Marcus Aurelius_ Meditations ( PDF )

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1、Marcu s Au reliu sMed itatio n sA New Tra n sla tio n , with a n In tro d u ctio n , b y Greg o ry Ha ysTHE MODERN LIBRARYNEW YORKCo n ten tsTitle Pag eCh ro n o lo g yHalf Title Pag eIn tro d u ctio n b y Greg o ry Hay sMed itatio n sBo o k 1 : Deb ts an d Lesso n sBo o k 2 : On th e Riv er Gran ,

2、Amo n g th e Qu ad iBo o k 3 : In Carn u n tu mBo o k 4Bo o k 5Bo o k 6Bo o k 7Bo o k 8Bo o k 9Bo o k 1 0Bo o k 1 1Bo o k 1 2No tesIn d ex o f Perso n sAb o u t th e Tran slato rTh e Mo d ern Lib rary Ed ito rial Bo ardCo p y rig h tMed itatio n sIn tro d u ctio nGreg o ry Ha ysMarcu s Au reliu s An

3、 to n in u sStates will n ev er b e h ap p y u n til ru lers b eco me p h ilo so p h ers o r p h ilo so p h ers b eco meru lers.PLATO, Th e Rep u b licMarcu s Au reliu s is said to h av e b een fo n d o f q u o tin g Plato sd ictu m, an d th o se wh o h av e written ab o u t h im h av e rarelyb een

4、ab le to resist ap p ly in g it to Marcu s h imself. An din d eed , if we seek Plato s p h ilo so p h er-k in g in th e flesh weco u ld h ard ly d o b etter th an Marcu s, th e ru ler o f th e Ro manEmp ire fo r almo st two d ecad es an d au th o r o f th e immo rtalMed ita tio n s. Yet th e title i

5、s o n e th at Marcu s h imself wo u ldsu rely h av e rejected . He n ev er th o u g h t o f h imself as ap h ilo so p h er. He wo u ld h av e claimed to b e, at b est, a d ilig en tstu d en t an d a v ery imp erfect p ractitio n er o f a p h ilo so p h yd ev elo p ed b y o th ers. As fo r th e imp e

6、rial th ro n e, th at camealmo st b y accid en t. Wh en Marcu s An n iu s Veru s was b o rn , inA.D. 1 2 1 , b y stan d ers mig h t h av e p red icted a d istin g u ish edcareer in th e Sen ate o r th e imp erial ad min istratio n . Th eyco u ld h ard ly h av e g u essed th at h e was d estin ed fo

7、r th eimp erial p u rp le, o r seen in th eir min d s ey e th e lo n ely b ro n zeh o rseman wh o se u p raised h an d g reets u s fro m th e Cap ito lin eh ill in Ro me acro ss two th o u san d y ears.Marcu s sp ran g fro m a d istin g u ish ed en o u g h family . Th ey ear o f h is b irth co in ci

8、d ed with h is g ran d fath ers seco n dten u re o f th e co n su lsh ip , in th eo ry Ro mes h ig h est o ffice,th o u g h n o w o f larg ely ceremo n ial imp o rtan ce. An d it was tob e h is g ran d fath er wh o b ro u g h t h im u p , fo r h is fath er d iedwh en h e was v ery y o u n g . Marcu

9、s mak es referen ce in th eMed ita tio n s to h is fath ers ch aracter as h e rememb ered it o rh eard o f it fro m o th ers, b u t h is k n o wled g e mu st h av e b eenmo re fro m sto ries th an fro m actu al memo ries. Of th eremain d er o f h is ch ild h o o d an d h is early ad o lescen ce wek

10、n o w little mo re th an can b e g lean ed fro m th e Med ita tio n s.Th e b io g rap h y o f h im in th e so -called Histo ria Au g u sta (acu rio u s an d u n reliab le wo rk o f th e late fo u rth cen tu ryp ro b ab ly b ased o n a lo st series o f liv es b y th e th ird -cen tu ryb io g rap h er

11、 Mariu s Max imu s) tells u s th at h e was a serio u sch ild , b u t also th at h e lo v ed b o x in g , wrestlin g , ru n n in g an dfalco n ry , th at h e was a g o o d b allp lay er an d th at h e lo v ed toh u n t. No n e o f th ese are su rp risin g o ccu p atio n s in an u p p er-class y o u

12、th .Bo o k 1 o f th e Med ita tio n s o ffers g limp ses o f Marcu sssch o o lin g , an d we can fill o u t th e p ictu re b y wh at is k n o wno f u p p er-class ed u catio n g en erally at th is p erio d . His firstin stru cto rs, lik e th e u n n amed teach er men tio n ed inMed ita tio n s 1 .5

13、, were p ro b ab ly slav es, fro m wh o m h ewo u ld h av e mastered th e ru d imen ts o f read in g an d writin g .At a later stag e h e wo u ld h av e b een h an d ed o v er to p riv atetu to rs to b e in tro d u ced to literatu re, esp ecially , n o d o u b t,Verg ils g reat ep ic, th e Aen eid .

