《沉思录·卷九·不义与虚妄》第35条
Loss is nothing else than change. But the universal nature delights in change, and in obedience to her all things are now done well, and from eternity have been in like form, and will be such to time without end. What, then, dost thou say,--that all things have been and all things always will be bad, and that no power has ever been found in so many gods to rectify these things, but the world has been condemned to be bound in never ceasing evil (iv. 45, vii. 18)?
注释摘要
奥勒留在这里要做一件非常困难的事：他要说服自己，我们平常认为最真实、最痛苦的那些“丧失”，其实根本不存在。他所用的办法，是把“丧失”彻底还原为“变化”。 这条推理的起点是一个斯多葛派的基本自然观。宇宙中的一切都在不断流转、组合、分解。没有东西从绝对的“有”变成绝对的“无”，只有形态在改变。因此，当你觉得自己“失去”了什么，严格来说，只是一团物质从一种组合状…