Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.42

We are all working together to one end, some with knowledge and design, and others without knowing what they do; as men also do when they are asleep, of whom it is Heraclitus, I think, who says that they are laborers and cooperators in the things which take place in the Universe.

But men cooperate after different fashions. And even those cooperate abundantly, who find fault with what happens and those who try to oppose it and to hinder it. For the Universe had need even of such men as these.

It remains then for you to understand among what kind of workmen you place yourself. For he who rules all things will certainly make a right use of you, and he will receive you among some part of the cooperators and of those whose labors conduce to one end.

  

But do not be such a part as the mean and ridiculous verse in the play, which Chrysippus speaks of.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 6 (tr Long)

Some things will act for the sake of the good through their own awareness and choice, while others will do so only from ignorance and necessity. Each sort will play a certain part, and I must decide of which sort I will have myself be.

“We’ll all end up right where we need to be,” my uncle once told me. “The only difference will be if we’re glad and willing, or kicking and screaming.”

Accordingly, I will do my best to always discover the good in whatever situation I find myself. This is hardly easy, because we are so used to thinking that the conditions make the man, instead of the man making something of the conditions. Yet however confusing the specifics may seem at the time, I can know with certainty that every circumstance offers an opportunity to choose to act well. If I renounce my freedom to do so, I will still be of service, but only as an opportunity for someone else to choose to act well.

What a wonderful way to also appreciate everything for its own sake. Even the most thoughtless and vicious man is here, as he is right now, for a reason. He may help me to do what is right for myself through his own wrong, but most importantly for his sake, he may learn to do what is right for himself through his own wrong. Providence will not only permit, but will always encourage, the choice of willing and joyful cooperation.

The reference to Chrysippus, the third head of the Stoic school of Athens, is about passages in a drama that are in and of themselves about immoral or foolish things, but still end up serving the larger purpose of the whole story. I think, for example, of how a vicious character in a narrative may well commit terrible deeds, or a buffoon may stumble about aimlessly, but in a certain way that very vice or buffoonery will become the occasion for moral improvement. It may serve as a contrast, or teach a lesson, or provide the very problem to be resolved.

Now I should never wish to be immoral or foolish, but if I stubbornly insist on following that path, I will still serve a purpose, just like the villain or the comic relief in a play.

As a student of mine once observed, knowing how much I love comic books, “Poor Lex Luthor! He always has some dastardly scheme, and he only ends up giving Superman the chance to put it right!”

Yes, even Lex has his place. Still, don’t choose to be like Lex.

Written in 6/2007