《沉思录·卷五·天未亮就起身》第20条
In one respect man is the nearest thing to me, so far as I must do good to men and endure them. But so far as some men make themselves obstacles to my proper acts, man becomes to me one of the things which are indifferent, no less than the sun or wind or a wild beast. Now it is true that these may impede my action, but they are no impediments to my affects and disposition, which have the power of acting conditionally and changing: for the mind converts and changes every hindrance to its activity into an aid; and so that which is a hindrance is made a furtherance to an act; and that which is an obstacle on the road helps us on this road.
注释摘要
这一条展现了奥勒留关于人际关系最核心的斯多葛式区分：同一个人，在你履行社会责任时是你的同类、你的邻人；在他阻碍你的道德行为时，他就变成了一件漠然之物。这不是对人的贬低，而是对判断的严格限定——人是理性动物，但人同时也是可能干扰你理性活动的自然现象，就像一阵风、一头野兽那样，无需赋予其额外的道德重量。关键在于后半句的推进：外在障碍不能触动你的支配能力，支配能…