《沉思录·卷十一·灵魂的属性》第3条
What a soul that is which is ready, if at any moment it must be separated from the body, and ready either to be extinguished or dispersed or continue to exist; but so that this readiness comes from a man's own judgment, not from mere obstinacy, as with the Christians, but considerately and with dignity and in a way to persuade another, without tragic show.
注释摘要
这一条的核心是一颗灵魂面对死亡的姿态。奥勒留在这里勾勒的，不是空洞的勇敢，而是一种经过理性过滤的准备状态。他首先列出死后可能的情形：要么被熄灭，要么消散为元素，要么以某种方式继续存在。斯多葛派在灵魂是否不朽的问题上并非铁板一块，有人倾向灵魂在宇宙大火之前存续一段，有人认为死后就归于整体。奥勒留在这里把几种可能性并列，本身就意味着：死后的确切状态不是他关注的…