Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius · Public domain edition · 226 cards · 61 chapters
This book argues that Marcus Aurelius's Meditations reflects a coherent Stoic philosophy shaped by his education and reign. The deck covers his early life, accession, the Avidius Cassius revolt, and source problems in the Historia Augusta and Dio.
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Chapter 1 · Question
What was Marcus Aurelius's education and name change before becoming emperor?
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Chapter 1 · Answer
He was carefully educated, studying poetry and rhetoric under Herodes Atticus and Fronto, then philosophy under the Stoics, plus law under Volusianus Maecianus. Adopted by Antoninus Pius, he took the name M. Aelius Aurelius Verus and the title Caesar in A.D. 139. On becoming Augustus he dropped Verus and took Antoninus, so he is generally called M. Aurelius Antoninus.
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Section 14 cards
What was Marcus Aurelius's education and name change before becoming emperor?
He was carefully educated, studying poetry and rhetoric under Herodes Atticus and Fronto, then philosophy under the Stoics, plus law under Volusianus Maecianus. Adopted by Antoninus Pius, he took the name M. Aelius Aurelius Verus and the title Caesar in A.D. 139. On becoming Augustus he dropped Verus and took Antoninus, so he is generally called M. Aurelius Antoninus.
Chapter 1
Why does the author say Book I is not vanity or self-praise?
The author argues that Antoninus means to commemorate the merits of his teachers, what they taught, and what a pupil might learn from them. The book, like the other eleven, was written for his own use, during a campaign against the Quadi, when recalling his teachers' virtues could remind him of their lessons and their practical uses.
Chapter 1
How did Marcus Aurelius come to share and then hold sole rule?
Antoninus Pius died in March A.D. 161. The Senate urged Marcus to take sole administration, but he associated with himself Pius's other adopted son, L. Ceionius Commodus, called L. Verus, so Rome for the first time had two emperors. Verus was indolent and unworthy, yet Antoninus bore with him. Verus died in 169, and Antoninus administered the state alone.
Chapter 1
How did Marcus Aurelius respond to Avidius Cassius's revolt?
In A.D. 175 Avidius Cassius, commander of troops in Asia, revolted and declared himself Augustus. Cassius was assassinated by some of his own officers, ending the rebellion. Antoninus showed his humanity in his treatment of Cassius's family and partisans, and his letter to the Senate recommending mercy is extant, as cited from Vulcatius.
Chapter 1
Section 23 cards
How does the author evaluate Capitolinus and Dion Cassius as sources on Faustina?
The author calls Capitolinus a poor, feeble biographer who may have intended to tell the truth, and Dion Cassius the most malignant of historians, who always reports and perhaps believed any scandal against anybody. He notes such malicious reports were common in all ages and that imperial Roman history is full of them, so the charges against Faustina are weakly supported.
Chapter 2
Why does the author say Antoninus' initiation into the Eleusinian mysteries does not prove superstition?
The author argues Antoninus conformed to established rites and performed ceremonies with due solemnity, but his book shows he was not superstitious. He draws the general lesson that a ruler's public acts do not always prove his real opinions: a prudent governor will not roughly oppose even the superstitions of his people, knowing he cannot make them wiser by offending their prejudices.
Chapter 2
What did Antoninus' rescript to the governor of Gallia decree about Christians?
According to the letter preserved by Eusebius, the imperial rescript was that the Christians should be punished, but if they would deny their faith they must be released. On this the work began again: Christians who were Roman citizens were beheaded, while the rest were exposed to wild beasts in the amphitheatre. The governor had reserved Attalus and others until instructions arrived.
Chapter 2
Section 34 cards
What did Valesius conclude about the name 'Melitene' for the Thundering legion?
Valesius concluded that Melitene was not the name of the legion but of the town where it was stationed, and also the district containing that town. He argued legions took names from the country where they were raised, not where they were on duty, so he found Eusebius's account about the Melitene improbable. Yet he still believed, on the authority of Apolinarius and Tertullian, that the miracle came through the prayers of Christian soldiers.
Chapter 3
What does the chapter say about the letter attributed to Antoninus after the victory?
The chapter says a Greek letter addressed by Antoninus to the Roman people and Senate after the victory exists and is sometimes printed after Justin's first Apology, but it is totally unconnected with the apologies. The author calls it one of the most stupid forgeries, possibly not even based on Antoninus's genuine report. If genuine, it would free the emperor from persecuting Christians, since it orders the accused released and the informer burnt alive.
Chapter 3
To whom was Justin's second Apology addressed, according to the chapter?
The chapter says the superscription 'to the Roman Senate' comes from some copyist. In the first chapter Justin addresses the Romans; in the second he discusses a recent affair under M. Antoninus and L. Verus and directly addresses the emperor, quoting a woman's petition granted by 'thee, the emperor.' Other passages address the two emperors, so the Apology was directed to them. Eusebius says it was addressed to Antoninus Pius's successor, meaning M. Antoninus.
Chapter 3
Under what circumstances and reign is Justin said to have been put to death?
Justin is said to have been put to death at Rome because he refused to sacrifice to the gods. The chapter rejects Hadrian's reign as one authority states, and rejects Antoninus Pius's time if the second Apology was written under M. Antoninus. Evidence indicates the event took place under M. Antoninus and L. Verus, when Rusticus was praefect of the city; the Martyrium names Rusticus as the praefect before whom Justin and others were brought.
Chapter 3
Section 44 cards
What sentence did Rusticus pronounce on the Christians who refused to sacrifice?
Rusticus sentenced those who refused to sacrifice to the gods and obey the emperor's order to be whipped and beheaded according to the law. The martyrs were then led to the usual place of execution and beheaded, and some of the faithful secretly carried off the bodies and deposited them in a fit place.
Chapter 4
What did Trajan's rescript decree regarding accusations against Christians?
Trajan approved the governor's judgment but ruled that no search must be made after Christians; a charged and convicted man must not be punished if he denied being a Christian and showed reverence to the heathen gods. Anonymous informations were to be ignored as bad example. The text calls this the first known legislative act of the Roman state on Christianity.
Chapter 4
Why did Pliny write to Trajan about the Christians?
As governor of Bithynia, Pliny found Christians numerous and the old religion declining—temples deserted, festivals neglected, no buyers of sacrificial victims. He found no crimes proved against Christians and could only call their religion a depraved superstition, punishing them for invincible obstinacy. He asked Trajan for directions because he had never conducted such judicial inquiries and did not know how far to inquire or punish.
Chapter 4
What does the chapter say about the rescript attributed to Antoninus Pius?
The chapter says a rescript of Antoninus Pius to the Commune of Asia is printed at the end of Justin's first Apology and also appears in Eusebius. It declares Christians were not to be disturbed unless attempting something against Roman rule, and no man punished simply for being a Christian. The author argues the rescript is spurious, calling it a clumsy forgery evident from its style and tenor.
Chapter 4
Section 54 cards
What does Melito claim about when Christians were first persecuted for their religion?
Melito's Apology asserts that Christians had only been punished for their religion under Nero and Domitian, that persecutions resumed under M. Antoninus on the basis of his orders (which Melito says were abused by shameless informers), and that the godly race was then harassed by fresh imperial orders in Asia, a thing he says had never happened before. The editor notes this is not true, since Christians were punished in Trajan's time.
Chapter 5
Why does the editor doubt Marcus wrote the rescript found in Eusebius iv. 13?
The editor says Marcus certainly did not write that letter, and that we do not know what answer he made to Melito. Eusebius introduces it as a rescript of Antoninus Pius but gives it in the sole name of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus Armenius, and material variations between the copies make it impossible to say whether the forger meant to assign it to Pius or to Marcus.
Chapter 5
According to the chapter, why did Christian rejection of heathen rites create hostility with Roman government?
The chapter explains that Christians plainly maintained all heathen religions were false, declaring war against the heathen rites. Rome tolerated the empire's various forms of superstition but could not consistently tolerate a religion declaring all the rest false and the empire's splendid ceremonies only a worship of devils. This, plus the fact of being a Christian becoming a punishable crime unless denied, drove persecution.
Chapter 5
What does the editor conclude about the source of persecutions under M. Antoninus?
The editor concludes there were at least imperial rescripts or constitutions of M. Antoninus used as the foundation of these persecutions, with being a Christian now a crime punished unless the accused denied their religion. Governors might have found enough in Trajan's rescript to warrant punishment, and popular fanaticism could drive persecution even against reluctant officials.
Chapter 5
Section 64 cards
What does the chapter say about the genuineness of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations?
The chapter states there is no doubt that the Emperor's Reflections, or Meditations, is a genuine work. In the first book he speaks of himself, his family, and his teachers, and in other books he mentions himself. Suidas notices a work of Antoninus in twelve books, which he names the 'conduct of his own life,' and cites it under several words in his Dictionary.
Chapter 6
What is known about the manuscripts and title of the Meditations?
The true title is unknown. Xylander published the first edition (Zürich, 1558) using a manuscript containing twelve books whose present location is unknown. The only other complete manuscript is in the Vatican library, with no title and no inscriptions of the several books except the eleventh. Other Vatican and Florentine manuscripts contain only excerpts.
Chapter 6
What does the chapter conclude about Marcus Aurelius and persecution of Christians?
The author argues Marcus was not an active persecutor, as there is no evidence he was, though he had no good opinion of Christians. He did not make the rule against them—Trajan did—and his power was limited by constitutional forms, the Senate, and precedents. The author says it is certain that under Antoninus' rule men were put to death because they were Christians.
Chapter 6
What does the chapter say about fanatical Christians and the causes of persecution?
The author argues many fanatical and ignorant Christians contributed to exciting fanaticism on the other side and embittering the quarrel. Eusebius remarks that in the seventeenth year of Antoninus' reign persecution became more violent, proceeding from the populace in the cities. The author thinks it probable that the fanaticism of the populace was the true cause, and that governors and emperor had much trouble with these disturbances.
Chapter 6
Section 74 cards
What conjecture does the chapter make about the original manuscript of the Thoughts?
