《沉思录·卷六·宇宙即变化》第41条
Whatever of the things which are not within thy power thou shalt suppose to be good for thee or evil, it must of necessity be that, if such a bad thing befall thee, or the loss of such a good thing, thou wilt not blame the gods, and hate men too, those who are the cause of the misfortune or the loss, or those who are suspected of being likely to be the cause; and indeed we do much injustice because we make a difference between these things [because we do not regard these things as indifferent+]. But if we judge only those things which are in our power to be good or bad, there remains no reason either for finding fault with God or standing in a hostile attitude to man.
注释摘要
这条札记是奥勒留对爱比克泰德伦理学核心原则的一次极清晰的重述，也是整部《沉思录》中最具操作性的段落之一。他所处理的不是「世上有没有坏事」，而是「你把什么当作好事或坏事之后，你的内心会变成什么样子」。推理的链条很短，但极严厉。起点是一个很容易被忽略的前提：如果你把任何一件「不在你能力之内」的事——财富、名声、健康、他人的评价、政治成败——视为对你有益的好事，…