Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.8

Among the animals that have not reason one life is distributed; but among reasonable animals one intelligent soul is distributed.

 Just as there is one earth of all things that are of an earthly nature, so we see by one light, and breathe one air, all of us that have the faculty of vision and all that have life.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 9.8 (tr Long)

An academic I once met argued that a great weakness of the Meditations is how Marcus Aurelius constantly repeats himself. Now we all have our preferences on writing that speaks to us, and I find rather that the way the Meditations will circle back to a set of common themes is of great assistance to me.

I can’t speak for what Marcus Aurelius intended, but for me it has always come across as a work immediately grounded in daily practice, not just an expression of abstract theory. I approach each passage as an observation and insight about a specific aspect of living, offering specific tools to face the obstacles that come my way.

Consequently, similar themes will return over and over whenever certain problems arise over and over. The repetition actually helps to ground my habits, reminds me of what I have forgotten, and strengthens my resolve on each new day.

Am I distressed? I recall that no circumstance can truly harm me. Am I tempted by wealth, or fame, or glory? I recall that it is all a passing vanity. Do I fear death? I recall that change and transformation are at the heart of Nature. Am I angry with my neighbor? I recall that we are made to be together, not to be separated.

Stoicism always insists on stressing unity over division, the way things are joined instead of fractured, and I do need to hear this again and again when I feel isolated from the world around me. As the very word should suggest, the Universe is one, in that all things that exist share in the same being. Stoic physics often expresses various forms of monism and pantheism, which I can apply in practice to understand that nothing ever is outside of everything that is.

All beings share and participate in one being. Call something an aspect, a part, an emanation, or an effect, but it is still within the whole. This is then true down the line for all kinds of creatures. All material objects share and participate in one matter. All living things share and participate in one life. All minds share and participate in one mind.

When I am thinking, I am not thinking on my own. My reason proceeds from Universal Reason, and it works together with all other reason. Just as all of us are living on the same earth, and breathing the same air, and seeing by the same light, we are all understanding together.

This may sound quite abstract and mysterious, but it doesn’t need to be. It means I am not alone, whatever may happen, or however I may feel. I believe this is something that warrants being repeated.

Written in 8/2008