《沉思录·卷五·天未亮就起身》第30条
The intelligence of the universe is social. Accordingly it has made the inferior things for the sake of the superior, and it has fitted the superior to one another. Thou seest how it has subordinated, co-ordinated, and assigned to everything its proper portion, and has brought together into concord with one another the things which are the best.
注释摘要
奥勒留在这一条里所依据的，是斯多葛派最核心也最容易被误解的一个命题：宇宙本身是一个有理性的、有生命的整体，而它的理性——也就是 logos——具有一种社会性的结构。所谓社会性，不是说宇宙像个城邦那样有法律有议会，而是说它像任何一个有机体那样，各个部分之间不是机械并置，而是彼此关联、彼此服务。这个结构有一个明确的等级秩序：低等的为高等的而存在，而高等的彼此之…