herds of sheep and cattle, or the repetitive drills of military exercises. Life can also seem like a bone flung to pet poodles, or a little bit of food dropped into a fish tank. It can resemble the miserable, pointless servitude of ants. It can be like the frantic scampering of frightened mice, or puppets being jerked around on strings. Surrounded as we are by all of this, we need to practice acceptance. We should not look down on it all with disdain. But we must also remember that our own true worth is measured by what we choose to devote our energy to.

4. Focus on Speech and Action Focus carefully on what is being said when you or others speak. Also, focus on what results from each action that is taken. In other words, know what the speech aims at. Understand what the action really means or accomplishes.

5. Using Your Intellect Wisely Is my intellect up to this task? If it is, then I’ll put it to work. I’ll use it like a tool that nature has provided. And if my intellect isn’t up to it on its own, then I’ll turn the job over to someone who can do it better—unless I have absolutely no other choice but to do it myself. Or, I will do the best I can with it. I will collaborate with whoever can make good use of my contribution. I will do this in order to do what the community needs done. Because whatever I do—whether alone or with others—should aim at one thing only: what fits with the requirements of the community and the common good.

6. The Forgotten Rememberers So many people who were once famous and well-remembered are now already forgotten. And the people who remembered them? They too are long gone.

7. Don’t Be Ashamed to Need Help Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a castle wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to help pull you up? So what? That’s part of the effort.

8. Resources for the Future Forget worrying about the future. When and if it comes, you’ll have the same inner resources to draw on—the same reason (Logos)—that you have now.

9. The Holy Web of Interconnection Everything in the universe is interwoven with everything else. The resulting web is holy and sacred. None of its parts are unconnected to the others. They are all arranged harmoniously. Together they compose the orderly beauty of the world (the cosmos). There is:

• One world, made up of all things.
• One divinity (God or divine principle), present in them all.
• One substance (the underlying matter of everything) and one law—the universal Reason (Logos) that all rational beings share.
• And one truth… If this is indeed the culmination of one single creative process, then all beings share the same spiritual birth and the same guiding Reason.

10. The Swift Return of All Things All physical substance is soon absorbed back into the universal nature. All that animates that substance (the individual soul or life force) is soon restored to the universal Reason (Logos). And all trace or memory of them both is soon covered over and erased by time.

11. Unnatural Action for a Rational Being To a being that possesses reason (Logos), an unnatural action is one that conflicts with that reason.

12. Be Straight, Not Straightened Be upright in your character naturally. Don’t be upright because you are forced or straightened out by others.

13. Rational Beings as Limbs of One Body The rational principle in different beings is related. It’s like the individual limbs of a single living being. These parts are meant to function together as a unit. This idea will be clearer to you if you constantly remind yourself: “I am a single limb of a larger body—a body composed of all rational beings.” Or, you could say you are “a part”—the difference in spelling is only a single letter. But if you think of yourself as merely “a part,” then you’re not yet truly embracing other people with love. Helping them isn’t yet its own reward for you. You’re still seeing it only as “The Right Thing To Do” from a sense of duty. You don’t yet realize who you’re really helping when you help others. You are helping yourself and the whole of which you are a limb.

14. Choosing Not to Be Harmed Let external events happen, if they want to. Let them happen to whatever parts of you or the world they can happen to. And whatever is affected by those events can complain about it if it wants. But it doesn’t hurt me (my inner self, my mind) unless I interpret its happening as harmful to me. And I can choose not to make that interpretation.

15. Be Like Gold, Emerald, or Purple No matter what anyone else says or does, my task is to be good. I should be like gold, or an emerald, or the color purple. I should constantly repeat to myself: “No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to remain a true emerald, and my color must remain undiminished.”

16. The Mind’s Self-Protection The mind doesn’t get in its own way. It doesn’t frighten itself into having inappropriate desires. If other things outside the mind can scare it or hurt it, let them try. The mind itself won’t go down that road of fear or pain based on its own perceptions or judgments. Let the body try to avoid discomfort (if it can). And if it does feel discomfort, let the body announce it. But it is the soul (or the mind as the seat of judgment) that actually feels fear and pain. It’s the soul that conceives of these things in the first place. And the soul suffers nothing if it refuses to conclude that it has suffered. The mind in itself has no needs, except for those needs it creates for itself. It is undisturbed, except by its own disturbances. It knows no obstructions, except for those that come from within itself.

17. Defining Well-Being Well-being (or happiness) is either good luck, or it is good character.

17a. Dismissing Troubling Perceptions (Imagine speaking to your own troubling perceptions or thoughts): “But what are you doing here, Perceptions? Get back to where you came from, and good riddance. I don’t need you right now. Yes, I know, it was only force of habit that brought you into my mind. No, I’m not angry with you. Just go away.”

18. The Necessity of Change Are you frightened of change? But what can even exist without change? What is closer to nature’s heart? What does nature love more than change?

• Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood exactly as it was, unburned?
• Can you eat food without transforming it through digestion?
• Can any vital life process take place without something being changed? Can’t you see? It’s just the same with you—change is essential for your existence. It’s just as vital to the processes of universal nature.

19. Life’s Rushing Rapids We are all carried through existence as if through rushing rapids. All bodies are part of this flow. They are sprung from universal nature and they cooperate with it. This is just as our own limbs cooperate with each other. Time has swallowed a Chrysippus, a Socrates, and an Epictetus, many times over. Even the greatest philosophers and their ideas are subject to the flow of time and may be forgotten or reinterpreted. And when I say “Epictetus,” you can substitute any person, and any thing.

20. My Only Fear My only fear is doing something contrary to human nature. I fear doing the wrong thing, or doing something in the wrong way, or at the wrong time.

21. Approaching Oblivion I am close to forgetting it all. I am close to being forgotten by all.

22. Affection for Imperfect Humans To feel affection for people even when they make mistakes is a uniquely human quality. You can do this, if you simply recognize these truths:

• That they are human too, just like you.
• That they often act out of ignorance, not malice. Sometimes they act against their own better judgment.
• That you and they will all be dead before long.
• And, above all, that they haven’t really hurt you in any essential way. They haven’t diminished your ability to choose your own responses and maintain your own character.

23. Nature as a Sculptor Nature takes the underlying substance of the world and makes a horse. It’s much like a sculptor works with wax. And then, nature melts that horse down and uses the same material to make a tree. Then that tree becomes material for a person. Then that person becomes material for something else. Each individual thing exists for only a brief time. It does the container (the form or specific object) no harm to be put together. It does it no harm to be taken apart and reformed into something else.

24. Anger is Unnatural Anger showing in the face is deeply unnatural. If this expression of anger becomes fixed, it loses its natural look. If it is put out for good and cannot be rekindled, that is a kind of end to natural expression. Try to understand from this how unnatural anger is. If even the awareness of acting badly has gone from a person, why should they go on living?

25. The World Renewed by Change Before long, nature, which controls and governs it all, will alter everything you see. It will use the substance of current things as material for something else. It will do this over and over again. This is how the world is continually renewed.

26. Understanding Why People Injure You When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of their actions. If you can understand their motivation (however misguided), you’ll feel sympathy for them rather than outrage or anger. Your sense of good and evil may be the same as theirs, or very close to it. In that case, you have to excuse them or find a way to be patient. Or, your sense of good and evil may differ significantly from theirs. In that case, they are misguided and deserve your compassion. Is that so hard to do?

27. Value What You Have, But Not Too Much Treat what you don’t currently have as if it doesn’t exist at all. Then, look at what you do have—the things you value most. Think about how much you’d crave them if you didn’t have them. But be careful. Don’t feel such intense satisfaction in possessing these things that you start to overvalue them. Don’t value them to the point where it would deeply upset you if you were to lose them.

28. The Mind’s Contentment Self-contraction means focusing the mind inward, on its own principles. The mind’s true requirements are satisfied by doing what we should, by acting rightly. They are also satisfied by the calm and peace that this brings us.

29. A To-Do List for Inner Peace

• Discard your misperceptions and false judgments.
• Stop being jerked around like a puppet by your impulses and emotions.
• Limit yourself to the present moment.
• Understand what is happening—both to you and to others.
• Analyze everything that exists. Break it all down into its material components and its underlying cause.
• Anticipate your final hours; be prepared for death.
• As for other people’s mistakes? Leave those to their makers; they are not your responsibility.

30. Focus Your Mind

• Direct your thoughts to what is being said.
• Focus your mind on what is happening and on what causes it to happen.

31. Inner Cleansing Wash yourself clean. Do it with:

• Simplicity.
• Humility.
• Indifference to everything except what is truly right and wrong. Care for other human beings. Follow God (the divine order).

31a. Atoms and Relativity Someone said, “…all things are relative (dependent on perspective and relationship). And in reality, perhaps only atoms exist.” It’s enough for you to remember the first part of that: “all things are relative.” And that, in itself, is a small enough concept to grasp, yet it holds a deep truth.

32. On Death: Dispersal or Transformation Regarding death: If the universe is ultimately made of atoms, then death means your atoms will be dispersed. If the universe is a unified whole (oneness), then death means your individual essence will either be quenched (extinguished) or changed and reabsorbed into the whole.

33. On Pain: Endurable or Self-Ending Regarding pain: Pain that is truly unendurable brings its own end with it. It might cause death or unconsciousness. Pain that is chronic (long-lasting) is always endurable. The intelligence can maintain its serenity by cutting itself off from the physical sensations of the body. The mind can remain undiminished. And as for the parts of the body that are actually affected by pain—let them speak for themselves, if they can, by signaling the discomfort.

34. On Ambition: Fleeting Desires Regarding ambition and those who pursue it: Think about how their minds work. Think of the kinds of things they long for, and the things they fear. Their achievements and anxieties are like piles of sand, constantly shifting. Each new drift is soon hidden by the next one that comes along.

35. A Philosopher’s View on Life and Death (This sounds like a quote from Plato’s writings): “‘If a person’s mind is filled with nobility, with a profound grasp of all time and all existence, do you think our brief human life will mean much to him at all?’ ‘How could it?’ he said. ‘Or would death be very frightening to such a person?’ ‘Not in the least.’”

36. A Saying About Kingship “Kingship means earning a bad reputation by doing good deeds.” This suggests that rulers who do what is right may be misunderstood or criticized by those who don’t understand the greater good.

37. The Mind Should Master Itself It is a disgrace that the mind should be able to control the face. It can shape and mold its expressions as it pleases. But it should not be unable to shape and mold itself.

38. Does the World Notice Our Anger? “And why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice!” This quote expresses the futility of raging against impersonal events.

39. A Prayer for Joy “May you bring joy to us and to those on high (the gods).” This is a traditional prayer or hopeful expression.

40. Life and Harvest “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain, Some grown and flourishing, some cut down in their turn.” This is a poetic comparison of human lives to a harvest.

41. The Gods’ Reasons “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, The gods must have their reasons for not granting our request.” This quote, likely from a tragic play, expresses resignation to divine will.

42. Justice on My Side “For what is just and good is on my side.” This is a statement of moral confidence.

43. No Excessive Mourning No need for a chorus of loud lamentation. No hysterics or overly dramatic displays of grief.

44. Socrates on Right Action vs. Death (This sounds like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Apology): “Then the only proper response for me to make is this: ‘You are much mistaken, my friend, if you think that any man worth his salt cares about the risk of death. Such a man doesn’t concentrate on personal safety. He focuses on this alone: whether what he’s doing is right or wrong, and whether his behavior is that of a good man or a bad one.’”

45. Socrates on Duty Over Life (This also sounds like Socrates from Plato’s Apology): “It’s like this, gentlemen of the jury: The spot where a person decides to station himself, or wherever his commanding officer stations him—well, I think that’s where he ought to take his stand and face the enemy. He should not worry about being killed, or about anything else, except doing his duty.”

46. Socrates on Living Well vs. Living Long (This is like Socrates speaking in Plato’s Crito or similar dialogues): “But, my good friend, consider this possibility: true nobility and virtue are not the same as merely preserving one’s life or losing it. Is it not possible that a real man should forget about living a certain number of years? Shouldn’t he avoid clinging desperately to life? Instead, shouldn’t he leave such matters up to the gods? He should accept, as women often say, that ‘no one can escape his fate.’ Then he should turn his full attention to how he can best live the life that is actually before him, for however long it may be.”

47. Cosmic Perspective Washes Away Earthly Mud Watch the courses of the stars as if you were revolving with them in the heavens. Keep constantly in mind how the elements of the universe alter and transform into one another. Thoughts like these help to wash off the mud and grime of life down here on earth.

48. Plato’s View from Above Plato has it right. If you truly want to talk about human affairs with perspective, you need to look down on the earth as if from a great height. You would see herds of animals, armies marching, farms being tilled. You’d see weddings and divorces, births and deaths. You’d observe the noisy chaos of courtrooms, and the quiet of desert places. You’d see all the foreign peoples of the world. You’d see their holidays and their days of mourning, their market days and festivals… all of it mixed together, a vibrant harmony of opposites.

49. The Rhythm of Events: Past and Future Are Similar Look at the past. See how empires rise and fall, one succeeding another. And from that, you can extrapolate what the future will be like: much the same thing. There is no escaping this fundamental rhythm of events. This is why observing life for forty years is essentially as good as observing it for a thousand. Would you really see anything fundamentally new?

50. Earth to Earth, Heaven to Heaven (This quotes a common ancient idea or poem): ”…Earth’s offspring back to earth they go, But all that’s born of heaven’s light, To heaven returns again, to endless day.” Either that happens (a return to a divine source), or the cluster of atoms that makes you up simply pulls apart. One way or another the elements that feel no sensation disperse.

51. Trying to Frustrate Death (This quotes a poetic fragment about human efforts to avoid death): “…with food and drink and magic spells they try, Seeking some novel way to frustrate death.”

51a. Enduring Heaven’s Wind (This is another poetic fragment): “To labor cheerfully and so endure The wind that blows from heaven (fate).”

52. More Than Just a Better Wrestler It’s possible to be a better wrestler than someone else. But that doesn’t necessarily make you a better citizen. It doesn’t make you a better person overall. It doesn’t make you a better resource in tight situations, or a more forgiving person when others make mistakes.

53. Order and Fearlessness Wherever something can be done in accordance with the universal Reason (Logos) that is shared by gods and human beings, there all is in order and as it should be. Where there is profit and benefit because our effort is productive and advances in step with our nature, there we have nothing to fear.

54. Your Options in Every Moment Everywhere, and at each moment, you have the option:

• To accept this current event with humility and without resistance (as fated).
• To treat this person before you as he or she should be treated (justly and with understanding).
• To approach this thought or impression with care. Make sure that nothing irrational or unexamined creeps into your mind.

55. Follow Nature’s Lead Don’t pay too much attention to what is going on in other people’s minds. Instead, look straight ahead to where nature is leading you. Universal Nature leads you through the things that happen to you. Your own individual nature leads you through the actions you choose to take. Everything in the universe has to do what it was made for. And other things (lesser things) were made for the sake of those beings that possess reason (Logos). In this respect, as in others, it’s a general principle: lower things exist for the sake of higher ones, and higher things exist for the sake of one another.

Now, the main thing we human beings were made for is to work with and for others. Secondly, we were made to resist the inappropriate urges of our body. This is because things driven by reason—by thought—have the capacity for detachment. They can resist mere impulses and sensations. Both of these are primarily physical and temporary. Thought rightly seeks to be their master, not their subject. And so it should be: these lower impulses and sensations were created for the use of thought, not the other way around. And the third important thing we were made for is to avoid rashness in judgment and to avoid being easily deceived. The mind that grasps these principles and steers a straight course by them should be able to hold its own and maintain its stability.

56. Live the Rest of Your Life Properly Think of yourself as already dead. You have lived your life up to this point. Now, take whatever time is left and live it properly, according to your true nature and principles.

57. The Greatest Harmony To love only what happens to you, what was destined for you by fate. There is no greater harmony than this.

58. Learning from Others’ Reactions to Adversity In all that happens, keep before your eyes the examples of those who experienced similar things before you. Remember how they felt shock, outrage, and resentment at those events. And now, where are they? They are nowhere; they are gone. Is that what you want to be like? Instead of doing that, why not avoid all these distracting emotional assaults? Leave the alarms and panicked flight to others. Concentrate instead on what you can do with it all. Because you can use what happens. You can treat it as raw material for virtuous action. Just pay attention. Resolve to live up to your own best expectations of yourself in everything you do. And when you are faced with a choice, remember: our real business in life is with things that truly matter.

59. Dig Deep for Goodness Dig deep within yourself. The water—which is goodness—is down there. And as long as you keep digging, it will keep bubbling up.

60. The Body’s Stability and Beauty What the body needs is stability. It needs to be as impervious as possible to jolts and disturbances in all that it is and all that it does. The kind of cohesiveness and beauty that intelligence and a calm mind lend to the face—that’s the kind of inner stability the body also needs. But this should come about naturally, without forced effort or pretense.

61. A Wrestler, Not a Dancer Be not like a dancer, who needs a clear space and choreographed moves. Be like a wrestler: waiting, poised and firmly dug in, ready for sudden and unexpected assaults.

62. The Minds of Those Whose Approval You Seek Look closely at who they really are, these people whose approval you sometimes long for. Examine what their minds are really like. If you do this, you won’t blame them when they make mistakes they can’t help making. These mistakes are due to their ignorance or flawed values. And you won’t feel such a pressing need for their approval. You will have seen the sources of both their judgments and their actions.

63. Truth and Patience Someone once said, “Against our will, our souls are cut off from truth.” This applies not only to abstract truth. It also applies to justice, self-control, kindness, and other virtues. It’s important to keep this in mind. It will help you be more patient with other people when they seem to lack these qualities.

64. Dealing with Pain For times when you feel pain:

• See that the pain doesn’t disgrace you morally, or degrade your intelligence. It doesn’t have to keep your mind from acting rationally or unselfishly.
• And in most cases, what the philosopher Epicurus said about pain should help. He said that pain is neither unbearable nor unending, as long as you keep in mind its natural limits and don’t magnify them in your imagination.
• And also keep in mind that pain often comes in disguise—as drowsiness, fever, or loss of appetite. When you’re bothered by things like that, remind yourself: “I’m currently giving in to pain.”

65. Don’t Mirror Inhumanity Take care that you don’t treat inhumanity in others with the same kind of inhumanity that it shows to human beings.

