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because you are quiet, and can see what’s here. So this iswhere I am going to stop talking. Hereafter you can discoveron your own. I trust you to make the most of it.Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Emperor of Romefrom 161 AD until his death, (in 180 AD), judged as the lastof the “Five Good Emperors.” He was nephew, son-in-law,and adopted son of Antonius Pius. Marcus Aurelius was oneof the most important Stoic Philosophers, as cited by H.P.Blavatsky amongst famous classic sages and writers such asPlato, Euripides, Socrates, Aristophanes, Pindar, Plutarch,Isocrates, Diodorus, Cicero, and Epictetus.In his own reign of some nineteen years, he would experiencenearly constant warfare, a horrific plague, possible infidelity,an attempt at the throne by one of his closest allies, repeatedand arduous travel across the empire—from Asia Minor toSyria, Egypt, Greece, and Austria—a rapidly depletingtreasury, an incompetent and greedy stepbrother as coemperor, and on and on and on.For sure many works about his life and countless studies onthe history, development and meaning of the StoicPhilosophy have been written. In fact I have here summarieson these subjects. But I don't want to elaborate them in thisvolume.I want to focus on the "Opportunity in this Text" alone,without many preconceptions as to what it is supposed to beabout. Talking “about” the text does not much. Then it isjust an arms length discussion of another bible. These are“actionable precepts”, which means you can experiment withand apply them right now, in the present tense. They are notjust a good idea for tomorrow. If you choose thisopportunity, you will know the result that I am inferring firsthand.Richard Miller 2020 in Chiang Mai Thailandnevernothere@protonmail.comI—8

MARCUS AURELIUSThe Meditations of Marcus Aurelius translated byThe meditations oLightly edited by Richard Miller (2020)Marcus Aurelius AnGeorge Long (1862), Cover from another editionT A B LEC ON TEN TSOFBOOK ONEI—10BOOK TWOII—21BOOK THREEIII—27BOOK FOURIV—37BOOK FIVEV—52BOOK SIXVI—66BOOK SEVENVII—82BOOK EIGHTVIII—97BOOK NINEIX—113BOOK TENX—128BOOK ELEVENXI—144BOOK TWELVEXII—157AFTERWARD QUESTIONSXIII—168Letters from Marcus AureliusNOTES: from earlier translationsXIV—174XV —194I—9

I. BOOK ONETO MY MENTORS1. From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and thegovernment of my temper.From the reputation and remembrance of my father, modestyand a manly character.From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence, notonly from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts; andfurther, simplicity in my way of living, far removed from thehabits of the rich.From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented publicschools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to knowthat on such things a man should spend liberally.2. From my governor, to be neither of the green nor of theblue party at the games in the Circus, nor a partisan either ofthe Parmularius or the Scutarius at the gladiators’ fights; fromhim too I learned endurance of labor, and to want little, and towork with my own hands, and not to meddle with otherpeople’s affairs, and not to be ready to listen to slander.3. From Diognetus, not to busy myself about trifling things,and not to give credit to what was said by miracle-workersand jugglers about incantations and the driving away ofdaemons and such things; and not to breed quails for fighting,nor to give myself up passionately to such things; and toendure freedom of speech; and to have and become intimateI—10

with philosophy; and to have been a hearer, first of Bacchius,then of Tandasis and Marcianus; and to have writtendialogues in my youth; and to have desired a plank bed andskin, and whatever else of the kind belongs to the Greciandiscipline.4. From Rusticus I received the impression that my characterrequired improvement and discipline; and from him I learnednot to be led astray to sophistic emulation, nor to writing onspeculative matters, nor to delivering little hortatory (inciting)orations, nor to showing myself off as a man who practicesmuch discipline, or does benevolent acts in order to make adisplay; and to abstain from rhetoric, and poetry, and finewriting; and not to walk about in the house in my outdoordress, nor to do other things of the kind; and to write myletters with simplicity, like the letter which Rusticus wrotefrom Sinuessa to my mother; and with respect to those whohave offended me by words, or done me wrong, to be easilydisposed to be pacified and reconciled, as soon as they haveshown a readiness to be reconciled; and to read carefully, andnot to be satisfied with superficial understanding of books;nor hastily give my assent to those who talk overmuch; and Iam indebted to him for acquainting me with the discourses ofEpictetus, which he gave to me out of his own collection.5. From Apollonius I learned freedom of will and undeviatingsteadiness of purpose; and to look to nothing else, not evenfor a moment, except to reason; and to be always the same, insharp pains, on the occasion of the loss of a child, and in longillness; and to see clearly in a living example that the sameman can be both most resolute and yielding, and not peevishI—11

