《沉思录·卷十二·此刻即全部》第24条
These three principles thou must have in readiness: In the things which thou doest, do nothing either inconsiderately or otherwise than as justice herself would act; but with respect to what may happen to thee from without, consider that it happens either by chance or according to providence, and thou must neither blame chance nor accuse providence. Second, consider what every being is from the seed to the time of its receiving a soul, and from the reception of a soul to the giving back of the same, and of what things every being is compounded, and into what things it is resolved. Third, if thou shouldst suddenly be raised up above the earth, and shouldst look down on human things, and observe the variety of them how great it is, and at the same time also shouldst see at a glance how great is the number of beings who dwell all around in the air and the ether, consider that as often as thou shouldst be raised up, thou wouldst see the same things, sameness of form and shortness of duration. Are these things to be proud of?
注释摘要
这段文字是奥勒留给自己开出的药方，简洁、刚硬，像行军途中的一条命令。他把整件事归结为三个必须时刻握在手中的原则，或者说，三把衡量万物的短尺。他不准备长篇大论，只求在愤怒、焦虑或自满冒头的瞬间，可以立刻抽出其中一条来稳住自己。 第一个原则直接处理人的两大麻烦：自己的行动与外来的遭遇。行动方面，他只给两个标准——不可草率，不可不公。“正义本身会怎么做”，这是一…