Do not allow yourself to be hindered by the harmful actions, judgments, or the words of another, or by the sensations of the flesh which has formed itself around you. To the sacred, so that you welcome what has been given to you, for Nature has brought this to you, and you to it and to justice, in order that you may speak the truth freely and without distortion, and that you may act in accordance with what is lawful and right. That is, if you can let go of the past, entrust the future to Providence and redirect the present according to justice and the sacred. The gods either have power or they have not.“The goal that you hope you will one day arrive at after a long and roundabout journey you are able to possess right now, if only you do not deny it to yourself. Answer (1 of 5): We do know Marcus Aurelius knew something about Christians, for in Book XI of his Meditations are these two observations: Love of one’s neighbor and truth and modesty are a property of the rational soul. If they have not, why pray to them? If they have, then instead of praying to be granted or spared such-and-such a thing, why not rather pray to be delivered from dreading it, or lusting for it, or grieving over it? Clearly, if they can help a man at all, they can help him in this way. You will say, perhaps, ‘But all that is something they have put in my own power.’ Then surely it were better to use your power and be a free man, than to hanker like a slave and a beggar for something that is not in your power. Besides, who told you the gods never lend their aid even towards things that do lie in our own power? Begin praying in this way, and you will see. In short, give your petitions a turn in this direction, and see what comes.” Where another man prays ‘Grant that I may possess this woman,’ let your own prayer be, ‘Grant that I may not lust to possess her.’ Where he prays, ‘Grant me to be rid of such-and-such a one,’ you pray, ‘Take from me my desire to be rid of him.’ Where he begs, ‘Spare me the loss of my precious child,’ beg rather to be delivered from the terror of losing him. Marcus Aurelius was the emperor of Rome from 161-181 A.D., and his writings are a major source for our contemporary understanding of Stoic philosophy. “All that you pray to reach at some point in the circuit of your life can be yours now - if you are generous to yourself. Seeing opportunities, realizing potential. His most famous work, Meditations, wasn’t written to be a published book, though.Instead, it consists of writing that he used for his own self-improvement and guidance. We are a multi-asset manager with activities across Europe. ![]() That is, if you leave all the past behind, entrust the future to Providence,Īnd direct the present solely to reverence and justice. To reverence, so that you come to love your given lot: it was Nature that brought it to you and you to it. To justice, so that you are open and direct in word and action, speaking the truth, observing law and proportion in all you do. You should let nothing stand in your way - not the iniquity of others, not what anyone else thinks or says, still less any sensation of this poor flesh that has accreted round you: the afflicted part must see to its own concern. ![]() If, then, when you finally come close to your exit, you have left all else behind and value only your directing mind and the divinity within you, if your fear is not that you will cease to live, but that you never started a life in accordance with nature, then you will be a man worthy of the universe that gave you birth.
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