Now, if these things are done so, life must flow on happily, just as thou mayst observe that the life of a citizen is happy, who continues a course of action which is advantageous to his fellow-citizens, and is content with whatever the state may assign to him.
This passage from his personal reflections connects individual happiness to virtuous conduct, civic duty, and contentment with one's role in the state.
Share
More from Marcus Aurelius
The third, then, is the ruling part; consider thus: Thou art an old man; no longer let this be a slave, no longer be pulled by the strings like a puppet to unsocial movements, no longer be either dissatisfied with thy present lot, or…
I observed, too, that no man could ever think that he was despised by Maximus, or ever venture to think himself a better man.
But to be strong enough both to bear the one and to be sober in the other is the mark of a man who has a perfect and invincible soul, such as he showed in the illness of Maximus.
In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present,--I am rising to the work of a human being.
Other voices in this conversation