66. Judging True Worth: Socrates vs. Telauges How do we really know that Telauges (a relatively unknown contemporary of Socrates) wasn’t a better man than Socrates himself? It’s not enough to ask:

• Whether Socrates’ death was nobler.
• Whether he debated with the sophists (teachers of rhetoric) more adeptly.
• Whether he showed greater physical endurance by spending the night out in the cold.
• And whether, when he was ordered to arrest the innocent man from Salamis, he decided it was preferable to refuse. This was an act of civil disobedience.
• Or whether he “swaggered about the streets.” This detail was mentioned by others, which one could reasonably doubt or interpret differently. What truly matters is what kind of soul Socrates had.
• Was he satisfied to treat other human beings with justice and the gods with reverence?
• Did he avoid losing his temper unpredictably at the evil done by others?
• Did he refuse to make himself a slave to other people’s ignorance or opinions?
• Did he avoid treating anything that nature brought about as abnormal or out of place?
• Did he refuse to put up with natural events as if they were unbearable impositions?
• And did he avoid putting his mind entirely in his body’s keeping, becoming a slave to physical sensations?

67. You Can Be Good Unnoticed; Happiness Needs Little Nature did not blend things together in the world so inextricably that you can’t draw your own boundaries. You can place your own well-being primarily in your own hands. It’s quite possible to be a good man without anyone else realizing it. Remember that. And remember this too: you don’t need much to live happily. And just because you’ve abandoned your hopes of becoming a great thinker or a renowned scientist, don’t for that reason give up on attaining freedom, achieving humility, serving others, and obeying God.

68. Immune to Compulsion, Ready for Anything Your goal is to live life in peace, immune to all external compulsion. Let other people scream whatever they want. Let wild animals dismember this soft flesh that covers you. How could any of that stop you from:

• Keeping your mind calm?
• Reliably sizing up what’s around you?
• And being ready to make good use of whatever happens? So that your faculty of Judgment can look the event squarely in the eye and say, “This is what you really are, regardless of what you may look like.” While your faculty of Adaptability adds, “You’re just what I was looking for.” Because to me, the present moment is always a chance for the exercise of rational virtue—civic virtue (acting for the good of the community)—in short, the art of living that human beings share with the gods.

Book 8

1. Humility and the True Path to Living Here’s another thought to encourage humility: you can’t honestly claim to have lived your entire life as a true philosopher—not even your whole adulthood. You can see for yourself how far you still are from philosophy. And many other people can see it too. You’re tainted by worldly concerns. It’s not so easy now—at this stage in your life—to gain a reputation as a philosopher. And your position as emperor is also an obstacle.

So, you know how things really stand. Now, forget what other people think of you. Be satisfied if you can live the rest of your life, however short it may be, as your nature demands. Focus on that, and don’t let anything distract you. You’ve wandered all over the place in your thoughts and studies and finally realized that you never found what you were truly searching for: how to live a good life. You didn’t find it in clever logical arguments (syllogisms), not in money, not in fame, or in self-indulgence. You found it nowhere in those things.

—Then where is it to be found? It is to be found in doing what human nature requires. —How do you do that? You do it by following first principles. These principles should govern your intentions and your actions. —What principles are these? They are the principles that deal with good and evil. These principles state that nothing is truly good except what leads to fairness, self-control, courage, and free will. And nothing is truly bad except what leads to the opposite of these virtues.

2. Questions for Every Action For every action you consider, ask yourself:

• How does this affect me?
• Could I change my mind about it later if I realize it was a mistake? But remember, soon I’ll be dead, and the slate of my life will be empty. So, this is the only truly important question: Is this action the action of a responsible being, someone who is part of society, and someone who is subject to the same divine laws as God?

3. Rulers vs. Philosophers Think of Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Pompey. Now compare them with philosophers like Diogenes, Heraclitus, and Socrates. The philosophers knew the “what” (the nature of things), the “why” (the reasons behind things), and the “how” (the way things work). Their minds were their own; they were free thinkers. As for the others, the famous rulers? Their lives were often filled with nothing but anxiety and enslavement to their ambitions and circumstances.

4. Futile Resistance You can hold your breath until you turn blue with frustration, but people will still go on doing what they do. This means it’s often futile to try to force others to change against their will.

5. Two Steps to Inner Peace

• The first step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls everything. And before long, you’ll be no one, nowhere—just like the great emperors Hadrian and Augustus are now.
• The second step: Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your main task is to be a good human being. Remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But do so with kindness, with humility, and without hypocrisy.

6. Nature’s Constant Transformation Nature’s job is to shift things from one place or state to another, to transform them, to pick them up here and move them there. It’s a process of constant alteration. But don’t worry about this: there’s nothing new here. Everything that happens is familiar. Even the proportions and patterns of change remain largely unchanged.

7. Progress for a Rational Mind Every kind of nature thrives on forward progress. And progress for a rational mind means:

• Not accepting falsehood or uncertainty in its perceptions.
• Making unselfish actions its only aim.
• Seeking and trying to avoid only those things it has actual control over.
• Embracing what universal nature demands of it—that same nature in which it participates, just as a leaf’s nature participates in the nature of the tree it belongs to. There’s a difference, though. The nature shared by the leaf is without consciousness or reason, and it can be blocked by external obstacles. But the nature shared by human beings is without such impediments (in its core rational function). It is rational and just, because it allots to each and every thing an equal and proportionate share of time, existence, purpose, action, and chance. Examine this closely. Don’t just check if things are identical point by point. Look at the bigger picture: this thing weighed against that thing, in aggregate.

8. Time for What Truly Matters You may say you have no time for extensive reading. But you do have time for:

• Controlling your arrogance, yes.
• Overcoming pain and pleasure, yes.
• Outgrowing your ambition, yes.
• Not feeling anger at stupid and unpleasant people—and even for caring about them—for that, yes, you have time.

9. No Complaining About Court Life Don’t ever be overheard complaining about life at the imperial court. Not even to yourself.

10. Understanding Remorse Remorse is annoyance at yourself for having missed an opportunity to gain something that would have been to your benefit. But if something is truly to your benefit, it must be something good—something a truly good person would be concerned about. But no truly good person would feel remorse at passing up a mere pleasure. Therefore, So too a healthy mind should be prepared for anything. The mind that keeps saying, “Are my children all right?” or “Everyone must approve of what I do” is like eyes that can only stand to look at pale colors, or teeth that can only handle soft, mushy food.

36. People’s Reactions to Your Death It doesn’t matter how good a life you’ve led. When you are dying, there’ll still be people standing around your bed who will, in some way, welcome the sad event. Even if you were intelligent and good. Won’t there likely be someone thinking, “Finally! I’ll be through with that old schoolteacher. Even though he never openly criticized me, you could always feel him judging you.” And that’s for a good man. Imagine yourself: how many traits do you have that would make a lot of people glad to be rid of you? Remember that when your time comes to die. You’ll be less reluctant to leave if you can tell yourself, “This is the sort of life I’m leaving. Even the people around me, the ones I spent so much time fighting for, praying over, and caring about—even some of them want me gone, perhaps in hopes that it will make their own lives easier in some way. How could anyone want to stay here longer under such conditions?” And yet, don’t leave this life feeling angry with them. Be true to who you are: caring, sympathetic, and kind. And don’t feel as if you were being violently torn away from life. Instead, think of it like when someone dies peacefully, how the soul is gently released from the body—that’s how you should leave them. It was nature that bound you to them and created your relationships. And it is nature that now unties those bonds. I am released from those around me. I am not dragged away against my will, but go without resistance. There are things that nature demands. And this release is one of them.

37. Why Are They Doing That? Learn to ask of all actions, “Why are they doing that?” Start by asking this question about your own actions.

38. The Hidden Controller Within Remember that what truly pulls the strings is the hidden part within us. That is our power of speech, our life force, that is the real person. Don’t think of the rest—the skin that contains it, and all the accompanying organs—as being the essential part of you. These physical parts are merely tools, like a carpenter’s axe. The difference is that they’re attached to us from birth. But they are no more use without the inner force that moves them and holds them still than the weaver’s shuttle is without the weaver, the writer’s pencil without the writer, or the driver’s whip without the driver.

Book 11

1. Qualities of the Rational Soul The rational soul has these characteristics:

• It can perceive itself.
• It can examine itself.
• It has the power to make of itself whatever it wants.
• It reaps its own harvest. This is unlike plants (and, in a different way, animals), whose fruits or products are gathered by others.
• It reaches its intended goal in life, no matter when its life might end. It’s not like a dance or a play, where the performance is incomplete if it’s cut off in the middle. At any point it stops, the rational soul can say it has fulfilled its mission and done its work completely. It can say, “I have what I came for.”

More qualities:

• It surveys the entire world, the empty space around it, and how the world is put together.
• It reaches into the endlessness of time. It tries to grasp and understand the repeating cycles of birth and rebirth that the world goes through.
• It knows that those who come after us will see nothing fundamentally different from what we see. It knows that those who came before us saw no more than we do. And it knows that anyone who has lived for about forty years and has reasonably good sense has, in effect, seen both the past and the future—because they are both essentially alike.

Also characteristic of the rational soul are:

• Affection for its neighbors (other people).
• Truthfulness.
• Humility.
• Not placing anything above itself—which is also a characteristic of law and good order. In this, there’s no real difference between the guiding principle (Logos) of rationality and the guiding principle of justice.

2. Becoming Indifferent to Distractions Here’s how to become indifferent to things like pretty singing, captivating dancing, or impressive martial arts:

• For singing: Analyze the melody into the individual notes that make it up. As you hear each separate note, ask yourself if you are powerless against that single note. Realizing that each individual component has little power over you should be enough to make you less captivated by the whole.
• For dancing: Do the same. Break it down into individual movements and poses.
• For martial arts: Analyze the individual techniques and stances. Apply this method to everything in life—except for true virtue and the good actions that come from it. Look at the individual parts of things, and by analyzing them, move towards a healthy indifference to their superficial appeal. Apply this to your life as a whole.

3. True Resolution The soul that is truly resolute is firm in its decision to separate from the body when the time comes. It is firm whether that means dissolution (ceasing to be), fragmentation (scattering of atoms), or continuity in some other form. But this resolution has to be the result of its own decision, based on careful judgment. It shouldn’t just be a reaction to outside forces or pressures. This resolution has to be considered, serious, and based on reasons that would be persuasive to other thoughtful people. It should be without theatrics or emotional display.

4. Benefits of Common Good Actions Have I done something for the common good? If so, then I too share in the benefits of that action. Focus on this truth. Don’t give up on working for the good of all.

5. Your Profession: Goodness Someone asks: “And what is your profession?” Answer: “Goodness.” (And how is that goodness to be achieved, except by deep thought—about the nature of the world, and about the true nature of human beings?)

6. Lessons from Theater First, consider Greek tragedies. They were important because they reminded people of what can happen in life, and that such events happen inevitably according to fate or nature. They showed that if something gives you pleasure or moves you deeply on the tragic stage, it shouldn’t cause you anger or despair when similar things happen on the stage of real life. Watching tragedies helps you realize that these are difficulties we all have to go through. Even those characters in the plays who cry aloud in their suffering still have to endure them. Tragedies also contain some excellent lines. For example:

• “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, / The gods must have their reasons.”
• Or: “And why should we feel anger at the world?”
• And: “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain…” …and many other good ones.

Then, after tragedy, came Old Comedy. This was instructive because of its frankness and its plain speaking, which was often designed to puncture people’s pretensions and arrogance. (The philosopher Diogenes used similar straightforward tactics for similar ends.) Then consider Middle Comedy (and later New Comedy) and what it aimed at. It gradually degenerated into mere realism (just copying everyday life) and empty technical skill in writing. There are undeniably good passages, even in those later writers, but what was the overall point of it all—the scripts and the staging alike? Often, not much beyond entertainment.

7. Philosophy Suits Your Current Role It stares you right in the face: no role in life is so well suited to practicing philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now.

8. Branches Cut from the Tree A branch cut away from the branch next to it is, at the same time, cut away from the whole tree. In the same way, a human being who is separated from another human being is cut loose from the entire community. A branch is usually cut off by someone else. But people often cut themselves off from others—through hatred, or through rejection—and they don’t realize that by doing so, they’re cutting themselves off from the whole civic enterprise, the human community. Except, we also have a special gift, given to us by Zeus (the divine order), who founded this community of ours. We can reattach ourselves to others and become once more components of the whole. But if this rupture, this cutting off, is too often repeated, it makes the severed part harder to reconnect and to restore to its former health. You can see the difference between a branch that’s been there since the beginning, remaining on the tree and growing with it, and one that’s been cut off and then grafted back on. As the gardeners say, it becomes like “one trunk, but two different kinds of growth (or minds).”

9. Dealing with Obstruction and Intolerance As you move forward in living according to reason (the Logos), people will sometimes stand in your way. They can’t keep you from doing what’s healthy for your character; don’t let them stop you from being tolerant and patient with them either. Take care on both counts:

• Maintain sound judgments and solid, virtuous actions.
• At the same time, maintain tolerance for those who try to obstruct you or give you trouble in other ways. Because anger is also a weakness, just as much as breaking down under pressure and giving up the struggle. Both the person who breaks and runs from a challenge, and the one who lets himself become alienated from his fellow human beings, are deserters from their post.

10. Nature is Superior to Art What is natural can never be inferior to what is artificial. Art, in fact, imitates nature, not the other way around. If this is true, then that most highly developed and comprehensive nature—Nature itself, the universe as a whole—cannot possibly fall short of artifice or human craftsmanship in its design and workings. Now, all the arts and crafts aim to move from lower, simpler goals to higher, more complex ones. Won’t Nature, the greatest craftsman, do the same? This leads to the idea of justice. Justice is the source of all the other virtues. For how could we truly do what justice requires if we are constantly distracted by things that don’t really matter, if we are naive and easily fooled, or if we are gullible and inconstant in our principles?

11. You Seek Turmoil, Not the Other Way Around It’s the pursuit of external things, and your attempts to avoid other external things, that leave you in such turmoil. And yet, those things themselves aren’t seeking you out; you are the one seeking them. Try to suspend your judgment about these external things. At once, they will seem to lie still and untroubling, and you will be freed from the exhausting cycle of fleeing some things and pursuing others.

12. The Soul Like a Stable Sphere The soul is like a sphere in perfect equilibrium when it:

• Does not grasp at things beyond itself.
• Does not retreat inward in fear or contraction.
• Does not fragment outward in distraction.
• Does not sink back on itself in despair. Instead, it remains ablaze with an inner light, and by this light, it looks at the truth of all things, both without and within itself.

13. Dealing with Others’ Contempt or Hatred Someone despises me. That’s their problem. My problem is to ensure that I do not do or say anything that is actually despicable. Someone hates me. That’s also their problem. My responsibility is to be patient and cheerful with everyone, including them. I should be ready to show them their mistake, not in a spiteful way, or to show off my own self-control, but honestly and uprightly, like Phocion (a respected Athenian statesman known for his integrity, assuming he wasn’t just pretending). That’s what we should be like on the inside. We should ensure that the gods never catch us feeling anger or resentment. As long as you are doing what’s proper to your nature, and as long as you accept what the world’s nature has in store for you—as long as you are working for the good of others, by any and all means—what is there that can truly harm you?

14. Flattery and Submission Due to Contempt and Ambition People often flatter one another out of an underlying contempt. And their desire to rule over one another often makes them bow and scrape before those they secretly despise.

15. The Ugliness of False Sincerity The despicable phoniness of people who say, “Listen, I’m going to be completely honest with you here.” What does that even mean? Honesty shouldn’t even need to be announced. It should be obvious—as if written in block letters on your forehead. It should be audible in the tone of your voice, visible in your eyes, just like a lover who looks into your face and takes in the whole story of your affection at a single glance. A truly straightforward and honest person should be like someone who has a strong, natural body odor: when you’re in the same room with him, you know it. It’s unmistakable. But false straightforwardness, a pretense of honesty, is like a knife hidden in the back. False friendship is the worst kind of phoniness. Avoid it at all costs. If you’re truly honest and straightforward and mean well, it should show clearly in your eyes. It should be unmistakable.

16. How to Live a Good Life To live a good life: We all have the potential for it. We can achieve it if we can learn to be indifferent to those things that make no real difference to our character or our ability to act virtuously. This is how we learn this indifference: by looking at each thing, both its individual parts and the whole it forms. Keep in mind that none of these external things can dictate how we perceive or judge it. They don’t impose themselves on us with their own inherent value or meaning. They simply hover before us, unmoving. It is we who generate the judgments about them—we are, in effect, inscribing these judgments on ourselves. And we don’t have to do that. We could choose to leave the page of our mind blank—and if a mistaken mark or judgment slips through, we can erase it instantly. Remember how brief is the period of attentiveness required for this kind of self-correction. And then, our lives will eventually end. And why should it seem so hard when things go against your preferences?

• If the difficult thing is imposed by nature, accept it gladly and stop fighting it.
• And if it’s not imposed by nature (meaning it’s something you can influence or avoid through your own choices), then work out what your own true nature requires, and aim at that, even if it brings you no public glory or recognition. None of us is forbidden to pursue our own genuine good.

17. The Nature of Transformation Consider the source and substance of each thing. Think about what it changes into, and what it’s like when it is transformed. Understand that, in its essence, nothing can truly harm it in these transformations.

18. Ten Points for Dealing with Others Here are some thoughts for dealing with others, like gifts from the Muses: i. Your relationship to them: Remember that we human beings came into the world for each other. Or, as a leader, I came to be their guardian, like a ram for its flock. If the universe isn’t random atoms, then Nature directs everything. Lower things exist for higher ones, and higher ones for each other. ii. What they’re like: Think about their behavior—eating, sleeping, etc. How driven they are by their beliefs. How proud they are of what they do. iii. Are they right? If they’re right, you can’t complain. If they’re wrong, they act involuntarily, out of ignorance. Souls don’t willingly turn from truth or justice. That’s why they hate being called unjust or greedy. iv. Your own faults: You’ve made mistakes too; you’re like them. Even if you’ve avoided some faults, you have the potential for them, perhaps held back by cowardice or fear of opinion. v. You don’t know for sure it’s a mistake: Many actions are means to an end. You need a lot of information to judge others’ actions accurately. vi. Life is short: When you get angry or irritated, remember human life is brief. Soon, we’ll all be dead. vii. It’s your perception, not their action: What bothers you isn’t what they do (that’s their mind’s issue), but your judgment of it. Discard that judgment. See it as not a catastrophe, and your anger vanishes. How? By realizing you’ve suffered no real disgrace. If only disgrace can hurt you, you’ll end up doing many wrong things. viii. Anger does more damage: Anger and grief harm you more than the things that caused them. ix. Kindness is invincible: If it’s sincere, not fake or ironic. What can even the worst person do if you stay kind and gently correct them when they try to harm you? Say, “No, friend, that’s not what we’re for. You’re harming yourself, not me.” Show them gently, without accusation, that this is true, that social creatures don’t act this way. Speak affectionately, not like a lecturer or to impress others, but directly, even if others are present. Keep these nine points. Start becoming human. And along with not getting angry, don’t flatter people. Both are selfish and harmful. When angry, remember: rage isn’t manly. Courtesy and kindness define a human and a man. That’s where strength, nerve, and guts lie, not with angry whiners. Kindness leads to calmness and strength. Pain and anger are weaknesses we suffer from. …and one more thought, as if from Apollo: x. Expecting bad people not to harm is crazy. It’s asking the impossible. Letting them harm others but expecting them to spare you is arrogant—the thinking of a tyrant.

