MARCUS AURELIUS. MEDITATIONS. Book ii. 11.
Tuesday
February 7
KEEP thyself pure from all violent passion,
and evil affection, from all rashness and
vanity, and from all manner of discontent, either
in regard of the gods, or men. For indeed whatsoever
proceeds from the gods, deserves respect
for their worth and excellency; and whatsoever
proceeds from men, as they are our kinsmen,
should by us be entertained, with love, always;
sometimes, as proceeding from their ignorance of
that which is truly good and bad (a blindness no
less, than that by which we are not able to
discern between white and black:) with a kind
of pity and compassion also.
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This is a hard lesson indeed. To treat all men as brothers, regardless of their behaviour, because their error is not in their actions, but in the incorrect beliefs that their actions spring from. This does not mean that we should not defend ourselves or protect others, what it means is that we should not habour fear and hatred in our hearts as we do so. Vengeance should not be our response. Nor should Fate or the Gods be blamed for the events that fall upon us.
ReplyDeleteLove should be our inner landscape, and until we reach that high plane, the lowlands of pity and compassion will be our first steps.