- Marcus gets theological again. He speaks of injustice as a sin committed by rational people who were meant to live for each other.
- To act against another human being is to move against Nature.
- Lying is a great problem, too, because man moves against the goddess Truth.
- Lies that are intentional feed into the sin of injustice.
- "Unconscious liars" are out of tune with the Whole and are therefore divorced from their own natures. This kind of person fights against his or her own humanity.
- Also sinful are pleasure and the avoidance of pain. These are problems because a person who is thwarted from pleasure or who suffers pain will blame the gods for the unfairness of it all.
- Marcus points out that this is often because the wicked enjoy pleasure while the good suffer.
- Marcus also claims that to fear future events is a sin, though he doesn't explain much why.
- Those who seek pleasure often commit injustice, since they will stop at nothing to gain their will.
- Marcus says that a person in tune with Nature will remain indifferent to either pain or pleasure—no extremes for this person. If a person is not indifferent, he or she is sinning.
- Marcus clarifies his statement that Nature is "indifferent" to pain and pleasure. He means that both things are distributed through the universe to all that lives, with no bias.
- "Providence" set out to create an ordered universe and created principles with which to govern it. So it's all about the creation and re-creation of the universe—it's not about favoritism.
- Rational people prefer to leave deceitful friends than to sully their minds. They would prefer avoid evil all together.
- The reason? A sickness of the mind is worse than one of the body. It degrades a person's humanity.
- Marcus reminds himself that Death is his friend. At any rate, it's part of the process of life, and a wise person just thinks of it as another function of the body.
- Marcus finds another way to make himself happy about death: he won't have to deal with work anymore, nor will he have to deal with the people he can't stand.
- Marcus reminds himself that he still has to be nice to these people, but oh, how glad he'll be when he's dead and won't have to deal with them anymore.
- Death would be much harder if Marcus only lived with people like himself. However, this is not his reality.
- The longer Marcus hangs on in this world, the more likely he will be "contaminated" and begin to lose his identity.
- Those who sin and do wrong only hurt themselves by becoming wicked.
- Marcus finds that one can commit a wrong either actively (by doing something) or passively (by not acting).
- Marcus wants to be content with the present again and focus on the judgment and actions before him.
- Marcus wants to shut down the faculties that upset the tranquility of his mind: imagination, desire, impulse.
- There is a spiritual unity for all rational and irrational creatures. Marcus also sees a commonality in the elements that are shared by all who live on earth, drawing things together in harmony.
- Marcus reflects on the social nature of the scala naturae.All elements tend toward their own kind: water to water, earth to earth, fire to air (because of the "elemental fire"). In just this way, rational creatures have an affinity for one another. They are a "tribe."
- Marcus tells us more about collective bonding in irrational and rational creatures: bees work for the hive, flocks of birds work together to raise their young.
- For humans, there are communities, households, and governmental bodies. Even heavenly bodies have this kind of affinity, which can be seen in the harmonious movement of the stars.
- Yet it's only rational beings who forget this "family-feeling" for one another.
- Although a person may have the ability to cut him- herself off from humanity, it is mostly in his or her nature to stick with his group. A true outlier is rare.
- All things have purpose and "bear fruit," including Reason.
- Marcus reminds himself to have patience with those who do wrong. If he can't change them, he can treat them kindly. And why should he? Well, even the gods have patience with them.
- Marcus tells himself not to fuss about work. His goal in life is to do what is necessary for the common good.
- Marcus records that he's tossed all his cares away—at least for one day. He was able to do this because all his worry was internal, and he finally took control of it.
- Nothing changes over time, including the unpleasantness of earthly life.
- Marcus imagines external concerns as strangers standing on the doorstep of the mind. It's only the directing mind that makes value judgments about them.
- Marcus says that good and evil can only be judged by actions, not feelings. The same is true of people.
- Marcus uses the image of a stone tossed in the air to illustrate that man's decline is not an evil in itself. The stone suffers no evil in its rising up or its the falling back down to earth.
- Marcus encourages himself to understand the directing minds of those around him so that he can get a clearer picture of those who might criticize him.
- Change is constant. Marcus reminds himself that he is constantly changing and going through stages of decay—and that the same is true for the universe itself.
- Marcus tells himself that he shouldn't fuss at the wrongs of another.
- Marcus observes that there are deaths everywhere in the middle of life: when an activity or stage of life ends, for instance. But none of these changes are frightening.
- Marcus remembers different stages of his own life, for example when he lived with his grandpa, mother, and adoptive father. He admits that those changes were nothing to worry about. The same will be true for him at the end of his whole life: nothing new to see there. Move along.
