The following is taken from chapter five of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.
"In he morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present- I am rising to the work of a human being. Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into the world? Or have I been made for this, to lie in the bed-clothes and keep myself warm?- But this is more pleasant.- Dost thou exist then to take thy pleasure, and not at all for action or exertion? Dost thou not see the little plants, the little birds, the ants, the spiders, the bees working together to put in order their several parts of the universe? And art thou unwilling to do the work of a human being, and dost thou not make haste to do that which is according to thy nature?- But it is necessary to take rest also.- It is necessary: however nature has fixed bounds to this too: she has fixed bounds both to eating and drinking, and yet thou goest beyond these bounds, beyond what is sufficient; yet in thy acts it is not so, but thou stoppest short of what thou canst do. So thou lovest not thyself, for if thou didst, thou wouldst love thy nature and her will. But those who love their several arts exhaust themselves in working at them unwashed and without food; but thou valuest thy own own nature less than the turner values the turning art, or the dancer the dancing art, or the lover of money values his money, or the vainglorious man his little glory. And such men, when they have a violent affection to a thing, choose neither to eat nor to sleep rather than to perfect the things which they care for. But are the acts which concern society more vile in thy eyes and less worthy of thy labour?"
What exactly is the work of a human being?
The work of a human being..
ReplyDeleteExactly? I would say that it is to live, to love, to work for food, and to die, all the while seeking to know Deity and its wishes.
The land you work will fail in time. The works you create will fade to dust in time. The n/f-ame you create for yourself will be forgotten. The kingdoms and wealth and influence you gain will be lost.
(I like these Victor Frankl words: "to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering. If there is a purpose in life at all, there must be a purpose in suffering and dying.")
Though what Emperor Aurelius says is that you should not idle your time away but should fulfill your nature through work and accomplishment as all other creatures do. And what is it that you should fulfill? What work do you have before you? He asks us, "But are the acts which concern society more vile in thy eyes and less worthy of thy labour?" He answers "if a thing is good to be done or said, do not consider it unworthy of thee"
And I agree in that we should follow after Good. He says to follow your nature but I say follow after your Good nature; the God-inspired nature; the nature that leads men to sacrifice and humility and thanksgiving, etc.
The work exactly to me: survive and be Good.
The work exactly to him: follow your own nature which is good.
BTW, the picture is of Commodus, I believe.
Yeah, the picture looks nothing like him, but I like how it matched my blog... so it's up there.
ReplyDeleteI should probably stop posting things that I agree with, making this no fun.
As you said, though, he claims to follow human nature because it is what is good. However, according to the religion I'm most familiar with, God wants humans to fall away from human nature and become something better, or so I'm told. So, human nature isn't good? Meh.. We are certainly all aware, unless sociopathic, of that sense of morality that C.S. Lewis describes in his first chapter of Mere Christianity. But is it human nature to not want to, or just not follow that sense of morality?
What is Hate,Lust but an excess of Love?
ReplyDeleteWhat is Envy,Jealousy but an excess of Want?
The borders of morality are set .. but where?
Human nature, it seems to me, is unbridled expressions in the human experience: murder, thievery, adultery, deceit..
All Good in our religion is attributed to the only Righteous being: God. In Emperor Aurelius's religion, (as far as I can tell) he sees Good as being an intrinsic part of a human that only needs fulfillment through action.
I think that human nature is raw and real and should not be overlooked as being mere evil because we were put in these forms. Therefore, perhaps the emotions and actions of man need be refined, but not suppressed without rejecting who we are.
Temperance is the similarity between the two religions here.
Hodge-podged statements creating a picture of a greater statement. Eh, eh?
I almost said, "I echo your sentiments." But then I realized that I really hate when people say that... It just sounds ridiculous, in my opinion.
ReplyDelete