- Marcus begins this book with a tone of regret: he will not be a career philosopher. He will not even have the reputation of being a philosopher. (Little does he know that history will say otherwise.)
- It's not a surprise, really, Marcus says, since he was born to an active life. He has to content himself with knowing he's walking the path laid down for him.
- Marcus contemplates the meaning of a good life and understands that it is not to be found in a life of luxury. Rather, he can live a good life by understanding good and evil and using that knowledge to control himself.
- Marcus defines the good as that which controls him and makes him brave. Evil does the opposite—in fact, it takes away his freedom.
- Marcus thinks he should begin each enterprise by asking himself if he will regret it later.
- Marcus also reminds himself that he will be dead soon and that he should be content with being intelligent, social, and god-loving.
- Marcus pits three great military leaders up against three famous philosophers to see how they stack up. It doesn't go well for the leaders. Marcus privileges the work of the philosophers, since their work reveals truths and makes people masters of themselves.
- Marcus notes that no matter how ticked off he is, those who tick him off will just keep doing their thing.
- Marcus gives himself a pep talk: don't worry, you'll be dead soon—just like the emperors before you. He tells himself to focus on the present and to his duty as a good man.
- Change is the work of the universe, but there is no cause for fear. Everything in existence has gone through serious changes to be what it is—and this happens over and over.
- All living things find their purposes when they act according to their natures. For humans, this means: 1) refraining from deceit; 2) performing social actions; 3) not overreaching; 4) embracing their lot in life.
- Rational creatures are a lot like leaves, which are part of a plant's nature. Except that humans are part of universal nature, which is rational.
- Marcus thinks of Universal Nature as just in its actions, giving to each created thing just what it needs.
- Marcus notes that he can't devote himself to the study of philosophy. However, he can still do all the things necessary to be a good man and live a good life. This includes showing generosity and love even to those who tick him off.
- Marcus tells himself to quit blaming life at court for his shortcomings.
- Marcus defines regret as the missed opportunity to benefit from something. That thing also has to be something that a good person would be interested in having or doing.
- A good person would never regret missing out on pleasure—which means that pleasure must not be beneficial.
- Marcus lays out a pattern of questioning that will help him break down things into their constituent parts so that he can better know what they really are and where they come from.
- Marcus must not have had enough sleep in his time, because he's back to reminding himself about the need to rise from bed cheerfully. After all, he is waking up to do the work that is proper to his nature, so he should not begrudge giving up the pleasure of a warm bed.
- Marcus urges himself to examine his thoughts carefully to understand better what he is feeling and what approach he is taking in any given situation.
- Marcus lays out some criteria for judging the character of a person. First, he wants to learn how the person thinks about good versus bad in life. By doing this, he will better be able to understand why the person acts the way he does. And this will make him more empathetic and tolerant.
- Marcus uses a string of comparisons to the natural world to illustrate humans' ability to discern things by their proper characteristics and actions (for example, a fig tree brings forth a fig). It would be ridiculous to be surprised by such actions. The same would be true if a doctor or a captain of a ship were to be surprised by adversity.
- Marcus reminds himself that it is not a bad thing to stand corrected. He does not change his nature if he changes his mind based on his own judgment or sound advice.
- Marcus contemplates the mechanics of choosing to do the wrong thing. If the choice is in his power, then he would not choose to do such a thing.
- But if another person makes such a choice, who is to blame? Marcus suggests that there is no blame in this case.
- Instead of blaming, Marcus sees that his role is to set the person or the situation right, if he can. Blame doesn't work, because it serves no purpose, and all good actions should have a purpose or an aim.
- We get more of Marcus's understanding of existence after death. Matter is recycled throughout the universe, where it's broken down into its basic elements. These elements are then refashioned into other things. Marcus tells himself that these are the facts, and there's no point complaining about it all.
- Marcus believes that everything has a purpose in life—at every level of the scala naturae. Even the gods were born for a reason.
- Marcus challenges himself to figure out what purpose he was born for. He sincerely doubts that it was for pleasure.
