The Emperor Marcus Antoninus: His Conversation with Himself/Book 2
BOOK II.
I.REmember to put yourself in mind every Morning, That before Night 'twill be your Luck to meet with some Inquisitive Impertinent, with some ungrateful, and abusive Fellow; with some Knavish, Envious, or unsociable Churl or other. Now all this perverseness in them proceeds from their Ignorance of Good and Evil: And since it's fallen to my share to understand the Natural Beauty of a good Action, and the Deformity of an ill One; since I am satisfied the Person disobliging is of Kin to me, and tho we are not just of the same Flesh and Blood, yet our Minds are nearly related, being both extracted from the Deity; since I am likewise convinc'd that no Man can do me a real injury, because no Man can force me to misbehave my self; For these Reasons, I can't find in my Heart to Hate, or to be Angry with one of my own Nature and Family. For we are all made for mutual Assistance, no less than the Parts of the Body are for the Service of the whole; From whence it follows that Clashing and Opposition is perfectly Unnatural: Now such an unfriendly Disposition is imply'd in Resentment and Aversion.
II. This Being of mine, all that's on't, consists of Body, Breath, and that Part which governs: Now would you examine your whole Composition? Pray then let your Library alone, what need you puzzle your Thoughts, and over-grasp your self? To come to the Enquiry : As for your Carcass, value it no more than if you were just expiring, and taking Leave on't. For what is it in comparison? nothing but a little paltry Blood and Bones; a piece of Network, wrought up with a Company of Nerves, Veins, and Arteries twisted together. In the next place you are to examine what sort of Thing your Breath is: why only a little Air suck'd into your Lungs, and pump'd out again. The third part of your Composition is your Mind, which was made for Government and Authority: Now here make a Stand; consider you are an Old Man : Don't suffer this Noble Part of you under Servitude any longer: Let it not be overborn with Selfish Passions; Let it not quarrel Fate, be uneasy at the Present, or afraid of the Future.
III. Providence shines clearly through the Administration of the World : Even Chance it self is not without Steadiness and Nature at the bottom; being only an Effect of that Chain of Causes which are under a providential Regulation : Indeed all Things flow from this Fountain. Besides, There is Necessity, and General Convenience that Matters should lie as they do; and to speak out, the Interest of the whole World, of which you are a part, is concern'd in't. Now that which is both the Product, and Support of Universal Nature, must by consequence be serviceable to every Part of it: But the World Subsists upon Alteration, and what it loses one way, it gets another; For Generation and Corruption are no more than Terms of Reference, and Respect. Let these Reflections Satisfy you, and make them your Rule to Live by: As for Books, never be over-eager about them: Such a fondness for Reading will be apt to perplex your Mind, and make you Die Unpleas'd: Be sure therefore to Resign willingly, and go off in Good Humour, and heartily thank the Gods for what you have had.
IV. Remember how often you have postpon'd the minding your Interest, and slip'd those Opportunities the Gods have given you. 'Tis now high time to consider what sort of World you are part of, and from what kind of Governour of it you are Descended: That you have a Set Period assign'd you to Act in. And unless you improve it to Brighten and Compose your Thoughts, 'twill quickly run off with you, and be lost beyond Recovery.
V. Take care always to pursue the Business in Hand with Vigour and Application; Remember your self a Man and a Roman; And let the Action be done with all the Dignity and Advantage of Circumstance: Let unaffected Gravity, Humanity, Freedom, and Justice shine through it. And be sure you entertain no Fancys, which may give check to these Qualities. This Task is very practicable if you will but suppose every thing you are upon your Last; If your Appetites and Passions don't cross upon your Reason; If you stand clear of Rashness, and don't complain of your Destiny, and have nothing of Insincerity, and Self-Love to infect you. You see what a few Points a Man has to gain in order to a Happy, and Godlike Way of Living: For he that comes thus far, performs all which the Immortal Powers require of him.
VI. In earnest at this rate of Management thou usest thy self very coarsly;[1] neither hast thou much time left to do right to thy Honour. For Life hurrys off apace: Thine is almost up already; And yet instead of paying a due Regard to thy own Reason, thou hast placed thy Happiness in the Fancies of other Men.