19. Four Thoughts to Erase Watch for these four kinds of thoughts. When you find them, erase them by telling yourself:

• “This thought is unnecessary.”
• “This thought is destructive to those around me.”
• “This thought isn’t what I really think.” (Saying what you don’t think is absurd.) And the fourth reason to correct yourself:
• When the more divine part of you (your reason) is beaten down by the lower, mortal part—your body and its foolish self-indulgence.

20. Your Intellect and Nature’s Order Your spirit and the fire within you naturally tend to rise upward. Yet, they obey the world’s overall design and submit to being mixed with other elements here on earth. Similarly, the earthly and watery parts of you naturally tend to move downward. Yet, they are often forced to rise and take up positions that are not their most natural ones. So, even the physical elements obey the universe’s order, responding when commanded and compelled. They hold their assigned stations until the signal to release them arrives. Why, then, should your intellect be the only part of you that dissents? Why should it be the only one complaining about its posting and duties? It’s not as if anything is being forced on it that is contrary to its nature. It is only asked to do what its own nature requires. And yet, it often refuses to comply and instead tries to go in the opposite direction. To be drawn toward what is wrong and self-indulgent, or toward anger, fear, and pain, is to revolt against your rational nature. And for your mind to complain about anything that happens in the course of nature is also to desert its post. Your mind was created to show reverence—respect for the divine order—no less than it was created to act justly. Reverence is also an essential element of peaceful coexistence and a prerequisite for true justice.

21. The Importance of a Consistent, Civic Goal Someone wisely said, “If you don’t have a consistent goal in life, you can’t live your life in a consistent way.” This is unhelpful, however, unless you also specify what kind of goal one should have. There is no common standard for all the various things that different people think are good—except for a very few things, like virtues, which benefit us all. Therefore, the goal you aim for should be a common one—a civic one, one that contributes to the well-being of the community. If you direct all your energies toward that kind of goal, your actions will be consistent. And so will you.

22. The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Remember the fable of the town mouse and the country mouse. The town mouse experienced much distress and agitation from the complexities and dangers of city life, unlike the simple country mouse. (This suggests that a simpler life aligned with nature is less troubling.)

23. Socrates on Popular Beliefs Socrates used to call popular, unexamined beliefs “the monsters under the bed”—things that are only really useful for frightening children with.

24. Spartan Hospitality and Hardiness At festivals, the Spartans would ensure their guests had seats in the shade, but they themselves would sit down anywhere, enduring any discomfort. (This illustrates their hardiness and focus on others’ comfort.)

25. Socrates and Unpayable Favors Socrates once declined an invitation from King Perdiccas of Macedon. He reportedly said it was “so as to avoid dying a thousand deaths”—meaning he wanted to avoid accepting a favor he couldn’t possibly pay back, which would put him in a state of perpetual obligation and moral discomfort.

26. Epicurean Advice: Emulate Virtuous Ancestors This advice comes from Epicurean writings: to think continually of one of the great men of old who lived a virtuous life. (This serves as a model and inspiration.)

27. The Pythagoreans: Lessons from the Stars The Pythagoreans (followers of the philosopher Pythagoras) tell us to look at the stars at daybreak. We should do this to remind ourselves of how consistently they complete the tasks assigned to them—always the same tasks, in the same orderly way. We should also be reminded of their order, their purity, and their “nakedness” (their unadorned, unconcealed nature). Stars wear no concealment.

28. Socrates’ Indifference to Appearance Remember the story about Socrates. One day, his wife Xanthippe supposedly took his cloak and went out. He simply dressed himself in a towel. When his friends saw him dressed like that, they were embarrassed and avoided him. Socrates then said something to them (likely pointing out the foolishness of being overly concerned with mere appearances).

29. Life Requires a Master More Than Literacy Mastery of reading and writing requires a teacher or master. Still more so does the art of living life well.

30. A Harsh Judgment on Unreason (This is a quote, possibly from a play, that delivers a severe judgment): ”…For you are but a slave and have no rightful claim to reason (Logos).”

31. Simple Joy (A simple quote expressing happiness): “But my heart rejoiced.”

32. Mocking Virtue (A quote about how some react to virtue): “And they jeer at virtue with their taunts and sneers.”

33. Unreasonable Expectations It’s a sign of stupidity to expect figs to grow in winter. It’s equally foolish to expect to have children when you are very old. (This means: understand the natural order and limits of things.)

34. Epictetus on Mortality As you kiss your son good night, the philosopher Epictetus says, you should whisper to yourself, “He may be dead in the morning.” You might say, “Don’t say such ill-omened things; don’t tempt fate!” But is it tempting fate merely by acknowledging a natural event? Is fate tempted when we speak of grain being reaped at harvest time?

35. The Constant Transition of Grapes Consider grapes: First, they are unripe… then they ripen… then they become raisins. These are all constant transitions. It’s not that something ceases to be (“the not”) but that it is always in a state of becoming something else (“the not yet”).

36. Free Will Cannot Be Stolen “No thefts of free will have ever been reported.” (This is a quote from Epictetus, meaning that your power of choice, your will, cannot be stolen from you by external forces.)

37. Epictetus on Self-Discipline and Acceptance Epictetus also said: “We need to master the art of acquiescence (calm acceptance of what we cannot change). We also need to pay careful attention to our impulses, making sure they don’t go unchecked, that they benefit others, and that they’re worthy of us. We need to steer clear of desire in any excessive form, and not try to avoid things that are genuinely beyond our control.”

38. A Debate About Sanity “This is not a debate about just anything,” he said, “but about sanity itself.” (This highlights the profound importance of a particular philosophical discussion.)

39. Socrates: Why Squabble If You Have Healthy, Rational Minds? Socrates once asked: “What kind of minds do you want, rational ones or irrational ones?” —“Rational ones,” they replied. “And do you want healthy rational minds or sick ones?” —“Healthy ones.” “Then why don’t you work to obtain them?” —“We already have them,” they claimed. “Then why all this squabbling and disagreement among you?” Socrates concluded.

Book 12

1. Achieve Your Goals Now Everything you’re trying to reach by taking the long, roundabout way—you could have right now, this very moment. You could have it if you’d only stop getting in your own way. You could have it if you’d only:

• Let go of the past.
• Entrust the future to Providence (the guiding wisdom of the universe).
• And guide your present actions toward reverence and justice.

Reverence means this: You’ll accept what you’re given by fate or nature. Nature intended it for you, and it intended you for it. Justice means this: You’ll speak the truth, frankly and without making excuses. And you’ll act as you should—and as other people deserve.

Don’t let anything deter you from this path:

• Not other people’s misbehavior.
• Not your own misperceptions.
• Not “What People Will Say.”
• Not the feelings or sensations of the physical body that covers you (let the affected part of the body take care of those sensations).

And if, when it’s your time to depart from life, you can shunt everything else aside except your own mind and the divinity within you… if it isn’t simply ceasing to live that you’re afraid of, but rather the fear of never beginning to live properly according to nature… then you’ll be a person worthy of the world that made you. You will no longer be an alien in your own land. You will no longer be shocked by everyday events as if they were unheard-of and strange occurrences. You will no longer be at the mercy of this external thing, or that one.

2. Seeing with Pure Intelligence God sees all our souls freed from their fleshly containers, stripped clean of their outer “bark” or covering, and cleansed of their grime and impurities. God grasps with His pure intelligence alone the divine essence that was poured and channeled from Himself into those souls. If you can learn to do the same—to see beyond the physical and perceive the essential—you can avoid a great deal of distress. When you can see through the flesh that covers you, will you still be so unsettled by things like clothing, fancy mansions, celebrity, and all the other painted sets and costumes of life’s drama?

3. Your Three Components; Freeing Your Mind You are made of three components: body, breath (life-force), and mind (reason).

• Two of these (body and breath) are yours only in trust; you have to take care of them, but they are not essentially “you.”
• To the third component, your mind, alone you have clear and full title.

If you can cut yourself—your mind—free from:

• What other people do and say.
• What you yourself have said or done in the past that now troubles you.
• The things that you’re afraid will happen in the future.
• The impositions of the physical body that contains you and the merely biological breath within it.
• And whatever the whirling chaos of external events sweeps in from outside… …so that your mind is freed from the chains of fate, brought to a state of clarity, and lives life on its own terms—doing what’s right, accepting what happens, and speaking the truth—

If you can cut your mind free from the clinging impressions of the senses, free from anxieties about the future and regrets about the past—if you can make yourself, as the philosopher Empedocles says, like “a sphere rejoicing in its perfect stillness,” and concentrate only on living what can be lived (which means living fully in the present moment)… then you can spend whatever time you have left in tranquility, and in kindness, and at peace with the guiding spirit within you (your own portion of the divine).

4. Caring More for Others’ Opinions Than Our Own It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than we love other people, but somehow we care more about their opinion of us than we do about our own. Imagine if a god appeared to us—or even just a wise human being—and prohibited us from concealing our thoughts or from imagining anything without immediately shouting it out loud. We wouldn’t make it through a single day. That’s how much we value other people’s opinions—often more than our own inner truth and self-assessment.

5. Could the Gods Overlook Something So Unfair? How is it that the gods arranged everything in the universe with such skill, and such loving care for our well-being, and yet somehow overlooked this one crucial thing: that certain people—in fact, the very best of them, the gods’ own partners in creating a good world, the ones whose piety and good works brought them closest to the divine—that these very people, when they die, should simply cease to exist forever? Utterly vanished, with no afterlife or continuation.

Well, assuming that’s really true (that there is no personal afterlife), you can be absolutely sure that the gods would have arranged things differently, if that different arrangement had been appropriate or better. If it were the truly right thing to do, they could have done it. And if it were the natural way of things, universal Nature would have demanded it. So, from the fact that they didn’t arrange it that way—if indeed that’s the case—we can logically conclude that it was inappropriate for it to be otherwise.

Surely you can see for yourself that even to ask this question in a doubting or resentful way is to challenge the gods’ fairness. And why would you be bringing fairness into the discussion unless you believed that the gods are, in fact, fair—and absolutely so? And if they are perfectly fair and just, how could they have carelessly overlooked something so profoundly unfair—so illogical—in the fundamental setup of the world?

6. Practice What Seems Impossible Practice even those things that you think you cannot do, things that seem impossible. For example, the left hand is generally useless at almost everything for most people, simply for lack of practice. But it guides the reins of a horse much better than the right hand does for many people. This skill comes from practice.

7. At the Moment of Death Consider the condition of your soul and body when death finally comes for you. Think about:

• The shortness of life.
• The vastness of time before your birth and after your death.
• The fragility of all material things.

8. Seeing Causes and Aims Strive to see the underlying causes of things, stripped bare of all superficial appearances. Understand the true aim and purpose of your actions. Consider the nature of:

• Pain.
• Pleasure.
• Death.
• Fame. Think about who is ultimately responsible for our own restlessness and inner turmoil (it is ourselves). Realize that, in the truest sense, no one can truly obstruct us if our will is aligned with nature. And understand that it’s all in how you perceive things.

9. The Philosopher as a Boxer The student of philosophy should be like a boxer, not like a fencer. The fencer’s weapon is something he picks up and then puts down again. The boxer’s weapons—his fists—are part of him. All he has to do is clench his fist, and he is ready.

10. See Things As They Are Focus on seeing things as they truly are, in their:

• Substance (what they are made of).
• Cause (what brought them about).
• Purpose (what they are for).

11. True Freedom True freedom lies in doing only what God (or the divine order of the universe) wants, and in accepting whatever God sends us.

11a. Its Composition (A very brief, possibly incomplete note, likely a reminder to analyze something): What it’s made of.

12. No One is to Blame The gods are not to blame for what happens. They do nothing wrong, either on purpose or by accident. Nor are human beings ultimately to blame for their wrongdoing in a way that should cause you lasting bitterness; they often don’t do wrong on purpose, but out of ignorance. So, in the grand scheme, no one is truly to blame in a way that should destroy your peace of mind.

13. Surprise is Foolishness It’s foolish to be surprised by anything that happens in life. That would be like travelers being amazed and shocked by foreign customs they encounter in a distant land.

14. Three Possibilities for the Universe’s Governance There are three possibilities for how the universe operates:

1. Fatal necessity and an inescapable, rigid order.
2. Or, a benevolent Providence, a wise and caring divine guidance.
3. Or, a mere confusion—a random, undirected chaos.

Consider each:

• If it’s an inescapable necessity, why resist it? Accept what must be.
• If it’s Providence that admits of being worshipped and appealed to, then try to live in such a way that you are worthy of God’s aid.
• If it’s just confusion and anarchy, then be grateful that in the midst of this raging, chaotic sea, you possess a mind—a guiding reason—within yourself. And if the storm of chaos should threaten to carry you away, let it carry off your flesh, your breath, and all the rest. But it cannot carry away your mind, your capacity for reasoned choice, unless you let it.

15. Your Inner Light vs. a Lamp A lamp continues to shine until it is finally put out, without losing its gleam along the way. And yet in you, the inner lights of truth, justice, and self-control can gutter out so early?

16. Responding to Apparent Injury When someone seems to have injured you: First, ask yourself: But how can I be absolutely sure this was an intentional injury, or that it truly harmed me in an essential way? And in any case, keep these thoughts in mind:

• That the wrongdoer has already been tried and convicted—by himself, in his own conscience. (His wrongdoing is like him scratching his own eyes out.)
• That to expect a bad person not to harm others is like expecting fig trees not to produce their natural juice, or babies not to cry, or horses not to neigh—it’s like expecting the inevitable not to happen. What else could they do, being the sort of character they currently are? If you’re still angry or upset by their actions, then get to work on improving your own character and reactions.

17. Right Action, True Words If it’s not the right thing to do, don’t do it. If it’s not true, don’t say it. Let your intention always be clear and aligned with these principles.

18. Unpack Everything by Analysis At all times, look at the thing itself—the event, the object, the person, the situation that is behind the mere appearance—and unpack it by careful analysis into its components:

• Its cause.
• Its substance or material.
• Its purpose or aim.
• And the length of time it is likely to exist.

19. The Power Within You It’s time you realized that you have something in you more powerful and more miraculous than the external things that merely affect you physically and make you dance like a puppet controlled by strings. What’s in my thoughts at this very moment? Is it fear? Jealousy? Excessive desire? Or other disruptive feelings like that?

20. Principles for Undertaking Actions Undertake nothing: i. At random or without a clear purpose. ii. For any reason other than the common good.

21. All Things Perish and Transform Remember that before long, you’ll be no one, and nowhere. And it will be the same for all the things you see now, and for all the people now living. Everything’s destiny is to change, to be transformed, and eventually to perish. This is so that new things can be born from the old.

22. Your Perception is Your Control It’s all in how you perceive things. You’re in control of your perceptions. You can dispense with a misperception at will, just like a sailor rounding a headland can leave the stormy seas behind and find calm waters. Do this, and you will find serenity, total calm, a safe anchorage for your soul.

23. The Timeliness of Endings A given action that stops when it’s supposed to (when its natural course is run) is no worse for having stopped. Nor is the person engaged in that action any worse off for having completed it. So too with the whole succession of actions that we call “life.” If life ends when it’s supposed to, according to nature, it’s no worse for that. And the person who comes to the end of their natural line has no cause for complaint. The time and the stopping point are set by nature—sometimes by our own individual nature (as in death from old age); or by Nature as a whole, whose parts, by constantly shifting and changing, continually renew the world and keep it on its proper schedule. Nothing that benefits all things in the universe can be ugly or out of place. The end of life is not an evil in itself—it doesn’t disgrace us. (Why should we be ashamed of an involuntary act that, in itself, injures no one and is part of the natural order?). In fact, it’s a good thing—it is scheduled by the world, it promotes the world’s processes, and it is, in turn, promoted by those processes. This is how we become godlike—by following God’s path, and by aligning our actions with the goals of reason.

24. Three Essential Perspectives at All Times i(a). Regarding your own actions: Ensure that they’re not arbitrary or different from what abstract justice itself would do. i(b). Regarding external events: Understand that they happen either randomly or by divine design (Providence). You can’t complain about chance if you believe it’s random. And you can’t argue with Providence if you believe in a purposeful order. ii. Regarding the nature of things: Contemplate what all things are like, from the planting of the seed to the quickening of life, and from its quickening to its eventual relinquishment at death. Understand where the component parts of things came from and where they eventually return to. iii. Regarding a cosmic view: Imagine that if you were suddenly lifted up high above the earth and could see all of human life and its vast variety from that great height, and if you could at the same time see all the other beings in the sky and beyond it, you’d realize how ultimately pointless much of human striving is. And no matter how often you saw this spectacle, it would essentially be the same: the same life forms, the same brief life span for individuals. Can one feel arrogance or pride when considering all this?

25. Throw Out Misperceptions Throw out your misperceptions and false judgments about things, and you’ll be fine. (And who’s stopping you from throwing them out?)

26. Why Anger Arises from Forgetfulness To be angry at something often means you’ve forgotten some key truths:

• That everything that happens is in accordance with universal nature.
• That the responsibility for a perceived wrong often lies with the other person, not directly with you in a way that can harm your core self. And you’ve also forgotten:
• That whatever happens has always happened in similar ways, and always will, and is happening at this very moment, everywhere, in patterns just like this.
• You’ve forgotten what links one human being to all other humans: not merely blood ties or shared birth, but a shared capacity for mind and reason. And also:
• That an individual’s mind is, in a sense, God, and an emanation or fragment of the divine.
• That nothing truly “belongs” to anyone in an absolute sense. Our children, our bodies, even life itself—all of them come from that same divine source.
• That everything is how you choose to see it; your perception shapes your reality.
• That the present moment is all we truly have to live in, or to lose.