- Death is part of the great scheme of things from the very beginning. Marcus uses the analogy of a ball being thrown into the air. It's just as good for the ball to come down as it was for it to go up. Likewise for a bubble when it pops. It's all an inherent part of the life cycle.
- Marcus wants to analyze each thing through an entire "life cycle" to understand what it might really be.
- Marcus jumps then to the contemplation of time: life is short for everyone. Moreover, we are tiny specks on a tiny speck of a continent on a tiny planet.
- Even worse: we're not all in sync with each other, even though we are kin by means of the fact that we all engage in reason.
- Marcus tells himself once again to focus on the task or thought at hand. Apparently, he's going through a tough time, and he tells himself that he deserves what he's getting since he keeps putting off being a good man.
- Whatever action he undertakes, Marcus says it must be for the common good. He must also accept what happens to him as originating with the gods and the universe.
- Marcus compares life and the physical world to dirty, slimy, used bathwater.
- Marcus works his way through a succession of generations that mourned their predecessors and then were buried themselves. He asks where they've all gone—and what about their fame?
- Marcus knows the answer. At some point, everyone is broken down into component parts and scattered or recycled.
- A human's proper job is to be kind to others, shun the senses, and live a life of contemplation when possible.
- Marcus sees himself connected in three ways: 1) to the earth itself; 2) to the actions of the gods, which set everything in motion; 3) to mankind.
- Pain can irritate the body or the soul. The soul, however, can choose not to define pain as evil and therefore remain untroubled by it. The soul is a closed circuit that nothing can penetrate.
- Marcus urges himself to keep his mind a blank slate when it comes to sense impressions. This way, he will keep his mind pure and calm.
- Marcus reminds himself not to use fancy language when addressing people. He just wants to get straight to the point.
- Marcus observes that entire imperial families and courts have perished, and he remarks on the fact that some tombstones say "the last of his line." No matter how much they tried, total oblivion got them, anyway.
- Marcus reminds himself that he has to just do it: continuously achieve things step by step and hope that everything he does is as successful as it can be.
- Even if there are external obstacles, Marcus acknowledges that he will always be the master of himself. And if there are obstacles, he can adapt to meet them.
- Marcus uses the analogy of a severed limb to talk about how a person can cut himself off from society by not accepting his fate.
- But if a person so cuts himself off, he or she also has it within his power to rejoin the Whole again.
- Marcus believes this a possibility unique to mankind—to come back to god after leaving.
- Using some very theological language, Marcus talks about how god has given people something like free will so that they can choose to come back to the universal community if they wish.
- The Whole has given rational human beings the power to change any obstacle in their path into something useful to help them in their purpose—whatever that is.
- Marcus tells himself once again not to worry about the difficulties of the past or future and to focus on the work of the present. He's pretty sure he can handle that. Doing this will also help him understand that it's just the present he's worried about—and he should be able to put on his big boy pants and just deal with it.
- Marcus reflects on the deaths of his brother and other emperors as well as on the reactions of their mourners (now also dead). He concludes that it's all about fate.
- There's no point in worrying about mortality, since we're all going to wind up a pile of rotting bones, anyway. Nice.
- Marcus quotes a poet: use your sharp sight but add good judgment to perception.
- Justice is the alpha virtue: there is no other virtue that goes against it.
- On the contrary, pleasure can be stymied by restraint—which is a virtue.
- Pain is nothing to the mind if the mind doesn't judge it to be an evil.
- Of course, pain usually happens to the body, but Marcus says that the body will just have to make a judgment about the situation itself—which, of course, it can't actually do, since it's just a body.
- Just as an impediment to sense perception and impulse is a bad thing for animals, an impediment of the mind is bad for an intelligent being.
- It's no problem for the rational mind to have sensuality or impulsivity curbed, since sensuality and impulsivity are not part of the nature of the rational mind.
- Marcus reiterates that the mind can't be touched by external things once it is fenced off from the rest of the world.