VII. Don't let Accidents disturb, or outward Objects engross your Thoughts, but keep your Mind quiet and unengaged, that you may be at Leisure to learn somewhat that's Good; and don't ramble from one Thing to another. There is likewise another dangerous sort of Roving to be avoided : For some People are Busy and yet do Nothing; They Fatigue and Wear themselves out, and yet drive at no Point, nor propose any general End of Action, or Design.
VIII. A Man can rarely miscarry by being Ignorant of anothers Thoughts, but he that does not attend to his own, is certainly Unhappy.
IX. The Reflections following ought always to be at Hand: To consider well the Nature of the Universe and my own; together with the Communication and Reference betwixt them; And in what degree of Proportion and Quality, I stand with respect to the whole: And that no Mortal can hinder me from Acting, and Speaking suitably to the Condition of my Being.
X. Theophrastus in comparing the Degrees of Faults, (as we commonly speak,[2]) talks like a Philosopher, where he affirms that those Instances of Misbehaviour which proceed from Desire, are greater than those of which Anger was the occasion. For a Man that is Angry seems to quit his Hold unwillingly, to be teaz'd out of his Reason, and start out of Rule before he is aware. But he that runs Riot out of Appetite and Pleasure is sway'd by a Libertine Principle, and appears a more scandalous Offender. The Philosopher therefore was certainly right in pronouncing upon the Difference of the Case. For the first looks like an injured Person, and is vext, and as it were forced into a Passion, whereas the other begins with Inclination, and commits the Fault with a Gust.
XI. Manage all your Actions and Thoughts in such a Manner as if you were just going to step into the Grave; And what great matter is the Business of Dying; if the Gods are in being you can suffer nothing, for they'll do you no Harm : And if they are not, or take no Care of us Mortals; why then I must tell you, that a World without either Gods, or Providence, is not worth a Mans while to live in. But there's no need of this Supposition; The Being of the Gods, and their Concern in Human Affairs is beyond Dispute: And as an Instance of this, They have put it in his Power not to fall into any Calamity properly so called.[3] And if other Misfortunes ( as we count them, ) had been really Evils, they would have provided against them too, and furnish'd them with Capacity to avoid them. And here I would gladly know how that which can't make the Man worse, should make his Life so? To speak clearly, I can never be perswaded that the First Cause can be charg'd with the want of Power, Skill, or Inclination; to take Care of these Matters. Or that Nature should commit such an Error as to suffer things really Good, and Evil to happen promiscuously to Good, and Bad Men. Now Living, and Dying, Honour and Infamy, Pleasure and Pain; Riches and Poverty, all these Things are the common Allotment of the Virtuous, and Disorderly; why so? Because they have nothing of Intrinsick Creditableness, or Scandal in their Nature; And therefore to speak properly, are neither Good, nor Bad.
XII. A Mans Reason will easily convince him how quickly all Corporeal Things Moulder off, and vanish both in Appearance, and Memory; And are neither so much as seen, or talk'd of. The same Faculty will inform him of the Quality and Size of the Objects of Sense, particularly those which Charm us with Pleasure, frighten us with Pain, or are most admir'd upon the Score of Reputation. A little thinking will show a Man how insignificant, despicable, and paultry these Things are, and how soon they wither and go off: 'Twill show one what sort of Bulk those People are off, upon whose Fancy and Good Word, the Being of Fame depends. Thus a Man may examine the Point of Dying, which if once abstracted from the Pomp and Terror of the Idea, 'twill be found nothing more than a pure Natural Action. Now he that dreads the Course of Nature is a Child. Besides there's general Advantage in the Case. [4] Lastly, we should consider how nigh we are Related to the Deity, and in what part of our Being, and what becomes of that Honourable side, when the Composition is broken.
XIII. Nothing can be more unhappy than the Curiosity of that Man that Ranges every where, and digs into the Earth for Discovery; That is wonderfully busy to force a Passage into other Peoples Thoughts, and dive into their Bosom; But does not consider that his own Mind is large enough for Enquiry, and Entertainment. And that the Care and Improvement of himself will afford him sufficient Business. And how is all this to be done? Why by being neither Passionate nor Heedless, nor yet displeas'd upon any account either with the Gods or Men. For as for the Gods their Administration ought to be Revered upon the Score of Excellency, and Station. And as for Men, their Actions should be well taken for the sake of Common Kindred. Besides, They are often to be pitied for their Ignorance of Good and Evil: Which Incapacity of Discerning between Moral Qualities, is a greater Misfortune than that of a Blind Man, who can't distinguish between White and Black.
