Marcus Aurelius: “For what else are all these things, except exercises for the reason, when it has viewed carefully and by examination…”

In the application of thy principles thou must be like the pancratiast, not like the gladiator; for the gladiator lets fall the sword which he uses and is killed; but the other always has his hand, and needs to do nothing else than use it.

A man then must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.

For every judgment and movement and desire and aversion is within, and no evil ascends so high.

Further, I owe it to the gods that I was not hurried into any offence against any of them, though I had a disposition which, if opportunity had offered, might have led me to do something of this kind; but, through their favor, there never…