《沉思录·卷八·行事与本分》第25条
Lucilla saw Verus die, and then Lucilla died. Secunda saw Maximus die, and then Secunda died. Epitynchanus saw Diotimus die, and then Epitynchanus died. Antoninus saw Faustina die, and then Antoninus died. Such is everything. Celer saw Hadrianus die, and then Celer died. And those sharp-witted men, either seers or men inflated with pride, where are they,--for instance the sharp-witted men, Charax and Demetrius the Platonist, and Eudaemon, and any one else like them? All ephemeral, dead long ago. Some indeed have not been remembered even for a short time, and others have become the heroes of fables, and again others have disappeared even from fables. Remember this then, that this little compound, thyself, must either be dissolved, or thy poor breath must be extinguished, or be removed and placed elsewhere.
注释摘要
这条札记是用一连串死者的名字编织而成的死亡练习。卢西拉目睹维鲁斯死去，自己随即也死了；塞昆达看见马克西姆斯死去，然后轮到她自己。奥勒留列举的都是他身边朝堂与家庭中真实的人物——卢西拉是他母亲，维鲁斯是他早逝的共治皇帝，安东尼努斯是他本人的帝号，法乌斯提娜是他妻子。当他把死亡说成“这就是一切”时，他不是在进行抽象的哲学推论，而是在提醒自己：每一个你以为只是旁…