Meditation I

Chapter 11

He is consistent in all reasonable actions, he is just in all things, his piety, his serenity of countenance, his amiability, his despicableness, his search for things; he does not neglect Anything around him, he will examine everything with the utmost care and form the most thorough understanding; he is tolerant of those who blame him indiscriminately, and will not take revenge on them; he has never He does not act hastily; nor does he believe in rumours, and is accurate in his judgment, both in conduct and in character; Satisfied, he never extravagantly asks for shelter, bed, clothes, food, and servants; he is diligent and patient in doing things; he can work until night with a simple diet, and he never allows himself to take time off from his busy schedule except for normal rest periods; Loyal and unfailing to his friends; he tolerated those who opposed him, and cheered those who had better opinions; he was religious, but never superstitious.As long as you follow his example, you can, like him, have a good conscience at the last moment when death comes.

Get back to that sense of waking and wake up your own soul; when you wake yourself up from sleep, you realize that the things that worried you were only in the dream.Now, while you are awake, look at these (things about you) as you look at those (dreams).

I am made up of a tiny body and a soul.To this tiny body, everything makes no difference, because it cannot perceive the difference.But to reason only those things are irrelevant that are not the result of its own activity.Everything in the world is the product of the universe's own behavior, and these things are within the control of the universe.But this is limited to things that are relevant to the present, and they are not at all relevant to future and past mental activities.

Whether you work with your hands or your feet, it does not violate the laws of nature, as long as they perform their duties.Therefore, it is not against the natural nature for people to do their own work, as long as the work is what people should do.And if this work does not violate human nature at all, then it will not cause any harm to human beings.

How many pleasures have been enjoyed by robbers, parricides, and tyrants.

Don't you think craftsmen rely on their own accumulation to be better than those without special training in the production of handicrafts?However, they still have to follow the rationality (principle) of the craft itself, and cannot separate it from it.Not surprisingly, both architects and physicians respect the reason (principle) of their craft more than their own.Which of the two is more universal, both to himself and to the gods?

Asia and Europa are just a corner of the universe, the sea is just a drop in the vast ocean of the universe, and Mount Athos is just a small lump of soil in the universe, and the time we are now is just a point in the eternal time axis of the universe.All things are very small, changeable, and extremely perishable.From it all things flow, either directly from the master power of the universe, or indirectly from its successors.Thus the maws of the lion, poisonous substances, and other injurious things, such as thorns and stucco, were created in succession of great and beautiful things.Do not feel that these things are a different kind of thing from the things you respect, but have a correct understanding of the origin of everything in the world.

What you see with your own eyes is what you see with your own eyes about everything in the world, including things that have existed since ancient times and things that will exist forever.After all, all things in the world are not only of the same shape, but also of the same ancestry.

Often think about the relationship between the universe and all things and the interconnection of all things.Because, in a sense, all things are related to each other.And in this relationship, the things of the world are naturally friendly to each other.For each thing will appear one after another, thanks to the active movement and mutual cooperation of things, and the inner unity of things.

Let yourself accept what you are meant to be: accept those with whom you are destined to live, and love them sincerely.

No one can stop you from living according to your nature
All implements, implements, and utensils are good if they serve exactly the purpose for which they were made, though he who made them was not there.In the things held together by the inner laws of nature, there is a magical power which created them, so it is best to have full respect for this power and believe that if you live and act according to its will, What's inside you will come to terms with reason.In this way, all things belonging to the universe will also agree with reason.

If you make good or bad judgments about things that are beyond your ability, then the following is bound to happen: When bad things happen to you or you miss something good, you will blame the gods and hold grudges others, seeing them as direct causes of bad things or misfortune, or suspecting them to be indirect causes of such bad things; righteous.However, if we make judgments about right and wrong, good and evil within the scope of our ability, then we will not criticize gods, nor will we treat others with hatred.

We're all working toward the same goal, some know it and know it, and others don't know what they're doing, like the walking dead or a dream.I remember that Heraclitus once said something like this: In what happens in the universe, the working people should cooperate with each other.However, people work in different ways.Even those who are highly cooperative are critical of what happened, the naysayers and obstructers.Because, for the universe, such people are needed.What needs to be reminded is that you have to be soberly aware of what kind of cooperative group you place yourself in.Because the master who controls everything will definitely make you play your due role properly, and he will include you in a group of collaborators, and these collaborators have exactly the same goal.The Master will not assign you among the sordid and absurd trolls mentioned by Chrysippus.