The chapter states it is plain the emperor wrote his reflections as occasions arose, and since they were for his own use, it is not improbable that he left a complete copy in his own hand. It argues so diligent a man would not use a transcriber for such a purpose or expose his most secret thoughts to another's eye. He may also have intended the book for his son Commodus, who had no taste for his father's philosophy.
Chapter 7
What does the chapter say about Gataker's edition and commentary?
The most complete edition is Thomas Gataker's of 1652, with a second edition superintended by George Stanhope in 1697, and another in 1704. Gataker made good corrections, produced a new Latin version that expresses the sense well though it is not good Latin, added marginal references to parallel passages, and wrote a commentary containing exposition of difficult passages and quotations from Greek and Roman writers. The chapter calls it a wonderful monument of learning and labor.
Chapter 7
How does the translator describe his own translation and its style?
The translator says he made it at intervals from the Greek, not always following one text and occasionally comparing other versions, for his own use because he found it worth the labor, then decided to print it. He admits error is possible since the original is difficult, marks some passages with a + for corruption or uncertainty, and says he preferred a ruder style as better suited to the original's character, since obscurity in the version may fairly copy obscurity in the Greek.
Chapter 7
What does the chapter say true human greatness consists in?
The chapter argues a man's greatness lies not in wealth and station, as the vulgar believe, nor in intellectual capacity, which is often joined with mean moral character, servility to the high and arrogance to the lowly. Instead true greatness lies in consciousness of an honest purpose in life, founded on a just estimate of himself and everything else, on frequent self-examination, and steady obedience to the rule he knows to be right, without troubling about what others think or say.
Chapter 7
Section 84 cards
How did the Stoic division of philosophy originate and who ordered it?
The chapter says the Stoics divided philosophy into Physic, Ethic, and Logic, a division attributed by Diogenes to Zeno of Citium, founder of the Stoic sect, and Chrysippus, who ordered them Logic, Physic, Ethic. The chapter adds that the division appears to predate Zeno and was acknowledged by Plato, as Cicero remarks. Logic here is not synonymous with the narrower modern sense of the word.
Chapter 8
How does Cleanthes subdivide the three Stoic divisions of philosophy?
Cleanthes subdivided the three divisions into six: Dialectic and Rhetoric within Logic; Ethic and Politic; and Physic and Theology. The chapter says this division was merely for practical use, since all philosophy is one. Among the earliest Stoics, Logic or Dialectic is treated only as an instrument to be used for the other divisions, not occupying the place it holds in Plato.
Chapter 8
How do Epictetus and Antoninus differ in their philosophical method?
The chapter states that the doctrines of Epictetus and Antoninus are the same, making Epictetus the best authority for explaining Antoninus' philosophical language and opinions. But their methods are entirely different: Epictetus addressed hearers in continuous discourse, in a familiar and simple manner, while Antoninus wrote reflections for his own use only, in short, unconnected paragraphs that are often obscure.
Chapter 8
What does the chapter say about Antoninus' subject and its connection to other divisions?
The chapter says Antoninus does not treat of Politic; his subject is Ethic, applied practically to his own conduct as a man and as a governor. His Ethic is founded on doctrines about man's nature, the Universal Nature, and each man's relation to everything else, so it is inseparably connected with Physic and Theology. The chapter calls his philosophy in substance purely moral and practical.
Chapter 8
Section 94 cards
How does the chapter define phantasia in Stoic terms?
The chapter explains that phantasia is not only the sensuous appearance coming from an external object (the phantaston), but also the thought, feeling, or opinion produced even when no corresponding external object is present. Everything that moves the soul is phantaston and produces a phantasia.
Chapter 9
What two original principles does the chapter attribute to Zeno's doctrine?
The chapter states Zeno held two original principles (archai) of all things: that which acts (to poioun) and that which is acted upon (to paschon). The passive principle is formless matter (hyle); the active principle is reason (logos), God, eternal and operating through all matter to produce all things.
Chapter 9
According to the chapter, what is the Physic of Antoninus?
The chapter defines the Physic of Antoninus as the knowledge of the Nature of the Universe, of its government, and of the relation of man's nature to both. It notes he calls the universe 'the universal substance,' says reason (logos) governs it, and names it 'the one and all, which we name Cosmos or Order.'
Chapter 9
Why does the chapter argue Antoninus's philosophy was tested by real life?
The chapter argues that a man of tranquillity untried by affairs may keep fine thoughts, but they could prove idle words once exposed to rude realities. It says Antoninus, amid war, pestilence, conspiracy, and an unwieldy empire, needed fortitude and rose from doubt by recurring to first principles. The author argues no philosophy is worth anything unless its teacher has lived it.
Chapter 9
Section 104 cards
How does the chapter describe the Greek word 'ousia' in Marcus Aurelius?
The chapter defines ousia as the philosopher's 'substance': the generic name for the existence we assume as highest or ultimate, because we conceive nothing coordinated with or above it. It cites Antoninus's phrases 'the universal substance' and 'one common substance' distributed among countless bodies, and notes the material disappears into the substance of the whole.
Chapter 10
What contradiction does the chapter say general terms like 'one,' 'all,' and 'whole' involve?
The author argues that all such general terms imply limitation: 'one' is limited, 'all' is limited, 'the whole' is limited. He says we cannot find words for what we cannot fully conceive, and adding 'absolute' does not mend it. Even the word God, he notes, is often used in a way that implies limitation while other words are added to deny it.
Chapter 10
How does the chapter characterize matter, space, and the permanence of form?
The chapter says the notions of matter and space are inseparable, derived from matter and form, yet we have no adequate conception of either; matter in its ultimate resolution is as unintelligible as mind or spirit. Nothing is permanent in form: citing Antoninus, the nature of the universe loves to change things and make new things like them, so all things are in constant flux while the whole universe continues ever young and perfect.
Chapter 10
How does the chapter define 'Nature' and 'Laws of Nature'?
The chapter notes physis and natura originally mean 'production' or 'birth,' but neither Greeks nor Romans nor we stick to that sense. The author argues the word has no meaning except Bishop Butler's: 'natural' means stated, fixed, or settled, since what is natural requires an intelligent agent as much as the supernatural does. He connects this to Plato's view that God orders all things by a fixed course.
Chapter 10
Section 114 cards
What does the author say cause and effect mean in natural phenomena?
The author argues that for practical purposes we may use the terms cause and effect, but in the sequence of natural phenomena they mean nothing beyond appearances following one another in a regular order. The real or transcendent cause of each successive phenomenon is in that which is the cause of all things that are, have been, and will be forever.
Chapter 11
How does the author describe a creation of all things at a certain time?
The author argues that the word Creation may have a real sense if considered as the first, if a first can be conceived, in the present order of natural phenomena. But in the vulgar sense, a creation of all things at a certain time followed by quiescence of the first cause and abandonment of phenomena to the laws of Nature is absolutely absurd.
Chapter 11
What does the author conclude about Antoninus's view of Nature?
Though there is great difficulty in understanding passages where Antoninus speaks of Nature, changes of things, and the economy of the universe, the author is convinced his sense of Nature is the same as stated, and that his view was in harmony with his fixed belief in the all-pervading, ever present, ever active energy of God.
Chapter 11
What does the author say about Antoninus's statement that things are seeds of what will be?
Antoninus says everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be. The author argues that because he says "in a manner," in one manner he said true, and in another manner, if you mistake his meaning, he said false — a profound truth could be converted into a gross absurdity, as with some Indian philosophers.
Chapter 11
Section 124 cards
How does Marcus Aurelius argue for the existence of the gods?
The author argues that divine powers are known from their works, even though their forms cannot be seen. He answers those who ask where he has seen the gods by saying they may be seen even with the eyes, and adds that he has never seen his own soul yet honors it; likewise, from what he constantly experiences of the gods' power he comprehends that they exist and venerates them.
Chapter 12
What distinction does Antoninus draw between animals and humans regarding the soul?
Antoninus holds that we have bodies like animals, but reason and intelligence like the gods. Animals possess life (psyche) and what we call instincts or natural principles of action; the rational animal, man alone, has a rational, intelligent soul (psyche logike noera). He insists on this continually, saying God is in man, so we must constantly attend to the divinity within us.
Chapter 12
According to the chapter, how does man come to knowledge of God's nature?
The author argues that the human soul is an efflux from the divinity, and that the soul alone has communication with the Deity. God touches only the intelligence that has flowed from himself into bodies. It is by living a divine life that man approaches knowledge of the divinity, and by following the divinity within — the daemon, or understanding and reason — that man comes nearest to the supreme good.
Chapter 12
What difficulty does the editor note about translating nous and logos in Antoninus?
The editor says words imperfectly express such notions and are often used carelessly, and that the various senses of logos are enough to perplex any man. He translates nous as intelligence or intellect and logos as reason, noting New Testament translators rendered ho logos as 'the word.' He concludes these remarks may not help the reader, and the emperor's meaning must be got from his own words.
Chapter 12
Section 134 cards
What does Marcus Aurelius call the superior faculty in man that rules the rest?
The ruling faculty (Greek: to hêgemonikon), which Cicero renders as Principatus, "to which nothing can or ought to be superior." Antoninus also calls it the "governing intelligence" (vii. 64) and the master of the soul (v. 26). A man must reverence only his ruling faculty and the divinity within him, which is of like kind with what is supreme in the universe.
Chapter 13
How does the chapter explain the apparent evil in a world ordered by Providence?
The chapter argues that what we call evil is a matter of our imperfect knowledge: we see and know very little, and all human experience is ignorance of the infinite whole. Since reason shows everything is connected, evil as something in the universe is a contradiction; if the whole comes from an intelligent being, nothing in it can tend to its destruction (viii. 55; x. 6).
Chapter 13
According to the chapter, how does Antoninus view God's relation to the material universe?
The chapter says Antoninus held that the Deity is most intimately united to the world, as the soul is united to the body, together forming one whole. But he did not view God and the material universe as the same, any more than he viewed body and soul as one. He avoided speculating on the absolute nature of the Deity, satisfied that God exists and governs all things.
Chapter 13
What does the chapter say about the meaning of "Know thyself"?
Citing Agapetus, the chapter presents a chain: he who knows himself will know God, will be made like to God, becomes worthy of God by doing nothing unworthy of God, thinking what is his, speaking what he thinks, and doing what he speaks. The editor supposes "Know thyself" had a larger meaning than the narrow sense generally given to it.