27. The Fate of the Passionate and Arrogant Constantly run down the list in your mind of those who felt intense anger or passion about something: the most famous, the most unfortunate, the most hated, the most whatever. And then ask: Where is all that passion and all those people now? They are smoke, dust, a legend… or perhaps not even a legend anymore. Think of all the specific examples you know: Fabius Catullinus living in the country, Lusius Lupus in his orchard, Stertinius at the resort of Baiae, Emperor Tiberius on the island of Capri, Velius Rufus… all their obsessions and their arrogance. And consider how trivial the things we humans often want so passionately really are. And how much more philosophical it would be to simply take what we’re given by nature and, in response, show uprightness, self-control, and obedience to God, without making a big production or show of it. There’s nothing more insufferable than people who boast about their own humility.

28. Knowing the Gods Exist People might ask you, “Have you ever actually seen the gods you worship? How can you be so sure they even exist?” Here are some answers: i. Just look around you at the order and beauty of the world. ii. I’ve never seen my own soul either, and yet I revere it and know it exists. That’s how I know the gods exist and why I revere them—from having felt their power and seen their work, over and over again in my life and in the world.

29. Salvation in Truth and Right Action Salvation, or true well-being, consists in this: to see each thing for what it truly is—to understand its essential nature and its ultimate purpose. It means to do only what is right, and to say only what is true, without holding back or pretense. What else could it be but to live life fully—to pay out goodness like the seamless rings of a chain, without the slightest gap or interruption?

30. One Light, One Substance, One Life, One Intelligence Think of these things as singular, even if they appear plural or divided:

• Sunlight. It is one light, though it is broken up and seems divided by walls, mountains, and a thousand other intervening things.
• Substance. There is one underlying universal substance, though it is split into a thousand different forms, variously shaped.
• Life. There is one universal life force, though it is distributed among a thousand different natures with their individual limitations and forms.
• Intelligence (Logos). There is one universal intelligence, even if it seems to be divided among individual minds. The other components of things—like mere breath (pneuma) or physical matter—lack any true awareness or intrinsic connection to one another (yet even they are held together by the principle of unity and by the universe’s natural gravitational pull). But intelligence, or Mind, is uniquely drawn toward what is akin to it (other intelligence). It joins with it inseparably, in a state of shared awareness and community.

31. What is Truly Worth Desiring? What is it that you truly want?

• To keep on breathing?
• What about merely feeling sensations? Or having desires?
• Or growing physically, and then ceasing to grow?
• Or using your voice? Or thinking? Which of these purely physical or fleeting activities seems truly worth having as an ultimate goal? But if you can do without all of them as ultimate ends, then continue to follow reason (the Logos), and follow God, to the very end of your life. To prize those other, lesser things—or to grieve because death eventually deprives us of them—is an obstacle to living a truly good and meaningful life.

32. Your Tiny Share of Everything Consider the tiny fraction of infinite time, of that vast abyss of duration, that is allotted to each of us. It is absorbed in an instant into eternity. Think of the tiny fraction of all physical substance in the universe that makes up your body. And the tiny fraction of all spirit. And consider the tiny fraction of the whole earth that you crawl about on. Keep all that in mind, and don’t treat anything as truly important except doing what your own nature demands, and accepting what universal Nature sends your way.

33. The Mind’s Role How the mind conducts itself—that is what everything depends on. All the rest—external things, events, even your own body to some extent—is either within its power to influence through judgment and action, or it is beyond its direct control. If beyond its control, these things are no more significant to your inner peace than corpses and smoke.

34. Even Hedonists Can Face Death Calmly Here’s an incentive to treat death as unimportant: even people whose only real morality is seeking pleasure and avoiding pain (hedonists) can often manage to face death with a degree of calmness or resignation.

35. If Only Ripeness Matters… If you make “ripeness” or perfect completion alone your good… If a few actions more or less, as long as they are governed by the right reason (Logos), are merely a few more or less and don’t change the overall quality… If it makes no ultimate difference to your well-being whether you look at the world for this long or that long… …then death shouldn’t scare you.

36. A Citizen of a Great City You’ve lived your life as a citizen in a great city (Rome, and by extension, the Cosmos). Whether you’ve lived there for five years or a hundred—what’s the real difference in the grand scheme of things? The laws of nature and the city make no ultimate distinction based on length of tenure alone. And to be sent away from this city, not by a tyrant or a dishonest judge, but by Nature itself, who first invited you in—why should that be so terrible? It’s like when the impresario or director of a play rings down the curtain on an actor: The actor might protest, “But I’ve only gotten through three acts…!” And the impresario replies, “Yes. But this will be a drama in three acts. Its length was fixed by the power that directed your creation in the first place, and now directs your dissolution. Neither the beginning nor the end was yours to determine.” So, make your exit with grace—the same grace that was shown to you when you were brought into life.

So too, a healthy mind should be prepared for anything. The mind that keeps saying, “Are my children all right?” or “Everyone must approve of what I do,” is like eyes that can only stand to look at pale colors. It’s like teeth that can only handle soft, mushy food.

36. How People Might React to Your Death It doesn’t matter how good a life you’ve led. When you are dying, there’ll still be people standing around your bed who will, in some way, welcome your death. Even if you were intelligent and good. Won’t there likely be someone among them thinking, “Finally! I’ll be through with that old schoolteacher. Even though he never openly criticized me, you could always feel him judging you.” And that’s for a good man! Imagine yourself: how many traits do you have that would make a lot of people glad to be rid of you? Remember that when your time comes to die. You’ll be less reluctant to leave if you can tell yourself, “This is the sort of life I’m leaving. Even the people around me—the ones I spent so much time fighting for, praying over, and caring about—even some of them want me gone. Perhaps they hope it will make their own lives easier in some way. How could anyone want to stay here longer under such conditions?” And yet, don’t leave this life feeling angry with them. Be true to who you are: caring, sympathetic, and kind. And don’t feel as if you were being violently torn away from life. Instead, think of it like when someone dies peacefully, how the soul is gently released from the body—that’s how you should leave them. It was nature that bound you to them and created your relationships. And it is nature that now unties those bonds. I am released from those around me. I am not dragged away against my will, but I go without resistance. There are things that nature demands. And this release is one of them.

37. Ask “Why?” About Actions—Starting with Your Own Learn to ask of all actions, “Why are they doing that?” And start by asking this question about your own actions.

38. The Hidden Controller Within Remember that what truly pulls your strings is the part hidden within you. That inner part is your power of speech, it is your life force, it is the real person. Don’t think of the rest of you—the skin that contains this inner part, and all the accompanying organs—as being the essential part of you. These physical parts are merely tools, like a carpenter’s axe. The difference is that they’re attached to us from birth. But they are no more use without the inner force that moves them and holds them still than the weaver’s shuttle is without the weaver, the writer’s pencil without the writer, or the driver’s whip without the driver.

Book 11

1. Qualities of the Rational Soul The rational soul (your mind or inner self) has these characteristics:

• It can see itself, examine itself, and shape itself into whatever it wants to be.
• It reaps its own harvest of good thoughts and actions. This is unlike plants (and, in a different way, animals), whose fruits or products are gathered and used by others.
• It reaches its intended goal in life—living virtuously—no matter when its physical life might end. It’s not like a dance performance or a play in the theater, where the performance is incomplete if it’s cut off in the middle. At any point it stops, the rational soul can say it has fulfilled its mission and done its work completely. It can say, “I have what I came for; my purpose is achieved.”

More qualities of the rational soul:

• It surveys the entire world, the empty space around it, and the way the world is put together.
• It reaches into the endlessness of time. It tries to grasp and understand the repeating cycles of birth and rebirth that the world goes through.
• It knows that those who come after us will see nothing fundamentally different from what we see now. It understands that those who came before us saw no more than we do. And it realizes that anyone who has lived for about forty years and has reasonably good sense has, in effect, seen both the past and the future—because the fundamental patterns of life are essentially alike across time.

Also characteristic of the rational soul are:

• Affection for its neighbors (other people).
• Truthfulness.
• Humility.
• Not placing anything above itself and its own judgment—which is also a characteristic of good law and order. In this, there’s no real difference between the guiding principle (Logos) of rationality and the guiding principle of justice.

2. Becoming Indifferent to Superficial Attractions Here’s how you can become indifferent to things like pretty singing, captivating dancing, or impressive martial arts displays:

• For singing: Analyze the melody into the individual notes that make it up. As you hear each separate note, ask yourself if you are truly powerless against that single note. Realizing that each individual component has little power over you should be enough to make you less captivated by the whole song.
• For dancing: Do the same. Break it down into individual movements and poses.
• For martial arts: Analyze the individual techniques and stances. Apply this method of breaking things down to everything in life—except for true virtue and the good actions that come from it. Look at the individual parts of things, and by analyzing them, move towards a healthy indifference to their superficial appeal. Apply this analytical approach to your life as a whole.

3. True Resolution Comes from Within The soul that is truly resolute is firm in its decision to separate from the body when the time for death comes. It is firm whether that separation means dissolution (ceasing to exist as an individual consciousness), fragmentation (the scattering of its component atoms), or continuity in some other form of being. But this resolution to face death calmly has to be the result of its own decision, based on careful judgment and understanding. It shouldn’t just be a reaction to outside forces or pressures (for example, some people might face death bravely out of sheer defiance or because of group pressure, not from reasoned conviction). This resolution has to be considered, serious, and based on reasons that would be persuasive to other thoughtful people. It should be without theatrics or emotional display.

4. When You Act for the Common Good, You Benefit Have I done something for the common good? If so, then I too share in the benefits of that action, because my own good is tied to the good of the whole. Focus on this truth. Don’t give up on working for the good of all.

5. Your Profession? “Goodness.” Someone might ask you: “And what is your profession in life?” Your answer should be: “Goodness.” (And how is that goodness to be achieved, except by deep thought—about the nature of the world, and about the true nature of human beings?)

6. Lessons from the Theater First, think about Greek tragedies. They were important because they reminded people of the difficult things that can happen in life, and that such events often happen inevitably, as part of fate or the natural order. They showed that if something gives you pleasure or moves you deeply when you see it on the tragic stage, it shouldn’t cause you overwhelming anger or despair when similar things happen on the stage of your own real life. Watching tragedies helps you realize that these kinds of difficulties are things we all have to go through. Even those characters in the plays who cry aloud in their suffering still have to endure them. Tragedies also contain some excellent and wise lines. For example:

• “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, / The gods must have their reasons.” (Meaning, accept what you cannot change.)
• Or: “And why should we feel anger at the world?” (Since the world is indifferent to our anger.)
• And: “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain…” (Showing the natural cycle of life and death.) …and many other good ones.

Then, after tragedy, came Old Comedy in Greek theater. This form was instructive because of its frankness and its plain, often biting, speaking style. It was frequently designed to puncture people’s pretensions and arrogance. (The philosopher Diogenes used similar straightforward and challenging tactics for similar ends.) Then consider Middle Comedy (and later New Comedy) and what those forms aimed at. They gradually degenerated into mere realism (just copying everyday life, often its sillier aspects) and an empty display of technical skill in writing, without much deep meaning. There are undeniably some good passages, even in those later writers, but what was the overall point of it all—the scripts and the staging alike? Often, not much beyond simple entertainment.

7. Philosophy is Perfectly Suited to Your Current Role It stares you right in the face: no role or situation in life is so well suited to practicing philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now.

8. Like Branches Cut from a Tree A branch that is cut away from the branch next to it is, at the same time, cut away from the whole tree. In the same way, a human being who is separated from another human being (through anger, hatred, or indifference) is thereby cut loose from the entire human community. A physical branch is usually cut off by someone else. But people often cut themselves off from others—through their own hatred, or through their rejection of others—and they don’t realize that by doing so, they’re cutting themselves off from the whole civic enterprise, the shared life of the human community. Except, we also have a special gift, given to us by Zeus (the divine order of the universe), who founded this community of ours. We can reattach ourselves to others. We can become once more connected components of the whole. But if this rupture, this cutting off from others, is too often repeated, it makes the severed part harder to reconnect and to restore to its former health and harmony. You can see the difference between a branch that’s been there since the beginning, always remaining on the tree and growing with it, and one that’s been cut off and then grafted back on. It may live, but it’s not quite the same. As the gardeners put it, it becomes like “one trunk, but two different kinds of growth (or two minds).”

9. Dealing with Obstruction and Intolerance from Others As you move forward in living according to reason (the Logos), people will sometimes stand in your way or try to obstruct you. They can’t keep you from doing what’s healthy for your character; don’t let them stop you from being tolerant and patient with them either. Take care on both counts:

• Maintain sound judgments and solid, virtuous actions.
• At the same time, maintain tolerance for those who try to obstruct you or give you trouble in other ways. Because anger is also a weakness, just as much as breaking down under pressure and giving up the struggle. Both the person who breaks and runs from a challenge, and the one who lets himself become alienated from his fellow human beings, are deserters from their post as rational, social beings.

10. Nature is Always Superior to Artifice What is natural can never be inferior to what is artificial (man-made). Art, in fact, always tries to imitate nature, not the other way around. If this is true, then that most highly developed and comprehensive nature—Nature itself, the universe as a whole—cannot possibly fall short of human artifice or craftsmanship in its design and workings. Now, all the arts and crafts aim to move from lower, simpler goals to higher, more complex and refined ones. Won’t Nature, the greatest craftsman of all, do the same in its creations? This line of thought leads to the understanding of justice. Justice is the fundamental virtue, the source from which all the other virtues spring. For how could we truly do what justice requires (like treating others fairly and contributing to the common good) if we are constantly distracted by things that don’t really matter, if we are naive and easily fooled by appearances, or if we are gullible and inconstant in our principles?

11. You Seek Turmoil, Not the Other Way Around It’s the very act of pursuing external things (like wealth or fame), and your desperate attempts to avoid other external things (like poverty or pain), that leave you in such inner turmoil. And yet, those things themselves aren’t actively seeking you out to trouble you; you are the one seeking them out with your desires and aversions. Try to suspend your judgment about these external things. Stop labeling them as “good” or “bad.” At once, they will seem to lie still and untroubling, and you will be freed from the exhausting cycle of fleeing some things and pursuing others.

12. The Soul Like a Perfectly Still, Illuminated Sphere The soul is like a sphere in perfect equilibrium when it:

• Does not grasp at things beyond its reach or proper concern.
• Does not retreat inward in fear or self-contraction.
• Does not fragment outward into myriad distractions.
• Does not sink back on itself in despair or helplessness. Instead, it remains steady, ablaze with an inner light of understanding. And by this light, it looks at the truth of all things, both those outside itself and those within itself.

13. Dealing with Others’ Contempt or Hatred Someone despises me. That’s their problem, their issue to deal with. My problem, or rather my responsibility, is to ensure that I do not do or say anything that is actually despicable or worthy of contempt. Someone hates me. That’s also their problem. My responsibility is to remain patient and cheerful with everyone, including them. I should be ready to show them their mistake, not in a spiteful way, or to show off my own self-control, but honestly and uprightly. Be like the Athenian statesman Phocion (who was known for his integrity and calm demeanor, assuming he wasn’t just pretending to be so virtuous). That’s what we should be like on the inside. We should strive to ensure that the gods never catch us feeling or harboring anger or resentment. As long as you are doing what’s proper to your nature, and as long as you accept what the world’s nature has in store for you—as long as you are working for the good of others, by any and all means—what is there in the world that can truly harm you?

14. The Motives Behind Flattery and Servility People often flatter one another out of an underlying contempt for the person they are flattering. And their desire to rule over one another, or to gain some advantage, often makes them bow and scrape before those they secretly despise or look down upon.

15. The Ugliness of False Sincerity Beware of the despicable phoniness of people who say, “Listen, I’m going to be completely honest and level with you here.” What does that even mean? Honesty shouldn’t need to be announced with a fanfare. It should be obvious—as if it were written in block letters on your forehead. It should be clearly audible in the tone of your voice and visible in your eyes, just like a lover who looks into your face and takes in the whole story of your affection at a single, intuitive glance. A truly straightforward and honest person should be like someone who has a strong, natural body odor (though this is an odd comparison!): when you’re in the same room with him, you know it. Their genuineness is unmistakable. But false straightforwardness, a mere pretense of honesty, is like a knife hidden in the back—treacherous and dangerous. False friendship is the worst kind of phoniness. Avoid it at all costs. If you’re truly honest and straightforward and mean well, it should show clearly in your eyes. It should be unmistakable.

16. The Path to a Good Life: Indifference and True Judgment To live a good life: We all have the potential for it. We can achieve it if we can learn to be indifferent to those things that make no real difference to our character or our ability to act virtuously. This is how we learn this indifference: by looking at each thing that happens or that we encounter, considering both its individual parts and the whole it forms. Keep in mind that none of these external things can dictate how we perceive or judge it. They don’t impose their own value or meaning on us. They simply hover before us, unmoving and neutral. It is we who generate the judgments about them—we are, in effect, inscribing these judgments on ourselves. And we don’t have to do that. We could choose to leave the page of our mind blank—and if a mistaken mark or judgment inadvertently slips through, we can erase it instantly. Remember how brief is the period of focused attentiveness required for this kind of self-correction. And then, eventually, our lives will end. And why should it seem so hard when things go against your personal preferences?

• If the difficult thing is imposed by universal Nature, accept it gladly and stop fighting against it.
• And if it’s not imposed by Nature (meaning it’s something you can influence or avoid through your own choices, or it arises from human actions), then work out what your own true (rational and social) nature requires, and aim at that, even if it brings you no public glory or recognition. None of us is forbidden to pursue our own genuine good.

17. Transformation and Harmlessness Consider the source and the substance (the material) of each individual thing. Think about what it changes into, and what it’s like when it is transformed. Understand that, in its essential being, nothing can truly be harmed by these natural transformations.

