ARKCODEX
Meditations
1What is evil? It is what you have seen many times before. When anything happens, keep this ready in your mind: this is what you have seen many times before. Look anywhere, up or down, and you will find the same things. The ancient histories are full of them. The middle histories are full of them. The recent histories are full of them. The cities are full of them now. The homes are full of them now. Nothing is new. Everything is familiar. Everything is brief.
2How else can false beliefs die unless you extinguish the impressions that feed them? And you have the power to keep rekindling that fire. I can form the right judgment about this. If I can, why am I troubled? What lies outside my mind has no power over my mind. Learn this and you stand upright. You can come back to life. See things again as you once saw them. That is what it means to live again.
3Parades and their empty striving. Plays upon a stage. Flocks and herds. Spears clashing in mock battle. A bone thrown to puppies. A crumb tossed into a fishpond. The endless toil of ants hauling their loads. The frantic darting of startled flies. Puppets jerked about on strings. Among all this you must stand with goodwill. Not with contempt. Yet remain aware. Each person is worth exactly as much as the things they pursue.
4Follow words closely to grasp what is being said. Follow impulses closely to grasp what is being done. In the one case, see immediately what end it aims at. In the other, watch carefully what it means.
5Is my mind equal to this task or not? If it is, I use it as a tool given by the nature of the universe. If it is not, I either step aside for someone who can do it better—unless duty forbids—or I do what I can with help. I bring in someone whose skill can serve my own guiding reason to accomplish what is timely and useful for the common good. For whatever I do, alone or with another, must aim at one thing only. What benefits and harmonizes with the whole.
6Many who were once celebrated have now been forgotten. And those who praised them vanished long ago.
7Don't be ashamed to accept help. Your task is to do your duty. Like a soldier in an assault on the walls. What if you are limping and cannot scale the battlements alone? But with another's help you can.
8Don't let the future trouble you. You will meet it if you must. And you will meet it with the same reason you use to face the present now.
9All things are woven together. The bond between them is sacred. Almost nothing is foreign to anything else. For all things have been arranged in harmony. Together they form one ordered world. There is one universe made from all things. One God pervading all. One substance. One law. One reason shared by all thinking beings. And one truth. For there is one perfection for all creatures of the same kind who share in the same reason.
10Everything material vanishes swiftly into the substance of the whole. Every cause is swiftly taken back into the reason of the whole. The memory of everything is swiftly buried in eternity.
11For a rational being, the same action is both natural and reasonable.
12Standing upright without being held up.
13The parts of the body form a unity when joined together. Rational beings have this same relationship even when separated. They are made to work together toward a single purpose. This truth will strike you more deeply if you often say to yourself: I am a limb of the body formed by rational beings. But if you say you are merely a part—using the letter rho instead of lambda—you do not yet love humanity from the heart. Doing good does not yet bring you complete joy. You still do it merely because it is proper. Not yet as one who benefits himself.
14Whatever wants to strike from outside, let it fall upon those things capable of suffering from such a blow. For those things, if they choose, will complain of their suffering. But I, if I do not judge what has happened to be evil, have not yet been harmed. And it is within my power not to judge it so.
15Whatever anyone does or says, I must be good. As if gold or emerald or purple would always say this: whatever anyone does or says, I must be emerald and keep my own color.
16The ruling mind does not disturb itself. It does not frighten itself into craving. If someone else can frighten or pain it, let them try. The mind will not turn itself toward such states through its own judgment. Let the body worry about its own suffering, if it can. Let it speak up when something is wrong. But the soul that fears and grieves and forms judgments about these things will suffer nothing. You will not lead it to such conclusions. The ruling mind needs nothing, so far as it depends on itself. Unless it creates lack within itself. The same is true for its peace and freedom. It remains undisturbed and unobstructed. Unless it disturbs and obstructs itself.
17True happiness is a good spirit within—or a ruling mind that is good. So what are you doing here, impression? Go away, by the gods, just as you came. I have no need of you. You have come according to ancient habit. I am not angry with you. Only go.
