The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius - College of Stoic Philosophers

230 MARCUS AURELIUS
this, that he sins against thee ;
for by this handle the
matter will not bear taking hold of. But rather lay
hold of it
by this, that he is thy brother, thy born mate ;
and thou wilt take hold of it
by what will bear handling.
Jesus, asked whether a man is bound to forgive his
brother as often as seven times, answers : I
say not unto
thee, until seven times, but until seventy times seven.
Epictetus here suggests to the reason grounds for forgive
ness of injuries which Jesus does not ;
but it is vain to
say that Epictetus is on that account a better moralist
than Jesus, if the warmth, the emotion, of Jesus s answer
fires his hearer to the practice of forgiveness of injuries,
while the thought in Epictetus
s leaves him cold. So
with Christian morality in general its distinction is not
;
that it
propounds the maxim Thou shalt love God and
thy neighbour, with more development, closer reasoning,
truer sincerity, than other moral systems ;
it is that it
propounds this maxim with an inspiration which wonder
fully catches the hearer and makes him act upon it.
is because Mr. Mill has attained to the perception of
truths of this nature, that he is instead of being, like
the school from which he proceeds, doomed to sterility
a writer of distinguished mark and influence, a writer
deserving all attention and respect ; it is (I must be
pardoned for saying) because he is not sufficiently
leavened with them, that he falls just short of being a
great writer.
That which gives to the moral writings of the Emperor
Marcus Aurelius their peculiar character and charm, is
their being suffused and softened by something of this
very sentiment whence Christian morality draws its best
power. Mr. Long has recently published in a convenient
form a translation of these writings, and has thus enabled
English readers to judge Marcus Aurelius for themselves ;
he has rendered his countrymen a real service by so doing.
Mr. Long s reputation as a scholar is a sufficient guarantee
It