in giving his instruction; and to have had before my eyes aman who clearly considered his experience and his skill inexpounding philosophical principles as the smallest of hismerits; and from him I learned how to receive from friendswhat are esteemed favors, without being either humbled bythem or letting them pass unnoticed.6. From Sextus, a benevolent disposition, and the example ofa family governed in a fatherly manner, and the idea of livingconformably to nature; and gravity without affectation, and tolook carefully after the interests of friends, and to tolerateignorant persons, and those who form opinions withoutconsideration: he had the power of readily accommodatinghimself to all, so that intercourse with him was moreagreeable than any flattery; and at the same time he was mosthighly venerated by those who associated with him: and hehad the faculty of both discovering and ordering theprinciples necessary for life, in an intelligent and methodicalway; and he never showed anger or any other passion, butwas entirely free from passion, and also most affectionate;and he could express approbation (the proof or admiration)without noisy display, and he possessed much knowledgewithout ostentation.7. From Alexander the grammarian, to refrain from faultfinding, and not in a reproachful way to chide those whouttered any barbarous or solecistic (social blunders andsloppy syntax) or strange-sounding expression; butdexterously to introduce the very expression which ought tohave been used, and in the way of answer or givingconfirmation, or joining in an inquiry about the thing itself,I—12

not about the word, or by some other fit suggestion.8. From Fronto I learned to observe what envy, and duplicity,and hypocrisy are in a tyrant, and that generally those amongus who are called Patricians are rather deficient in paternalaffection.9. From Alexander the Platonic, not frequently nor withoutnecessity to say to anyone, or to write in a letter, that I haveno leisure; nor continually to excuse the neglect of dutiesrequired by our relation to those with whom we live, byalleging urgent occupations.10. From Catulus, not to be indifferent when a friend findsfault, even if he should find fault without reason, but to try torestore him to his usual disposition; and to be ready to speakwell of teachers, as it is reported of Domitius andAthenodotus; and to love my children truly.11. From my brother Severus, to love my kin, and to lovetruth, and to love justice; and through him I learned to knowThrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion, Brutus; and from him Ireceived the idea of a polity in which there is the same lawfor all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights andequal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly governmentwhich respects most of all the freedom of the governed; Ilearned from him also consistency and undeviating steadinessin my regard for philosophy; and a disposition to do good,and to give to others readily, and to cherish good hopes, andto believe that I am loved by my friends; and in him Iobserved no concealment of opinions with respect to those hecondemned, and that his friends had no need to conjectureI—13

what he wished or did not wish, but it was all quite plain.12. From Maximus I learned self-government, and not to beled aside by anything; and cheerfulness in all circumstances,as well as in illness; and a just admixture in the moralcharacter of sweetness and dignity, and to do what was setbefore me without complaining. I observed that everybodybelieved that he thought as he spoke, and that in all that hedid he never had any bad intention; and he never showedamazement and surprise, and was never in a hurry, and neverput off doing a thing, nor was perplexed nor dejected, nor didhe ever laugh to disguise his vexation, nor on the other hand,was he ever passionate or suspicious. He was accustomed todo acts of beneficence, and was ready to forgive, and was freefrom all falsehood; and he presented the appearance of a manwho could not be diverted from right rather than of a manwho had been improved. I observed too, that no man couldever think that he was despised by Maximus, nor ever ventureto think himself a better man. He had also the art of beinghumorous in an agreeable way.13. In my father I observed mildness of temper, andunchangeable resolution in the things which he haddetermined after due deliberation; and no vainglory in thosethings which men call honors; and a love of labor andperseverance; and a readiness to listen to those who hadanything to propose for the common weal; and undeviatingfirmness in giving to every man according to his deserts; anda knowledge derived from experience of the occasions forvigorous action or for remission. And I observed that he hadovercome all passion for boys; and he considered himself noI—14

