Zeno
01-25-2003, 11:43 PM
The quote below (Book V, number 20) is from "The Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (80 - 121 AD), translated by Maxwell Staniforth (am half way done with this book, it is an extraordinary read). I found this observation more than just a little interesting so I will share it with the "Other Topics crowd". Comment if you wish (the passage gets better the more you read it).
"In one way humanity touches my very nearly, inasmuch as I am bound to do good to my fellow creatures and bear with them. On the other hand, to the extent that individual men hamper my proper activities, humanity becomes a thing as indifferent to me as the sun, the wind, or the creatures of the wild. True, others may hinder the carrying out of certain actions; but they cannot obstruct my will, nor the disposition of my mind, since these will always safeguard themselves under reservations and adapt themselves to circumstances. The mind can circumvent all obstacles to action, and turn them to the furtherance of its main purpose, so that any impediment to its work becomes instead an auxiliary, and the barriers in its path become aids to progress."
"In one way humanity touches my very nearly, inasmuch as I am bound to do good to my fellow creatures and bear with them. On the other hand, to the extent that individual men hamper my proper activities, humanity becomes a thing as indifferent to me as the sun, the wind, or the creatures of the wild. True, others may hinder the carrying out of certain actions; but they cannot obstruct my will, nor the disposition of my mind, since these will always safeguard themselves under reservations and adapt themselves to circumstances. The mind can circumvent all obstacles to action, and turn them to the furtherance of its main purpose, so that any impediment to its work becomes instead an auxiliary, and the barriers in its path become aids to progress."