Chapter 13
Section 144 cards
According to the chapter, how does Marcus Aurelius answer the objection that even good men may be extinguished by death?
The author reports that Antoninus replies that if this ought to have been otherwise, the gods would have ordered it otherwise (xii. 5). His conviction of the wisdom visible in the government of the world is too strong to be disturbed by apparent irregularities. The chapter notes this is his only direct answer to objections raised against providence by moral disorder and suffering.
Chapter 14
How does the chapter explain Antoninus's claim that another's wickedness harms only the wrongdoer?
The chapter says the first part—that wickedness harms the universe not at all—fits the doctrine that the whole sustains no evil. The second part rests on the Stoic principle that nothing is evil which is not in our power: wrong suffered from another is his evil, not ours. Yet the author notes this admits evil exists, since the wrongdoer does evil.
Chapter 14
What does the chapter say about order and disorder in nature and society?
The author argues that a fixed order exists in material things, plants, animals, and human constitutions, even though some perish early and ends are sometimes not attained. Disorder or apparent evil does not alter the fact of a general constitution with a fixed order. Order, physical and moral, is proved by daily and past experience, and society still subsists amid irregularities.
Chapter 14
How does the chapter treat Epictetus's statement that the nature of evil does not exist?
The chapter calls Epictetus's comparison obscure to those unfamiliar with him: a mark is not set up to be missed, nor does the nature of evil exist in the universe. It explains that God's purpose does not fail; whatever we call evil, evil is not part of the constitution of things. Simplicius argues that a principle of evil would make evil good.
Chapter 14
Section 154 cards
According to Marcus Aurelius, why are death, pain, and honor neither good nor evil?
The author argues that death and life, honor and dishonor, pain and pleasure happen equally to good and bad men, and make us neither better nor worse. Since they do not make a man worse, they cannot make his life worse. Therefore, he concludes, they are neither good nor evil.
Chapter 15
What does living 'according to Nature' mean in Antoninus' ethics?
It means living according to a man's whole nature, not just a part, reverencing the divinity within as governor of all actions. For a rational animal, acting according to nature is acting according to reason. Man is made for action, not idleness or pleasure, and must also live conformably to universal nature as a citizen of the whole human family.
Chapter 15
How does the emperor say one should respond to a wrongdoer?
The author argues one should not practice revenge; the best way of avenging oneself is not to become like the wrongdoer. When wronged, consider with what opinion about good and evil the person acted, and you will pity rather than wonder or be angry. Anger is natural and useful for society, but must not be allowed to lead into sin.
Chapter 15
Why must a man not retire into solitude, according to this chapter?
The author argues a man must not cut himself off from fellow-men but be ever active doing his part in the great whole. All men are kin by sharing the same intelligence and a portion of the same divinity. No act of others can make him bad, so he must not be angry or hate them; we are made for co-operation, like feet, hands, and eyelids.
Chapter 15
Section 164 cards
According to the chapter, what happens to a man who lacks a single object or purpose in life?
The chapter states that a man should have a good object or purpose in life so he may direct all his energies to it. He who has not one object or purpose of life cannot be one and the same all through his life. The author cites Bacon on electing good and virtuous ends within a man's compass to attain.
Chapter 16
How does the chapter argue a person should respond if the gods have not determined about him individually?
The chapter says that if the gods have not determined about him individually, they have certainly determined about the whole at least, and things happening by sequence in that general arrangement should be accepted with pleasure and contentment. If the gods determine about nothing, a man can still determine about himself and inquire what is useful.
Chapter 16
What does the chapter say about the nature of virtue and whether it consists of parts?
The chapter states that virtue alone is indivisible, one, and perfectly satisfying. Virtue is a whole and no more consists of parts than man's intelligence does. We may speak of various virtues or parts of virtue in a practical sense, to show which particular virtues to practice for the exercise of the whole of virtue.
Chapter 16
Which virtue does the emperor select as the basis of all the rest, and how must it be shown?
The emperor selects justice as the virtue which is the basis of all the rest. He couples the notion of justice with action: a man must not pride himself on having a fine notion of justice in his head, but must exhibit his justice in act, like St. James' notion of faith. He also says acting unjustly is acting impiously.
Chapter 16
Section 173 cards
According to the Stoics, what things are truly good or evil?
The Stoics, including Antoninus, held that things in our power—beautiful or ugly, good or evil—are what matter morally. Things not in our power (aproaireta) are indifferent: life, health, wealth, power, disease, poverty, and death are neither good nor bad, since they happen alike to the good and the bad.
Chapter 17
How does Antoninus describe death, and what image does he use for the soul?
Antoninus calls death a cessation of the impressions through the senses, of the appetites' pull, of discursive thought, and of service to the flesh. He also calls it a mystery of nature like generation, and compares the soul leaving the body to a child leaving the womb for a more perfect existence—though the editor admits his exact meaning is doubtful.
Chapter 17
What was the end of a Stoic's life, and what four virtues served it?
The author explains that happiness was not the direct object of a Stoic's life; rather, the end was to live conformably to nature, which yields happiness, tranquillity, and contentment. As means, the Stoic studied four virtues: wisdom (knowledge of good and evil), justice (giving each his due), fortitude (enduring labor and pain), and temperance (moderation in all things).
Chapter 17
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What does the chapter say about Stoics who claimed the wise man is self-sufficient?
The chapter says some Stoics expressed themselves in arrogant, absurd terms, elevating the wise man to the rank of a deity. But it calls these men mere talkers and lecturers who know little of human affairs and care only for notoriety. A footnote notes this Stoical arrogance appears in Seneca and perhaps Epictetus, but not in Antoninus.
Chapter 18
How does the chapter characterize Epictetus and Antoninus and their efforts?
The chapter says Epictetus and Antoninus both by precept and example labored to improve themselves and others. Even if imperfections are found in their teaching, we must still honor these great men who attempted to show that man's nature and the constitution of things give sufficient reason for living virtuously.
Chapter 18
What did Marcus learn from his governor, according to section 5?
From his governor Marcus learned to be neither of the green nor the blue party at the Circus games, nor a partisan of the Parmularius or Scutarius at the gladiators' fights. He also learned endurance of labor, to want little, to work with his own hands, not to meddle in others' affairs, and not to be ready to listen to slander.
Chapter 18
What did Marcus learn from Rusticus, including about reading?
From Rusticus Marcus learned his character needed improvement and discipline, and not to be led astray into sophistic emulation, speculative writing, or showy displays of discipline and benevolence. He learned to abstain from rhetoric and fine writing, to write letters simply, to be easily reconciled with offenders, to read carefully rather than superficially, and to know Epictetus's discourses from Rusticus's own collection.
Chapter 18
Section 194 cards
What did Marcus learn from Alexander the grammarian about correcting others' speech?
From Alexander the grammarian, Marcus learned to refrain from fault-finding and not to chide reproachfully those who used barbarous, solecistic, or strange-sounding expressions. Instead, one should dexterously introduce the correct expression, in the way of answer, confirmation, or inquiry about the thing itself rather than the word, or by some other fitting suggestion.
Chapter 19
What political ideal did Marcus learn from his brother Severus?
From Severus, Marcus received the idea of a polity with the same law for all, administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and of a kingly government that respects most of all the freedom of the governed. He also learned consistency and steadiness in regard for philosophy, readiness to give to others, and that Severus concealed none of his opinions.
Chapter 19
What qualities did Marcus observe and learn from Maximus?
From Maximus, Marcus learned self-government, cheerfulness in all circumstances including illness, a just mixture of sweetness and dignity, and doing what was set before him without complaining. He observed that Maximus never showed amazement or surprise, was never hurried, never procrastinated, never laughed to disguise vexation, was free from falsehood, ready to forgive, and agreeable in humor.
Chapter 19
How did Sextus exemplify tolerance and freedom from passion?
From Sextus, Marcus learned a benevolent disposition, a family governed in a fatherly manner, living conformably to nature, gravity without affectation, care for friends' interests, and tolerance of ignorant persons and those who form opinions without consideration. Sextus could accommodate himself to all, was venerated by associates, never showed anger or passion, yet was most affectionate, and approved without noisy display.
Chapter 19
Section 204 cards
What qualities does Marcus admire in his adoptive father Antoninus Pius?
Marcus praises Antoninus for mildness of temper, firmness after deliberation, freedom from vanity over honors, love of labor, readiness to hear proposals for the common good, and giving each man his due. He notes Antoninus overcame passion for boys, treated himself as no more than any citizen, and released friends from obligations to attend him.
Chapter 20
How did Antoninus Pius handle deliberation and investigation, according to Marcus?
Marcus observed his habit of careful inquiry in all matters of deliberation, his persistency, and that he never stopped investigating merely because satisfied with first appearances. He also foresaw things far off, provided for the smallest details without display, checked popular applause and flattery immediately, and examined all things severally, in order, without confusion.
Chapter 20
For what does Marcus thank the gods in Section 17?
Marcus thanks the gods for good family, teachers, associates, and friends; for not being hurried into offense though his disposition might have led there; for preserving the flower of his youth and deferring virility to the proper season; for a ruler-father who removed pride; for a morally rousing brother; healthy children; and knowing Apollonius, Rusticus, and Maximus.
Chapter 20
How does Marcus describe Antoninus's attitude toward wealth, pleasure, and the body?
Antoninus used life's commodities, which fortune supplies abundantly, without arrogance or excuse: enjoying them without affectation when present, not wanting them when absent. He took reasonable care of his body's health—not from attachment to life or appearance, nor carelessly—so he seldom needed physicians, medicine, or external applications.
Chapter 20
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According to the chapter, why does the author say wrongdoers act as they do?
The author states that the busybody, ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, and unsocial all act this way because of their ignorance of what is good and evil. Since he has seen the nature of the good as beautiful and the bad as ugly, and recognizes the wrongdoer as akin to him in sharing intelligence and a portion of divinity, he concludes he cannot be injured by them nor hate them.
Chapter 21
What does the author mean by calling himself 'a little flesh and breath, and the ruling part'?