18Are you afraid of change? But what can happen without it? What is more dear or natural to the universe? Can you even take a bath unless the wood changes? Can you be nourished unless your food changes? Can anything useful be accomplished without change? Do you not see then that your own transformation is the same? It is equally necessary to the nature of all things.
19All physical things pass through the substance of the universe like a rushing torrent. They are connected to the whole and work with it. Just as our own limbs work together. How many like Chrysippus has time already swallowed? How many like Socrates? How many like Epictetus? Let this same thought strike you about every person and every situation you encounter.
20Only one thing troubles me. That I might do something which human nature does not will. Or do it in a way it does not will. Or at a time it does not will.
21Soon you will forget everything. Soon everyone will forget you.
22It is distinctly human to love even those who stumble. This becomes possible when certain truths strike you at once. They are your kin. They err through ignorance. They do not choose to fail. Soon you will both be dead. And above all this: they have not harmed you. Your inner self remains no worse than it was before.
23The nature of the universe takes its raw material like wax. First it molds a little horse. Then it breaks that down and uses the same stuff to shape a little tree. Then a little human. Then something else entirely. Each of these forms lasts only a brief moment. Being taken apart is no hardship for the box. Just as being put together was no great gift.
24A bitter expression on the face is deeply unnatural. When it hardens there again and again, something vital dies. Eventually it goes out completely. And then it can never be rekindled. Let this very fact convince you that such bitterness violates reason. For if you lose even the awareness that you are doing wrong, what reason is left to live?
25Everything you see will soon be transformed by the nature that governs all things. It will make new things from their substance. Then it will make still other things from that substance. This keeps the universe forever young.
26When someone wrongs you, ask yourself at once what idea of good or evil led them to do it. Once you see this, you will feel compassion for them. You will not be surprised or angry. Either you still hold the same idea of good as they do, or something close to it. Then you must forgive. But if you no longer see such things as good or evil, you will find it even easier to show kindness to the one who acted blindly.
27Do not dwell on what is absent as though you already possessed it. Instead, consider the finest of your present blessings. Then remind yourself how eagerly you would seek them if they were not already yours. Yet guard against this. Do not let your delight in these things grow into such attachment that their absence would disturb your peace.
28Withdraw into yourself. The rational mind by its nature is self-sufficient when it acts justly. And in that very thing it finds peace.
29Wipe away the impression. Stop being jerked like a puppet. Draw a line around the present moment. Recognize what is happening to you or to another. Divide the thing before you into cause and material. Think of your final hour. The wrong that person did—leave it there, where the wrong took root.
30Stretch your understanding to match what is being said. Let your mind enter fully into events and their causes.
31Brighten yourself with simplicity and humility. Be indifferent to what lies between virtue and vice. Love the human race. Follow God. One philosopher says that all things exist by convention, and only the elements are real. But it is enough to remember that all things exist by convention. And even these are very few.
32About death: either dispersal, if atoms exist. Or if unity exists, either extinction or relocation.
33On pain. What is unbearable carries us off. What lingers can be borne. The mind preserves its own calm by withdrawing into itself. The ruling center remains unharmed. Let the parts damaged by pain declare their complaint if they can.
34On reputation. Look at their minds. See what they run from. See what they chase. And just as dunes of sand blow over one another and bury what came before, so in life what came earlier is quickly covered by what comes after.
35When a mind possesses greatness and can contemplate all of time and all of existence, do you think such a person would consider human life to be something important? Impossible, he said. Then such a person would not regard death as something terrible either? Not in the least.
36It is the fate of kings to do good and to be spoken of badly.
37It is shameful that the face obeys the mind. It arranges itself as the mind commands. It composes itself beautifully. Yet the mind itself refuses to be arranged. It will not compose itself beautifully.
38Don't rage against circumstances. They don't care.
39May you bring joy to the deathless gods and to us.
40Life must be harvested like ripe grain. One stands. Another falls.