14、 Bu t literatu re serv ed o n ly asa p rep aratio n fo r th e real g o al. Th is was rh eto ric, th e k ey toan activ e p o litical career u n d er th e emp ire, as it h ad b eenu n d er th e Rep u b lic. Un d er th e su p erv isio n o f a train ed rh eto r,Marcu s wo u ld h av e b eg u n with sh o

15、rt ex ercises b efo rep ro g ressin g to fu ll-scale p ractice d eclamatio n s in wh ich h ewo u ld h av e b een ask ed to d efen d o n e sid e o r an o th er inimag in ary law cases, o r to ad v ise a p ro min en t h isto ricalfig u re at a tu rn in g p o in t in h is career. (Sh o u ld Caesar cro

16、ssth e Ru b ico n ? Sh o u ld Alex an d er tu rn b ack at th e In d u s? Wh yo r wh y n o t?)Su ch train in g was co n d u cted in Greek as well as Latin .Sin ce at least th e b eg in n in g o f th e first cen tu ry B.C. th eRo man u p p er classes h ad b een essen tially b ilin g u al, an dMarcu ss

17、 sp o k en an d written Greek wo u ld h av e b een asflu en t as th e Fren ch o f a n in eteen th -cen tu ry Ru ssian aristo crato r th e Ch in ese o f a Heian Jap an ese co u rtier. Marcu s wo u ldh av e read Ho mers Ilia d an d Od yssey an d th e trag ed ies o fEu rip id es sid e b y sid e with th

18、 e Aen eid , an d stu d ied th esp eech es o f th e g reat Ath en ian o rato r Demo sth en es asin ten siv ely as th o se o f th e Ro man statesman Cicero . It wasGreek writers an d artists wh o co n stitu ted th e in tellectu alelite at th e cap ital; wh en in later life th e emp ero r co n v ersed

19、with h is co u rt p h y sician , Galen , h e wo u ld h av e d o n e so in th elatters n ativ e to n g u e. Ab o v e all, Greek remain edo v erwh elmin g ly th e lan g u ag e o f p h ilo so p h y . In th e lateRep u b lic an d early emp ire, writers lik e Lu cretiu s, Ciceroan d Sen eca h ad wo rk ed

20、 to create a p h ilo so p h ical literatu re inLatin , with n o tab le su ccess. Bu t th e g reat th in k ersPlato ,Aristo tle, Th eo p h rastu s, Zen o , Ch ry sip p u s, Ep icu ru s, etc.h ad all b een Greek s. Serio u s p h ilo so p h ical in v estig atio nreq u ired a familiarity with th e lan g

21、 u ag e th ey wro te in an d th etermin o lo g y th ey d ev elo p ed . Th at Marcu s co mp o sed h is o wnMed ita tio n s in Greek is n atu ral en o u g h .In 1 3 7 , wh en Marcu s was six teen , a cru cial ev en t to o kp lace. Th e reig n in g emp ero r, Had rian , was ch ild less. Anilln ess h ad

22、 b ro u g h t h im n ear to d eath a y ear p rev io u sly , an dit was clear th at h e wo u ld n o t liv e fo rev er. Had rian o wed h isth ro n e to h is ad o p tio n b y h is p red ecesso r an d d istan trelativ e, Trajan . Fo llo win g Trajan s ex amp le, Had rian h add esig n ated th e d istin g

23、 u ish ed aristo crat Lu ciu s Ceio n iu sCo mmo d u s to su cceed h im. In 1 3 7 , h o wev er, Ceio n iu s d iedu n ex p ected ly , an d Had rian was fo rced to cast ab o u t fo r an ew su ccesso r. His ch o ice fell o n th e ch ild less sen ato rAn to n in u s, wh o m h e selected with th e p ro v

24、 iso th at An to n in u ssh o u ld in tu rn ad o p t Marcu s (h is n ep h ew b y marriag e) alo n gwith Ceio n iu ss so n Lu ciu s Veru s, th en ag ed sev en . Marcu sto o k o n th e family n ame o f h is ad o p ted fath er, b eco min gMarcu s Au reliu s An to n in u s.Had rian s d eath th e fo llo

