At first tragedies were brought on the stage as means of reminding men of the things which happen to them, and that it is according to nature for things to happen so, and that, if you are delighted with what is shown on the stage, you should not be troubled with that which takes place on the larger stage.
Marcus Aurelius reflects on the original purpose of tragedies as a reminder to accept the natural course of events in life.
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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…
Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial.
All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.
Either there is a fatal necessity and invincible order, or a kind providence, or a confusion without a purpose and without a director (iv. 27).
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