《沉思录·卷七·痛苦与忍受》第18条
Is any man afraid of change? Why, what can take place without change? What then is more pleasing or more suitable to the universal nature? And canst thou take a bath unless the wood undergoes a change? and canst thou be nourished, unless the food undergoes a change? And can anything else that is useful be accomplished without change? Dost thou not see then that for thyself also to change is just the same, and equally necessary for the universal nature?
注释摘要
奥勒留在这里用的是非常朴素的归谬法。他先提一个问题：有人害怕变化吗？紧接着用一连串日常经验来拆解这个恐惧的荒谬——洗澡需要木柴燃烧变化，进食需要食物消化变化，任何有用的事哪一件离得开变化？最后把这条逻辑拉回到人身上：你自己的变化也一样，对宇宙本性来说同样必要、同样自然。这几句话的推力不来自斯多葛的技术术语，而来自经验观察和类比，但底下压着的确实是斯多葛的宇…