XIV. Suppose you were to Live Three Thousand, or if you please, three Millions of Years, yet you are to remember that no Man can lose any other Life than that which he lives by, neither is he possess'd of any other than that which he Loses. From whence it follows, that the longest Life, as we commonly speak, and the shortest, come all to the same Reckoning. The Proof lies thus: The Present is of the same Duration every where, and of the same Extent to all People; Every Bodies Loss therefore is of the same Bigness, and reaches no farther than to a Point of Time. For to speak strictly, No Man is capable of losing either the Past, or the Future; For how can any one be deprived of what he has not. So that under this Consideration there are two Notions worth the laying up; One is, that a little while is enough to view the World in; for things are Repeated, and come over again apace : Nature Treads in a Circle, and has much the same Face through the whole Course of Eternity. And therefore it signifies not a Farthing, whether a Man stands gazing here an Hundred, or a Hundred Thousand Years; for all that he gets by it is only to see the same Sights so much the oftener. The other Hint is, that when the longest, and shortest Lived Persons come to die, their Loss is equal: For as I observe the Present is their All, and they can Suffer no Farther.
XV. Monimus the Cynick Philosopher used to say that all Things were but meer Fancy and Opinion; pretending there was no infallible Rule for the Test of Truth and Certainty. Now this rallying Expression may undoubtfully prove serviceable, provided one does not turn Sceptick, and carry it too far.
XVI. There are several Ways of Behaviour by which a Man may sink his Quality, use his Person very scurvily, and 'tis possible without being aware on't. And this in the First place is more remarkably done by murmuring at any thing which Happens. By doing thus, He makes Himself a sort of an Excrescence of the World, breaks off from the Constitution of Nature, and instead of a Limb becomes an Ulcer. Again, He falls under the same Misfortune who hates any Person, or Crosses upon him; with an intention of Mischief, which is the case of the Angry and Revengeful, Thirdly, A Man Lessens and Affronts himself when he is overcome by Pleasure, or Pain: Fourthly, When he makes use of Art, Tricking, and Falshood, in Word, or Action. Fifthly, When he does not know what he would be at in a Business, but runs on without Thought or Design; whereas even the least Undertaking ought to be aim'd at some End : Now the End of Rational Beings is to be Govern'd by the Laws of Nature, and the Interest of the Universe; For these two, are both the oldest, and the best Rules, we can go by.
XVII. The Extent of Human Life is but a Point; Matter is in a perpetual Flux : The Faculties of Sence, and Perception, are Weak, and Unpenetrating : The Body slenderly put together, and but a Remove from Putrefaction : The Soul a rambling sort of a Thing. Fortune and Futurity, are not to be guess'd at; And Fame does not always stand upon Desert, and Judgment. In a Word; That which belongs to the Body streams off like a River; And what the Soul has is but Dream and Bubble: Life, to take it rightly, is no other than a Campaign, or Course of Travels; and Posthumous Fame has little more in't than Silence, and Obscurity. [5] What is it then that will stick by a Man and prove significant? Why, Nothing but Wisdom, and Philosophy. Now the Functions of this Quality consist in keeping the Mind from Injury and Disgrace; superior to Pleasure and Pain, free from Starts and Rambling, without any Varnish of Dissembling, and Knavery, and as to Happiness, Independent of the Motions of another. Farther, Philosophy brings the Mind to take things as they fall, and acquiesce in the Distibutions of Providence; In as much as all Events proceed from the same Cause with it self; and above all to have an easy Prospect of Death, as being nothing more than dissolving the Composition, and taking the Elements to Pieces. Now if the Elements themselves are never the worse for running off into one another; What if they should all Unclasp, and change their Figure? Why should any Man be concern'd at the Consequence? All this is but Nature's Method; now Nature never does any Mischief.
Written at Carnuntum [6]a Town of Pannonia, or Hungary.