《沉思录·卷二·写于格拉努阿河畔》第2条
Whatever this is that I am, it is a little flesh and breath, and the ruling part. Throw away thy books; no longer distract thyself: it is not allowed; but as if thou wast now dying, despise the flesh; it is blood and bones and network, a contexture of nerves, veins, and arteries. See the breath also, what kind of a thing it is; air, and not always the same, but every moment sent out and again sucked in. 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 shrink from the future.
注释摘要
奥勒留在这里对自己做了一个快速、冷酷的解剖。他把“我”拆成三层：一层是血肉骨骼神经血管编织起来的这具身体，一层是每时每刻吸入又呼出的气息，第三层是“统治的部分”。说“统治的部分”，他用的是斯多葛派的一个核心概念 hegemonikon，指的是人的心智中那个能作判断、能选择、能下命令的主导官能。它不是脑子，不是灵魂的全部，而是灵魂里端坐在指挥位置上的那一部分…