more than any other citizen; and he released his friends fromall obligation to sup with him or to attend him of necessitywhen he went abroad, and those who had failed to accompanyhim, by reason of any urgent circumstances, always foundhim the same. I observed too his habit of careful inquiry in allmatters of deliberation, and his persistency, and that he neverstopped his investigation through being satisfied withappearances which first present themselves; and that hisdisposition was to keep his friends, and not to be soon tired ofthem, nor yet to be extravagant in his affection; and to besatisfied on all occasions, and cheerful; and to foresee thingsa long way off, and to provide for the smallest withoutdisplay; and to check immediately popular applause and allflattery; and to be ever watchful over the things which werenecessary for the administration of the empire, and to be agood manager of the expenditure, and patiently to endure theblame which he got for such conduct; and he was neithersuperstitious with respect to the gods, nor did he court menby gifts or by trying to please them, or by flattering thepopulace; but he showed sobriety in all things and firmness,and never any mean thoughts or action, nor love of novelty.And the things which conduce in any way to the commodityof life, and of which fortune gives an abundant supply, heused without arrogance and without excusing himself; so thatwhen he had them, he enjoyed them without affectation, andwhen he had them not, he did not want them. No one couldever say of him that he was either a sophist or a home-bredflippant slave or a pedant; but every one acknowledged himto be a man ripe, perfect, above flattery, able to manage hisown and other men’s affairs. Besides this, he honored thoseI—15

who were true philosophers, and he did not reproach thosewho pretended to be philosophers, nor yet was he easily ledby them. He was also easy in conversation, and he madehimself agreeable without any offensive affectation. He tooka reasonable care of his body’s health, not as one who wasgreatly attached to life, nor out of regard to personalappearance, nor yet in a careless way, but so that, through hisown attention, he very seldom stood in need of thephysician’s art or of medicine or external applications. Hewas most ready to give way without envy to those whopossessed any particular faculty, such as that of eloquence orknowledge of the law or of morals, or of anything else; andhe gave them his help, that each might enjoy reputationaccording to his deserts; and he always acted conformably tothe institutions of his country, without showing anyaffectation of doing so. Further, he was not fond of changenor unsteady, but he loved to stay in the same places, and toemploy himself about the same things; and after hisparoxysms of headache he came immediately fresh andvigorous to his usual occupations. His secrets were not butvery few and very rare, and these only about public matters;and he showed prudence and economy in the exhibition of thepublic spectacles and the construction of public buildings, hisdonations to the people, and in such things, for he was a manwho looked to what ought to be done, not to the reputationwhich is got by a man’s acts. He did not take the bath atunseasonable hours; he was not fond of building houses, norcurious about what he ate, nor about the texture and color ofhis clothes, nor about the beauty of his slaves. His dress camefrom Lorium, his villa on the coast, and from LanuviumI—16

generally. We know how he behaved to the toll-collector atTusculum who asked his pardon; and such was all hisbehavior. There was in him nothing harsh, nor implacable,nor violent, nor as one may say, anything carried to thesweating point; but he examined all things severally, as if hehad abundance of time, and without confusion, in an orderlyway, vigorously and consistently. And that might be appliedto him which is recorded of Socrates, that he was able both toabstain from, and to enjoy, those things which many are tooweak to abstain from, and cannot enjoy without excess. Butto be strong enough both to bear the one and to be sober inthe other is the mark of a man who has a perfect andinvincible soul, such as he showed in the illness of Maximus.14. To the gods I am indebted for having good grandfathers,good parents, a good sister, good teachers, good associates,good kinsmen and friends, nearly everything good. Further, Iowe it to the gods that I was not hurried into any offenceagainst any of them, though I had a disposition which, ifopportunity had offered, might have led me to do somethingof this kind; but through their favor, there never was such aconcurrence of circumstances as put me to the trial. Further, Iam thankful to the gods that I was not longer brought up withmy grandfather’s concubine, and that I preserved the flowerof my youth, and that I did not make proof of my virilitybefore the proper season, but even deferred the time; that Iwas subjected to a ruler and a father who was able to takeaway all pride from me, and to bring me to the knowledgethat it is possible for a man to live in a palace withoutwanting either guards or embroidered dresses, nor torches andstatues, and such-like show; but that it is in such a man’sI—17

