《沉思录·卷十一·灵魂的属性》第21条
He who has not one and always the same object in life, cannot be one and the same all through his life. But what I have said is not enough, unless this also is added, what this object ought to be. For as there is not the same opinion about all the things which in some way or other are considered by the majority to be good, but only about some certain things, that is, things which concern the common interest, so also ought we to propose to ourselves an object which shall be of a common kind [social] and political. For he who directs all his own efforts to this object, will make all his acts alike, and thus will always be the same.
注释摘要
这一条讨论的是人生目标的统一性及其内容。奥勒留在这里做了一个相当简洁但结构完整的论证：首先，人格的稳定取决于生活目标的稳定；其次，光是稳定还不够，目标本身必须指向正确的东西；最后，这个正确的东西就是社会性的、政治性的共同利益。 前半句的推理很直接。一个人如果今天追求这个，明天追求那个，他的判断、选择和行动就会随对象的变化而散开去，整个人的行为方式无法形成一…