41But if the gods have abandoned me and my child, that too has its reason.
42For what is good and what is right stand with me.
43Do not join in the grieving of others. Do not let your pulse race.
44"I would give you a fair answer to that. You are wrong, my friend, if you think a man of any worth at all should weigh the risks of living or dying. He should consider one thing only. When he acts, is he acting justly or unjustly? Is he doing the work of a good man or a bad one?"
45This is the truth, men of Athens. When a man takes a position he believes is right, or when his commander assigns him a post, he must hold that ground and face the danger. He must not calculate the cost. Not death. Not anything. Nothing comes before dishonor.
46"But my friend, consider this: true nobility and goodness may be something other than saving yourself or being saved. A real man must let go of clinging to life, however long it may last. He must not cling desperately to mere survival. Instead, he should entrust such matters to god. He should trust what the women say: that no one can escape fate. Then he must turn to the real question. How can he live the time remaining to him in the best way possible?"
47Watch the paths of the stars as though you were running alongside them. Constantly reflect on how the elements transform into one another. These visions cleanse the filth of life on the ground.
48Plato's insight is a fine one. When thinking about human affairs, you should look down on earthly things as if from some high place above. Herds. Armies. Farms. Marriages. Divorces. Births. Deaths. The noise of courtrooms. Empty lands. Foreign peoples of every kind. Festivals. Funerals. Marketplaces. The whole mixture. The harmony made from opposites.
49Look back on the past. Consider how many empires have risen and fallen. You can also foresee what is coming. It will be exactly the same. It cannot break from the rhythm of the present. This is why observing human life for forty years is no different from observing it for ten thousand. What more would you see?
50What springs from earth returns to earth. What grows from heaven's seed returns to heaven's heights. Either that. Or else: a dissolving of atomic bonds. A scattering of elements that cannot feel.
51They divert the channel with food and drink and drugs to keep him from dying. But when a heaven-sent gale is blowing, you must endure hardships without complaint.
52You may become a better horseman. But that does not make you more connected to others. Or more humble. Or more composed when things go wrong. Or more forgiving of your neighbor's mistakes.
53Where work can be accomplished according to the reason shared by gods and humans, there is nothing to fear. For where benefit is possible through action that flows smoothly and proceeds according to nature, there no harm need be suspected.
54Wherever you are and at every moment, it is within your power to accept your present circumstances with reverence toward the divine. It is within your power to treat the people before you with justice. It is within your power to examine your present impression with care. Let nothing slip past you that you have not fully grasped.
55Do not look around at the ruling minds of others. Instead, look straight ahead to where nature is guiding you. The nature of the whole guides you through what happens to you. Your own nature guides you through what you must do. Each being must act according to its constitution. All other things are made for the sake of rational beings. Just as in everything else, the lower exists for the sake of the higher. And rational beings exist for the sake of one another. The first priority in human nature is the social instinct. The second is resistance to bodily passions. For it belongs to rational and thinking movement to set its own limits. It must never be conquered by the movements of sense or impulse. Both of these are animal in nature. But the thinking mind wishes to rule supreme and never be overpowered by them. And rightly so. For it is made to use all those lower powers. The third priority in a rational constitution is freedom from hasty judgment and from deception. Let the ruling mind hold fast to these principles and walk a straight path. Then it possesses what is truly its own.
56Live as one who has already died. Yet here you are, still alive until now. From this point forward, live the rest as a gift. Live according to nature.
57Love only what happens to you and what is woven together with your fate. For what could suit you better?
58With every setback, picture those who faced the same troubles. They were distressed. They were outraged. They complained. Now where are they? Nowhere. So what about you? Do you want to end up the same way? Why not leave external changes to those who cause them and those who are changed by them? Give your whole attention instead to how you will use these events. You will use them well. They will become your raw material. Just pay attention. Resolve to act with integrity in everything you do. And remember both things: what you do matters. And so does what you do it with.
59Dig within yourself. Inside lies the spring of goodness. It can always flow if you keep digging.