power to bring himself very near to the fashion of a privateperson, without being for this reason either meaner inthought, nor more remiss in action, with respect to the thingswhich must be done for the public interest in a manner thatbefits a ruler. I thank the gods for giving me such a brother,who was able by his moral character to rouse me to vigilanceover myself, and who at the same time, pleased me by hisrespect and affection; that my children have not been stupidnor deformed in body; that I did not make more proficiencyin rhetoric, poetry, and the other studies, in which I shouldperhaps have been completely engaged, if I had seen that Iwas making progress in them; that I made haste to place thosewho brought me up in the station of honor, which theyseemed to desire, without putting them off with hope of mydoing it some time after, because they were then still young;that I knew Apollonius, Rusticus, Maximus; that I receivedclear and frequent impressions about living according tonature, and what kind of a life that is, so that, so far asdepended on the gods, and their gifts, and help, andinspirations, nothing hindered me from forthwith livingaccording to nature, though I still fall short of it through myown fault, and through not observing the admonitions of thegods, and I may almost say, their direct instructions; that mybody has held out so long in such a kind of life; that I nevertouched either Benedicta or Theodotus, and that, after havingfallen into amatory passions, I was cured; and though I wasoften out of humor with Rusticus, I never did anything ofwhich I had occasion to repent; that, though it was mymother’s fate to die young, she spent the last years of her lifewith me; that, whenever I wished to help any man in his need,I—18

or on any other occasion, I was never told that I had not themeans of doing it; and that to myself the same necessity neveroccurred, to receive anything from another; that I have such awife, so obedient, and so affectionate, and so simple; that Ihad abundance of good masters for my children; and thatremedies have been shown to me by dreams, both others, andagainst blood coughing and dizziness.; and that, when I hadan inclination to philosophy, I did not fall into the hands ofany sophist, and that I did not waste my time on writers ofhistories, or in the resolution of syllogisms, or occupy myselfabout the investigation of appearances in the heavens; for allthese things require the help of the gods and fortune.15. Among the Quadi at the Granua. (war with a Germanictribe on a tributary of the Danube) Begin in the morning bysaying to yourself, I shall meet with the busy-body, theungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All thesethings happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what isgood and evil. But I who have seen the nature of the good thatit is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly, and the nature ofhim who does wrong, that it is akin to me, not only of thesame blood or seed, but that it participates in the sameintelligence and the same portion of the divinity, I can neitherbe injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what isugly, nor can I be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him, Forwe are made for co-operation, like feet, like hands, likeeyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To actagainst one another then is contrary to nature; and it is actingagainst one another to be vexed and to turn away.16. Whatever this is that I am, it is a little flesh and breath,and the ruling part. Throw away your books; no longerI—19

distract yourself: it is not allowed; but as if you were nowdying, despise the flesh; it is blood and bones and a network,a contexture of nerves, veins, and arteries. See the breath also,what kind of a thing it is, air, and not always the same, butevery moment sent out and again sucked in. The third then isthe ruling part: consider thus: You are an old man; no longerlet this be a slave, no longer be pulled by the strings like apuppet to unsocial movements, no longer either bedissatisfied with your present lot, or shrink from the future.17. All that is from the gods is full of Providenc

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Emperor of Rome from 161 AD until his death, (in 180 AD), judged as the last of the "Five Good Emperors." He was nephew, son-in-law,