He analyzes himself into three things: flesh (blood, bones, nerves, veins, arteries), breath (air constantly sent out and sucked in), and the ruling part. He urges despising the flesh and breath, and tells himself as an old man not to let the ruling part be a slave or pulled like a puppet to unsocial movements, nor to be dissatisfied with the present or shrink from the future.
Chapter 21
What does Theophrastus say about offenses committed through desire versus anger?
Theophrastus, in his comparison of bad acts according to common notions, says offenses committed through desire are more blamable than those through anger. The angry person turns from reason with pain and unconscious contraction, seeming first wronged; the one offending through desire is overpowered by pleasure, more intemperate and womanish, moved by his own impulse. The author endorses this as worthy of philosophy.
Chapter 21
How does the author argue that death, honor, pain, and pleasure are neither good nor evil?
He reasons that since it is possible to die this moment, one should regulate every act accordingly. If gods exist they care for humans and would not involve us in evil; they have put it in man's power not to fall into real evils. Death, life, honor, dishonor, pain, and pleasure happen equally to good and bad and make us neither better nor worse, so they are neither good nor evil.
Chapter 21
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According to Marcus Aurelius, what alone can conduct a man through life?
The author argues that philosophy alone can conduct a man. It consists in keeping the daemon within free from violence and harm, superior to pains and pleasures, acting nothing without purpose or hypocrisy, needing nothing from others, accepting all that happens as coming from the source he himself came from, and awaiting death cheerfully as a dissolution of elements, which is according to nature.
Chapter 22
What five ways does the soul do violence to itself?
The soul harms itself by: becoming an abscess or tumor on the universe through vexation at what happens; turning away from a man or intending to injure him, as angry souls do; being overpowered by pleasure or pain; playing a part by acting or speaking insincerely; and acting without aim or thoughtlessly, since even small things should reference an end.
Chapter 22
Why does Marcus say the longest and shortest lives lose the same?
The author argues that no man loses any life other than the one he now lives, nor lives any other than the one he now loses. The present is the same to all, and a man cannot lose the past or future since he does not have them. So the longest liver and the soonest to die lose just the same: only the present.
Chapter 22
Why must we make haste, beyond being daily nearer to death?
The author argues that the understanding and the power of contemplation cease before life does. If a man falls into dotage, nutrition, imagination, and appetite remain, but the power of using oneself, fulfilling duty, separating appearances, and judging whether to depart from life is already extinguished. So we must hasten because comprehension of things ceases first.
Chapter 22
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According to Marcus Aurelius, what makes split bread, gaping figs, and overripe olives beautiful?
The author argues that things which follow as consequences of nature's processes can be pleasing and attractive, even when they seem contrary to art or near decay. The split crust of baked bread, the opening of ripe figs, and the near-rottenness of ripe olives add a peculiar beauty. He says a person with deeper insight into nature's works will find hardly any consequence displeasing.
Chapter 23
What examples does Marcus give of great men and thinkers dying ordinary or humiliating deaths?
Hippocrates cured many diseases but fell sick and died. The Chaldaei foretold others' deaths and fate caught them too. Alexander, Pompeius, and Caius Caesar destroyed cities and armies but departed life at last. Heraclitus, who speculated on the conflagration of the universe, died filled with water and smeared with mud; lice destroyed Democritus and lice killed Socrates.
Chapter 23
How does Marcus describe the ideal state of a person's mind and thoughts?
The author argues one should not waste life thinking about others unless it serves common utility. He advises checking purposeless and over-curious thoughts, so that if suddenly asked what one is thinking, one could answer openly. Such a person is like a priest of the gods, uncontaminated by pleasure, unharmed by pain, dyed deep with justice, and accepting whatever is assigned as his portion.
Chapter 23
What does Marcus say one should do if one finds something better than one's own rational mind?
He says if you find anything better than justice, truth, temperance, fortitude, and your mind's self-satisfaction according to right reason, turn to it with all your soul. But if nothing is better than the Deity planted within you, give place to nothing else, since praise, power, or pleasure will otherwise carry you away. Choose the better simply and freely, testing whether it is useful to you as a rational being.
Chapter 23
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According to Marcus, what must one never value as profitable to oneself?
The author argues one should never value anything as profitable that compels breaking a promise, losing self-respect, hating any man, suspecting, cursing, acting the hypocrite, or desiring anything needing walls and curtains. Whoever prefers his own intelligence and daemon acts no tragic part, does not groan, needs neither solitude nor much company, and lives without pursuing or fleeing death.
Chapter 24
What does Marcus say about how long each man lives and how long fame lasts?
Marcus says each man lives only the present time, an indivisible point; all the rest of life is either past or uncertain. Life is short, the nook of earth where one lives is small, and even the longest posthumous fame is short, continued only by a succession of poor human beings who will soon die and who know not even themselves, much less the one who died long ago.
Chapter 24
What method does Marcus recommend for examining each object presented to you?
Marcus advises making a definition or description of the thing presented, seeing distinctly what kind of thing it is in substance, in its nudity, in complete entirety, naming it and its components and what it resolves into. Nothing produces elevation of mind more than examining methodically every object, seeing what kind of universe it belongs to, its use and value to the whole and to man, how long it endures, and what virtue is needed.
Chapter 24
What does Marcus say is peculiar to the good man, given body, soul, and intelligence?
Sensation belongs to the body, appetites to the soul, principles to the intelligence. Receiving impressions of forms belongs even to animals; being pulled by desire belongs to wild beasts, to men who made themselves into women, and to a Phalaris and a Nero; guiding intelligence toward apparent goods belongs also to atheists, traitors, and those doing impure deeds behind closed doors. Peculiar to the good man is being pleased with what happens and the thread spun for him.
Chapter 24
Section 254 cards
According to Marcus Aurelius, where can a person find the best retreat?
The author argues that men seek retreats in the country, at sea-shores, and in mountains, but this is a mark of the most common sort of men. He affirms that a man retires with more quiet and freedom from trouble into his own soul, and that tranquillity is nothing else than the good ordering of the mind. He advises constantly giving oneself this retreat and renewing oneself.
Chapter 25
What two reminders does Marcus say are readiest to hand for the soul?
The author says one is that things do not touch the soul, for they are external and remain immovable; our perturbations come only from the opinion within. The other is that all visible things change immediately and will no longer be, and one should recall how many such changes one has already witnessed. He concludes that the universe is transformation and life is opinion.
Chapter 25
How does Marcus argue that the world is in a manner a state?
He reasons that if our intellectual part is common, then reason is common; if reason is common, so is the reason commanding what to do and not do; then there is a common law, so we are fellow-citizens, members of some political community, and the world is in a manner a state. He asks from what other community the whole human race could be members.
Chapter 25
What does Marcus say about removing the complaint of harm?
The author states: take away thy opinion, and then there is taken away the complaint "I have been harmed." Take away the complaint "I have been harmed," and the harm is taken away. He also says that which does not make a man worse than he was does not make his life worse, nor harm him from without or within.
Chapter 25
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According to Marcus Aurelius, what two rules should a man always have ready?
The author says a man should keep two rules ready: first, to do only what the reason of the ruling and legislating faculty suggests for the use of men; second, to change his opinion when someone sets him right. But this change must come from persuasion about what is just or of common advantage, not because it seems pleasant or brings reputation.
Chapter 26
What does Marcus Aurelius say about the relationship between beauty and praise?
The author argues that everything beautiful is beautiful in itself and terminates in itself, not having praise as part of it. A thing is neither worse nor better for being praised. He affirms this even of material things and works of art, saying the truly beautiful needs nothing, like law, truth, benevolence, or modesty. An emerald is not made worse by lacking praise.
Chapter 26
How does Marcus Aurelius answer the objection that the air cannot contain souls from eternity?
He compares souls to buried bodies: just as the mutation and dissolution of bodies make room for other dead bodies, so souls removed into the air, after subsisting for some time, are transmuted and diffused, taking on a fiery nature by being received into the seminal intelligence of the universe, thus making room for fresh souls. He notes this answers the hypothesis that souls continue to exist.
Chapter 26
What does Marcus Aurelius say about unnecessary actions and thoughts?
The author says that since most of what we say and do is unnecessary, removing it brings more leisure and less uneasiness. On every occasion a man should ask himself whether something is unnecessary. He adds that one should remove not only unnecessary acts but also unnecessary thoughts, for thus superfluous acts will not follow after.
Chapter 26
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According to Marcus, where does evil reside, and how is it neutralized?
Marcus argues evil does not subsist in another person's ruling principle nor in changes to the body. It lies in the part of oneself that forms opinions about evils. If that power stops judging things as evil, all is well—even if the body is cut, burnt, or diseased, since what happens equally to good and bad is neither according to nor contrary to nature.
Chapter 27
What does Marcus say we should seriously pursue, given that even eternal remembrance is nothing?
Marcus argues that fame and remembrance are worthless: names once famed become antiquated and oblivion buries them. Since even eternal remembrance is a mere nothing, the one thing worth serious effort is thoughts just, acts social, words that never lie, and a disposition that gladly accepts all that happens as necessary and as flowing from the same source.
Chapter 27
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In section 47, what does the author say about the difference between dying tomorrow and after many years?
The author argues that if a god told you that you would die tomorrow or the day after, you would not care much about the difference unless you were extremely mean-spirited, since the interval is so small. He concludes that dying after as many years as you can name is no great thing compared with dying tomorrow.
Chapter 28
In section 48, which examples does the author list to show that all human things are ephemeral?
The author lists dead physicians, astrologers who predicted others' deaths, philosophers who discoursed on death, heroes who killed thousands, and tyrants who wielded power as if immortal. He adds dead cities such as Helice, Pompeii, and Herculaneum, and people he knew who buried others and were then buried themselves. He concludes that what was yesterday mucus will tomorrow be a mummy or ashes.
Chapter 28
In section 49, how does the author reframe the complaint 'Unhappy am I because this has happened to me'?
The author argues that one should instead say, 'happy am I, though this has happened to me, because I continue free from pain,' neither crushed by the present nor fearing the future. He notes that such a thing could happen to every man, but not every man would remain free from pain. He concludes that to bear it nobly is good fortune, not misfortune.
