“Why all this guesswork? You can see what needs to be done. If you can see the road, follow it. Cheerfully without turning back. If not, hold up and get the best advice you can. If anything gets in the way, forge ahead, making good use of what you have on hand, sticking to what seems right. (The best goal to achieve, and the one we fall short of when we fail.)”
Excerpt From: Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius. “Meditations.”
Book #X, #12
”To follow the logos in all things is to be relaxed and energetic, joyful and serious at once.”
Excerpt From: Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius. “Meditations.”
Book #X, #12a
“12. What need of surmise when it lies with thee to decide what should be done, and if thou canst see thy course, to take it with a good grace and not turn aside; but if thou canst not see it, to hold back and take counsel of the best counsellors; and if any other obstacles arise therein, to go forward as thy present means shall allow with careful deliberation holding to what is clearly just? For to succeed in this is the best thing of all, since in fact to fail in this would be the only failure. Leisurely without being lethargic and cheerful as well as composed shall he be who follows Reason in everything.”
- From Marcus Aurelius Book 10
Marcus Aurelius (Loeb Classical Library)
Delphi Complete Works of Marcus Aurelius – Marcus Aurelius
Meditations – Marcus Aurelius & Gregory Hays
Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library)
Cover shot. Plus the Classical Editions.
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