meditations by Marcus Aurelius; a review
Terminator 2, John Wick 2, Shrek 2, and of course, Pirates of the Caribean 2, all in their way, were successful follow-ups to already stellar first instalments of a franchise. Taking it to 2 in 2, Tevin returns with another classic that will leave you wanting to buy him coffee and have him narrate this piece to you.
Disclaimer: Some of the words have been “simplified” to match the socio-linguistics of modern times. The meaning behind each passage has been maintained.
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I once read that philosophy only applies to the person who wrote it and thus, it should not be read. Being the person that I am, I ruminated on the statement which was philosophical in itself. This led me to slow down on reading books written in the early years of life.
But being an avid fan of the authors Robert Greene and Ryan Holiday, who I consider modern-day philosophers, means that it was inevitable for me to cross paths with the sages from yore.
Both writers are quite influential and Ryan Holiday was an assistant to Robert Greene which leads to them sharing a liking for philosophy. If by chance you don’t know either of these two writers, here’s a snippet of what they have penned;
Robert Greene is the celebrated author of; “48 Laws of Power”, “Art of Seduction”, and “The Laws of Human Nature” among other books, whilst his former apprentice has penned; “The Obstacle is The Way”, “Stillness is Key”, and “Ego is The Enemy” and other wonderful reads.
Ryan Holiday maintains several social media accounts, where he often shares content related to philosophy. One of the accounts is ‘The Daily Stoic’ which posts quotes by philosophers. And after a glance through it, you get a sense that he is grounded on the works of Marcus Aurelius more than anyone. And through The Daily Stoic and his account on Instagram, he has often emphasised on how Meditations should be a mandatory read for everyone. It’s this insistence that pushed me toward getting the book.
And what a book it truly is!
Marcus Aurelius lived between AD 121 to 180. It is presumed that the authoring happened between 170 to 180 and mostly as thoughts to himself that were not meant to be published. But how glad I am that it made it to print, and how deserving it is of the praise and acclaim that it receives. The book remains as relevant today as it was back then.
The book is so easy to read - much like the book of Proverbs. It calms and equally lulls you into thinking that you have absorbed all the teachings in one reading. But this is a reference book that is meant to be revisited over and over until the teachings get drilled in.
Here are some of the teachings that absorbed me in the first read:
On Procrastination
Think of your many procrastinations: how the gods have repeatedly granted you further periods of grace, of which you have taken no advantage.
It is now to realise the nature of the universe to which you belong, and that controlling Power (God) whose offspring you are. And to understand that your time has a limit set to it. Use it, then, to advance your enlightenment; or it will be gone, and never in your power again.
On Dignity and Justice.
Hour by hour, resolve firmly to do what you are meant to do with correct and natural dignity, humanity, independence, and justice. Allow your mind freedom from distraction. This you can do, if you approach each action as though it were your last.
Dismiss the wayward thought, the emotional recoil from commands of reason, the desire to create an impression, the self-admiration, and the discontent with your previous outcomes.
On Happiness
You will not easily find a man coming to grief through indifference to the workings of another soul: but for those who pay no heed to the motions of their own, unhappiness is a sure reward.
On Pleasure Seeking
Sins of desire are more culpable than sins of passion. For sins of passion are ultimately often looked back with regret or a certain discomfort. Whereas sins of desire or pleasure, indicate a more self-indulgent and womanish disposition.
Therefore, a pleasurable sin deserves graver ridicule than one which is painful. In one case the offender is like a man stung into an involuntary loss of control by some injustice; in the other, eagerness to gratify desire moves him to do wrong by his own volition.
On Wealth and Poverty
Living and dying, honour and dishonour, pain and pleasure, riches and poverty, are equally experienced by good men and bad. They neither elevate nor degrade: and therefore they are no more good than they are evil.
On Wrongdoing
Nature is mentioned severally.
…for to quarrel with circumstances is always a rebellion against Nature. To reject a fellow man or oppose him with malicious intent, as men do when they are angry, is wrong. To surrender to pleasure or pain is another wrongdoing. And so is to dissemble and show insincerity or falsify in word or deed.
On Being Wrong
A topic that touched me to the core given my disposition.
Put from you the belief that ‘I have been wronged,’ and the feeling will fade away. Reject your sense of injury, and the injury itself disappears. (Do not be a victim)
On Praise
…in your grave and even in your lifetime, what is the good of praise - unless maybe to subserve some lesser design?
Anything in any way beautiful derives its beauty from itself and asks nothing beyond itself.
On Contentment
Another struggle I have in this world of overstimulation.
‘If thou wouldst know contentment, let thy deeds be few,’ said the sage.
‘Better still, limit them strictly to such as are essential, and to such as in a social being reason demands, and as it demands…doing a few things and doing them well.”
On Badluck
‘How unlucky I am, that this should have happened to me!’ By no means; say rather, ‘How lucky I am, that it has left me with no bitterness; unshaken by the present and undismayed by the future.’
Does this thing which has happened, hinder you from being just, great, fair, judicious, discreet, truthful, self-respecting, independent, or all else by which a man’s nature comes to fulfilment?
