Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11.19

There are four principal aberrations of the superior faculty against which you should be constantly on your guard, and when you have detected them, you should wipe them out and say on each occasion thus:

This thought is not necessary.

This tends to destroy social union.

This that you are going to say comes not from the real thoughts, for you should consider it among the most absurd of things for a man not to speak from his real thoughts.

But the fourth is when you shall reproach yourself for anything, for this is an evidence of the diviner part within you being overpowered and yielding to the less honorable and to the perishable part, the body, and to its gross pleasures.

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 11.19 (tr Long)

To think of all the grief I could have spared myself, and all the grief I might still spare myself, if I only take the time to consider what I am going to think, what I am going to say, what I am going to do.

This does not require the superhuman effort I may think it does; it is in many ways the least I can do, while still one of the most important things I can do. The greatest dangers to my own character will be found at rather unassuming points in the journey, and I will be able to maintain the course when I keep in mind the most basic awareness of what is good.

There, I suspect, is one of my biggest problems, in precisely making the whole affair much bigger than it needs to be, and more confusing than is necessary. If I remember that one and only requirement of living the happy life, of living in virtue according to Nature, and placing all other things relative to that goal, then I won’t get lost so easily. It will only take a brief moment of reflection to know what I must do, casting aside all other diversions.

Are my thoughts completely ordered toward the highest human good, or is my judgment distracted by misleading impressions? Remember, my thinking is mine to rule, and does not need to be enslaved by circumstances.

Am I disposed in such a way that I always think of how I am in solidarity with my neighbor, or am I tempted to division and conflict? Remember, there is nothing I must ever do that requires my own good to be at the expense of the good of another.

Am I speaking clearly and honestly, or am I hiding behind various forms of flattery, duplicity, and treachery? Remember, whatever comes forth from me should directly reflect the truth that is within me.

When I feel doubt or guilt about how I have chosen to live, do I work first on improving myself, or do I simply look the other way, vainly hoping that the inconvenience will disappear? Do I recognize the disorder within me?

To keep on my guard against the weaknesses in my soul, to strengthen my power to think, speak, and act well, doesn’t require a whole regiment equipped with a vast armory. It requires only care and concern at each step along the way.

Written in 6/2009