I would like to introduce you all to my new friend, Marcus. I like to call him Marc, but posterity remembers him as Marcus Aurelius (121-180 CE), emperor of Rome and Stoic philosopher.A mutual acquaintance introduced us - thankyou Darren!
Anyway, here's Marc to introduce himself:
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all - that is myself. (Forget your books; no more hankering for them; they were no part of your equipment.) As one already on the threshold of death, think nothing of the first - of its viscid blood, its bones, its web of nerves and veins and arteries. The breath too; what is that? A whiff of wind; and not even the same wind, but every moment puffed out and drawn in anew. But the third, the Reason, the master - on this you must concentrate. Now that your hairs are grey, let it play the part of a slave no more, twitching puppetwise at every pull of self-interest; and cease to fume at destiny by ever grumbling at today or lamenting over tomorrow.I'll be sharing more of Marc's thoughts with you in the coming weeks - he's full of pithy and though-provoking ideas.
(from Meditations, book 2, paragraph 2)
Photo credit:
Photo of a bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius, from the Wikimedia commons. Taken by Ricardo André Frantz and released into the public domain.
Sounds rousing stuff but I may struggle at the 'ceasing to fune at destiny' part. No more grumbling at today or lamenting over tomorrow may be a hard request to follow...
ReplyDeleteMarc is a delightful blend of stuff that seems obviously true, stuff that seems obviously false, and stuff that I have to think about to know either way. And, as I think you mean, also stuff that would be good in theory but difficult to do in practice. As I once heard in a song, "I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it."
ReplyDeleteAs for the "grumbling and lamenting" business ... from other stuff Marc has told me so far, his meaning here is probably one I disagree with. But it's possible to read it in a more agreeable (for me) way. Sort of a "don't blame destiny for your problems - do something about them now!" attitude. Goes along with the reason (ie, mind) as master rather than slave thing.