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Intro

 

Think of the universal substance, of which thou hast a very small portion; and of universal time, of which a short and indivisible interval has been assigned to thee; and of that which is fixed by destiny, and how small a prat of it thou art.

Does another do me wrong? Let him look to it. He has his own disposition, his own activity. I now have what the universal nature wills me to have; and I do what my nature now wills me to do.

Let the part of thy soul which leads and governs be undisturbed by the movements in the flesh, whether of pleasure or of pain; and let it not unite with them, but let it circumscribe itself and limit those affects to their parts. But when these affects rise up to the mind by virtue of that other sympathy that naturally exists in a body which is all one, then thou must not strive to resist the sensation, for it is natural: but let not the ruling part of itself add to the sensation the poinion that it is either good or bad.

Live with the gods. And he does live with the gods who constantly shows to them, his own soul is satisfied with that which is assigned to him, and it does all that the daemon wishes, which Zeus hath given to every man for his guardian and guide, a portion of himself, And this is every man’s address and argument.

Art Thou Oaks angry with that him whose armpit stink? Art thou angry with him whose aperture smiles foul? What good will this danger do thee? He has a such a mouth, he has such arm-pits: it is necessary that such an emanation must come form such things; but the man has reason, it will be said, and he is able, if he takes pain, to discover wherein he offends; I wish hee well of thy liscovery. Well then, and thou hast reason: by thy rational faculty astir up his rational faculty; show him his error, admonish him. For if he listens, thou wilt cure him, and there is no need of anger, Neither tragic act to nor whore.

As thou intendest to live when thou art gone out,“` so it is in thy power to live here. But if men do not permit thee, then get away of life, yet so as if thou wert suffering to harm. The house is smoky, and I quit it. Why dost thou think that is any trouble? But so long as nothing of the kind drives me out, I remain, am free , and no man shall hinder me from doing what I choose; and I choose to do what is according to the nature of the rational and social animal.

The intelligence of the universe is social. According it has made the inferior things for the sake fo the superior, and even it has fitted the superior to one another. Thou see how it has subordinated, co-ordinated and assigned to everything its proper portion, and has brought together into concord with one another the things which are the best.

How has thou behaved hitherto to the gods, thy parents, brethren, children, teathers, to chose who looked after thy infancy, to your frinends, kinsfolk, to thy salves? Consider if thou hast hitherto bebaved to all in such a way that this may be said of thee:

        
“Never has wronged a man in deed or word.”

And call to recollection both how many things thou hast passed throught, and how things thou hast been able to endure and that the history of thy life is now complete and thy service is ended: and how many beautiful things thou hast seen: and how many pleasures and pains thu hast despised; and how many things called honourable thou hast spurned; and to how many ill-minded folks thou hast shown a kind disposition.

Why do unskilled and ignorant souls disturb him who has skill and knowledge? What soul then has skill and knowledge? That which knows beginning and end, and knows the reason whhich pervades all substance and through all time by fixed periods(revolutions) administers the universe.

Soon, very soon, thou wilt be ashes, or a skeleton, and either a name or not ecen a name; but name is sound and echo. And the things which are much valued in life are empty and rotten and trifling, and like little dogs biting one another, and little children quarrelling, laughing, and then straightway weeping. But fidelity and modesty and justice and truth are fled.

Up to Olympus from the wide-spread earth.

What then is there which still detains thee here? If the objects of sense are easily changed and the organs of perception are dull and dull and easily receive false impressions; and the poor soul itself is an exhalation from blood. But to have good repute amidst such a world as this is an empty thing. Why then dost thou thou not wait in tranquility for thy end, whether it is extinction or removal to another state? And until that time comes, what is sufficient? Why, what else than to venerate the gods and bless them, and to do good to men, and to practise tolerance and self-restraint; but as to everything which is beyond the limits of the poor flesh and breath, to remember that this is neither thine nor in thy power.

Thou canst pass thy life in an equable flow of happiness, if thou canst go by the right way, and think and act in the right way, These two things are common both to thesoul of God and to the soul of man, and to the soul of every rational being, not to be hindered by another; and to hold good to consist in the disposition to justice and the practice of it, and in this to let thy desire find its termination.

If this is neither my own badness, not an effect of my own badness, and the common weal is not injured, why am I troubled about it? Andrew what is the harmonic to the common weal?

Do not be carried along the coast inconsiderately by the appearance of things, but give help to all according to thy ability and their fitness; and if they should have sustained loss in matters which are indifference, do not imagine this to be a damage. For it is a bad habit. But as the old man, when he went away, asked back his foster-child’s top, remembering that it was a top, so do thou in this case also.

When thou art calling out on the Rostra, hast thou forgotten, man, what these things are?
——
Yes; but they are objects of great concern to these people—wilt thuy too then be made o fool for these things?I was once a fourtunate man, but I lost it , I know not how,—But fortunate means that a manhas assigned to himself a good fortune: and a good fortune is good disposition of the soul, good emoition, good actions.

