A spider is proud when it has caught a fly, and another when he has caught a poor hare, and another when he has taken a little fish in a net, and another when he has taken wild boars, and another when he has taken bears, and another when he has taken Sarmatians.
In his private meditations, Marcus Aurelius uses a series of escalating examples to illustrate the nature of pride and achievement across different beings.
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He took a reasonable care of his body's health, not as one who was greatly attached to life, nor out of regard to personal appearance, nor yet in a careless way, but so that through his own attention he very seldom stood in need of the…
In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present,--I am rising to the work of a human being.
How ridiculous and what a stranger he is who is surprised at anything which happens in life.
I observed, too, that no man could ever think that he was despised by Maximus, or ever venture to think himself a better man.
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