Chapter 28
In section 5, what argument does the author use against staying in bed in the morning?
The author argues that you rise to do the work of a human being, for which you exist and were brought into the world. He points to plants, birds, ants, spiders, and bees working to order their parts of the universe, and asks whether you are unwilling to do human work. He grants that rest is necessary but says nature has fixed bounds to it, as to eating and drinking.
Chapter 28
Section 294 cards
What qualities does the author say are within our power to show?
The author lists sincerity, gravity, endurance of labor, aversion to pleasure, contentment with one's portion and with few things, benevolence, frankness, no love of superfluity, freedom from trifling, and magnanimity. He argues these need no natural talent, so failing to show them is voluntary, not a matter of natural incapacity.
Chapter 29
How does the author describe the person who does a good act without calling attention to it?
He compares such a person to a vine that produces grapes and seeks nothing more, or a horse after running, a dog after catching game, a bee after making honey. The person goes on to another good act without demanding spectators. The author then qualifies this: it is characteristic of the social animal to perceive it is acting socially.
Chapter 29
What Athenian prayer does the author praise as a model?
The prayer: 'Rain, rain, O dear Zeus, down on the ploughed fields of the Athenians and on the plains.' The author says we ought either not to pray at all, or to pray in this simple and noble fashion.
Chapter 29
How does the author compare universal necessity to a doctor's prescription?
Just as Aesculapius prescribed horse-exercise, cold bathing, or going without shoes for health, so the nature of the universe 'prescribes' disease, mutilation, or loss. Such things are fitted to each person like squared stones in a wall. The author argues we should accept even disagreeable events because they lead to the health of the universe.
Chapter 29
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What two principles does Marcus say a man should rest in while awaiting dissolution?
The author urges comforting oneself and waiting for natural dissolution without vexation, resting only on two principles: that nothing will happen to him which is not conformable to the nature of the universe, and that it is in his power never to act contrary to his god and daemon, since no man can compel him to do so.
Chapter 30
According to section 16, how is the soul affected by habitual thoughts?
The author argues the soul is dyed by the thoughts, so the character of the mind matches one's habitual thoughts. He advises dyeing it with a continuous series of thoughts, such as that where a man can live he can also live well—even in a palace. He adds that the good for the reasonable animal is society, since we are made for society.
Chapter 30
What does Marcus say about whether external things can move the soul?
The author states that things themselves do not touch the soul in the least degree, have no admission to it, and cannot turn or move it. Rather, the soul turns and moves itself alone, and whatever judgments it thinks proper to make, it makes for itself regarding the things that present themselves to it.
Chapter 30
How does Marcus argue that external goods do not belong to man as man?
The author argues nothing should be called a man's which does not belong to man as man: such things are not required of him, not promised by his nature, and not means to his end. If they did belong to him, despising them would be wrong; but in fact the more a man deprives himself of them or endures their loss patiently, the better he is.
Chapter 30
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According to Marcus, what rule should be applied to every appearance of harm?
Marcus advises applying this rule to every appearance of harm: if the state is not harmed by a thing, then neither is the individual harmed. But if the state is harmed, one must not be angry with the person who harms it; instead, one should show him where his error lies.
Chapter 31
How does Marcus describe the ruling part's proper response to bodily pleasure and pain?
Marcus says the leading and governing part of the soul should stay undisturbed by movements in the flesh, whether pleasure or pain, not uniting with them but limiting those affects to their parts. When sensations rise to the mind through natural bodily sympathy, one should not resist the sensation, but the ruling part must not add the opinion that it is good or bad.
Chapter 31
What does Marcus say about being angry at someone whose body or mouth smells foul?
Marcus asks what good anger does against a person whose armpits or mouth smell foul, since such emanations necessarily come from such things. If the man has reason and could discover his fault, Marcus says to stir up his rational faculty, show him his error, and admonish him; if he listens, you cure him and anger is unnecessary.
Chapter 31
What does Marcus say one should do until the end comes, whether extinction or removal?
Marcus says that until the end comes, what is sufficient is to venerate and bless the gods, do good to men, and practise tolerance and self-restraint. Everything beyond the limits of the poor flesh and breath should be remembered as neither one's own nor in one's power.
Chapter 31
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What two things does the Stoic precept 'anechou kai apechou' teach?
The chapter explains that the precept has two parts: the first teaches us to be content with men and things as they are, and the second teaches the virtue of self-restraint, or the government of our passions. Together they form a single Stoic discipline of acceptance and inner control.
Chapter 32
How does Marcus advise viewing fine food and purple robes?
He urges stripping away the flattering words: meat is the dead body of a fish, bird, or pig; Falernian wine is grape-juice; a purple robe is sheep's wool dyed with shellfish blood. We should lay bare things that seem most worthy of approval and see their worthlessness, since outward show perverts the reason.
Chapter 32
What does Marcus compare the court and philosophy to, and why return to philosophy?
He compares them to a step-mother and a mother: one should be dutiful to the step-mother but constantly return to the mother. So with the court and philosophy—return frequently to philosophy and repose in her, through whom what you meet at court appears tolerable, and you appear tolerable at court.
Chapter 32
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According to Marcus Aurelius, what alone is truly worth valuing, once fame is rejected?
The author argues that fame is merely a "clapping of tongues" and worthless. What remains worth valuing is moving and restraining oneself in conformity to one's proper constitution, the end toward which all arts and employments aim. If this is well done, one will not seek anything else, and will be free, self-sufficient, and without passion.
Chapter 33
How does Marcus say one should respond to those who injure us, using the gymnasium analogy?
He compares such people to opponents in gymnastic exercises who scratch or wound us: we show no vexation, are not offended, and do not suspect them afterward as treacherous. We stay on guard but quietly get out of their way, not as from an enemy. He says we should similarly overlook many things and avoid suspicion and hatred, since getting out of the way is in our power.
Chapter 33
What does Marcus say about being praised by posterity versus by contemporaries?
He calls it strange that men will not praise those living at the same time and with themselves, yet value highly being praised by posterity whom they have never seen and never will see. He compares this to grieving because those who lived before you did not praise you—an equally absurd expectation.
Chapter 33
How does Marcus respond to the claim that others do wrong by pursuing what seems profitable to them?
He says it is cruel not to allow men to strive after what appears to them suitable and profitable to their nature. When you are vexed because they do wrong, you in a manner do not allow it. Yet they are mistaken, since those things are not truly profitable. The remedy is to teach and show them the truth without being angry.
Chapter 33
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According to Marcus Aurelius, what does death cease?
Death is a cessation of the impressions through the senses, of the pulling of the strings which move the appetites, of the discursive movements of the thoughts, and of the service to the flesh. The author frames death as the end of sensory impression, appetite, thought, and bodily service rather than as something to be feared.
Chapter 34
What does the author warn against becoming, and what virtues should one keep?
The author warns: take care that thou art not made into a Caesar, that thou art not dyed with this dye. Instead keep thyself simple, good, pure, serious, free from affectation, a friend of justice, a worshipper of the gods, kind, affectionate, and strenuous in all proper acts. He adds that life is short and its only fruit is a pious disposition and social acts.
Chapter 34
How does the author describe the relation of harmful things to the whole?
The author argues that Asia and Europe are corners of the universe, the sea a drop, Athos a clod, and all present time a point in eternity. All things come from the universal ruling power, either directly or by sequence. The lion's jaws, poison, thorns, and mud are after-products of the grand and beautiful, not of another kind.
Chapter 34
Why does judging only what is in our power as good or evil matter?
The author argues that if we suppose things outside our power to be good or evil, then when such a bad thing befalls us or a good thing is lost, we will blame the gods and hate the men who caused or seem likely to cause it. But if we judge only what is in our power to be good or bad, no reason remains for finding fault with God or being hostile to man.
Chapter 34
Section 354 cards
According to Marcus, how do all people cooperate toward one end, even unwillingly?
The author argues all people work together toward one end, some with knowledge and design, others without knowing what they do—like sleepers whom Heraclitus calls laborers and co-operators in the universe. Even those who find fault with events or try to oppose and hinder them cooperate abundantly, since the universe needs such men too. One should understand among what kind of workmen one places oneself.
Chapter 35
What does Marcus say about the gods' determination and his own self-determination?
The author argues that if the gods determined all things, they determined well, since a deity without forethought is hard to imagine and they would not wish him harm. If they determined only the whole, he should accept what follows with pleasure. If they determine nothing—wicked to believe—then he can determine about himself, and what is useful is what conforms to his rational and social nature.
Chapter 35
How does Marcus use the amphitheatre to describe the weariness of life?
The author argues that just as in the amphitheatre and similar places the continual sight of the same things and their uniformity make the spectacle wearisome, so it is in the whole of life: all things above and below are the same and from the same. He then asks, 'How long then?'—suggesting the repetition itself is grounds for turning away.
Chapter 35
What does Marcus say is worth a great deal when contemplating the dead?
The author argues one should think continually that all kinds of men, pursuits, and nations are dead—orators, philosophers like Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Socrates, heroes, generals, tyrants, and men of acute talent such as Eudoxus, Hipparchus, and Archimedes—all long in the dust. What harm is this to them or to the unknown? One thing is worth a great deal: to pass life in truth and justice, with a benevolent disposition even to liars and unjust men.
Chapter 35
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According to Marcus, what is badness and how should one regard it when it happens?
Marcus says badness is that which you have often seen. On every occasion, keep in mind that what happens is what you have often seen. Everywhere you find the same things filling old histories, cities, and houses. Nothing is new; all things are both familiar and short-lived.
Chapter 36
How does Marcus describe the relationship between the ruling faculty and external things?
The author argues the ruling faculty does not disturb itself, frighten itself, or cause itself pain. External things have no relation to the mind. The soul has the power of forming opinions about fear and pain and will suffer nothing if it does not deviate into such a judgment. The leading principle wants nothing unless it makes a want for itself.
Chapter 36
What does Marcus say about being helped by others, using the soldier analogy?
Marcus says be not ashamed to be helped, for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. If you are lame and cannot mount the battlements alone, it is possible with another's help. He also says if your understanding is insufficient, either retire in favor of someone better or do it as well as you can with help.
Chapter 36
How does Marcus use the emerald and gold analogy to describe responding to others?
