The Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE SECOND BOOK I. Remember how long thou hast already put off these things, and how often a certain day and hour as it were, having been set unto thee by the gods, thou hast neglected it It is high time for thee to understand the true nature both of the world, whereof thou art a part; and of that Lord and...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE SECOND BOOK I. Remember how long thou hast already put off these things, and how often a certain day and hour as it were, having been set unto thee by the gods, thou hast neglected it It is high time for thee to understand the true nature both of the world, whereof thou art a part; and of that Lord and Governor of the world, from whom, as a channel from the spring, thou thyself didst flow: and that there is but a certain limit of time appointed unto thee, which if thou shalt not make use of to calm and allay the many distempers of thy soul, it will pass away and thou with it, and never after return. II. Let it be thy earnest and incessant care as a Roman and a man to perform whatsoever it is that thou art about, with true and unfeigned gravity, natural affection, freedom and justice: and as for all other cares, and imaginations, how thou mayest ease thy mind of them. Which thou shalt do; if thou shalt go about every action as thy last action, free from all vanity, all passionate and wilful aberration from reason, and from all hypocrisy, and self-love, and dislike of those things, which by the fates or appointment of God have happened unto thee. Thou seest that those things, which for '-, man to hold on in a prosperous course, and to live a divine life, are requisite and necessary, are not many, foi;.' the gods will require no more of any man, that shall biT't keep and observe these things. III. Do, soul, do; abuse and contemn thyself; ye a while and the time for thee to respect thyself, will b- at an end. Every man's happiness depends from hirr1 self, but behold thy life is almost at an end, while affording thyself no respect, thou dost make thy happj ness to consist in the souls, and conceits of other men. IV. Why should any of these things that happen externally...