《沉思录·卷八·行事与本分》第5条
This is the chief thing: Be not perturbed, for all things are according to the nature of the universal; and in a little time thou wilt be nobody and nowhere, like Hadrianus and Augustus. In the next place, having fixed thy eyes steadily on thy business, look at it, and at the same time remembering that it is thy duty to be a good man, and what man's nature demands, do that without turning aside; and speak as it seems to thee most just, only let it be with a good disposition and with modesty and without hypocrisy.
注释摘要
奥勒留在这里给了自己一个最要紧的命令：不要被扰乱。他紧接着给出两条理由，一条宇宙论的，一条时间上的。宇宙论的理由是：一切发生的事，都符合宇宙整体的本性。这话在他那个体系里份量极重。斯多葛派所说的宇宙本性，也就是那渗透万物的理性原则，规划一切，安排一切，每一个事件无论大小，都嵌在整体的因果链条之中。所以，抵触已发生的事，等于在宇宙理性面前闹别扭；而不被扰乱，…