Does the sun take care of the rain?Is Eskulup going to do the fruit grower (or farmer) thing?And can every star in the sky surpass each other?Don't they all perform their duties and work together to achieve the same goal?

If the gods have made plans for me, including everything about me, then all these decisions are good, because divinity without forethought is simply unthinkable; Are you going to do this?What good would it do them and the universe as a whole that they favored so much?Even if they haven't made a decision about my personal arrangement, at least they have made a decision about the universe as a whole, and I will gladly accept and have no complaints about the fate that belongs to a small episode in the overall arrangement.But if the gods have not made arrangements—and it is a sin in itself to believe that, or supposing we really believe it, then there is no need for us to offer sacrifices and prayers, or swear to the gods, much less To do things that assume the gods are with us. ——However, if the gods have not made arrangements for my destiny, then I can control my own destiny independently, and I can also know in advance what is beneficial to me; What is in harmony with nature is beneficial.But my nature is rational and social; I am a descendant of Antony, my city and country is Rome, and I am a man, and this world is my country.What works for me as an organization also works for me personally.

What happens to each individual is for the fundamental good of the universe, and that alone is enough.But further, you want to take this as a general truth that, as you have indeed noticed, what is good for one must be good for others as well.However, the word "beneficial" here only has a neutral meaning in a general sense, and has no connotation of praise or derogation.

In the amphitheatre, and the like, repeated repetitions of even the most spectacular spectacle will dull your interest in the sameness, and the same is true of a human life, for either The things above your head are the things under your feet, they are both the same shape and the same family.Then, how can life be?
If you continue to think about it, all kings and generals, all great achievements for thousands of years, and even all nations and nations will be destroyed and fallen, and your thoughts can even continue to extend to Finistion, Phoebus and Origenian.Now you can turn your thoughts to other kinds of people.We must take into account the place where so many great orators, noble philosophers, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Socrates, etc.; Generals, and even so many tyrants; besides these Eudocus, Hipparchus, Archimedes, and other gifted men of keen insight, great thinkers, The laborers, the versatile, the confident, even the sarcastic and perishable, like the Menippes.Come to think of it, all these people will return to dust.So, how does this hurt them?What harm can it do to those unknown people?There is only one thing worth living, and that is to live your life in truth and justice, and to be magnanimous even to liars and wicked men.

If you want to cheer yourself up, think about the good things about the people you live with; for example, this person is very proactive, that person is very humble and kind, and another person is generous, and others They are also very good.Those with whom we live spare no effort to display their respective virtues, and are the most pleasing things.Keep these impressions always before your eyes.

I guess you are not dissatisfied that you weigh only a few liters 11 less than 300 liters.Then, you should not be dissatisfied because you can only live a few years and not longer.If you are satisfied with the gift of God and your limited material share, then you will have no regrets about the limited time of life.

Let's try to convince those people.If there is a way of justice leading the way, then we can even compete with its own will.If someone barges your way by force, preserve your own peace of mind and tranquility, and at the same time make use of this difficulty to exercise our other virtues; remembering, however, that your efforts are not Nothing, but you're not going to do the impossible.So what exactly is your intention? —The same is true of the degree of effort in some other things. —But if the goal that once touched your heart is accomplished, then you have achieved your purpose.

A person who is greedy for fame likes to attribute the praise of others to his own merit; a person who is greedy for pleasure likes to regard his own feelings as his own good deeds; but a person with true reason should regard his actions as Become your own true goodness.

We have a right not to express any opinion about things, and still more to keep our souls undisturbed; for things have no natural faculty of forcing us to form judgments.

Get yourself into the habit of listening carefully to what another person has to say, and feel as deeply as possible what is in the heart of the speaker.

What is useless to the whole colony, does not benefit one bee.

If the sailors abuse the helmsman or the sick the doctor, will the helmsman or the doctor be considerate of the needs of others?Can the helmsman at this time ensure the safety of the people in the ship?Can a doctor still ensure that the patients under his care are safe and sound?

How many of those who were born into this world with me are gone.

To a jaundiced man, even honey is bitter; to a rabid man, water is a dreadful thing; to a child, balls are the best fun.Why am I sulking at myself?Don't you think your false ideas have the same force as the bile of a jaundiced man and the legacy of a rabid man?

Act according to nature, no one can stop; everything that happens to you must follow the principles of the universe.

What kind of people do people like to please?For what purpose?By what kind of behavior?Time will obliterate everything, and in a blink of an eye, everything in the world is a thing of the past.

(End of this chapter)