Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.13

Just as it is with the members in those bodies that are united in one, so it is with rational beings that exist as separate, for they have been constituted for one cooperation.

And the perception of this will be more apparent to you, if you often say to yourself that I am a “member” of the system of rational beings. But if you say that you are only a” part”, you do not yet love men from your heart.

 Beneficence does not yet delight you for its own sake. You still do it barely as a thing of propriety, and not yet as doing good to yourself.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 7 (tr Long)

We certainly use terms in very different ways. I find that so many of our disagreements and misunderstandings proceed precisely from this. What I may say, and intend, may not necessarily be what another understands.

There’s apparently a clever play on words in the original Greek here (“melos”, as distinct from “meros”), and it distinguishes between being a member and a part. I am hardly a scholar on the subtlety of the Greek language, but I have understood this as a difference between an active commitment and a passive acceptance. It is one thing to be a willing participant. It is quite another to be an indifferent presence.

Observe any group, of any sort. Some people stand up, and they take it as a joyful responsibility to do their part, with all their hearts, minds, and souls. Others shuffle about, and they only begrudgingly accept their place.

Some are inspired, and some go through the motions. For some it is a blessing, and for some it is a chore. Have I freely joined the club, or did I just inherit my membership? Am I working from what I can give, or only from what I expect to be given? The difference is one of night and day.

So it is with being human. I am a member of humanity when I devote myself to what is right and good for all of us. I am simply a part of humanity when I sit around and do the least that is expected of me.

I notice how many of those we consider to be our worst nevertheless give everything of themselves to be human. Many of those we consider to be our best will still simply go through the motions of being human. We become confused when we mix up how something really is with only how it appears.

I knew a wonderful and truly eccentric fellow who lived out of his van, and who helped me to learn the mandolin for Irish music. He would say time and time again:

Doers are doers, and players are players. Give all of yourself in love, or spend the rest of your life pretending that you love. Take your pick. Live with your choice, and you will also die with it. It’s one of the only real differences there is.

How often have I been sure that I am a member, not just a part, but yet I have not been a doer, just a player?

Love is the law, not as a begrudging obligation, but as a willing dedication.

Written in 9/2007

IMAGE: Allegory of Charity (1561)