Welcome back! Today, I’m writing a brief post on today’s reading, Meditations chapter two! In today’s reading, I will be breaking down a few of the 17 points in chapter two, starting with point 1. I HIGHLY recommend picking up a copy of this book for yourself. It’s a very highly recommended book on philosophy for a reason, some of which you’ll be reading today. But enough gushing. Here’s point number 1.
Point 1: Mornings
“Begin the mornings by saying: I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, the arrogant, deceitful, envious, and unsocial.”
– Marcus Aurelius
Aurelius describes many of the characteristics of the.. unpleasant people we could meet throughout the day. I’m sure his list would have been longer, had the man only had hours in the day to tally them all. But he turns, after this, and looks at WHY they are the way they are.
“All these things HAPPEN to them by reason of their ignorance of good and evil.”
Aurelius describes these things as almost a punishment on them for their ignorance, and then makes an impressive claim, that he has seen the nature of good and its beauty, and evil and its ugly. He acknowledges his shared nature with these men and states that he can neither be injured by them, nor be angry at or hate them.
Point 4: The Time Given
“Remember how long you have been putting off these things..”
Aurelius comments on the limited time given to us by “the gods”, and that we often do not use it. He then reminds us to remember that we are a small part of a much, much bigger whole, and that if we do not use our time wisely, then it will come and go, and never return.
Point 7: Distractions
“Do the things external which fall upon you distract you? Give yourself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around. But then you must avoid being carried about the other way. For those too are triflers who have wearied themselves in life by their activity, and yet have no object to direct every movement, and, in a word, all their thoughts.”
I can’t help but put this one up there for myself as someone chronically struggling with distractions. Aurelius, striking a nerve with the ADHD addled everywhere, points out that it is good to learn things that are new, and that these things can soothe the mind. But he also points out the risk of being carried away, that too many distractions leads you to being exhausted by life, with no direction.
Even today, in attempting to write this, I am incredibly distracted. And if I allow myself to be carried away by a new thing, I will only add to my exhaustion further. This is of less benefit to me than to sit down, lock in, and push through the distractions to reach a new level in writing, focusing, and thinking.
Point 11: Mortality
“Since it is possible that you may depart from life this very moment, regulate every act and thought accordingly.”
Point 11 is one that St. Augustine would probably love but might disagree with some parts of. Firstly, Aurelius seems to be of the opinion that the gods of Rome would never involve him in evil, and thus he should not fear death. But we see many examples in pagan mythology where the gods do terrible things to even their own families, including spouse murder and rape. So Aurelius’ logic fails to stand in this point, as something that commits evil acts cannot be entrusted not to lead you into evil acts.
He carries on to say that if the gods do not exist, what is there to fear in death? This sentiment is quite agreeable, and why no one should be atheist. After all, if the atheist is right, none of us have a single concern after death. But if the atheist is wrong, there is a great deal of concern to be had.
He proceeds to make the claim that:
“Death and life, and honor and dishonor, pain and pleasure, all these things happen equally to men good and bad, being things which make us neither better nor worse. Therefore they are neither good, nor evil.”
Augustine would not agree with this at all, I think. Firstly, men do not suffer the various trials and blessings of life equally by any means! Many an evil man has risen to great power and wealth, and many a good man has fallen to pain and misery and not even in equal measure.
Additionally, Augustine would likely argue that the evil which befalls a good Christian will serve to strengthen his faith, his character, and his love of God, while that good which overtakes the evil man will serve to drive him further into evil, and greed, and the seeking of more, new goods to take. By this view, you can see that all of the things Aurelius described are both capable of making him better, or making him worse.
Additionally, there is a flaw in the statement that none of these things are good or evil. I would argue that all of these things are good in their own right. God does not punish unjustly, nor does he bless unjustly. If some bad thing happens to a Christian, who grows in faith and love, or turns from a sin he committed, then that bad thing was to his benefit. If a bad thing befalls a wicked man in punishment for sin, then he has been justly punished for his wrongdoing, and the only evil was in his own actions. Likewise, if a Christian is blessed, and turns to glorify God and bless others, then he has received only good.
Likewise, if the evil man receives a blessing, and only jumps deeper into sin, then that is by his own choice, and the evil he has fallen into is in spite of his blessings, not because of them. Thusly, the evil man condemns himself by his own blessings, and the good man is lifted up by even the harshest of punishments.
Closing Thoughts
There are thirteen additional points in chapter two of Meditations, and whether Christian or unbeliever, I highly recommend reading through them all. Aurelius was clearly a wise man, though flawed, and he helped build on the foundations of some of the greatest minds the world has known. As always, I thank you so much for reading what I have written, in my shallow meandering through the thinking of great minds. If you enjoyed this reading, send it to a family member or friend you think it might help, or leave a comment letting me know. I don’t earn any money from this, so that’s the best reward I can ask for.
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