9781945186240

Take Antoninus as your model, always. His energy in doing what was
rational . . . his steadiness in any situation . . . his sense of reverence . . . his
calm expression . . . his gentleness . . . his modesty . . . his eagerness to
grasp things. And how he never let things go before he was sure he had
examined them thoroughly, understood them perfectly . . . the way he put
up with unfair criticism, without returning it . . . how he couldn’t be hurried
. . . how he wouldn’t listen to informers . . . how reliable he was as a judge
of character, and of actions . . . not prone to backbiting, or cowardice, or
jealousy, or empty rhetoric . . . content with the basics—in living quarters,
bedding, clothes, food, servants . . . how hard he worked, how much he put
up with . . . his ability to work straight through till dusk—because of his
simple diet (he didn’t even need to relieve himself, except at set times) . . .
his constancy and reliability as a friend . . . his tolerance of people who
openly questioned his views and his delight at seeing his ideas improved on
. . . his piety—without a trace of superstition . . .
So that when your time comes, your conscience will be as clear as his.
31. Awaken; return to yourself. Now, no longer asleep, knowing they
were only dreams, clear-headed again, treat everything around you as a
dream.
32. I am composed of a body and a soul.
Things that happen to the body are meaningless. It cannot discriminate
among them.
Nothing has meaning to my mind except its own actions. Which are
within its own control. And it’s only the immediate ones that matter. Its past
and future actions too are meaningless.
33. It’s normal to feel pain in your hands and feet, if you’re using your
feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is
normal—if he’s living a normal human life.
And if it’s normal, how can it be bad?
34. Thieves, perverts, parricides, dictators: the kind of pleasures they
enjoy.
35. Have you noticed how professionals will meet the man on the street
halfway but without compromising the logos of their trade? Should we as