《沉思录·卷十二·此刻即全部》第1条
All those things at which thou wishest to arrive by a circuitous road thou canst have now, if thou dost not refuse them to thyself. And this means, if thou wilt take no notice of all the past, and trust the future to providence, and direct the present only conformably to piety and justice. Conformably to piety that thou mayest be content with the lot which is assigned to thee, for nature designed it for thee and thee for it. Conformably to justice, that thou mayst always speak the truth freely and without disguise, and do the things which are agreeable to law and according to the worth of each. And let neither another man's wickedness hinder thee, nor opinion nor voice, nor yet the sensations of the poor flesh which has grown about thee; for the passive part will look to this. If, then, whatever the time may be when thou shalt be near to thy departure, neglecting everything else thou shalt respect only thy ruling faculty and the divinity within thee, and if thou shalt be afraid not because thou must some time cease to live, but if thou shalt fear never to have begun to live according to nature--then thou wilt be a man worthy of the universe which has produced thee, and thou wilt cease to be a stranger in thy native land, and to wonder at things which happen daily as if they were something unexpected, and to be dependent on this or that.
注释摘要
这段文字本质上是一份关于如何直接抵达心灵安宁的行动指南。奥勒留一开篇就用一个看似悖论的逻辑切入：人所渴望的一切——宁静、自足、道德上的完善——并非遥远目标，不需要绕远路去追逐。之所以迟迟得不到，不是外部条件不具足，而是自己拒绝给自己。所谓“绕远路”，指的是人通常以为必须先获得某种职位、财富、名誉，或必须先摆脱某段困境、消除某种威胁，然后才能安心过一种合乎德…