[One Thousand Characters a Day] Aurelius' "Meditations" <4>

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Marcus Aurelius was a late Stoic philosopher and the last emperor of the Roman Empire’s era of the Five Good Emperors. He spent most of his reign not in the capital Rome but on the frontier battlefields, sharing hardships with his soldiers. In a turbulent era burdened by war, epidemics, and natural disasters, he gathered life wisdom as advice to himself in his work Meditations. Philosopher and Western classics scholar Kim Dong-hoon, the translator, evaluated that these writings can be grouped into three themes: 'philosophical training,' 'training in choice,' and 'training in management,' which respectively cultivate 'observational skills,' 'decisiveness,' and 'self-restraint' in today’s readers. Word count: 1,031 characters.

How clear is it to you that there is no better opportunity for philosophical reflection than the situation you are currently in?

A branch cut off from the tree is surely severed from the whole tree. Likewise, when a person separates from others, they are separated from society as a whole. However, while branches are cut by others, people themselves separate from their neighbors by harboring hatred and turning away. They do not realize that this separates themselves from society. Yet, there is a gift from Zeus, the creator of society: we must grow together with our neighbors and become parts that complete the whole once again.

However, if such separations occur frequently, the separated parts find it difficult to rejoin and restore the previous state. Branches that sprouted and grew together from the beginning are entirely different from branches that have been grafted back after separation, no matter what the gardener says. They grow together but do not share the same spirit.

Even if those who block your path as you walk according to right reason try to hinder you, they cannot divert your righteous actions. Thus, do not let them take away the kindness you have shown them. But focus on two things: consistently maintaining your judgment and actions, and being generous even to those who obstruct or irritate you in any way.

Getting angry at them, stopping your actions, or succumbing to pressure is weakness. For those who act out of fear and those who cannot assert themselves even among kin or friends are both deserters from the camp to which they belong by nature.

Nature is not inferior to artifice. Artifice imitates the nature of things. But if this is true, then among all natures, the most perfect and comprehensive nature cannot be inferior to the craftsmanship of artifice. In all arts, work is done because of something superior, yet something inferior results; the nature of the universe is the same.

The things you make a fuss about pursuing or avoiding do not come to you; in a sense, you yourself approach them.

- Aurelius, Meditations, translated by Kim Dong-hoon, Minumsa, 13,000 KRW