Avoid grumbling: be frugal, considerate and frank.
Guard your Soul
Let no emotions of the flesh, be they of pain or pleasure, affect the supreme and sovereign portion of the soul.
On Fortune
Fortune's favourite is the man who awards her good gifts to himself - the good gifts of a good disposition, good impulses, and good deeds.
On Recovery
When a force of circumstance upsets your equanimity, lose no time in recovering your self-control, and do not remain out of tune longer than you can help. Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it.
On Change
Flux and change are forever renewing the fabric of the universe.
On Truth
In this life, living in truthfulness and fair dealing is the one thing of precious worth to live out one’s days. That, and acting in charity even with the false and unjust.
On Inner Peace (Contentment)
The man of ambition thinks to find good in the operations of others, the man of pleasure in his sensations; but the man of understanding in his actions.
On Keeping True to Yourself
Whatever the world may say or do, my part is to keep myself good; just as a gold piece, or an emerald or a purple robe insists perpetually, ‘Whatever the world may say or do, my part is to remain an emerald and keep my true colour true.’
On Inner Piece
The master reason is never a victim of any self-disturbance.
On Change
Do you not see then, that change in yourself is of the same order, and no less necessary to Nature?
On a Good Countenance
An angry look on the face is wholly against nature. If it be assumed frequently, beauty begins to perish, and in the end, is quenched beyond rekindling. You must try to realise that this shows the unreasonableness of it; for if we lose the ability to perceive our faults what is the good of living on?
On Contentment (yet again)
Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but relish the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours. At the same time, however, beware lest delight in them leads you to cherish them so dearly that their loss would destroy your peace of mind.
On Doing Good
Dig within. There lies the will spring of good; ever dig and it will ever flow.
On Living
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in as much as it, too, demands a firm and watchful stance against any unexpected onset.
On Overthinking
(An art that I have unwittingly mastered.)
Never go beyond the sense of your first impressions. If someone were to tell you that such-and-such a person is speaking ill of you: that was their message; they did not go on to say it has done you any harm.
If I see my child is ill; my eyes tell me that but they do not suggest that his life is in danger. Always, then, keep to the original impressions; supply no additions of your own, and you are safe. Or at least, add only recognition of the great world order by which all things are brought to pass.
On Hardwork
Work yourself hard, but not as if you were being made a victim, and not with any desire for sympathy or admiration. Desire one thing alone: that your actions or inactions alike should be worthy of a reasoning citizen.
On Anxieties
Another thing I am recovering from.
Today, I have got myself out of all my perplexities; or rather, I have got the perplexities out of myself - for they were not without, but within; they lay in my outlook.
On Feelings
A rational social being is not affected in himself for either better or worse by his feelings, but by how his outward behaviour, good or bad, is the product of will, not feelings.
On Philosophy
Philosophy is a modest profession, all simplicity and plain dealing. Never try to seduce me into solemn pretentiousness.
On Loss
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.
On Simplicity
Set yourself to become a simpler and better man.
Being Good - or Great
Waste no time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.
On Feeling
To give way to fear or grief or anger, therefore, is to be a runaway.
The Plank in Your Eye
When another fault offends you, turn to yourself and consider what similar shortcomings are found in you. Do you, too, find your good in riches, pleasure, reputation or such like? Think of this, and your anger will soon be forgotten in the reflection that he is acting under pressure: what else could he do? Alternatively, if you are able, help him from his afflictions.
On Contentment
The soul attains her perfectly rounded form when she is neither straining out for something nor shrinking back into herself.
On Attitude
That is the right spirit for a man to have within him; he should never be seen by the gods harbouring a grudge or making a grievance of his sufferings.
On Anger
Our anger and annoyance are more detrimental to us than the things themselves which anger or annoy us.
On Kindliness
A virtue I truly aspire to.
Kindliness is irresistible, so long as it is genuine and without false smiles and duplicity.
On Temper
Another of my faults
…loss of temper is no sign of manliness, but that there is more virility, as well as more natural humanity, in one who shows himself gentle and peaceable; it is he who gives proof of strength and nerve and manliness, not his angry discontented fellow. Anger is such a mark of weakness as is grief; in both of them men receive a wound, and submit to defeat
… to expect bad men never to do bad things is insensate; it is hoping for the impossible. To tolerate their offences against others and expect none against yourself, is irrationality.
On Self-Worth
I often marvel at how it is that though each man loves himself beyond all sense, he should yet value his own opinion of himself less than that of others.
…So much more regard we have for our neighbours’s judgement of us than for our own.
On Blame
No blame for the order of things can lie with the gods, since nothing amiss can be done by them, either willingly or otherwise: nor yet with men, whose misdoings are none of their own volition. Abstain then from all thoughts of blame.
On Truth
If it is not the right thing to do, never do it: if it is not the truth, never say it. Keep your impulses at hand.
Tranquility
Everything is but what your opinion makes it, and that opinion lies in yourself.
On Divinity
Finishing as we started
Thus, by following the way of God and being at one with Him in thought, man is thereby remains guided.
