《沉思录·卷六·宇宙即变化》第14条
Most of the things which the multitude admire are referred to objects of the most general kind, those which are held together by cohesion or natural organization, such as stones, wood, fig-trees, vines, olives. But those which are admired by men, who are a little more reasonable, are referred to the things which are held together by a living principle, as flocks, herds. Those which are admired by men who are still more instructed are the things which are held together by a rational soul, not however a universal soul, but rational so far as it is a soul skilled in some art, or expert in some other way, or simply rational so far as it possesses a number of slaves. But he who values a rational soul, a soul universal and fitted for political life, regards nothing else except this; and above all things he keeps his soul in a condition and in an activity conformable to reason and social life, and he co-operates to this end with those who are of the same kind as himself.
注释摘要
这条札记是在做一种层层剥落的价值阶梯推演。奥勒留没有在抽象地讨论“什么值得羡慕”，而是在拿自己的心灵做解剖，看它究竟被什么东西牵着走。他先把众人觉得了不起的东西罗列出来，然后逐级拆穿其底细。 他用的分类依据是斯多葛物理学的灵魂层级论，也就是事物按照其组织原理是有等级的。最低一层是“单纯聚合”，比如石头、木头、无花果树、葡萄藤和橄榄。这些东西能保持自身形态，…