18. Ten Gifts from the Muses for Dealing with People Here are some thoughts for dealing with others, like ten guiding gifts from the nine Muses (and Apollo): i. Your relationship to them: Remember that we human beings came into the world for the sake of one another. Or, from another perspective, I, in my role (perhaps as a leader), came into it to be their guardian—just as the ram is the natural guardian of its flock, and the bull is the guardian of its herd. Start from this fundamental principle: if the universe is not just a random collection of atoms but is governed by a rational Nature, then lower things exist for the sake of higher ones, and higher ones exist for the sake of one another. ii. What they’re really like: Consider what people are really like when they are eating, in bed, and so on. Think about how completely driven they often are by their beliefs and opinions (however mistaken), and how proud they are of the things they do (however trivial). iii. Are they acting rightly? If they’re actually right in what they’re doing, then you have no right to complain. And if they aren’t right, then they are likely acting involuntarily, out of some form of ignorance. Because, remember, all souls are unwillingly deprived of truth, and consequently, they are unwillingly kept from treating others as they truly deserve. This is why people resent being called unjust, or arrogant, or greedy—or any other suggestion that they aren’t good neighbors. iv. Your own faults are similar: Remember that you’ve made enough mistakes yourself. You’re just like them in many ways. And even if there are some specific faults you’ve managed to avoid, you still have the potential within you to commit them. Perhaps it was only cowardice that has kept you from them so far, or fear of what other people would say, or some other equally unvirtuous reason. v. You don’t know their full story: You often don’t know for sure that what they are doing is a genuine mistake from their perspective or in the larger context. A lot of actions that seem wrong on the surface are actually means to some other end, or part of a more complex situation. You have to know an awful lot before you can judge other people’s actions with real understanding and fairness. vi. Life’s brevity means less time for anger: When you start to lose your temper, or even just feel irritated, remember that human life is very short. Before long, all of us—you and the person you’re angry with—will be laid out side by side in death. vii. It’s your perception, not their action, that truly bothers you: Realize that it’s not what they do that truly disturbs your peace of mind (their actions are a problem for their minds, not yours). It’s your own misperceptions and judgments about their actions. Discard those judgments. Be willing to give up thinking of this situation as a catastrophe, and your anger will simply disappear. How do you do that? By recognizing that you’ve suffered no real disgrace or essential harm from their actions. Unless you believe that only disgrace can truly hurt you, you’re doomed to commit innumerable offenses yourself in reaction—to become a thief of your own peace, or heaven only knows what else. viii. Anger and grief do more damage than their causes: Consider how much more damage our own anger and grief do to us than the external things or events that supposedly cause them. ix. Kindness is invincible, if sincere: True kindness is an invincible force, provided it’s sincere—not sarcastic, ironic, or just an act. What can even the most vicious person do to you if you consistently keep treating him with kindness? If you get the chance, gently try to set him straight. Correct him cheerfully and without condescension at the exact moment that he’s trying to do you harm. You might say something like: “No, no, my friend. That isn’t what we’re here for. It isn’t me who’s primarily harmed by that kind of action. It’s you who are harming yourself.” And then show him, gently and without pointing fingers or making accusations, that this is so. Explain that bees don’t behave like this—nor do any other animals that have a natural sense of community. Don’t do it sardonically or meanly, but with genuine affection in your voice and manner—with no hatred in your heart. And don’t say it like a lecturer from a high platform, or to impress any third parties who might be listening. Speak directly and simply to him, even if there are other people around.

Keep these nine points in mind, as if they were precious gifts from the nine Muses. Use them to help you start becoming a true human being, now and for the rest of your life. And along with not getting angry at others, also try not to excessively flatter or pander to them. Both anger and fawning are forms of selfishness; both of them will ultimately do you harm. When you start to lose your temper, remember this: There’s nothing manly or truly strong about rage. It’s courtesy and kindness that truly define a mature human being—and a true man of character. That’s the person who possesses real strength, steady nerves, and genuine courage, not the angry whiners. To react with kindness and reason brings you closer to impassivity (a state of calmness unshaken by emotion)—and therefore closer to true strength. Pain is the opposite of strength, and so is anger. Both are states in which we suffer, and to which we often yield our inner peace and self-control.

…and one more thought, as if from the god Apollo (the leader of the Muses): x. Expecting bad people not to harm is crazy. It’s like asking for the impossible. And to let them behave like that towards other people but somehow expect them to make an exception for you and not harm you—that is arrogant and the thinking of a tyrant.

19. Four Unhelpful Habits of Thought to Erase There are four particular habits of thought that you should constantly watch out for. When you catch them operating in your mind, you should work to erase them by telling yourself:

• “This thought is unnecessary; it serves no good purpose.”
• “This thought is destructive to the people around me and to social harmony; it is anti-social.”
• “This thought wouldn’t be what I really think if I were being completely honest (and to say what you don’t truly think is the definition of absurdity and insincerity).” And the fourth reason for self-reproach, a fourth kind of thought to erase, is this: any thought that signifies that the more divine part of you (your reason and higher self) has been beaten down and subdued by the degraded, mortal part of you—your physical body and its stupid, uncontrolled self-indulgence.

20. Your Intellect Should Willingly Comply with Nature’s Order Your spirit (or vital breath) and the element of fire contained within your physical being are naturally drawn upward, towards their celestial counterparts. Yet, they willingly comply with the overall design of the universe and submit to being mingled with other elements here below on earth. Similarly, the elements of earth and water that are part of you are naturally drawn downward, towards the main mass of earth and water. Yet, they too are often forced to rise against their primary tendency and take up positions within your body that are not their most natural ones in the cosmos. So, even the physical elements obey the ordering principle of the world—when they are ordered and compelled by that principle—and they patiently and dutifully man their assigned stations within larger structures until the signal to abandon those posts and disperse eventually arrives. Given this, why should your intellect, your mind, be the only part of you that dissents? Why should it be the only part complaining about its posting and its duties within the grand scheme? It’s not as if anything is being forced on your intellect that is contrary to its essential nature. Your intellect is only asked to do what its own nature requires—to think, to reason, to understand, to choose. And yet, it often refuses to comply with the overall order and instead sets off in the opposite direction, rebelling against nature. This is because to be drawn toward what is wrong and self-indulgent, or toward feelings of anger, fear, and pain, is, for a rational mind, to revolt against its own nature and against universal Nature. And for your mind to complain about anything that happens in the course of nature is also to desert its proper post. Your mind was created to show reverence—respect for the divine order—no less than it was created to act justly. That reverence, too, is an essential element of peaceful social coexistence and, indeed, a prerequisite for true justice.

21. The Importance of a Consistent, Civic Goal in Life Someone wisely said, “If you don’t have a consistent goal in life, you can’t live your life in a consistent way.” That statement is unhelpful, however, unless you also specify what kind of goal one should have. There is no common benchmark or universally agreed-upon standard for all the various things that different people think are good (like wealth, health, pleasure, fame, etc.)—except for a very few things, like the virtues (justice, courage, wisdom, self-control), which are recognized by thoughtful people as truly beneficial for us all. Therefore, the goal you aim for in life should be a common one—a civic one, one that contributes to the well-being of the community and the harmony of society. If you direct all your energies toward that kind of goal, your actions will be consistent. And so will you, as a person.

22. The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Remember the fable of the town mouse and the country mouse. The town mouse experienced much distress and agitation from the complexities, dangers, and artificialities of city life, unlike the simple country mouse who lived a more natural and peaceful existence. (This implies that a simpler life, more aligned with nature, is less troubling and more conducive to peace of mind.)

23. Socrates on Popular Beliefs: “Monsters Under the Bed” Socrates used to call popular, unexamined beliefs and fears “the monsters under the bed”—things that are only really useful for frightening children with, but which have no real substance for a thinking adult.

24. Spartan Hospitality and Hardiness At public festivals, the Spartans would make sure their guests had seats in the shade, demonstrating hospitality. But they themselves would sit down anywhere, enduring any discomfort without complaint. (This illustrates their characteristic hardiness and their focus on the comfort of others before their own.)

25. Socrates and Avoiding Unpayable Favors Socrates once declined an invitation from King Perdiccas of Macedon. He reportedly said his reason was “so as to avoid dying a thousand deaths”—meaning he wanted to avoid the moral discomfort of accepting a great favor that he couldn’t possibly pay back. Such a situation would put him in a state of perpetual obligation and compromise his independence.

26. Epicurean Advice: Think of Virtuous Role Models This helpful advice comes from Epicurean writings: to think continually of one of the great men of old who lived a virtuous life. (Having such a role model in mind can provide inspiration and guidance for one’s own conduct.)

27. The Pythagoreans: Lessons from the Stars at Daybreak The Pythagoreans (followers of the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras) tell us to look at the stars at daybreak. We should do this for several reasons:

• To remind ourselves of how consistently they complete the tasks assigned to them by nature—always the same tasks, performed in the same orderly way.
• To be reminded of their inherent order, their purity (being unmixed with earthly concerns), and their “nakedness” (their unadorned, unconcealed nature, shining clearly). Stars wear no concealment; their nature is plainly visible.

28. Socrates’ Indifference to External Appearance Remember the story about Socrates. One day, his wife Xanthippe supposedly took his only cloak and went out. Socrates, needing to go out himself but having no other cloak, simply dressed himself in a towel or a rough blanket. When some of his friends saw him dressed like that, they were embarrassed for him and avoided him. Socrates then said something to them (likely pointing out the foolishness of being concerned with mere external appearances rather than a person’s inner worth).

29. Life Requires a Master More Than Literacy Does Mastery of reading and writing requires a teacher or master to guide you. Still more so does the art of living life well require guidance from wisdom and right principles.

30. A Harsh Judgment on an Unreasoning Person (This is a quote, possibly from a tragic play, that delivers a severe judgment on someone perceived as lacking reason): ”…For you are but a slave, and have no rightful claim to reason (Logos).”

31. A Simple Expression of Joy (This is a quote expressing a moment of pure happiness): “But my heart rejoiced.”

32. How Some People Mock Virtue (This is a quote, possibly adapted from an older poet, describing how some people react to virtue): “And they jeer at virtue with their taunts and sneers.”

33. Expecting Things Out of Season is Stupidity It’s a sign of stupidity to expect figs to grow in winter. It’s equally foolish to expect to have children when you are very old and past the natural age for it. (This means: understand and accept the natural order and limits of things.)

34. Epictetus on Remembering Our Children’s Mortality As you kiss your son good night, the philosopher Epictetus says, you should quietly whisper to yourself, “He may be dead in the morning.” You might object, “Don’t say such ill-omened things; don’t tempt fate!” But is it tempting fate merely by acknowledging a natural event? Is fate tempted when we speak of grain being reaped at harvest time? Both are simply facts of nature.

35. The Constant Transitions of Grapes Consider grapes: First, they are unripe… then they ripen… then they are dried and become raisins. These are all constant transitions from one state to another. It’s not that something ceases to exist entirely (“the not”) but rather that it is always in a state of becoming something else (“the not yet”).

36. Free Will Cannot Be Stolen “No thefts of free will have ever been reported.” (This is a quote from Epictetus. It means that your power of choice, your inner will, cannot be taken from you by any external force; only you can surrender it.)

37. Epictetus on Self-Discipline and What Is Beyond Our Control The philosopher Epictetus also taught: “We need to master the art of acquiescence (calm acceptance of what we cannot change). We also need to pay careful attention to our impulses, making sure they don’t go unchecked, that they benefit others, and that they’re worthy of us. We need to steer clear of desire in any excessive or inappropriate form, and we must not try to avoid things that are genuinely beyond our control.”

38. A Debate About Sanity Itself Someone once said, emphasizing the gravity of a discussion: “This is not a debate about just anything trivial, but about sanity itself.”

39. Socrates: If You Have Healthy, Rational Minds, Why Argue? Socrates once asked some people: “What kind of minds do you want to have, rational ones or irrational ones?” —“Rational ones,” they replied. “And do you want healthy rational minds or sick ones?” he continued. —“Healthy ones.” “Then why don’t you work to obtain them and cultivate them?” —“But we already have them,” they claimed. “Then why all this squabbling and disagreement among you?” Socrates concluded. (Implying that if their minds were truly healthy and rational, they would be more harmonious.)

Book 12

1. You Could Have True Well-Being Right Now Everything you’re trying so hard to reach—often by taking the long, roundabout way—you could actually have right now, this very moment. You could have it if you’d only stop getting in your own way and thwarting your own attempts to achieve inner peace. You could have it if you’d only do these things:

• Let go of the past, with all its regrets and anxieties.
• Entrust the future entirely to Providence (the guiding wisdom and order of the universe).
• And focus all your energy on guiding your present actions toward reverence (respect for the divine order) and justice (fair and right actions towards others).

What does this mean?

• Reverence means this: You’ll willingly accept whatever is allotted to you by fate or nature. Understand that universal Nature intended this specific destiny for you, and it intended you for this specific destiny. They are perfectly matched.
• Justice means this: You’ll speak the truth, frankly and without making excuses or being evasive. And you’ll act as you should—and as other people deserve to be treated.

Don’t let anything deter you from this path:

• Not other people’s misbehavior.
• Not your own misperceptions or false judgments.
• Not “What People Will Say” about you.
• Not the uncomfortable feelings or sensations of the physical body that currently covers you (let the affected part of your body take care of those sensations; your mind doesn’t need to be troubled by them).

And if, when it’s your time to depart from life, you can shunt everything else aside except your own mind and the divinity within you… if it isn’t simply ceasing to live that you’re afraid of, but rather the fear of never having begun to live properly according to nature… then you’ll be a person worthy of the world that made you. You will no longer feel like an alien or a stranger in your own land, in your own life. You will no longer be shocked by everyday events as if they were unheard-of and bizarre occurrences. You will no longer be at the mercy of this external thing, or that one, for your peace of mind.

2. Seeing with the Mind’s Pure Intelligence God sees all our souls when they are freed from their fleshly containers. He sees them stripped clean of their outer “bark” or covering, and cleansed of all their grime and impurities. God grasps with His pure intelligence alone the divine essence that was originally poured and channeled from Himself into these souls. If you can learn to do the same—to see beyond the mere physical and perceive the essential nature of things and people with your own intelligence—you can avoid a great deal of distress and confusion. When you can see through the superficial flesh that covers you and others, will you still be so easily unsettled by things like fancy clothing, grand mansions, fleeting celebrity, and all the other painted sets and flimsy costumes of life’s drama?

3. Your Three Components; Freeing Your Mind for True Living You are made of three components: your physical body, your breath (or vital life-force), and your mind (your capacity for reason).

• Two of these components (your body and your breath) are yours only in trust for a time; you have to take care of them, but they are not essentially or permanently “you.”
• To the third component, your mind, alone you have clear and full title. It is the only part that is truly yours to command.

If you can learn to cut yourself—your mind—free from:

• What other people do and say that might otherwise influence or disturb you.
• What you yourself have said or done in the past that now troubles your memory or conscience.
• The things that you’re afraid might happen in the future.
• The various impositions and demands of the physical body that currently contains you, and of the merely biological breath within it.
• And whatever the whirling chaos of external events sweeps in from outside, trying to pull you off course… …so that your mind is freed from the chains of fate and external compulsions, brought to a state of inner clarity, and lives life on its own terms—
• Doing what’s right.
• Accepting what actually happens.
• And speaking the truth…

If you can cut your mind free from the clinging impressions of the senses that often mislead it, free from anxieties about the future and regrets about the past—if you can make yourself, as the philosopher Empedocles says, like “a sphere rejoicing in its perfect stillness,” perfectly balanced and self-contained, and concentrate only on living what can be lived (which means living fully and virtuously in the present moment)… then you can spend whatever time you have left in life in tranquility, and in kindness towards others, and at peace with the guiding spirit (the divine spark of reason) within you.

4. We Value Others’ Opinions More Than Our Own It never ceases to amaze me: we all naturally love ourselves more than we love other people. And yet, somehow, we often care more about their opinion of us than we do about our own inner judgment and self-assessment. Imagine if a god appeared to us—or even just a very wise human being—and made a new rule: we were prohibited from concealing any of our thoughts or from imagining anything at all without immediately shouting it out loud for everyone to hear. We wouldn’t make it through a single day under such a condition! That’s how much we often value other people’s opinions—sometimes even more than our own deeply held convictions or our own peace of mind.

5. Could the Gods Have Overlooked Such an Injustice? How is it that the gods, who arranged everything else in the universe with such perfect skill, order, and loving care for our well-being, could have somehow overlooked this one crucial thing: that certain people—in fact, the very best of them, the gods’ own truest partners in creating a good and virtuous world, the ones whose piety and good works brought them closest to the divine—that these very people, when they die, should simply cease to exist forever? That they should be utterly vanished, with no afterlife or continuation of their consciousness.

Well, assuming that’s really true (that there is no personal afterlife for such good souls), you can be absolutely sure that the gods would have arranged things differently, if that different arrangement had been appropriate or better for the cosmos as a whole. If it were the truly right thing for good souls to live on, the gods certainly could have made it so. And if it were the most natural way for things to be, then universal Nature would have demanded it. So, from the very fact that they didn’t arrange it that way (if indeed that’s the case and there is no such individual survival), we can logically conclude that it was somehow inappropriate or not for the best in the grand scheme for it to be otherwise.

Surely you can see for yourself that even to ask this question in a doubting or resentful way (“Why isn’t there an afterlife for the good?”) is, in a sense, to challenge the gods’ fairness. And why would you even be bringing the concept of fairness into the discussion unless you implicitly believed that the gods are, in fact, fair—and absolutely so? And if they are perfectly fair and just, how could they possibly have carelessly overlooked something so profoundly unfair—so illogical—in the fundamental design and setup of the world? (The implication is that either our understanding of “fair” is limited, or things are not as they seem regarding an afterlife, or the premise itself is flawed.)

6. Practice Even What Seems Impossible You should practice even those things that you might initially think you cannot do, things that seem impossible for you. For example, the left hand is generally useless at almost everything for most people, simply because they lack practice with it. But, for many people, that same left hand guides the reins of a horse much better than the right hand does. This superior skill with the reins comes entirely from practice.

7. Reflections at the Moment of Death When death finally comes for you, consider these things:

• The shortness of your life.
• The vastness of time that stretched before your birth and that will stretch after your death.
• The fragility and temporary nature of all material things, including your own body.

8. Seeing Beneath the Surface Strive to see the underlying causes of things, stripped bare of all superficial appearances. Understand the true aim and purpose of your actions. Consider the real nature of:

• Pain.
• Pleasure.
• Death.
• Fame. Think about who is ultimately responsible for your own restlessness and inner turmoil (the answer is: yourself, through your judgments). Realize that, in the truest sense, no one can truly obstruct your inner self if your will is aligned with nature. And understand that everything is, in large part, how you perceive it.

9. The Philosopher: A Boxer, Not a Fencer The student of philosophy should be like a boxer, not like a fencer. The fencer’s weapon is something external that he picks up and then can put down again. But the boxer’s weapons—his fists—are an integral part of him. All he has to do is clench his fist, and he is ready to engage. (So too, the philosopher’s principles should be an integral part of their being, always ready.)

10. See Things As They Truly Are Focus on seeing things as they truly are, by understanding their:

• Substance: What they are fundamentally made of.
• Cause: What brought them into being or made them happen.
• Purpose: What they are ultimately for, or what role they play in the larger scheme.

11. True Freedom: Aligning with Divine Will True freedom lies in wanting to do only what God (or the divine order of the universe) wants, and in willingly accepting whatever God sends us.

11a. Its Composition (A very brief, possibly incomplete note, likely a reminder for analysis): What it’s made of.

