Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself - College of Stoic Philosophers

xii TO HIMSELF 183
The view taken is everything ; and that rests 22
with yourself. Disown the view, at will ; and
behold, the headland rounded, there is calm, still
waters and a waveless bay.
No action whatsoever is the worse for ceasing, 23
when the time for cessation comes : neither is the
author of the action, merely
because his action
ceases. So too with the sum of all our actions,
which is life when the time for cessation comes,
it is none the worse merely because it ceases ; nor
do we impute evil to him, who at the right time
brings the sequence
right time and the limit ;
to an end. Nature sets the
sometimes the individual
nature with its bidding of old age, but in any case
Nature at large, who by constant changes of the
parts keeps
the whole universe ever fresh and
vigorous : and that which is of advantage
to the
universe is ever good and lovely. To the in-
dividual then cessation of life is no evil, for there
is nothing in it demeaning, seeing that it lies
outside our own control and comes not of self-
seeking : and
it is a good, in that to the universe
it is seasonable, serviceable, and subserving other
ends. Thus man becomes a vessel of god, at one
with god in tendency and in intent.