《沉思录·卷九·不义与虚妄》第30条
Look down from above on the countless herds of men and their countless solemnities, and the infinitely varied voyagings in storms and calms, and the differences among those who are born, who live together, and die. And consider, too, the life lived by others in olden time, and the life of those who will live after thee, and the life now lived among barbarous nations, and how many know not even thy name, and how many will soon forget it, and how they who perhaps now are praising thee will very soon blame thee, and that neither a posthumous name is of any value, nor reputation, nor anything else.
注释摘要
这一条练习的是一种斯多葛派独有的内心技术——从高处俯瞰。奥勒留要求自己把视线从眼前的事务抽离，升到足够高的位置，往下看。他看到的不再是某个令他愤怒的对手，不再是元老院里某一句冒犯他的话，也不再是他自己那封还未写完的战报，而是密密麻麻的人群，像无数畜群一样在地面上忙碌奔走，为各自的祭典、航海、出生和死亡而奔波。这种视觉化的想象有一个明确的目的：一旦把全部人类…