12. No One is Ultimately to Blame The gods are not to blame for what happens in the world. They do nothing wrong, either on purpose or by accident. Nor are human beings ultimately to blame for their wrongdoing in a way that should cause you lasting bitterness or resentment. They often don’t do wrong on purpose, but rather out of ignorance or mistaken judgments about what is good. So, in the grand scheme, no one is truly to blame in a way that should destroy your peace of mind.

13. Surprise at Life’s Events is Foolishness It’s foolish to be surprised by anything that happens in life. That would be like travelers being amazed and shocked by foreign customs they encounter in a distant land—customs that are perfectly normal for the people who live there.

14. Three Possibilities for the Universe’s Governance – And Your Response There are three main possibilities for how the universe operates:

1. Fatal necessity and an inescapable, rigid order. All events are predetermined and unchangeable.
2. Or, a benevolent Providence. There is a wise and caring divine guidance behind all things.
3. Or, a mere confusion. Everything is just a random, undirected chaos.

Consider your response to each:

• If it’s an inescapable necessity, why resist it? It’s futile. Accept what must be.
• If it’s Providence that admits of being worshipped and perhaps even influenced by virtuous living, then try to live in such a way that you are worthy of God’s aid and aligned with that divine plan.
• If it’s just confusion and anarchy, then be grateful that in the midst of this raging, chaotic sea of events, you possess a mind—a guiding reason—within yourself. And if the storm of chaos should threaten to carry you away, let it carry off your physical flesh, your breath, and all the rest of your external possessions. But it cannot carry away your mind, your capacity for reasoned choice, unless you allow it to be swept away by panic or despair.

15. Your Inner Light Should Outlast a Lamp’s A physical lamp continues to shine until its fuel is gone and it is put out, without losing its gleam along the way. And yet in you, the inner lights of truth, justice, and self-control can gutter out so early, long before your life is over? Strive for your inner light to be more constant than a lamp’s.

16. Responding to Apparent Injury from Others When someone seems to have injured you: First, ask yourself: But how can I be absolutely sure this was an intentional injury directed at me? And how can I be sure it has truly harmed me in any essential way? And in any case, always keep these thoughts in mind:

• That the wrongdoer has already been tried and convicted—by himself, in his own conscience, whether he admits it or not. His wrongdoing is like him scratching out his own eyes, harming his own soul.
• That to expect a bad or ignorant person not to harm others is like expecting fig trees not to secrete their natural juice, or babies not to cry, or horses not to neigh—it’s like expecting the inevitable not to happen. What else could they do, being the sort of character they currently are? If you’re still angry or upset by their actions, then stop focusing on them and get to work on improving your own character and reactions.

17. The Simple Rule for Action and Speech If it’s not the right thing to do, don’t do it. If it’s not true, don’t say it. Let your intention always be clear and aligned with these simple principles.

18. Unpack Everything by Analysis At all times, look at the thing itself—the event, the object, the person, the situation that is behind the mere appearance—and unpack it by careful analysis into its components:

• Its underlying cause.
• Its essential substance or material.
• Its ultimate purpose or aim.
• And the length of time it is likely to exist in its current form.

19. The Miraculous Power Within You It’s time you realized that you have something in you more powerful and more miraculous than all the external things that merely affect you physically and sometimes make you dance like a puppet controlled by strings. What’s in my thoughts at this very moment? Is it fear? Is it jealousy? Is it excessive desire? Or other disruptive feelings like that? (Recognize them, and then let them go.)

20. Principles for Undertaking Any Action Undertake nothing: i. At random or without a clear and rational purpose. ii. For any reason other than the common good.

21. All Things Perish and Transform, So New Things Can Be Born Remember that before long, you’ll be no one, and nowhere. And it will be the same for all the physical things you see now, and for all the people now living. Everything’s destiny in the physical world is to change, to be transformed into something else, and eventually to perish in its current form. This is necessary so that new things can be born from the old.

22. Your Perception is Your Control; Find Calm It’s all in how you perceive things. You’re in control of your perceptions. You can dispense with a misperception or a negative judgment at will, just like a sailor rounding a stormy headland can leave the turbulent seas behind and find the calm waters of a sheltered bay. Do this with your mind, and you will find serenity, total calm, a safe anchorage for your soul.

23. The Timeliness of Endings in Nature’s Plan A given action that stops when it’s supposed to (when its natural course is run or its purpose fulfilled) is no worse for having stopped. Nor is the person engaged in that action any worse off for having completed it. So too with the whole succession of actions and events that we call “life.” If life ends when it’s supposed to, according to nature, it’s no worse for that. And the person who comes to the end of their natural line has no cause for complaint. The time and the stopping point are set by nature—sometimes by our own individual nature (as in death from old age); or by Nature as a whole, whose parts, by constantly shifting and changing, continually renew the world and keep it on its proper schedule and in good order. Nothing that ultimately benefits all things in the universe (the whole) can be ugly or out of place for the parts. The end of life is not an evil in itself—it doesn’t disgrace us. (Why should we be ashamed of an involuntary act that, in itself, injures no one and is part of the natural order?). In fact, from the perspective of the universe, it’s a good thing—it is scheduled by the world, it promotes the world’s ongoing processes, and it is, in turn, promoted and made necessary by those processes. This is how we become godlike—by following God’s path (the path of reason and nature), and by aligning our actions with the goals of reason.

24. Three Essential Perspectives to Maintain at All Times i(a). Regarding your own actions: Ensure that they’re not arbitrary or impulsive, but are in line with what abstract justice itself would do. i(b). Regarding external events: Understand that they happen either as part of a random process or as part of a divine design (Providence). You can’t logically complain about chance if you believe it’s all random. And you can’t rightly argue with Providence if you believe in a purposeful and benevolent cosmic order. ii. Regarding the nature of all things: Contemplate what all physical things are like, from their initial planting as a seed to their quickening into life, and from that quickening to their eventual relinquishment of life at death. Understand where the component parts of things came from and where they eventually return to. iii. Regarding a cosmic viewpoint: Imagine that if you were suddenly lifted up high above the earth and could see all of human life and its vast variety from that great height, and if you could at the same time see all the other beings and environments in the sky and beyond it, you’d realize how ultimately pointless and trivial much of human striving and anxiety is. And no matter how often you saw this grand spectacle, it would essentially be the same: the same fundamental life forms, the same brief life span for individuals. Can one feel lasting arrogance or excessive pride when truly considering all this?

25. Throw Out Misperceptions and You’ll Be Fine Throw out your misperceptions and false judgments about things, and you’ll be fine. (And who’s stopping you from throwing them out but yourself?)

26. Why Anger Arises from Forgetting Key Truths To be angry at something often means you’ve forgotten some key truths:

• That everything that happens is in accordance with universal nature.
• That the responsibility for a perceived wrong often lies with the other person (their character, their ignorance), not directly with you in a way that can harm your core self. And you’ve also forgotten:
• That whatever happens has always happened in similar ways throughout history, and always will, and is happening at this very moment, everywhere, in patterns just like this.
• You’ve forgotten what truly links one human being to all other humans: not merely blood ties or shared place of birth, but a shared capacity for mind and reason. And also remember:
• That an individual’s mind is, in a sense, God, and an emanation or fragment of the divine universal intelligence.
• That nothing truly “belongs” to anyone in an absolute or permanent sense. Our children, our bodies, even life itself—all of them come from that same divine source and will return to it.
• That everything is how you choose to see it; your perception and judgment shape your reality.
• That the present moment is all we truly have to live in, or to lose.

27. The Fate of the Passionate and Arrogant Constantly run down the list in your mind of those historical figures who felt intense anger or overwhelming passion about something: the most famous ones, the most unfortunate ones, the most hated ones, the most whatever. And then ask yourself: Where is all that passion and all those people now? They are all just smoke, dust, a fading legend… or perhaps not even a legend anymore. Think of all the specific examples you know from history or your own life: people like Fabius Catullinus living out his days in the country, Lusius Lupus in his orchard, Stertinius at the fashionable resort of Baiae, the Emperor Tiberius brooding on the island of Capri, or someone like Velius Rufus… all their worldly obsessions and their great arrogance, where has it led them? And consider how ultimately trivial the things we humans often want so passionately really are. And reflect on how much more philosophical it would be to simply take what we’re given by nature and, in response, show unwavering uprightness, self-control, and obedience to God (the divine order), without making a big, dramatic production of it. There’s nothing more insufferable than people who boast about their own humility or make a show of their virtue.

28. Knowing the Gods Exist Without Seeing Them People might ask you, “Have you ever actually seen the gods you worship? How can you be so sure they even exist?” Here are some perfectly good answers: i. Just look around you at the intricate order, beauty, and purposeful design of the world. ii. I’ve never seen my own soul either, in a physical sense, and yet I revere it and know it exists as the guiding part of me. That’s how I know the gods exist and why I revere them—from having felt their power and seen the evidence of their work, over and over again, both in my own life and in the world around me.

29. Salvation Lies in Truth and Right Action True salvation, or genuine well-being, consists in this: to see each thing for what it truly is—to understand its essential nature and its ultimate purpose in the grand scheme. It means to do only what is right and just, and to say only what is true, without holding back, without pretense, and without deceit. What else could true fulfillment be but to live life fully in this way—to continuously pay out goodness like the seamlessly connected rings of a golden chain, without the slightest gap or interruption?

30. One Source, Many Manifestations Think of these fundamental realities as singular, even if they appear in many different forms or seem divided:

• Sunlight. It is one light from one sun, though it is broken up and seems divided by walls, mountains, and a thousand other intervening things that it illuminates.
• Substance. There is one underlying universal substance or matter, though it is split into a thousand different individual forms, variously shaped and constituted.
• Life. There is one universal life force or soul, though it is distributed among a thousand different natures and living beings, each with their individual limitations and forms.
• Intelligence (Logos). There is one universal intelligence or reason, even if it seems to be divided among countless individual minds. The other, lesser components of things—like mere physical breath (pneuma) or inert matter—lack any true awareness or intrinsic capacity for connection with one another (yet even they are held together by the principle of cosmic unity and by the universe’s natural gravitational or cohesive forces). But intelligence, or Mind, is uniquely drawn toward what is akin to it (other intelligence or manifestations of reason). It joins with it inseparably, in a state of shared awareness, understanding, and community.

31. What Pleasures Are Truly Worth Having? What is it that you truly want from life?

• Is it just to keep on breathing?
• What about merely feeling physical sensations? Or being driven by desires?
• Or continuing to grow physically, and then eventually ceasing to grow?
• Or just using your voice to speak? Or simply thinking random thoughts? Which of these purely physical or fleeting mental activities seems truly worth having as an ultimate goal or the source of lasting happiness? But if you can see that these things, in themselves, are not the highest good and you can do without them as ultimate ends, then continue to follow reason (the Logos), and follow God (the divine order), to the very end of your life. To prize those other, lesser things—or to grieve deeply because death eventually deprives us of them—is an obstacle to living a truly good, meaningful, and contented life.

32. Your Infinitesimal Share of Everything Consider the tiny fraction of infinite time, of that vast and immeasurable abyss of duration, that is allotted to each of us as our lifespan. It is absorbed in an instant into all of eternity. Think of the tiny fraction of all physical substance in the universe that makes up your body. And consider the tiny fraction of all universal spirit or intelligence that constitutes your own mind. And reflect on the tiny fraction of the whole earth that you crawl about on during your short life. Keep all that vastness and your own smallness in mind, and don’t treat anything as truly important except these two things:

1. Doing what your own true nature (as a rational and social being) demands.
2. Accepting what universal Nature sends your way as part of its overall plan.

33. The Mind’s Role in All Things How the mind conducts itself—how it perceives, judges, and chooses to act—that is what everything ultimately depends on for your well-being. All the rest—external things, events, even your own body to a large extent—is either within its power to influence through judgment and virtuous action, or it is truly beyond its direct control. And if these things are beyond its control, they are no more significant to your inner peace and character than already dead corpses and drifting smoke.

34. Even Pleasure-Seekers Can Face Death Calmly Here’s an incentive to treat death as unimportant, or at least not as the ultimate evil: even people whose only real morality is seeking pleasure and avoiding pain (the Epicureans, for example) can often manage to face death with a degree of calmness or resignation.

35. If Only True Ripeness is Good… If you make true “ripeness” or the perfection of your character alone your good… If you understand that a few virtuous actions more or less, as long as they are governed by the right reason (Logos), are merely a few more or less and don’t fundamentally change the overall quality of a virtuous life… If you realize that it makes no ultimate difference to your inner well-being whether you look at the world for this particular length of time or that particular length of time… …then death itself shouldn’t scare you.

36. A Citizen of a Great City, Exiting Gracefully You’ve lived your life as a citizen in a great city (Rome, and by extension, the Cosmos, the city of gods and men). Whether you’ve lived in this city for five years or for a hundred—what’s the real difference in the grand scheme of things? The laws of nature and the city make no ultimate distinction based on length of tenure alone when it comes to the natural end of life. And to be sent away from this city (to die), not by some cruel tyrant or a corrupt and dishonest judge, but by Nature itself, the very same Nature who first invited you in—why should that be so terrible? It’s like when the impresario or director of a play rings down the curtain on an actor, signaling the end of their performance: The actor might perhaps protest, “But I’ve only gotten through three acts of a five-act play…!” And the impresario might reply, “Yes. But this will be a drama in three acts. Its length was fixed by the power that directed your creation in the first place, and that same power now directs your dissolution. Neither the beginning nor the end of your role was yours to determine.” So, make your exit from life with grace—the same grace that was shown to you when you were brought into this life.

So too, a healthy mind should be prepared for anything. The mind that keeps worrying, “Are my children all right?” or “Everyone must approve of what I do,” is like eyes that can only stand to look at pale colors. It’s like teeth that can only handle soft, mushy food.

36. How People Might React to Your Death It doesn’t matter how good a life you’ve led. When you are dying, there’ll still be people standing around your bed who will, in some way, welcome your death. Even if you were intelligent and good. Won’t there likely be someone among them thinking, “Finally! I’ll be through with that old schoolteacher. Even though he never openly criticized me, you could always feel him judging you.” And that’s for a good man! Imagine yourself: how many traits do you have that would make a lot of people glad to be rid of you? Remember that when your time comes to die. You’ll be less reluctant to leave if you can tell yourself, “This is the sort of life I’m leaving. Even the people around me—the ones I spent so much time fighting for, praying over, and caring about—even some of them want me gone. Perhaps they hope it will make their own lives easier in some way. How could anyone want to stay here longer under such conditions?” And yet, don’t leave this life feeling angry with them. Be true to who you are: caring, sympathetic, and kind. And don’t feel as if you were being violently torn away from life. Instead, think of it like when someone dies peacefully, how the soul is gently released from the body—that’s how you should leave them. It was nature that bound you to them and created your relationships. And it is nature that now unties those bonds. I am released from those around me. I am not dragged away against my will, but I go without resistance. There are things that nature demands. And this release is one of them.

37. Ask “Why?” About Actions—Starting with Your Own Learn to ask of all actions, “Why are they doing that?” And start by asking this question about your own actions.

38. The Hidden Controller Within Remember that what truly pulls your strings is the part hidden within you. That inner part is your power of speech, it is your life force, it is the real person. Don’t think of the rest of you—the skin that contains this inner part, and all the accompanying organs—as being the essential part of you. These physical parts are merely tools, like a carpenter’s axe. The difference is that they’re attached to us from birth. But they are no more use without the inner force that moves them and holds them still than the weaver’s shuttle is without the weaver, the writer’s pencil without the writer, or the driver’s whip without the driver.

Book 11

1. Qualities of the Rational Soul The rational soul (your mind or inner self) has these characteristics:

• It can see itself, examine itself, and shape itself into whatever it wants to be.
• It reaps its own harvest of good thoughts and actions. This is unlike plants (and, in a different way, animals), whose fruits or products are gathered and used by others.
• It reaches its intended goal in life—living virtuously—no matter when its physical life might end. It’s not like a dance performance or a play in the theater, where the performance is incomplete if it’s cut off in the middle. At any point it stops, the rational soul can say it has fulfilled its mission and done its work completely. It can say, “I have what I came for; my purpose is achieved.”

More qualities of the rational soul:

• It surveys the entire world, the empty space around it, and how the world is put together.
• It reaches into the endlessness of time. It tries to grasp and understand the repeating cycles of birth and rebirth that the world goes through.
• It knows that those who come after us will see nothing fundamentally different from what we see now. It understands that those who came before us saw no more than we do. And it realizes that anyone who has lived for about forty years and has reasonably good sense has, in effect, seen both the past and the future—because the fundamental patterns of life are essentially alike across time.

Also characteristic of the rational soul are:

• Affection for its neighbors (other people).
• Truthfulness.
• Humility.
• Not placing anything above itself and its own judgment—which is also a characteristic of law and good order. In this, there’s no real difference between the guiding principle (Logos) of rationality and the guiding principle of justice.

2. Becoming Indifferent to Superficial Attractions Here’s how you can become indifferent to things like pretty singing, captivating dancing, or impressive martial arts displays:

• For singing: Analyze the melody into the individual notes that make it up. As you hear each separate note, ask yourself if you are powerless against that single note. Realizing that each individual component has little power over you should be enough to make you less captivated by the whole song.
• For dancing: Do the same. Break it down into individual movements and poses.
• For martial arts: Analyze the individual techniques and stances. Apply this method of breaking things down to everything in life—except for true virtue and the good actions that come from it. Look at the individual parts of things, and by analyzing them, move towards a healthy indifference to their superficial appeal. Apply this analytical approach to your life as a whole.

3. True Resolution Comes from Within The soul that is truly resolute is firm in its decision to separate from the body when the time for death comes. It is firm whether that separation means dissolution (ceasing to exist as an individual consciousness), fragmentation (the scattering of its component atoms), or continuity in some other form of being. But this resolution to face death calmly has to be the result of its own decision, based on careful judgment. It shouldn’t just be a reaction to outside forces or pressures. This resolution has to be considered, serious, and based on reasons that would be persuasive to other thoughtful people. It should be without theatrics or emotional display.

4. Benefits of Common Good Actions Have I done something for the common good? If so, then I too share in the benefits of that action, because my own good is tied to the good of the whole. Focus on this truth. Don’t give up on working for the good of all.

5. Your Profession: Goodness Someone asks: “And what is your profession in life?” Answer: “Goodness.” (And how is that goodness to be achieved, except by deep thought—about the nature of the world, and about the true nature of human beings?)