 

想想普遍的实体，你只占有它很少的一部分；想想普遍的时间，你只分到它一个短暂和不可分的间隔；想想那被命运所确定的东西，你是它多么小的一部分。

别人对你做了错事吗？让他去注意它吧。他有他自己的气质，他自己的活动。我现在有普遍的本性要我有的，我做我的本性现在要我做的。


　让你的灵魂中那一指导和支配的部分不受肉体活动的扰乱吧，无论那是快乐还是痛苦；让它不要与它们统一起来，而是让它自己限定自己，让那些感受局限于它们自身而不影响灵魂。而当这些感情通过那自然地存在于作为一个整体的身体之中的别的同情而出现于心灵之中时，那么你决不要拼命抵制这感觉，因为它是自然的，而是不要让自身的支配部分对这一感觉加上认为它是好的或坏的意见。

  

和神灵生活在一起。那不断地向神灵表明他自己的灵魂满足于分派给他的东西的人，表明他的灵魂做内心的神（那是宙斯作为他的保护和指导而赋于每个人的他自身的一份）希望它做的一切事情的人，是和神灵生活在一起的。这就是每个人的理解力和理性。

 

你对患有狐臭的人生气吗？你对患有口臭的人生气吗？你怎样善待这一麻烦呢？他有这样一张口，他有这样一个腋窝，这种气味来自这些东西是自然的。——但据说他有理性，如果他用心想一下，他能发现他为什么冒犯了别人。——我希望你满意你的发现，那么好，你也有理性，用你的理性能力来刺激他的理性能力，向他指明他的错处，劝诫他吧。因为乳沟他肯定，你将医治他，但没必要生气。他非悲剧演员亦非妓女······

正像你离去时你不想死······所以在此生活是你的力量范围之内。但如果人们不容许你，那么就放弃生命吧，并仍表现得仿佛你没有受到任何伤害。这屋子是烟雾弥漫的，我就离开它。但你为什么这么苦恼呢？只要没什么东西迫使我出去，我就留下，自由自在，无人阻止我做我所欲的事情，我愿意做那符合理性和社会动物本性的事情。

你从此将如何表现与神灵、你的父母、兄弟、孩子、教师、那些从小照顾你的人、你的朋友、同胞以及你的奴隶呢？要考虑是否你从此要以这样一种方式表现于所有人，使人可以这样说你：

“一个在行为或语言中不犯错的人。”

你要回一下你经历过多少事情，你一直能忍受多少困苦，你的生命史现在告终，你的服务现在终止；你又见过多少美丽的食物，你蔑视过多少快乐和痛苦，你拒斥了多少所谓光荣的事情，你对多少心肠不好的庸人表示过和善。

无能和无知的灵魂怎么会打扰有能力和有知识的人呢？那么什么灵魂有能力和有知识呢？那知道开端和结尾的，知道那隐涵在整个实体和在全部时间中以确定的时代（变革）管理着宇宙的理性的灵魂。


　　很快，你就将化为灰尘，或者一具骷髅，一个名称，甚至连名称也没有，而名称只是声音和回声。那在生活中被高度重视的东西是空洞的、易朽和琐屑的，像小狗一样互相撕咬，小孩子们争吵着、笑着，然后又马上哭泣。但忠诚、节制、正义和真理却：


　　


　　从宽广的大地飞向奥林匹斯山。


　　


　　


　　如果感觉的对象是容易变化的，从不保持静止；知觉器官是迟钝的，容易得到错误的印象；可怜的灵魂本身是从血液的一种嘘气，那么还有什么使你滞留在此呢？是为了在这样一个空洞的世界里有一个好名声。那么你为什么不安静地等着你的结局，不论它是死亡还是迁徙到另一国家呢？直到那一时刻来临，怎样才是足够的呢？难道不就是崇敬和赞美神灵，对人们行善，实行忍耐和节制；至于那么在可怜的肉体和呼吸之外的一切事物，要记住它们既不是属于你的也不是你力所能及的。


　　如果你能走正确的道路，正确地思考和行动，你就能在一种幸福的平静流动中度过一生。这两件事对于神的灵魂和人的灵魂，对于理性存在的灵魂都是共同的，不要受别的事情打扰。好好地坚持正义的气质并实行正义，这样你就能消除你的欲望。


　　如果这不是我自己的恶，也不是我自己的恶引起的结果，公共福利也不受到损害，为什么我要为它苦恼呢？什么是对公共福利的损害呢？


　　不要不加考虑地被事物的现象牵着鼻子走，而是根据你的能力和是否对他们合适而给所有人以帮助；如果他们蒙受无关紧要的物质上的损失，不要把这想像为是一种损害。因为这是一种坏的习惯。但当这个老人，当他离去时，回顾他抚育的孩子的巅峰时期，记住这是巅峰时期，你在这种场合里也要这样做。


　　


　　当你在讲坛上呼唤时，人啊，你忘记了这些事物是什么吗？－是的，但它们是这些人强烈关心的对象－那么你自己也要这样愚蠢地对待这些事物吗？－我曾经是一个幸运的人，但我失去了它，我不知道怎么办。－但幸运只意味着一个人给自己分派了一种好的运气：一种好运气就是灵魂、好的情感、好的行为的一种好的配置。