The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius - College of Stoic Philosophers

ix MARCUS AURELIUS 177
given thee by thy reason to suppose that it was likely
that he would commit this error, and yet thou hast for
gotten and art amazed that he has erred. But most of
all when thou blamest a man as faithless or ungrateful,
turn to thyself. For the fault is
manifestly thy own,
whether thou didst trust that a man who had such a
disposition would keep his promise, or when conferring
thy kindness thou didst not confer it absolutely, nor yet
in such way as to have received from thy very act all the
profit. For what more dost thou want when thou hast
done a man a service ? art thou not content that thou
hast done something conformable to thy nature, and
dost thou seek to be paid for it ? just as if the eye de
manded a recompense for seeing, or the feet for walking.
For as these members are formed for a particular purpose,
and by working according to their several constitutions
obtain what is their own ;
so also as man is formed by
nature to acts of benevolence, when he has done anything
benevolent or in any other way conducive to the common
interest, he has acted conformably to his constitution,
and he gets what is his own.