25、win g y ear left Marcu s first in lin efo r th e th ro n e. His ed u catio n an d th at o f th e y o u n g er Veru swere n o w matters o f still g reater co n cern , an d it is clear th atn o ex p en se was sp ared . Fo r train in g in Greek rh eto ric, h ewas en tru sted to Hero d es Atticu s, a fa

26、b u lo u sly wealth yAth en ian rh eto rician wh o se temp estu o u s relatio n s with h isfamily , fello w citizen s an d th e imp erial co u rt itself wo u ldh av e fu rn ish ed amp le material fo r a so ap o p era. Hisin stru cto r in Latin o rato ry was Marcu s Co rn eliu s Fro n to , ap ro min

27、en t rh eto rician fro m Cirta in No rth Africa. By anaccid en t o f fate, man y o f Fro n to s letters to Marcu s h av esu rv iv ed , an d th ey illu strate th e clo se relatio n sh ip b etweenstu d en t an d teach er. Th ey also su g g est Fro n to s reg ret atseein g Marcu s mo v e away fro m rh

28、eto ric to d elv e ev er mo red eep ly in to p h ilo so p h y . Th e first b o o k o f th e Med ita tio n sp ay s trib u te to a n u mb er o f p h ilo so p h ers fro m wh o m Marcu slearn ed , b o th fo rmally an d in fo rmally , an d h e is lik ely toh av e stu d ied with o r listen ed to man y o t

29、h ers.Marcu s wo u ld h av e learn ed mu ch o u tsid e th e classro o m aswell. Fo r train in g in leg al an d p o litical matters, an in fo rmalap p ren ticesh ip b o u n d aristo cratic y o u th s to o ld er p u b licfig u resmen lik e Ju n iu s Ru sticu s, wh o se in flu en ce Marcu sch ro n icle

30、s in 1 .7 . Bu t th e sin g le g reatest in flu en ce was su relyMarcu ss ad o p ted fath er, An to n in u s Piu s. Marcu s wo u ldh av e watch ed as An to n in u s receiv ed emb assies, tried leg alcases an d d ictated letters to h is d ep u ties. Mean wh ileMarcu ss o wn p o sitio n as h eir ap p

31、aren t was sig n aled inv ario u s way s. In 1 4 0 h e serv ed as co n su l (at th e ag e o fn in eteen ), an d wo u ld serv e ag ain in 1 4 5 . In th e same y ear h emarried An to n in u ss d au g h ter Fau stin a, to wh o m h e p ay strib u te in Med ita tio n s 1 .1 7 .Ed ward Gib b o n s Histo r

32、y o f th e Declin e a n d Fa ll o f th eRo ma n Emp ire d escrib es th e reig n o f An to n in u s as“fu rn ish in g v ery few materials fo r h isto ry , wh ich is in d eedlittle mo re th an th e reg ister o f th e crimes, fo llies, an dmisfo rtu n es o f man k in d .” It fu rn ish es eq u ally litt

33、le materialfo r Marcu ss b io g rap h y . In th e d ecad e an d a h alf b etween1 4 5 an d 1 6 1 we learn little o f Marcu ss o ccu p atio n s, an d o u ro n ly g limp ses o f h is in n er d ev elo p men t co me fro m h isco rresp o n d en ce with Fro n to . Bu t th e two p o les th at wo u ldg o v

34、ern th e remain d er o f h is lifeth e co u rt an d p h ilo so p h y seem b y th is p o in t to b e fu lly estab lish ed . Th ere is n oev id en ce th at Marcu s ex p erien ced an y th in g lik e th e“co n v ersio n ” to p h ilo so p h y th at so me an cien t fig u resex p erien ced (o r affected ),

35、 b u t it is clear th at b y th e mid d le tolate 1 4 0 s p h ilo so p h y was b eco min g in creasin g ly cen tral toh is life.On Au g u st 3 1 , 1 6 1 , An to n in u s d ied , leav in g Marcu s as h isso le su ccesso r. Marcu s immed iately acted to carry o u t wh atap p ears to h av e b een Had r

36、ian s o rig in al in ten tio n (p erh ap sig n o red b y An to n in u s) b y p u sh in g th ro u g h th e ap p o in tmen t o fh is ad o p ted b ro th er, Lu ciu s Veru s, as co -reg en t. Veru ssch aracter h as su ffered b y co mp ariso n with Marcu ss. An cien tso u rces, in p articu lar th e g o s

37、sip y Histo ria Au g u sta , ten d top ain t h im as a self-in d u lg en t d eg en eratealmo st an o th erNero . Th is may b e u n fair; it is certain ly n o t th e p ictu re o f h imwe g et fro m Marcu ss o wn remin iscen ces in th eMed ita tio n s. It d o es seem clear, h o wev er, th at Marcu sfu