Marcus says whatever anyone does or says, he must be good, just as gold, emerald, or purple would always say this. Whatever anyone does or says, he must remain emerald and keep his color. The point is constancy of one's own character regardless of others' conduct.
Chapter 36
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According to Marcus Aurelius, why is it natural for a person to love those who do wrong?
The author argues it is peculiar to man to love even wrongdoers, which happens if one reflects that they are kinsmen, that they err through ignorance and unintentionally, that both will soon die, and above all that the wrongdoer has done no real harm—he has not made one's ruling faculty worse than before.
Chapter 37
How does Marcus Aurelius advise handling pain that is either intolerable or long-lasting?
The author argues intolerable pain carries us off, while pain that lasts long is tolerable; the mind maintains its tranquillity by retiring into itself, and the ruling faculty is not made worse. The parts harmed by pain, he adds, may give their own opinion about it if they can.
Chapter 37
What counsel does Marcus Aurelius give about dwelling on what one lacks versus what one has?
The author advises thinking less about what you lack and more about what you have, selecting the best of your possessions and reflecting how eagerly they would be sought if absent. He adds a caution: do not become so pleased with them as to overvalue them and be disturbed if you should ever lose them.
Chapter 37
How does Marcus Aurelius suggest one should react immediately after someone has wronged them?
The author advises immediately considering the wrongdoer's opinion about good and evil. Once seen, you will pity him and neither wonder nor be angry—either you think the same things good, in which case pardon him, or you do not, in which case you will more readily be well disposed to one who is in error.
Chapter 37
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According to Marcus, how does contemplating the stars and elemental change affect a person?
Marcus advises looking at the courses of the stars as if traveling along with them, and constantly considering how the elements change into one another. He claims such thoughts 'purge away the filth of the terrene life,' meaning that this cosmic perspective cleanses the mind of what drags it down to earthly concerns.
Chapter 38
What does Marcus say about comparing forty years of human life to ten thousand?
Marcus argues that contemplating the past's great changes of political supremacy lets one foresee the future, since it will take like form and cannot deviate from the present order. Therefore, he concludes, to have contemplated human life for forty years is the same as for ten thousand years, because there is nothing more to see.
Chapter 38
What three things does Marcus identify in the rational constitution of man?
Marcus says the prime principle in man's constitution is the social. The second is not to yield to the persuasions of the body, since the rational and intelligent motion circumscribes itself and is not overpowered by senses or appetites. The third is freedom from error and from deception; the ruling principle holding fast to these goes straight on.
Chapter 38
How does Marcus compare the art of life to wrestling rather than dancing?
Marcus says the art of life is more like the wrestler's art than the dancer's, because it should stand ready and firm to meet onsets which are sudden and unexpected. Dancing suggests smooth, planned movement; wrestling requires readiness for unpredictable attacks, which fits a life that must respond to whatever happens.
Chapter 38
Section 394 cards
Why should we be gentle toward those who do wrong, according to the philosopher?
The philosopher says every soul is involuntarily deprived of truth, and therefore also of justice, temperance, benevolence, and everything of the kind. Marcus Aurelius says it is most necessary to bear this constantly in mind, for thus one will be more gentle towards all.
Chapter 39
What two aids does Marcus offer for enduring pain?
He says to remember that pain brings no dishonor and does not make the governing intelligence worse, whether as rational or as social. He also cites Epicurus: pain is neither intolerable nor everlasting if one recalls it has limits and adds nothing to it in imagination, noting that drowsiness, heat, and lack of appetite are disagreeable but not pain.
Chapter 39
Why does Marcus say Socrates' death and endurance are not enough to judge him?
He argues it is not enough that Socrates died nobly, disputed skilfully with the sophists, endured cold, refused to arrest Leon of Salamis, and walked swaggeringly—which Marcus doubts. We should inquire what kind of soul Socrates had: whether he was just and pious, not vexed by men's villainy, not enslaved to ignorance, and not letting his understanding sympathize with the flesh.
Chapter 39
What does Marcus say about the power to live free from compulsion?
He says it is in your power to live free from all compulsion in the greatest tranquillity of mind, even if the whole world cries out against you or wild beasts tear apart the body around you. Nothing hinders the mind from keeping tranquillity, judging things rightly, and using what is presented as material for rational and social virtue.
Chapter 39
Section 403 cards
How does the commentator explain Marcus Aurelius's view of the universe's continuity?
The commentator argues that Antoninus assumes the universe was made by a sufficient power and that all change occurs by virtue of its original constitution. The universe is one continuous identity, like a man who changes in body and thought yet remains himself. There is no real discontinuity, and time is an idea derived from our notion of succession, not something belonging to an infinite intelligence.
Chapter 40
What does the commentator say happens if the second hypothesis is accepted?
The commentator explains that if the first hypothesis is rejected, the second concludes that the chief things toward which the ruling power directs its movement are governed by no rational principle. He argues this cannot be reconciled with a supreme power, since it would mean the power that made the universe does not govern it still. Tranquillity comes from rejecting the second hypothesis and accepting the first.
Chapter 40
What does Marcus Aurelius say about the desire for empty fame?
The author argues that it is no longer in your power to have lived your whole life, or from youth, like a philosopher, and that this is plain to others and to yourself. He advises throwing away the thought of how you seem to others and being content to live the rest of life as your nature wills, since happiness lies in doing what man's nature requires.
Chapter 40
Section 411 cards
What does Marcus say about changing one's opinion after being corrected?
He says that to change your opinion and follow someone who corrects your error is as consistent with freedom as persisting in error. The activity is still your own, exerted according to your own movement, judgment, and understanding. So correction does not compromise freedom; it remains a self-directed act.
Chapter 41
Section 424 cards
What does Marcus Aurelius say about the nature of pain and the soul?
The author argues pain is either an evil to the body, in which case the body should judge it, or to the soul. But the soul can maintain its own serenity and tranquillity and refuse to think pain is an evil, since every judgment, movement, desire, and aversion is within, and no evil ascends so high.
Chapter 42
How does Marcus Aurelius describe the relation between a person and the whole?
He compares a person who is not content with what happens and separates himself from others to a hand, foot, or head cut off from the body. Yet he says there is a beautiful provision: unlike any other severed part, a man has the power to reunite himself with the universal, and God allowed this to man alone.
Chapter 42
What does Marcus Aurelius advise about not being disturbed by the whole of life?
He advises not to let thoughts embrace all the troubles one may expect. Instead, on each occasion ask what in this is intolerable and past bearing, and you will be ashamed to confess. He adds that neither future nor past pains you, only the present, which is reduced to very little if you circumscribe it and chide your mind for failing to hold out.
Chapter 42
What does Marcus Aurelius say about hindrances to action?
He says if every act does its duty as far as possible, be content, and no one can prevent each act from doing its duty. If something external hinders action, one should acquiesce and transfer effort to what is allowed. He argues the rational animal, like universal nature, can make every hindrance its own material and use it for its designed purposes.
Chapter 42
Section 434 cards
What does the author identify as the virtue opposed to love of pleasure?
In the constitution of the rational animal, the author sees no virtue opposed to justice, but does see one virtue opposed to love of pleasure: temperance. He argues this by distinguishing between virtues and their opposing vices within rational nature.
Chapter 43
According to section 47, what disturbs a person pained by external things?
The author argues it is not the external thing itself that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. He says it is in your power to wipe out this judgment immediately. If instead your own disposition pains you, you can correct your opinion; and if an insuperable obstacle blocks right action, do not grieve, since the cause is not yours.
Chapter 43
What does the author mean by calling the passion-free mind a citadel?
The author argues the ruling faculty is invincible when self-collected and satisfied with itself, doing nothing it does not choose. When aided by reason and deliberate judgment, it is even stronger. Therefore the mind free from passions is a citadel, a secure refuge man can fly to and remain inexpugnable. He who has not seen this is ignorant; he who has seen it and does not flee there is unhappy.
Chapter 43
What does the author advise about adding to first appearances?
The author advises saying nothing more to yourself than what the first appearances report. If told someone speaks ill of you, that has been reported, but not that you have been injured. If you see your child is sick, that you see, but not that he is in danger. Abide by first appearances and add nothing from within; or rather add as one who knows all that happens in the world.
Chapter 43
Section 444 cards
In the spring analogy, how does a pure spring respond to curses and filth?
The spring never stops sending up potable water; if clay or filth is cast in, it quickly disperses and washes it out and is not polluted at all. Marcus uses this to show the mind can stay pure, wise, sober, and just despite being killed, cut in pieces, or cursed. One keeps such a perpetual fountain by forming oneself hourly to freedom with contentment, simplicity, and modesty.
Chapter 44
Why does Marcus call acting unjustly and lying impiety toward the universal nature?
Universal nature made rational animals for one another, to help according to deserts and never to injure. Whoever transgresses this will is guilty of impiety toward the highest divinity. Liars are also impious: universal nature is named truth and is the prime cause of true things. The intentional liar acts unjustly by deceiving; the unintentional liar fights the world's nature, lacking the power to distinguish falsehood from truth.
Chapter 44
What does Marcus say about fearing death, and about the harm of wickedness?
Whoever fears death fears either loss of sensation or a different kind of sensation. With no sensation, no harm is felt; with another kind, one becomes a different kind of living being and does not cease to live. On wickedness: it harms neither the universe nor another person, only the one who has it and can be released from it whenever he chooses. Neighbor's free will is as indifferent to mine as his breath and flesh.
Chapter 44
How does the sunbeam analogy describe how the understanding should diffuse?
The sun seems poured down and diffused in all directions yet is not effused; its rays are 'extensions.' Light passing through a narrow opening into a darkened room travels in a right line and is divided by a solid obstacle, but remains fixed and does not glide or fall off. So the understanding's outpouring should be extension, not effusion, making no violent collision with obstacles, not falling down but fixed, enlightening what receives it.
Chapter 44
Section 464 cards
According to Marcus Aurelius, where does trouble actually reside?
The author argues that trouble is not outside a person but within, located in one's own opinions. He illustrates this by saying he has "cast out all trouble" because it was internal rather than external. This reflects the Stoic view that disturbances arise from the ruling faculty's judgments about events, not from the events themselves.
