《沉思录·卷七·痛苦与忍受》第33条
About pain: the pain which is intolerable carries us off; but that which lasts a long time is tolerable; and the mind maintains its own tranquillity by retiring into itself, and the ruling faculty is not made worse. But the parts which are harmed by pain, let them, if they can, give their opinion about it.
注释摘要
这一段关于痛苦的处理，是整部《沉思录》中斯多葛治疗术操作得最清晰的一笔。奥勒留没有否认疼痛的生理事实，但他立刻在疼痛与受苦之间划出了一条分界线。他先用了一个几乎是从伊壁鸠鲁那里借来的逻辑：如果痛苦强烈到无法忍受，它会直接带走生命，那时你已不存在，问题自行消失；如果痛苦持续很久却没能带走你，那它必定在可承受的范围内，否则你早就被它吞噬了。这个二分法在逻辑上是…