Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Our Task - Unpublished Selections Explained, Med. VII.12

Sierra Club

Meditation VII.12 - Our Task - Translated by George Long and rewritten by Russell McNeil

Be thou erect, or be made erect.(1)

Explanation

(1) The Stoic is required to maintain intellectual rigor. There is no room in Stoicism for thoughtlessness. Human beings are defined by and through reason. This requires discipline and training. We need to learn how to use our intelligence, and where it ought to be applied - specifically toward an understanding and examination of the universe and the complexities of the interrelationships that bind all to all. The task is all the more demanding because the rules for engagement in life are not delivered to us in transcription, or through authority. The only authority is nature, and nature is the law. We need to learn how to understand nature and how to examine where Universal Intelligence is manifest. If we err in our steadfastness we need to be prepared to be set straight by those who have learned before us - as we too are bound to correct ignorance in others.

Russell McNeil, PhD, is the author of The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius: Selections Annotated and Explained by Skylight Paths Publishing. The unpublished selections presented in this Blog are provided as supplemental material to the published selections which are annotated and explained in the book. The published selections are referenced in this Blog by page number and section.

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