《沉思录·卷二·写于格拉努阿河畔》第5条
Every moment think steadily as a Roman and a man to do what thou hast in hand with perfect and simple dignity, and feeling of affection, and freedom, and justice, and to give thyself relief from all other thoughts. And thou wilt give thyself relief if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and self-love, and discontent with the portion which has been given to thee. Thou seest how few the things are, the which if a man lays hold of, he is able to live a life which flows in quiet, and is like the existence of the gods; for the gods on their part will require nothing more from him who observes these things.
注释摘要
这一段是奥勒留对“行动”这个主题最凝练的自我训诫。它不是在讲如何做大事，而是在讲如何让每一个行动本身变得完整。他开口就说“像一个罗马人和一个人那样”，看似在搬出身份，“罗马人”所意味的并非荣耀或特权，而是纪律、实用性、对共同体的责任感；“人”则指向普遍理性，指向那个能运用逻各斯、能做出道德判断的主宰部分。两者的并置意味着，奥勒留要求自己的行动必须同时满足这…