《沉思录·卷六·宇宙即变化》第24条
Alexander the Macedonian and his groom by death were brought to the same state; for either they were received among the same seminal principles of the universe, or they were alike dispersed among the atoms.
注释摘要
奥勒留在这段话里做了一个他常做的思想练习，就是把最极端的社会距离拉到死亡面前，让它失去意义。马其顿的亚历山大，征服者、帝国的缔造者，和他那个连名字都没有留下的马夫，两人在活着的时候隔着整个世界，但死后，他们回到了完全相同的状态。奥勒留用了两种可能的宇宙论假说来推出这个结论，但不管选哪一种，结果都一样。第一种假说是斯多葛派的，认为宇宙的物质消散后会回归到统摄…