6. Lessons from the Theater First, consider Greek tragedies. They were important because they reminded people of the difficult things that can happen in life. They showed that such events often happen inevitably, as part of fate or the natural order. They demonstrated that if something gives you pleasure or moves you deeply when you see it on the tragic stage, it shouldn’t cause you anger or despair when similar things happen on the stage of your own real life. Watching tragedies helps you realize that these kinds of difficulties are things we all have to go through. Even those characters in the plays who cry aloud in their suffering still have to endure them. Tragedies also contain some excellent and wise lines. For example, someone might say:

• “If I and my two children cannot move the gods with our prayers, / The gods must have their reasons.” (Meaning, we should accept what we cannot change.)
• Or: “And why should we feel anger at the world?” (Since the world itself is indifferent to our anger.)
• And: “To harvest life like standing stalks of grain…” (Showing the natural cycle of life and death.) …and many other good ones.

Then, after tragedy, came Old Comedy in Greek theater. This form was instructive because of its frankness and its plain speaking, which was often designed to puncture people’s pretensions and arrogance. (The philosopher Diogenes used similar straightforward and challenging tactics for similar ends.) Then consider Middle Comedy (and later New Comedy) and what those forms aimed at. They gradually became more about mere realism (just copying everyday life, often its sillier aspects) and an empty display of technical skill in writing, without much deep meaning. There are undeniably some good passages, even in those later writers, but what was the overall point of it all—the scripts and the staging alike? Often, not much beyond simple entertainment.

7. Philosophy Suits Your Current Role It stares you right in the face: no role or situation in life is so well suited to practicing philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now.

8. Like Branches Cut from a Tree A branch that is cut away from the branch next to it is, at the same time, cut away from the whole tree. In the same way, a human being who is separated from another human being (through anger, hatred, or indifference) is thereby cut loose from the entire human community. A physical branch is usually cut off by someone else. But people often cut themselves off from others—through their own hatred, or through their rejection of others—and they don’t realize that by doing so, they’re cutting themselves off from the whole civic enterprise, the shared life of the human community. Except, we also have a special gift, given to us by Zeus (the divine order of the universe), who founded this community of ours. We can reattach ourselves to others. We can become once more connected components of the whole. But if this rupture, this cutting off from others, is too often repeated, it makes the severed part harder to reconnect and to restore to its former health and harmony. You can see the difference between a branch that’s been there since the beginning, always remaining on the tree and growing with it, and one that’s been cut off and then grafted back on. It may live, but it’s not quite the same. As the gardeners say, it becomes like “one trunk, but two different kinds of growth (or two minds).”

9. Dealing with Obstruction and Intolerance from Others As you move forward in living according to reason (the Logos), people will sometimes stand in your way or try to obstruct you. They can’t keep you from doing what’s healthy for your character; don’t let them stop you from being tolerant and patient with them either. Take care on both counts:

• Maintain sound judgments and solid, virtuous actions.
• At the same time, maintain tolerance for those who try to obstruct you or give you trouble in other ways. Because anger is also a weakness, just as much as breaking down under pressure and giving up the struggle. Both the person who breaks and runs from a challenge, and the one who lets himself become alienated from his fellow human beings, are deserters from their post as rational, social beings.

10. Nature is Always Superior to Artifice What is natural can never be inferior to what is artificial (man-made). Art, in fact, always tries to imitate nature, not the other way around. If this is true, then that most highly developed and comprehensive nature—Nature itself, the universe as a whole—cannot possibly fall short of human artifice or craftsmanship in its design and workings. Now, all the arts and crafts aim to move from lower, simpler goals to higher, more complex and refined ones. Won’t Nature, the greatest craftsman of all, do the same in its creations? This line of thought leads to the understanding of justice. Justice is the fundamental virtue, the source from which all the other virtues spring. For how could we truly do what justice requires (like treating others fairly and contributing to the common good) if we are constantly distracted by things that don’t really matter, if we are naive and easily fooled by appearances, or if we are gullible and inconstant in our principles?

11. You Seek Turmoil, Not the Other Way Around It’s the pursuit of external things (like wealth or fame), and your attempts to avoid other external things (like poverty or pain), that leave you in such inner turmoil. And yet, those things themselves aren’t actively seeking you out to trouble you; you are the one seeking them out with your desires and aversions. Try to suspend your judgment about these external things. Stop labeling them as “good” or “bad.” At once, they will seem to lie still and untroubling, and you will be freed from the exhausting cycle of fleeing some things and pursuing others.

12. The Soul Like a Stable Sphere The soul is like a sphere in perfect equilibrium when it:

• Does not grasp at things beyond its reach or proper concern.
• Does not retreat inward in fear or self-contraction.
• Does not fragment outward into myriad distractions.
• Does not sink back on itself in despair or helplessness. Instead, it remains steady, ablaze with an inner light of understanding. And by this light, it looks at the truth of all things, both those outside itself and those within itself.

13. Dealing with Others’ Contempt or Hatred Someone despises me. That’s their problem, their issue to deal with. My problem, or rather my responsibility, is to ensure that I do not do or say anything that is actually despicable or worthy of contempt. Someone hates me. That’s also their problem. My responsibility is to be patient and cheerful with everyone, including them. I should be ready to show them their mistake, not in a spiteful way, or to show off my own self-control, but honestly and uprightly, like Phocion (a respected Athenian statesman known for his integrity). That’s what we should be like on the inside. We should strive to ensure that the gods never catch us feeling anger or resentment. As long as you are doing what’s proper to your nature, and as long as you accept what the world’s nature has in store for you—as long as you are working for the good of others, by any and all means—what is there in the world that can truly harm you?

14. The Motives Behind Flattery and Servility People often flatter one another out of an underlying contempt for the person they are flattering. And their desire to rule over one another, or to gain some advantage, often makes them bow and scrape before those they secretly despise or look down upon.

15. The Ugliness of False Sincerity Beware of the despicable phoniness of people who say, “Listen, I’m going to be completely honest and level with you here.” What does that even mean? Honesty shouldn’t even need to be announced with a fanfare. It should be obvious—as if it were written in block letters on your forehead. It should be clearly audible in the tone of your voice and visible in your eyes, just like a lover who looks into your face and takes in the whole story of your affection at a single, intuitive glance. A truly straightforward and honest person should be like someone who has a strong, natural body odor (though this is an odd comparison!): when you’re in the same room with him, you know it. Their genuineness is unmistakable. But false straightforwardness, a mere pretense of honesty, is like a knife hidden in the back—treacherous and dangerous. False friendship is the worst kind of phoniness. Avoid it at all costs. If you’re truly honest and straightforward and mean well, it should show clearly in your eyes. It should be unmistakable.

16. How to Live a Good Life To live a good life: We all have the potential for it. We can achieve it if we can learn to be indifferent to those things that make no real difference to our character or our ability to act virtuously. This is how we learn this indifference: by looking at each thing that happens or that we encounter, considering both its individual parts and the whole it forms. Keep in mind that none of these external things can dictate how we perceive or judge it. They don’t impose their own value or meaning on us. They simply hover before us, unmoving and neutral. It is we who generate the judgments about them—we are, in effect, inscribing these judgments on ourselves. And we don’t have to do that. We could choose to leave the page of our mind blank—and if a mistaken mark or judgment inadvertently slips through, we can erase it instantly. Remember how brief is the period of focused attentiveness required for this kind of self-correction. And then, eventually, our lives will end. And why should it seem so hard when things go against your personal preferences?

• If the difficult thing is imposed by universal Nature, accept it gladly and stop fighting against it.
• And if it’s not imposed by Nature (meaning it’s something you can influence or avoid through your own choices, or it arises from human actions), then work out what your own true (rational and social) nature requires, and aim at that, even if it brings you no public glory or recognition. None of us is forbidden to pursue our own genuine good.

17. Transformation and Harmlessness Consider the source and the substance (the material) of each individual thing. Think about what it changes into, and what it’s like when it is transformed. Understand that, in its essence, nothing can truly be harmed by these natural transformations.

18. Ten Points for Dealing with People Here are some thoughts for dealing with others, like ten guiding gifts: i. Your relationship to them: Remember we humans are here for each other. As a leader, I am like a guardian for them. If the universe is ordered by Nature, then lower things serve higher, and higher things serve each other. ii. What they’re really like: Think about their everyday behavior, their beliefs, and what they are proud of. iii. Are they acting rightly? If so, don’t complain. If not, they likely act from ignorance, not wanting to be cut off from truth or justice. This is why they hate being called unjust. iv. Your own faults are similar: You’ve made mistakes too. Even if you avoided some, you had the potential, perhaps only held back by poor reasons like cowardice. v. You don’t know their full story: You can’t be sure it’s a mistake from their view or in a larger context. Many actions are part of a bigger picture. vi. Life’s brevity means less time for anger: When angry or irritated, remember life is short. We’ll all be dead soon. vii. It’s your perception, not their action, that bothers you: Their actions are their minds’ problems. Your judgments are yours. Change your judgment that something is a catastrophe, and anger disappears. You’ve suffered no real disgrace. If only disgrace can hurt you, you’re setting yourself up for many offenses. viii. Anger does more damage: Your anger and grief harm you more than the things that caused them. ix. Kindness is invincible, if sincere: True kindness, not fakeness. What can even the worst person do if you are consistently kind? Gently correct them when they try to harm you. Say, “No, friend, that’s not our purpose. You’re harming yourself.” Show them gently that social creatures don’t act like that. Speak affectionately, directly, not to show off. Keep these nine points in mind, like gifts from the Muses. Start becoming a true human being, now and always. Don’t get angry, but don’t flatter either. Both are selfish and harmful. When angry, remember: rage isn’t manly. Courtesy and kindness define a human. That’s strength, not whining. Kindness brings calmness and strength. Pain and anger are weaknesses. …and one more thought: x. Expecting bad people not to harm is crazy. It’s asking the impossible. And letting them harm others but expecting them to spare you is arrogant, like a tyrant.

19. Four Unhelpful Habits of Thought to Erase Watch for these four kinds of thoughts. When you find them, erase them by telling yourself:

• “This thought is unnecessary.”
• “This thought is destructive to those around me.”
• “This thought isn’t what I really think.” (Saying what you don’t think is absurd.) And the fourth reason to correct yourself:
• When the more divine part of you (your reason) is beaten down by the lower, mortal part—your body and its foolish self-indulgence.

20. Your Intellect and Nature’s Order Your spirit and the fire within you naturally tend to rise upward. Yet, they obey the world’s overall design and submit to being mixed with other elements here on earth. Similarly, the earthly and watery parts of you naturally tend to move downward. Yet, they too are often forced to rise against their primary tendency and take up positions within your body that are not their most natural ones in the cosmos. So, even the physical elements obey the universe’s order, responding when commanded and compelled. They hold their assigned stations until the signal to release them eventually arrives. Why, then, should your intellect be the only part of you that dissents? Why should it be the only one complaining about its posting and its duties within the grand scheme? It’s not as if anything is being forced on your intellect that is contrary to its essential nature. Your intellect is only asked to do what its own nature requires—to think, to reason, to understand, to choose. And yet, it often refuses to comply with the overall order and instead tries to go in the opposite direction, rebelling against nature. To be drawn toward what is wrong and self-indulgent, or toward feelings of anger, fear, and pain, is, for a rational mind, to revolt against its own nature and against universal Nature. And for your mind to complain about anything that happens in the course of nature is also to desert its proper post. Your mind was created to show reverence—respect for the divine order—no less than it was created to act justly. Reverence is also an essential element of peaceful social coexistence and, indeed, a prerequisite for true justice.

21. The Importance of a Consistent, Civic Goal in Life Someone wisely said, “If you don’t have a consistent goal in life, you can’t live your life in a consistent way.” This is unhelpful, however, unless you also specify what kind of goal one should have. There is no common standard for all the various things that different people think are good (like wealth, health, pleasure, fame, etc.)—except for a very few things, like the virtues (justice, courage, wisdom, self-control), which are recognized by thoughtful people as truly beneficial for us all. Therefore, the goal you aim for in life should be a common one—a civic one, one that contributes to the well-being of the community and the harmony of society. If you direct all your energies toward that kind of goal, your actions will be consistent. And so will you, as a person.

22. The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Remember the fable of the town mouse and the country mouse. The town mouse experienced much distress and agitation from the complexities and dangers of city life, unlike the simple country mouse who lived a more natural and peaceful existence. (This implies that a simpler life, more aligned with nature, is less troubling and more conducive to peace of mind.)

23. Socrates on Popular Beliefs: “Monsters Under the Bed” Socrates used to call popular, unexamined beliefs and fears “the monsters under the bed”—things that are only really useful for frightening children with, but which have no real substance for a thinking adult.

24. Spartan Hospitality and Hardiness At public festivals, the Spartans would ensure their guests had seats in the shade, demonstrating hospitality. But they themselves would sit down anywhere, enduring any discomfort without complaint. (This illustrates their characteristic hardiness and their focus on the comfort of others before their own.)

25. Socrates and Unpayable Favors Socrates once declined an invitation from King Perdiccas of Macedon. He reportedly said his reason was “so as to avoid dying a thousand deaths”—meaning he wanted to avoid the moral discomfort of accepting a great favor that he couldn’t possibly pay back. Such a situation would put him in a state of perpetual obligation and compromise his independence.

26. Epicurean Advice: Emulate Virtuous Ancestors This helpful advice comes from Epicurean writings: to think continually of one of the great men of old who lived a virtuous life. (Having such a role model in mind can provide inspiration and guidance for one’s own conduct.)

27. The Pythagoreans: Lessons from the Stars at Daybreak The Pythagoreans (followers of the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras) tell us to look at the stars at daybreak. We should do this for several reasons:

• To remind ourselves of how consistently they complete the tasks assigned to them by nature—always the same tasks, performed in the same orderly way.
• To be reminded of their inherent order, their purity (being unmixed with earthly concerns), and their “nakedness” (their unadorned, unconcealed nature, shining clearly). Stars wear no concealment; their nature is plainly visible.

28. Socrates’ Indifference to External Appearance Remember the story about Socrates. One day, his wife Xanthippe supposedly took his only cloak and went out. Socrates, needing to go out himself but having no other cloak, simply dressed himself in a towel or a rough blanket. When some of his friends saw him dressed like that, they were embarrassed for him and avoided him. Socrates then said something to them (likely pointing out the foolishness of being concerned with mere external appearances rather than a person’s inner worth).

29. Life Requires a Master More Than Literacy Does Mastery of reading and writing requires a teacher or master to guide you. Still more so does the art of living life well require guidance from wisdom and right principles.

30. A Harsh Judgment on an Unreasoning Person (This is a quote, possibly from a play, that delivers a severe judgment on someone perceived as lacking reason): ”…For you are but a slave, and have no rightful claim to reason (Logos).”

31. A Simple Expression of Joy (This is a quote expressing a moment of pure happiness): “But my heart rejoiced.”

32. How Some People Mock Virtue (This is a quote, possibly adapted from an older poet, describing how some people react to virtue): “And they jeer at virtue with their taunts and sneers.”

33. Expecting Things Out of Season is Stupidity It’s a sign of stupidity to expect figs to grow in winter. It’s equally foolish to expect to have children when you are very old and past the natural age for it. (This means: understand and accept the natural order and limits of things.)

34. Epictetus on Remembering Our Children’s Mortality As you kiss your son good night, the philosopher Epictetus says, you should quietly whisper to yourself, “He may be dead in the morning.” You might object, “Don’t say such ill-omened things; don’t tempt fate!” But is it tempting fate merely by acknowledging a natural event? Is fate tempted when we speak of grain being reaped at harvest time? Both are simply facts of nature.

35. The Constant Transition of Grapes Consider grapes: First, they are unripe… then they ripen… then they are dried and become raisins. These are all constant transitions from one state to another. It’s not that something ceases to exist entirely (“the not”) but rather that it is always in a state of becoming something else (“the not yet”).

36. Free Will Cannot Be Stolen “No thefts of free will have ever been reported.” (This is a quote from Epictetus, meaning that your power of choice, your will, cannot be taken from you by any external force; only you can surrender it.)

37. Epictetus on Self-Discipline and Acceptance The philosopher Epictetus also taught: “We need to master the art of acquiescence (calm acceptance of what we cannot change). We also need to pay careful attention to our impulses, making sure they don’t go unchecked, that they benefit others, and that they’re worthy of us. We need to steer clear of desire in any excessive or inappropriate form, and we must not try to avoid things that are genuinely beyond our control.”

38. A Debate About Sanity Itself Someone once said, emphasizing the gravity of a discussion: “This is not a debate about just anything trivial, but about sanity itself.”

39. Socrates: If You Have Healthy, Rational Minds, Why Argue? Socrates once asked some people: “What kind of minds do you want to have, rational ones or irrational ones?” —“Rational ones,” they replied. “And do you want healthy rational minds or sick ones?” he continued. —“Healthy ones.” “Then why don’t you work to obtain them and cultivate them?” —“We already have them,” they claimed. “Then why all this squabbling and disagreement among you?” Socrates concluded. (Implying that if their minds were truly healthy and rational, they would be more harmonious.)

Book 12

1. Achieve Your Goals Now Everything you’re trying to reach by taking the long, roundabout way—you could have right now, this very moment. You could have it if you’d only stop getting in your own way. You could have it if you’d only:

• Let go of the past.
• Entrust the future to Providence (the guiding wisdom of the universe).
• And guide your present actions toward reverence and justice.

Reverence means this: You’ll accept what you’re given by fate or nature. Nature intended it for you, and it intended you for it. Justice means this: You’ll speak the truth, frankly and without making excuses. And you’ll act as you should—and as other people deserve.

Don’t let anything deter you from this path:

• Not other people’s misbehavior.
• Not your own misperceptions.
• Not “What People Will Say.”
• Not the feelings or sensations of the physical body that currently covers you (let the affected part of your body take care of those sensations).

And if, when it’s your time to depart from life, you can shunt everything else aside except your own mind and the divinity within you… if it isn’t simply ceasing to live that you’re afraid of, but rather the fear of never having begun to live properly according to nature… then you’ll be a person worthy of the world that made you. You will no longer feel like an alien or a stranger in your own land, in your own life. You will no longer be shocked by everyday events as if they were unheard-of and strange occurrences. You will no longer be at the mercy of this external thing, or that one, for your peace of mind.

2. Seeing with Pure Intelligence God sees all our souls freed from their fleshly containers, stripped clean of their outer “bark” or covering, and cleansed of their grime and impurities. God grasps with His pure intelligence alone the divine essence that was originally poured and channeled from Himself into those souls. If you can learn to do the same—to see beyond the physical and perceive the essential—you can avoid a great deal of distress and confusion. When you can see through the superficial flesh that covers you and others, will you still be so easily unsettled by things like clothing, fancy mansions, fleeting celebrity, and all the other painted sets and flimsy costumes of life’s drama?