60The body must be composed and not scattered, whether in motion or at rest. For just as the mind keeps the face unified and dignified, so too must we demand this of the whole body. Yet all of this must be maintained without affectation.
61Life is more like wrestling than dancing. You must stand ready and unshakable against whatever falls upon you without warning.
62Keep asking yourself: Who are these people whose approval you crave? What guides their minds? Look into the sources of their opinions and impulses. You will not blame them for stumbling against their will. You will not need their praise.
63"Every soul," he says, "is deprived of truth against its will." The same applies to justice. And to self-control. And to kindness. And to every virtue like these. It is essential to remember this constantly. For then you will be gentler with everyone.
64When facing any hardship, keep this ready at hand: it brings no shame, and it does not weaken the mind that governs you. It cannot corrupt your reason. It cannot corrupt your connection to others. For most hardships, let the saying of Epicurus help you: no pain is unbearable or endless, if you remember its limits and do not add fears of your own. Remember this too: many things are the same as pain but escape our notice because we call them annoyances. Drowsiness. Oppressive heat. Loss of appetite. When any of these troubles you, say to yourself: you are yielding to pain.
65Be careful that you never feel toward the inhumane the way the inhumane feel toward other people.
66How do we know whether Telauges had a better character than Socrates? It is not enough that Socrates died more gloriously. Or that he debated the sophists more skillfully. Or that he endured the freezing night with greater toughness. Or that he seemed nobler when he refused the order to arrest the man from Salamis. Or that he strutted through the streets—though this last point deserves scrutiny, if it were even true. No. What we must examine is this: What kind of soul did Socrates have? Could he be satisfied simply with being just toward other people and reverent toward the gods? Never raging uselessly at human wickedness. Never submitting to anyone's ignorance. Never receiving what the universe assigned him as something strange. Never enduring it as something unbearable. Never letting his mind be drawn into sympathy with the sufferings of his flesh.
67Nature did not bind you so tightly to your body that you cannot set your own boundaries. You can take control of what is truly yours. It is entirely possible to become a person of divine character and be recognized by no one. Remember this always. And remember this as well: living a happy life depends on very few things. You may have given up hope of becoming a master of logic or physics. But do not abandon hope of becoming free. Of becoming humble. Of being a good member of your community. Of living in obedience to God.
68You can live without strain. You can live with the deepest inner joy. Let everyone shout whatever they want against you. Let wild beasts tear apart the limbs of this lump of flesh that has grown around you. What prevents the mind from keeping itself in stillness through all this? What prevents it from judging truly what surrounds it? What prevents it from standing ready to use whatever comes? Let your judgment say to each thing that strikes you: This is what you really are. You may seem different in common opinion. But this is your true nature. Let your use say to each thing that falls to you: You are what I was looking for. The present moment is always raw material for me. Material for rational excellence. Material for social excellence. Material for the art that belongs to human beings and to God. Everything that happens is familiar to God or to human beings. Nothing is new. Nothing is hard to handle. Everything is recognizable. Everything serves good purpose.
69This is what perfection of character looks like. Live each day as if it were your last. Do not be frantic. Do not be numb. Do not be false.
70The gods are immortal. Yet they do not resent having to endure so many wretched people forever. They even care for them in every way. But you are about to reach your end. And still you grow weary. You who are one of those wretched people yourself.
71It is absurd to flee from the faults of others, which is impossible, while refusing to flee from your own faults, which you actually can.
72Whatever the rational and social faculty finds to be neither intelligent nor beneficial to community, it rightly judges as beneath itself.
73When you have done good and another has received it, why search for something more? Only fools seek a third thing beyond these. The reputation for kindness. Or a reward in return.
74No one grows weary from being helped. And help is action according to nature. So do not grow weary of being helped while you help others.
75The nature of the whole set out to create the universe. Now either everything that happens follows from that original impulse. Or else even the most important things toward which the ruling mind of the cosmos directs its own purpose are without reason. Remembering this will bring you greater calm in many situations.