Chapter 46
What does Marcus say is the proper aim of a person's labor?
He advises not to labor as one who is wretched, nor as one seeking pity or admiration. Instead, one should direct the will to a single thing: to set oneself in motion or check oneself as the social reason requires. The good and evil of the rational social animal lie in activity, not passivity, as Cicero's citation on virtue supports.
Chapter 46
How should one respond to another person's wrongful act?
The author states it is one's duty to leave another man's wrongful act there where it is, rather than taking it up as one's own burden. Earlier in the section he adds that if able, one should correct wrongdoers by teaching; if not, one should remember that indulgence is granted for this purpose, and the gods too are indulgent to such persons.
Chapter 46
Why does Marcus say the end of life should not be feared?
He argues that termination of activity and cessation of movement and opinion is no evil, comparing it to the many changes already experienced. Reflecting on life as child, youth, manhood, and old age, he notes each change was a kind of death, and asks whether these were anything to fear—concluding the end of one's whole life is likewise nothing to fear.
Chapter 46
Section 474 cards
According to Marcus, what should one pray for instead of asking the gods to change outcomes?
The author argues people should pray for the faculty of not fearing what they fear, not desiring what they desire, and not being pained by anything, rather than praying that events happen or not. He gives examples: pray not to desire the woman, not to desire release, and not to fear losing one's son. He says the gods may aid us even in things within our power.
Chapter 47
How does Marcus argue against the complaint that all things are bad?
Marcus states that loss is nothing but change, and universal nature delights in change; in obedience to her all things are done well, have been so from eternity, and will be so without end. He then asks whether one will claim all things have always been and always will be bad, with no power among so many gods to rectify them.
Chapter 47
What does Marcus say about reputation and posthumous fame?
Looking down from above on countless people, Marcus observes that many do not know your name and many will soon forget it; those now praising you will very soon blame you. He concludes that neither a posthumous name nor reputation nor anything else is of any value.
Chapter 47
How does Marcus use Epicurus's behavior during illness as an example?
Marcus reports that Epicurus, in sickness, did not converse about bodily sufferings with visitors but continued discoursing on the nature of things, keeping to how the mind stays free from perturbations and maintains its proper good while sharing the flesh's movements. He did not give physicians a chance to look solemn, and his life went on well and happily. Marcus urges doing the same in sickness and other circumstances.
Chapter 47
Section 484 cards
How does Marcus Aurelius advise reacting to shameless or faithless people?
The author argues one should remind oneself that shameless, knavish, and faithless people must necessarily exist in the world, so demanding otherwise is requiring the impossible. This recognition makes one more kindly disposed toward each individual. He adds that nature gives humans virtues to counter each wrongful act, that erring men miss their object, and that no one can make your mind worse—only your own mind holds what harms you.
Chapter 48
According to the chapter, why is blaming a faithless or ungrateful man really a fault in yourself?
The author argues the fault is manifestly your own: either you trusted that a man of such disposition would keep his promise, or when conferring kindness you did not do it absolutely, nor in a way that gave you all the profit from the act itself. He compares this to an eye demanding reward for seeing—benevolence is what man is formed for, and doing it is already getting what is his own.
Chapter 48
What test does the chapter give for whether an event should be complained about?
Everything that happens either happens in a way you are formed by nature to bear, or in a way you are not. If bearable, do not complain but bear it as your nature allows. If unbearable, do not complain, for it will perish after consuming you. The author adds that you are formed to bear anything whose endurance depends on your own opinion—by thinking it is either your interest or your duty.
Chapter 48
How does the chapter describe the good life for a rational, social animal?
The author argues that since one is a part of the whole governed by nature and intimately related to kindred parts, one should be content with whatever is assigned and do nothing unsocial, directing efforts to the common interest. He compares this to a happy citizen who acts for fellow-citizens' advantage and accepts what the state assigns. He also urges the soul to be good, simple, and satisfied with the present, seeing all as coming from the gods.
Chapter 48
Section 494 cards
According to Marcus, what must necessarily happen to the parts of the whole in the universe?
The parts of the whole comprehended in the universe must of necessity perish, but this should be understood as undergoing change, not annihilation. Marcus argues it would be incredible that Nature designed evil for her own parts or that such results happened without her knowing. Dissolution returns things into their constituent elements or into the universal reason.
Chapter 49
What does Marcus say about the solid and airy parts belonging to a person from birth?
Marcus says not to imagine the solid and airy parts belong to you from the time of generation. All this received accretion only yesterday and the day before, so to speak, from food and inspired air. What changes is this accretion, not what your mother brought forth; the essential part of man remains unaffected by such change.
Chapter 49
Which names does Marcus urge a person to assume and guard, and what does each mean?
Marcus lists good, modest, true, rational, a man of equanimity, and magnanimous. Rational signifies discriminating attention to each thing and freedom from negligence; Equanimity is voluntary acceptance of what common nature assigns; Magnanimity is elevating the intelligent part above fleshly pleasure and pain, fame, and death. If lost, return to them quickly.
Chapter 49
What does Marcus compare continuing a defiled life to, and what alternative does he offer?
Marcus compares it to half-devoured fighters with wild beasts who, covered with wounds and gore, still beg to be kept for the next day's claws and bites. He urges fixing oneself in the few names, abiding as if on the islands of the Happy, or else withdrawing courageously to a nook, or departing life simply and freely.
Chapter 49
Section 504 cards
In section 10, what does Marcus compare conquerors to, and on what basis?
Marcus lists creatures proud of their catches—a spider with a fly, a hunter with a hare or boar, a man with Sarmatians—and asks whether these are not robbers if one examines their opinions. The footnote notes Marcus himself warred against the Sarmatians and was, by his own reasoning, a robber like the rest.
Chapter 50
What two things content the man who acquires the contemplative view of universal change?
The author says such a man, having put off the body and seeing he must soon leave everything, gives himself to acting justly in what he now does and is satisfied with what is now assigned to him. He ignores what others say or think of him, lays aside busy pursuits, and desires only to follow God through the law.
Chapter 50
According to section 12, what should one do when the right action is unclear?
Marcus advises: if you see clear, proceed content without turning back; if not, stop and take the best advisers. If obstacles oppose you, proceed according to your powers with due consideration, keeping to what appears just. It is best to reach this object, and if you fail, let the failure be in attempting this.
Chapter 50
What does Marcus mean by 'live as on a mountain' in section 15?
He means it makes no difference whether one lives on a mountain or elsewhere, if one lives everywhere in the world as in a political community. He wants a real man who lives according to nature to be seen; if others cannot endure him, let them kill him, which he says is better than living as men do.
Chapter 50
Section 512 cards
According to Marcus Aurelius, who is a 'runaway' besides the lawbreaker?
The author argues that the law is a master, so breaking the law makes one a runaway. He extends this: whoever is grieved, angry, or afraid is also a runaway, because such a person is dissatisfied with what has been, is, or shall be appointed by the ruler of all things, who is Law and assigns each man what is fit.
Chapter 51
What images does Marcus use to show that reason can pass through all obstacles?
He compares reason to a cylinder, water, and fire, which cannot move everywhere by their own motion because many things check them. Intelligence and reason, however, can go through everything that opposes them, as fire goes upwards and a stone downwards. He adds that obstacles either affect only the body or do no harm unless opinion and the reason itself yield.
Chapter 51
Section 524 cards
According to Marcus, what is the mark of a healthy understanding toward events?
The author argues a healthy understanding, like a healthy eye that sees all visible things without craving only green, should be prepared for everything which happens. To wish only that one's dear children live and that all men praise whatever one does is compared to an eye seeking green things or teeth seeking soft things—a diseased condition.
Chapter 52
How does Marcus say one should depart from life when others wish one gone?
The author argues that even a good man will have some by him at death pleased at what is coming, perhaps relieved as from a schoolmaster. One should depart more contentedly, yet not less kindly disposed, preserving one's own character—friendly, benevolent, mild—separated as from kinsmen without compulsion, not dragged resisting, since this too is according to nature.
Chapter 52
What does Marcus identify as the true self, distinct from the body?
Marcus says the thing which pulls the strings is what is hidden within: the power of persuasion, life, and, if one may say so, man himself. When contemplating oneself one should never include the surrounding vessel and attached instruments, which are like an axe except that they grow to the body, and are useless without the cause that moves and checks them.
Chapter 52
What properties does Marcus ascribe to the rational soul?
Marcus says the rational soul sees and analyzes itself, makes itself as it chooses, enjoys its own fruit, and reaches its own end wherever life is cut short—complete in every part, unlike a dance or play. It traverses the universe and infinity of time, comprehends the periodic renovation of all things, and holds love of neighbor, truth, modesty, and values nothing more than itself, which is also the property of Law.
Chapter 52
Section 534 cards
In the branch analogy, how does a person separate himself from the social whole?
A branch cut off from an adjacent branch is cut off from the whole tree; likewise a man separated from another has fallen from the whole social community. A branch is cut by another, but a man cuts himself off by his own act when he hates his neighbor and turns away, not knowing he has severed himself from the whole social system. Yet Zeus grants the privilege of growing back together.
Chapter 53
How does Marcus say one should respond to being despised or hated?
Let the despiser look to that himself; the emperor says to look instead to not being discovered doing or saying anything deserving contempt. Toward one who hates, be mild and benevolent to every man, ready to show him his mistake—not reproachfully nor as a display of endurance, but nobly and honestly, like Phocion, with the interior seen by the gods as neither dissatisfied nor complaining.
Chapter 53
What does Marcus say about announcing that one intends to act fairly?
He calls it unsound and insincere: there is no occasion to give such notice, for it will soon show itself by acts. The voice ought to be plainly written on the forehead, and character shows immediately in the eyes. The honest and good man should be like one who smells strong, so bystanders notice on approach; affectation of simplicity is like a crooked stick, and false friendship is most disgraceful.
Chapter 53
According to Marcus, how do tragedy and comedy serve a philosophical purpose?
Tragedies were staged to remind men of what happens to them and that such things accord with nature, so one delighted by the stage should not be troubled by the larger stage. Old comedy's free speech warned men against insolence; Diogenes drew on these writers. Middle and new comedy gradually sank into mere mimic artifice, though some good things are still said.