3. Your Three Components; Freeing Your Mind for True Living You are made of three components: your physical body, your breath (or vital life-force), and your mind (your capacity for reason).

• Two of these components (your body and your breath) are yours only in trust for a time; you have to take care of them, but they are not essentially or permanently “you.”
• To the third component, your mind, alone you have clear and full title. It is the only part that is truly yours to command.

If you can learn to cut yourself—your mind—free from:

• What other people do and say that might otherwise influence or disturb you.
• What you yourself have said or done in the past that now troubles your memory or conscience.
• The things that you’re afraid might happen in the future.
• The various impositions and demands of the physical body that currently contains you, and of the merely biological breath within it.
• And whatever the whirling chaos of external events sweeps in from outside, trying to pull you off course… …so that your mind is freed from the chains of fate and external compulsions, brought to a state of inner clarity, and lives life on its own terms—
• Doing what’s right.
• Accepting what actually happens.
• And speaking the truth…

If you can cut your mind free from the clinging impressions of the senses that often mislead it, free from anxieties about the future and regrets about the past—if you can make yourself, as the philosopher Empedocles says, like “a sphere rejoicing in its perfect stillness,” perfectly balanced and self-contained, and concentrate only on living what can be lived (which means living fully and virtuously in the present moment)… then you can spend whatever time you have left in life in tranquility, and in kindness towards others, and at peace with the guiding spirit (the divine spark of reason) within you.

4. We Value Others’ Opinions More Than Our Own It never ceases to amaze me: we all naturally love ourselves more than we love other people. And yet, somehow, we often care more about their opinion of us than we do about our own inner judgment and self-assessment. Imagine if a god appeared to us—or even just a very wise human being—and made a new rule: we were prohibited from concealing any of our thoughts or from imagining anything at all without immediately shouting it out loud for everyone to hear. We wouldn’t make it through a single day under such a condition! That’s how much we often value other people’s opinions—sometimes even more than our own deeply held convictions or our own peace of mind.

5. Could the Gods Have Overlooked Such an Injustice? How is it that the gods, who arranged everything else in the universe with such perfect skill, order, and loving care for our well-being, could have somehow overlooked this one crucial thing: that certain people—in fact, the very best of them, the gods’ own truest partners in creating a good and virtuous world, the ones whose piety and good works brought them closest to the divine—that these very people, when they die, should simply cease to exist forever? That they should be utterly vanished, with no afterlife or continuation of their consciousness.

Well, assuming that’s really true (that there is no personal afterlife for such good souls), you can be absolutely sure that the gods would have arranged things differently, if that different arrangement had been appropriate or better for the cosmos as a whole. If it were the truly right thing for good souls to live on, the gods certainly could have made it so. And if it were the most natural way for things to be, then universal Nature would have demanded it. So, from the very fact that they didn’t arrange it that way (if indeed that’s the case and there is no such individual survival), we can logically conclude that it was somehow inappropriate or not for the best in the grand scheme for it to be otherwise.

Surely you can see for yourself that even to ask this question in a doubting or resentful way (“Why isn’t there an afterlife for the good?”) is, in a sense, to challenge the gods’ fairness. And why would you even be bringing the concept of fairness into the discussion unless you implicitly believed that the gods are, in fact, fair—and absolutely so? And if they are perfectly fair and just, how could they possibly have carelessly overlooked something so profoundly unfair—so illogical—in the fundamental design and setup of the world? (The implication is that either our understanding of “fair” is limited, or things are not as they seem regarding an afterlife, or the premise itself is flawed.)

6. Practice Even What Seems Impossible You should practice even those things that you might initially think you cannot do, things that seem impossible for you. For example, the left hand is generally useless at almost everything for most people, simply because they lack practice with it. But, for many people, that same left hand guides the reins of a horse much better than the right hand does. This superior skill with the reins comes entirely from practice.

7. Reflections at the Moment of Death When death finally comes for you, consider these things:

• The shortness of your life.
• The vastness of time that stretched before your birth and that will stretch after your death.
• The fragility and temporary nature of all material things, including your own body.

8. Seeing Beneath the Surface Strive to see the underlying causes of things, stripped bare of all superficial appearances. Understand the true aim and purpose of your actions. Consider the real nature of:

• Pain.
• Pleasure.
• Death.
• Fame. Think about who is ultimately responsible for your own restlessness and inner turmoil (the answer is: yourself, through your judgments). Realize that, in the truest sense, no one can truly obstruct your inner self if your will is aligned with nature. And understand that everything is, in large part, how you perceive it.

9. The Philosopher: A Boxer, Not a Fencer The student of philosophy should be like a boxer, not like a fencer. The fencer’s weapon is something external that he picks up and then can put down again. But the boxer’s weapons—his fists—are an integral part of him. All he has to do is clench his fist, and he is ready to engage. (So too, the philosopher’s principles should be an integral part of their being, always ready.)

10. See Things As They Truly Are Focus on seeing things as they truly are, by understanding their:

• Substance: What they are fundamentally made of.
• Cause: What brought them into being or made them happen.
• Purpose: What they are ultimately for, or what role they play in the larger scheme.

11. True Freedom: Aligning with Divine Will True freedom lies in wanting to do only what God (or the divine order of the universe) wants, and in willingly accepting whatever God sends us.

11a. Its Composition (A very brief, possibly incomplete note, likely a reminder to analyze something): What it’s made of.

12. No One is Ultimately to Blame The gods are not to blame for what happens in the world. They do nothing wrong, either on purpose or by accident. Nor are human beings ultimately to blame for their wrongdoing in a way that should cause you lasting bitterness or resentment. They often don’t do wrong on purpose, but rather out of ignorance or mistaken judgments about what is good. So, in the grand scheme, no one is truly to blame in a way that should destroy your peace of mind.

13. Surprise is Foolishness It’s foolish to be surprised by anything that happens in life. That would be like travelers being amazed and shocked by foreign customs they encounter in a distant land—customs that are perfectly normal for the people who live there.

14. Three Possibilities for the Universe’s Governance – And Your Response There are three main possibilities for how the universe operates:

1. Fatal necessity and an inescapable, rigid order. All events are predetermined and unchangeable.
2. Or, a benevolent Providence. There is a wise and caring divine guidance behind all things.
3. Or, a mere confusion. Everything is just a random, undirected chaos.

Consider your response to each:

• If it’s an inescapable necessity, why resist it? It’s futile. Accept what must be.
• If it’s Providence that admits of being worshipped and appealed to, then try to live in such a way that you are worthy of God’s aid and aligned with that divine plan.
• If it’s just confusion and anarchy, then be grateful that in the midst of this raging, chaotic sea of events, you possess a mind—a guiding reason—within yourself. And if the storm of chaos should threaten to carry you away, let it carry off your physical flesh, your breath, and all the rest of your external possessions. But it cannot carry away your mind, your capacity for reasoned choice, unless you let it be swept away by panic or despair.

15. Your Inner Light Should Outlast a Lamp’s A physical lamp continues to shine until its fuel is gone and it is put out, without losing its gleam along the way. And yet in you, the inner lights of truth, justice, and self-control can gutter out so early, long before your life is over? Strive for your inner light to be more constant than a lamp’s.

16. Responding to Apparent Injury from Others When someone seems to have injured you: First, ask yourself: But how can I be absolutely sure this was an intentional injury directed at me? And how can I be sure it has truly harmed me in any essential way? And in any case, always keep these thoughts in mind:

• That the wrongdoer has already been tried and convicted—by himself, in his own conscience, whether he admits it or not. His wrongdoing is like him scratching out his own eyes, harming his own soul.
• That to expect a bad or ignorant person not to harm others is like expecting fig trees not to produce their natural juice, or babies not to cry, or horses not to neigh—it’s like expecting the inevitable not to happen. What else could they do, being the sort of character they currently are? If you’re still angry or upset by their actions, then stop focusing on them and get to work on improving your own character and reactions.

17. The Simple Rule for Action and Speech If it’s not the right thing to do, don’t do it. If it’s not true, don’t say it. Let your intention always be clear.

18. Unpack Everything by Analysis At all times, look at the thing itself—the event, the object, the person, the situation that is behind the mere appearance—and unpack it by careful analysis into its components:

• Its underlying cause.
• Its essential substance or material.
• Its ultimate purpose or aim.
• And the length of time it is likely to exist in its current form.

19. The Miraculous Power Within You It’s time you realized that you have something in you more powerful and more miraculous than all the external things that merely affect you physically and sometimes make you dance like a puppet controlled by strings. What’s in my thoughts at this very moment? Is it fear? Is it jealousy? Is it excessive desire? Or other disruptive feelings like that? (Recognize them, and then let them go.)

20. Principles for Undertaking Any Action Undertake nothing: i. At random or without a clear and rational purpose. ii. For any reason other than the common good.

21. All Things Perish and Transform, So New Things Can Be Born Remember that before long, you’ll be no one, and nowhere. And it will be the same for all the physical things you see now, and for all the people now living. Everything’s destiny in the physical world is to change, to be transformed into something else, and eventually to perish in its current form. This is necessary so that new things can be born from the old.

22. Your Perception is Your Control; Find Calm It’s all in how you perceive things. You’re in control of your perceptions. You can dispense with a misperception or a negative judgment at will, just like a sailor rounding a stormy headland can leave the turbulent seas behind and find the calm waters of a sheltered bay. Do this with your mind, and you will find serenity, total calm, a safe anchorage for your soul.

23. The Timeliness of Endings in Nature’s Plan A given action that stops when it’s supposed to (when its natural course is run or its purpose fulfilled) is no worse for having stopped. Nor is the person engaged in that action any worse off for having completed it. So too with the whole succession of actions and events that we call “life.” If life ends when it’s supposed to, according to nature, it’s no worse for that. And the person who comes to the end of their natural line has no cause for complaint. The time and the stopping point are set by nature—sometimes by our own individual nature (as in death from old age); or by Nature as a whole, whose parts, by constantly shifting and changing, continually renew the world and keep it on its proper schedule and in good order. Nothing that ultimately benefits all things in the universe (the whole) can be ugly or out of place for the parts. The end of life is not an evil in itself—it doesn’t disgrace us. (Why should we be ashamed of an involuntary act that, in itself, injures no one and is part of the natural order?). In fact, from the perspective of the universe, it’s a good thing—it is scheduled by the world, it promotes the world’s ongoing processes, and it is, in turn, promoted and made necessary by those processes. This is how we become godlike—by following God’s path (the path of reason and nature), and by aligning our actions with the goals of reason.

24. Three Essential Perspectives at All Times i(a). Regarding your own actions: Ensure that they’re not arbitrary or impulsive, but are in line with what abstract justice itself would do. i(b). Regarding external events: Understand that they happen either as part of a random process or as part of a divine design (Providence). You can’t logically complain about chance if you believe it’s all random. And you can’t rightly argue with Providence if you believe in a purposeful and benevolent cosmic order. ii. Regarding the nature of all things: Contemplate what all physical things are like, from their initial planting as a seed to their quickening into life, and from that quickening to their eventual relinquishment of life at death. Understand where the component parts of things came from and where they eventually return to. iii. Regarding a cosmic view: Imagine that if you were suddenly lifted up high above the earth and could see all of human life and its vast variety from that great height, and if you could at the same time see all the other beings and environments in the sky and beyond it, you’d realize how ultimately pointless and trivial much of human striving and anxiety is. And no matter how often you saw this grand spectacle, it would essentially be the same: the same fundamental life forms, the same brief life span for individuals. Can one feel lasting arrogance or excessive pride when truly considering all this?

25. Throw Out Misperceptions and You’ll Be Fine Throw out your misperceptions and false judgments about things, and you’ll be fine. (And who’s stopping you from throwing them out but yourself?)

26. Why Anger Arises from Forgetting Key Truths To be angry at something often means you’ve forgotten some key truths:

• That everything that happens is in accordance with universal nature.
• That the responsibility for a perceived wrong often lies with the other person (their character, their ignorance), not directly with you in a way that can harm your core self. And you’ve also forgotten:
• That whatever happens has always happened in similar ways throughout history, and always will, and is happening at this very moment, everywhere, in patterns just like this.
• You’ve forgotten what truly links one human being to all other humans: not merely blood ties or shared place of birth, but a shared capacity for mind and reason. And also remember:
• That an individual’s mind is, in a sense, God, and an emanation or fragment of the divine universal intelligence.
• That nothing truly “belongs” to anyone in an absolute or permanent sense. Our children, our bodies, even life itself—all of them come from that same divine source and will return to it.
• That everything is how you choose to see it; your perception and judgment shape your reality.
• That the present moment is all we truly have to live in, or to lose.

27. The Fate of the Passionate and Arrogant Constantly run down the list in your mind of those historical figures who felt intense anger or overwhelming passion about something: the most famous ones, the most unfortunate ones, the most hated ones, the most whatever. And then ask yourself: Where is all that passion and all those people now? They are all just smoke, dust, a fading legend… or perhaps not even a legend anymore. Think of all the specific examples you know from history or your own life: people like Fabius Catullinus living out his days in the country, Lusius Lupus in his orchard, Stertinius at the fashionable resort of Baiae, the Emperor Tiberius brooding on the island of Capri, or someone like Velius Rufus… all their worldly obsessions and their great arrogance, where has it led them? And consider how ultimately trivial the things we humans often want so passionately really are. And reflect on how much more philosophical it would be to simply take what we’re given by nature and, in response, show unwavering uprightness, self-control, and obedience to God (the divine order), without making a big, dramatic production of it. There’s nothing more insufferable than people who boast about their own humility or make a show of their virtue.

28. Knowing the Gods Exist Without Seeing Them People might ask you, “Have you ever actually seen the gods you worship? How can you be so sure they even exist?” Here are some perfectly good answers: i. Just look around you at the intricate order, beauty, and purposeful design of the world. ii. I’ve never seen my own soul either, in a physical sense, and yet I revere it and know it exists as the guiding part of me. That’s how I know the gods exist and why I revere them—from having felt their power and seen the evidence of their work, over and over again, both in my own life and in the world around me.

29. Salvation in Truth and Right Action Salvation, or true well-being, consists in this: to see each thing for what it truly is—to understand its essential nature and its ultimate purpose in the grand scheme. It means to do only what is right and just, and to say only what is true, without holding back, without pretense, and without deceit. What else could true fulfillment be but to live life fully in this way—to continuously pay out goodness like the seamlessly connected rings of a golden chain, without the slightest gap or interruption?

30. One Source, Many Manifestations Think of these fundamental realities as singular, even if they appear in many different forms or seem divided:

• Sunlight. It is one light from one sun, though it is broken up and seems divided by walls, mountains, and a thousand other intervening things that it illuminates.
• Substance. There is one underlying universal substance or matter, though it is split into a thousand different individual forms, variously shaped and constituted.
• Life. There is one universal life force or soul, though it is distributed among a thousand different natures and living beings, each with their individual limitations and forms.
• Intelligence (Logos). There is one universal intelligence or reason, even if it seems to be divided among countless individual minds. The other, lesser components of things—like mere physical breath (pneuma) or inert matter—lack any true awareness or intrinsic capacity for connection with one another (yet even they are held together by the principle of unity and by the universe’s natural gravitational or cohesive forces). But intelligence, or Mind, is uniquely drawn toward what is akin to it (other intelligence or manifestations of reason). It joins with it inseparably, in a state of shared awareness and community.

31. What Pleasures Are Truly Worth Desiring? What is it that you truly want from life?

• Is it just to keep on breathing?
• What about merely feeling physical sensations? Or being driven by desires?
• Or continuing to grow physically, and then eventually ceasing to grow?
• Or just using your voice to speak? Or simply thinking random thoughts? Which of these purely physical or fleeting mental activities seems truly worth having as an ultimate goal or the source of lasting happiness? But if you can see that these things, in themselves, are not the highest good and you can do without them as ultimate ends, then continue to follow reason (the Logos), and follow God (the divine order), to the very end of your life. To prize those other, lesser things—or to grieve deeply because death eventually deprives us of them—is an obstacle to living a truly good, meaningful, and contented life.

32. Your Tiny Share of Everything Consider the tiny fraction of infinite time, of that vast and immeasurable abyss of duration, that is allotted to each of us as our lifespan. It is absorbed in an instant into all of eternity. Think of the tiny fraction of all physical substance in the universe that makes up your body. And consider the tiny fraction of all universal spirit or intelligence that constitutes your own mind. And reflect on the tiny fraction of the whole earth that you crawl about on during your short life. Keep all that vastness and your own smallness in mind, and don’t treat anything as truly important except these two things:

1. Doing what your own true nature (as a rational and social being) demands.
2. Accepting what universal Nature sends your way as part of its overall plan.

33. The Mind’s Role in All Things How the mind conducts itself—how it perceives, judges, and chooses to act—that is what everything ultimately depends on for your well-being. All the rest—external things, events, even your own body to some extent—is either within its power to influence through judgment and virtuous action, or it is truly beyond its direct control. And if these things are beyond its control, they are no more significant to your inner peace and character than already dead corpses and drifting smoke.

34. Even Pleasure-Seekers Can Face Death Calmly Here’s an incentive to treat death as unimportant, or at least not as the ultimate evil: even people whose only real morality is seeking pleasure and avoiding pain (the Epicureans, for example) can often manage to face death with a degree of calmness or resignation.

35. If Only True Ripeness is Good… If you make true “ripeness” or the perfection of your character alone your good… If you understand that a few virtuous actions more or less, as long as they are governed by the right reason (Logos), are merely a few more or less and don’t fundamentally change the overall quality of a virtuous life… If you realize that it makes no ultimate difference to your inner well-being whether you look at the world for this particular length of time or that particular length of time… …then death itself shouldn’t scare you.

36. A Citizen of a Great City, Exiting Gracefully You’ve lived your life as a citizen in a great city (Rome, and by extension, the Cosmos, the city of gods and men). Whether you’ve lived in this city for five years or for a hundred—what’s the real difference in the grand scheme of things? The laws of nature and the city make no ultimate distinction based on length of tenure alone when it comes to the natural end of life. And to be sent away from this city (to die), not by some cruel tyrant or a corrupt and dishonest judge, but by Nature itself, the very same Nature who first invited you in—why should that be so terrible? It’s like when the impresario or director of a play rings down the curtain on an actor, signaling the end of their performance: The actor might perhaps protest, “But I’ve only gotten through three acts of a five-act play…!” And the impresario might reply, “Yes. But this will be a drama in three acts. Its length was fixed by the power that directed your creation in the first place, and that same power now directs your dissolution. Neither the beginning nor the end of your role was yours to determine.” So, make your exit from life with grace—the same grace that was shown to you when you were brought into this life.