- Marcus tells himself that there is no harm in him, either to himself or to others.
- Marcus declares that he finds joy in keeping his directing mind free of external influences. He acknowledges the needs of other humans and treats them as they deserve.
- Once again, Marcus says it's all about focusing on the present and leaving the ambition for eternal fame behind.
- There will always be haters; what difference does it make if they're still bandying your name about in the future?
- Marcus may be addressing some divine agent (like Fate) when he says that he will be content no matter where he is thrown, because his internal divinity will be happy.
- Also, Marcus tells himself not to be grumpy because the present isn't going as he would like. To be unhappy about that is to be a prisoner.
- There is nothing that can happen to a human that... can't happen to a human. It's the same for oxen. Therefore, Marcus says, quit your whining. The Universe only gives you what's proper to the human condition.
- Marcus points out—once again—that vexation that comes from outside the mind really just has to do with how a person thinks about the situation.
- Marcus gives himself some good advice to remedy this. If it's a problem with his attitude, he just needs to change the 'tude. If it's because he hasn't done something, he just needs to do it. If there's something external stopping him, it really is out of his control. If that makes him want to die, then he should just exit life gracefully and get it over with.
- We get more on the virtue of getting your reason to withdraw into itself so that it can't be touched by outside forces. It becomes a "fortress" or "impregnable retreat" that a person can access in times of trouble.
- Marcus warns himself not to embellish on his first impressions and so make them bigger or worse than they are.
- The only time it's okay to add stuff to initial impressions is when you can access a person who has experienced everything. Then you can come to conclusions.
- Marcus tells himself not to question why there are obstacles in his path. All he has to do is simply remove them or go around them.
- The Whole has no unwanted or unused trash. Everything is contained by it, and it uses everything for its purpose. Even decaying things are broken down and recycled into something fresh.
- The Whole, then, is a complete and closed system.
- Marcus urges himself to focus on the completion of things, whether it is in speaking, thinking, or doing.
- Marcus recommends that he keep an even keel in life (no manic highs or lows) and that he take some time for himself.
- Marcus observes that though there's a lot of wickedness going on in the world, there is no reason why he can't remain tranquil in his mind.
- Marcus compares the mind to a clear spring that is able to move any dirt that is tossed in by its natural motions. By doing so, it remains pure. He can be like this spring by remaining a good person and staying free of external muck.
- Marcus reflects on the value of the opinions given by people who do not understand that the universe is ordered and purposeful and who have no idea of their own purpose in the world.
- Anyone who fears the opinions of such people would be even more lost.
- We get more on pleasing people: why would Marcus want to earn the praise of people who curse themselves or of people who are never happy?
- On a more sober note, Marcus wonders if he can ever be satisfied if he regrets all that he does.
- Marcus advises himself to take his thoughts from the universal mind, just as he takes his breaths from the air surrounding him. The Whole is in everything and is there for the taking.
- Evil has no power to harm either the universe or the individual by itself. It is only destructive for the wicked person, who can stop being evil if he so chooses.
- Marcus acknowledges that while human beings are made for the greater good of each other, he doesn't care one bit for what his neighbor's directing mind tells him to do. He's got his own mind to worry about.
- Marcus knows this is true because if his neighbor does something evil, it doesn't affect Marcus himself. Marcus believes that his fortune is in his own hands and cannot be manipulated by other people's plans.
- Marcus discusses the particulars of sun rays: they extend in a line and settle on any solid object that block their path.
- Marcus compares the universal mind to these sun rays. The universal mind radiates continuously and settles on everything without being diminished. Those who accept it are "illuminated."
- The fear of death is a fear of change. In this case, it's about states of consciousness.
- If there is no consciousness after death, who cares? We won't be conscious to worry about it.
- If there is a different consciousness, life doesn't end.
- Marcus reiterates that humans are social beings born to live in community. To that end, we have two choices: teach people, or tolerate them.
- The mind moves like an arrow when it is active, seeking its target.
- Another shout-out to empathy: open your mind to others, and enter into their minds.