Chapter 53
Section 543 cards
What is the first of the nine rules for when someone offends against you?
Consider your relation to men: we are made for one another, and in another respect he was made to be set over them, like a ram over the flock or a bull over the herd. Examine from first principles: if all things are not mere atoms, nature orders all things, so inferior things exist for superior, and these for one another.
Chapter 54
In the ninth rule, how should one respond to a violent man with a good disposition?
The author argues a genuine good disposition is invincible. One should gently admonish and calmly correct the person's errors as opportunity offers, saying 'Not so, my child: we are constituted by nature for something else,' showing with gentle tact and general principles that even bees and gregarious animals do not act so—affectionately, without rancor, not as if lecturing or seeking bystanders' admiration.
Chapter 54
What tenth present does Marcus add about expecting bad men not to do wrong?
The author argues that to expect bad men not to do wrong is madness, since he who expects this desires an impossibility. But to allow men to behave so to others while expecting them not to wrong you is irrational and tyrannical. This tenth rule comes from Apollo, leader of the Muses, and follows the nine rules given as a gift.
Chapter 54
Section 554 cards
What four aberrations of the superior faculty must one guard against?
The author lists four: unnecessary thoughts, thoughts tending to destroy social union, speech not coming from real thoughts, and reproaching oneself for anything. The last is evidence that the diviner part within is overpowered by the less honorable, perishable body and its gross pleasures.
Chapter 55
How does the intelligent part differ from the elemental parts in obeying the universal?
The author argues the aerial and fiery parts, though naturally upward, are overpowered in the body, and the earthy and watery parts, though downward, are raised up—all obeying the universal until dissolution. Yet the intelligent part alone is disobedient and discontented with its place, though no force is imposed on it, only what conforms to its nature.
Chapter 55
What object in life does the author say one should always pursue?
The author argues that one who lacks a single constant object cannot remain the same throughout life. Since opinions differ about what is good, the object should be of a common, social, and political kind. Whoever directs all efforts to this object makes all his acts alike and so is always the same.
Chapter 55
What does Epictetus say about kissing one's child?
Epictetus said that when a man kisses his child he should whisper to himself, "To-morrow perchance thou wilt die." When told these are words of bad omen, he replied that no word expressing any work of nature is a bad omen—otherwise it would also be a bad omen to speak of the ears of corn being reaped.
Chapter 55
Section 564 cards
According to the chapter, what three things compose a person?
The chapter states a person is composed of three things: a little body, a little breath (life), and intelligence. The first two belong to a person only insofar as it is their duty to care for them, but the third, intelligence, is properly one's own. Separating the ruling faculty from bodily and external attachments lets it live pure, free, just, and truthful.
Chapter 56
What does the chapter say about valuing one's own opinion versus others' opinions?
The author says he has often wondered that every man loves himself more than all other men, yet values his own opinion of himself less than the opinion of others. He claims a man could not endure even a single day if a god or wise teacher told him to think and design nothing he would not openly express, showing how much more we respect neighbors' thoughts than our own.
Chapter 56
How does the chapter respond to the worry that good men are extinguished at death?
The author raises the puzzle of why the gods, having ordered all things benevolently, would let good and pious men be completely extinguished at death. He answers that if it ought to have been otherwise, the gods would have done it: if just, it would be possible; if natural, nature would have it so. Since it is not so, one should be convinced it ought not to be, and not dispute the Deity.
Chapter 56
What does the chapter mean by comparing the application of principles to a pancratiast rather than a gladiator?
The chapter says that in applying one's principles one must be like the pancratiast, not the gladiator. The gladiator lets fall the sword he uses and is killed, while the pancratiast always has his hand and needs to do nothing else than use it. The point is that principles should be kept constantly at hand and used, not dropped in the moment of need.
Chapter 56
Section 574 cards
According to section 14, what three possible accounts of the universe does Marcus consider?
The author presents three alternatives: an invincible necessity and fatal order, a providence that can be propitiated, or a purposeless confusion without a director. He then draws a response from each: do not resist necessity, make yourself worthy of divine help, or be content that you possess within yourself a ruling intelligence that the tempest cannot carry away.
Chapter 57
What does Marcus say about a lamp's light in relation to truth, justice, and temperance?
He asks whether the light of a lamp shines without losing its splendor until it is extinguished, and then asks whether the truth, justice, and temperance within a person should be extinguished before death. The implied answer is that these inner goods should likewise keep shining until the end rather than fail early.
Chapter 57
How does Marcus respond to someone who has apparently done wrong?
He advises asking how you know it is a wrongful act, and even if it is, how you know the person has not already condemned himself. He compares demanding that a bad man not act badly to wanting a fig-tree not to bear juice in its figs, infants not to cry, or a horse not to neigh—things that follow by necessity from the nature in question.
Chapter 57
What three principles does Marcus say a person must keep ready?
First, act nothing inconsiderately or contrary to justice, and treat external events as from chance or providence without blaming either. Second, consider what each being is from seed to soul and back, and what it is compounded of and resolved into. Third, imagine looking down from above on human variety and see sameness of form and shortness of duration, which leaves no grounds for pride.
Chapter 57
Section 583 cards
What does the analogy of the one light of the sun illustrate in section 30?
Marcus argues there is one light of the sun though walls and mountains interrupt it, one common substance though distributed among countless bodies, and one soul though distributed among infinite natures and individuals. He adds that one intelligent soul seems divided, yet intellect combines with what is akin to it and communion is not interrupted.
Chapter 58
How does Marcus use the actor and the praetor to describe death?
He says a man has been a citizen of the great state, the world, and it makes no difference whether for five years or three, since what conforms to the laws is just for all. Death is like a praetor dismissing an actor from the stage. If only three acts are done, the three are the whole drama, since the composer determines completeness; depart satisfied, as the releaser is satisfied.
Chapter 58
What does Marcus say is the safety of life in section 29?
He says the safety of life is to examine everything all through, both its material and its formal part, and with all one's soul to do justice and speak the truth. What remains is to enjoy life by joining one good thing to another so as to leave not even the smallest intervals between.
Chapter 58
Section 594 cards
How does the glossary say eidos is used by Epictetus and Antoninus?
The glossary notes that eidos in divisione formae sunt, the Latin species, but that Epictetus and Antoninus use eidos less exactly, as a general term like genus. The entry cites Index Epict. ed. Schweig and adds an Aristotelian parallel from Categories c. 5 on how primary substances relate to other things and eidos to genos.
Chapter 59
What does the glossary say ousia means, and what translation does it reject?
Ousia is rendered substance, substantia, and the glossary says modern writers sometimes incorrectly translate it as essentia. It notes Epictetus often uses ousia in the same sense as hyle, matter, and cites Aristotle's Categories c. 5 and Porphyrius's Isagoge on ousia as the highest genus, above which nothing stands.
Chapter 59
How does the glossary distinguish orexis, horme, and eklisis?
Orexis is the desire of a thing and is opposed to eklisis, aversion or avoidance, the turning away from things. Horme is a movement towards an object, appetite, glossed with the Latin appetitio, naturalis appetitus, appetitus animi from Cicero. So desire and aversion are paired opposites, while horme is the impulse toward an object.
Chapter 59
What does the glossary say proairesis means, and what are ta proaireta?
Proairesis is glossed as purpose or free will, with a citation to Aristotle's Rhetoric i. 13. Ta proaireta are the things which are within our will or power, and to proairetikon is free will. The related entry prothesis means a purpose or proposition, so the glossary keeps purpose, will, and what falls within our power as linked but distinct terms.
Chapter 59
Section 603 cards
According to the chapter's index, what does Marcus Aurelius say about external things harming a man?
The chapter lists under "External things" that they cannot really harm a man or affect the soul, citing passages including ii. 11, iv. 3, 8, 39, 49, v. 35, vii. 64, viii. 1, 32, 51, ix. 31, and x. 33. The point is attributed to Marcus Aurelius through the index entries.
Chapter 60
What does the chapter say about the relationship between the interests of the whole and the individual?
The index entry "Interests of the whole and the individual identical" cites iv. 23, v. 8, vi. 45, 54, x. 6, 20, 33, and xii. 23. Marcus Aurelius treats the good of the whole and the good of the individual as the same, not competing.
Chapter 60
What does the chapter say about the present time and what a man possesses?
Under "Present time the only thing a man really possesses," the index cites ii. 14, iii. 10, viii. 44, and xii. 3. Marcus Aurelius holds that the present is the only thing a person truly owns, which connects to the chapter's entries on life's shortness and not delaying.
Chapter 60
Section 614 cards
According to the chapter's index, what does Marcus Aurelius say about time?
The chapter lists time compared to a river (iv. 43) and the infinity of time (iv. 3, 50; v. 24; ix. 32; xii. 7, 32). These entries point to passages where the author reflects on time's flow and boundlessness, but the index itself only supplies references, not the arguments.
Chapter 61
What does the chapter say about wrong-doing and its effect on the wrong-doer?
The index lists two related claims: wrong-doing cannot really harm anyone (vii. 22; viii. 55; ix. 42; x. 13; xi. 18), and wrong-doing injures the wrong-doer (iv. 26; ix. 4, 38; xi. 18). It also notes wrong-doing owing to ignorance and that wrong-doing is to be left where it is.
Chapter 61
What does the chapter say about the universe's harmony and the connection of all things?
The index lists the harmony of the universe (iv. 27, 45; v. 8) and the intimate connection and co-operation of all things with one another (ii. 3, 9; iv. 29; v. 8, 30; vi. 38, 42, 43; vii. 9, 19, 68; viii. 7; ix. 1; x. 1). It also states nothing that dies falls out of the universe.
Chapter 61
What does the chapter list regarding self-reliance and tranquillity of soul?
Self-reliance and steadfastness of soul are indexed at iii. 5, iv. 14, 29, 49, v. 3, 34, vi. 44, vii. 12, 15, ix. 28, 29, and xii. 14. Tranquillity of soul appears at iv. 3, vi. 11, vii. 68, and viii. 28. The chapter also lists self-restraint and retiring into the self.
Chapter 61
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