《沉思录·卷七·痛苦与忍受》第44条
From Plato: But I would make this man a sufficient answer, which is this: Thou sayest not well, if thou thinkest that a man who is good for anything at all ought to compute the hazard of life or death, and should not rather look to this only in all that he does, whether he is doing what is just or unjust, and the works of a good or bad man.
注释摘要
这段文字是奥勒留对柏拉图笔下苏格拉底精神的直接借用，其言辞与《申辩篇》中苏格拉底在法庭上的抗辩一脉相承。奥勒留在这里复述的，是苏格拉底面对死刑判决时的根本立场：一个真正有德性的人，不以存活或死亡作为权衡行动的标准，而只以行为自身的正义或卑劣作为唯一的尺度。文中的“compute the hazard of life or death”，指的是那种将自身安危…