38、 n ctio n ed as th e sen io r emp ero r in fact if n o t n ame. It wo u ldb e su rp risin g if h e h ad n o t. He was almo st a d ecad e o ld er,an d h ad b een train ed fo r th e p o sitio n b y An to n in u s h imself.Wh at k in d o f ru ler d id th is p h ilo so p h er-k in g p ro v e to b e?No t

39、, p erh ap s, as d ifferen t fro m h is p red ecesso rs as o n e mig h th av e ex p ected . Th o u g h an emp ero r was all-p o werfu l inth eo ry , h is ab ility to co n tro l p o licy was in reality mu ch mo relimited . Mu ch o f h is time was sp en t field in g p ro b lems th ath ad mo v ed u p t

40、h e ad min istrativ e lad d er: receiv in g emb assiesfro m th e larg e cities o f th e emp ire, try in g ap p eals o f crimin alcases, an swerin g q u eries fro m p ro v in cial g o v ern o rs an dd ealin g with p etitio n s fro m in d iv id u als. Ev en with afu n ctio n al sy stem o f imp erial c

41、o u riers, n ews co u ld tak eweek s to trav el fro m th e p erip h ery o f th e emp ire to th ecen ter; imp erial ed icts to o k time to mo v e d o wn th e ch ain o fco mman d . Wh ile th e emp ero rs d ecisio n h ad th e fo rce o flaw, en fo rcemen t was almo st en tirely in th e h an d s o fp ro

42、v in cial g o v ern o rs, wh o se d ilig en ce mig h t b e affected b yin co mp eten ce, co rru p tio n , o r an u n d erstan d ab le d esire n o t toan tag o n ize lo cal elites.We g et o ccasio n al g limp ses o f Marcu ss d ay -to -d ay d u tiesfro m th e ev id en ce o f imp erial d ecisio n s p

43、reserv ed in letters,in scrip tio n s an d th e leg al co d es. Su rv iv in g leg islatio n sh o wsa certain in terest in th e freein g o f slav es an d in reg u latio n srelatin g to th e g u ard ian sh ip o f o rp h an s. Attemp ts h av e b eenmad e to tie th e first to Marcu ss p h ilo so p h ica

44、l co n v ictio n san d th e seco n d to h is o wn memo ries o f life with o u t a fath er.Bu t it remain s u n clear h o w mu ch o f th e p o licy is d u e toMarcu s h imself, an d h o w far it d iffers fro m th at o f Marcu ssp red ecesso r, An to n in u s. Perh ap s mo re in terestin g are th etra

45、ces o f Marcu ss p erso n ality to b e d iscern ed in th ep h rasin g o f imp erial d o cu men ts, wh ere we fin d a scru p u lo u satten tio n to d etail an d a self-co n scio u sn ess ab o u t lin g u isticu sag e th at seems to d ifferen tiate Marcu s fro m h isp red ecesso rs. Neith er trait su

46、rp rises in th e au th o r o f th eMed ita tio n s o r a stu d en t o f Fro n to , wh o se ex tan t lettersp lace g reat stress o n th e q u est fo r th e mo t ju ste.On e o f Marcu ss p rio rities was to p reserv e g o o d relatio n swith th e Sen ate. Th e g o al was to d isg u ise th e ab so lu t

47、en esswith wh ich th e emp ero r ru led : to p reserv e a facad ean dso metimes, n o d o u b t, ev en to ach iev e th e reality o fco n sen su s an d co o p eratio n . A h u n d red y ears b efo re,aristo crats mig h t h av e d reamed o f a resto red Rep u b lic (asso me certain ly d id ). Bu t b y

48、th e seco n d cen tu ry it was clearth at th ere was n o altern ativ e to th e p rin cip ate. Th e Sen ateex p ected d eferen ce in p u b lic an d h o p ed fo r in flu en ce b eh in dth e scen es; “g o o d ” emp ero rs were willin g to p lay alo n g . Incu ltiv atin g th e u p p er classes Marcu s w

49、as fo llo win g in th efo o tstep s o f An to n in u s an d Trajan , rath er th an o f Had rian ,wh o se relatio n s with th e Sen ate h ad b een p rick ly . An d it isth is, as mu ch as an y th in g else, th at is resp o n sib le fo r h isrep u tatio n as a b en ev o len t statesman . An emp ero r

50、mig h t d oas h e lik ed wh ile h e liv ed , b u t it was th e sen ato rial h isto rian smen lik e Co rn eliu s Tacitu s in th e 1 2 0 s o r Cassiu s Dio inth e g en eratio n after Marcu ss d eath wh o h ad th e last wo rd .An o th er area wh ere Marcu ss p o licy co n tin u ed th at o f h isp red e