The safety of life is this, to examine everything all through, what it is itself, that is its material, what the formal part; with all thy soul to do justice and to say the truth.
Marcus Aurelius defines the secure and virtuous life as one dedicated to thorough examination, justice, and truthfulness.
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With respect to that which happens conformably to nature, we ought to blame neither gods, for they do nothing wrong either voluntarily or involuntarily, nor men, for they do nothing wrong except involuntarily.
All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.
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.
That which is from fortune is not separated from nature or without an interweaving and involution with the things which are ordered by providence.
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