- Marcus tells himself to check out as many directing minds as he can: his own, to make sure he's not being shady (i.e. unjust); the Whole's, to keep his origins in mind; and others', to understand his intentions and see if they are kindred spirits.
- Marcus reminds himself that he is a social being and that his actions should benefit humanity. If he should act otherwise, he would be a traitor to the Whole, destroying the unity of the universe.
- Marcus is not feeling generous about his contemporaries. He quotes Epictetus and references the Odyssey to illustrate the meanness of their spirits.
- Marcus advocates breaking everything into its component parts to see it exactly for what it is. This will also help him judge how enduring the thing itself is.
- Marcus wags his finger at himself for not using his reason as he should.
- Marcus warns himself to take criticism with a grain of salt. He should consider the source and decide what type of person is making the criticism before worrying.
- Still, Marcus realizes he has to be tolerant of such people, since they are fellow humans and the gods love them, too.
- More on the cyclical nature of the universe. Basically, the same stuff is just gonna keep happening.
- Marcus tries to soothe his anxieties again about the nature of the Whole: either it is a single, unified impulse that created everything, or it is a bunch of random creative bursts.
- Whether the Whole is a god or just random molecules smashing about, it's all good. And since we're all going to die, anyway, it doesn't pay to worry.
- Since all of creation is swept up in Time's stream, Marcus realizes that he must do what he has to do right now.
- Marcus also has to realize that he can't hope for perfection. He's just got to make progress with baby steps if that's the best he can do.
- Marcus shows more contempt for the people who stand in his way and claim to be philosophers (he says they are "full of snot").
- Marcus mentions previous great leaders and promises to imitate them if they were reasonable people—but not otherwise. He wants nothing to do with pride and ambition.
- Marcus encourages himself to contemplate the smallness of human existence. This dashes any desire he might have for lasting fame, but he's okay with that—none of this is important.
- Marcus tells himself to chill and not let external stuff get him down. He should be just in his actions.
- Returning to the idea that "thinking makes it so," Marcus tells himself that he can make his troubles disappear by controlling his judgment. By de-cluttering his mind in this way, he has space to contemplate the Universe and its changing nature.
- Everyone will die soon. It doesn't matter if you die young or old.
- Again, Marcus advocates examining the souls of the people around him so that he knows what he's up against. And the joke's on them if think their opinion of him matters at all. At all.
- Loss=change. It's part of the nature of the Universe, and it's all for the good.
- Why then does Marcus insist on being negative toward the gods about this truth?
- Decay is a fundamental part of the Universe. Marcus takes apart valuable materials to prove that they are mere nothings—just exhalations of the earth. The soul also is like this, and it too is constantly changing.
- Marcus scolds himself for being upset, especially when he can't change a given situation. He tries breaking an issue into its parts for analysis.
- In the end, Marcus calls himself out and says that he has to be humbler and repair his relationship with the gods.
- "Wrong" seems like a relative term for Marcus. But he knows that a wrongdoer harms himself by his behavior.
- More gods versus atoms. Marcus tells himself not to worry either way. He can take comfort in knowing that he's still living and still a rational being.
- Marcus debates with himself about the nature of the gods. Do they have power? If so, then he should pray to them for an increase in personal virtues—and not for material things. But why pray if the gods have given him the gift of self-determination? Can't he just pick himself up by his bootstraps and improve?
- Well, Marcus can still pray for the gods to help him use the powers that they've already given him.
- Marcus also reminds himself what to pray for—and this is quite different from what his neighbors might pray for. Marcus asks for virtues to help him endure.
- More Epicurus: don't focus on the body when you're ill, but discuss and promote virtues in all conversations. Keep the mind calm as the body suffers.
- Marcus encourages himself to follow the principles of philosophy no matter how difficult life gets. He also tells himself to focus on the work of the present moment.
- Marcus tells himself not to fret when he runs into a shady character. Not everyone in the world is like this, but bad people do exist. They have to—and that should make him feel less grouchy about them.
- Marcus takes comfort that Nature has given humanity the skill of opposing wrongs with virtues (we're talking kindness versus cruelty). This means there are always options for those who have gone astray.
- Bad people, however, can't affect Marcus's mind, no matter how wicked they are. Only the mind can harm itself—by judging the wrong.
- Marcus tells himself he has no right to be angry at ignorant behavior. Rather, he should learn to expect certain things from certain people.
- Moreover, he should really be angry with himself for forgetting about such stupidity...
- Marcus reminds himself that he's pretty much to blame for everything that annoys him, including other people's disloyalty and ingratitude.
- If Marcus could read character better or not look for reward for doing good things, everything would be fine.