The Theme of 'Circumscribing the Present' running through seven Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

 

I asked ChatGPT to translate into modern English George Long's 1862 translations of seven of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. In a section of The Inner Citadel, entitled "Circumscribing the Present," Pierre Hadot (2001, pp. 131‐-7) himself translated and explained these seven Meditations.

ChatGPT:

6.32 "I am made up of a small body and a soul. To this little body, everything is [indifferent], as it cannot perceive differences. But to the mind, only those things are [indifferent] that are not a result of its own activity. However, all things that are the result of the mind's activity are within its control. Only those activities related to the present moment are within its control, as activities related to the past or future are [now indifferent]."


8.36 "Don't immediately let your thoughts encompass all the various troubles you might encounter. Instead, ask yourself on each occasion: what specifically is intolerable and unbearable about this? You'll be embarrassed to admit that there isn't much that is intolerable. Remember that only the present can cause you pain, not the future or the past. But if you narrow your focus to the present and discipline your mind, even that pain will be greatly reduced."


11.2 "You'll find that things like pleasant music, dancing, and physical contests will seem less important if you break them down into their individual components and ask yourself if you're truly in control of each one. You'll be too embarrassed to admit the truth. Do this with everything except virtue and virtuous acts. Break them down into their parts and realize how insignificant they are. Apply this rule to your entire life."


12.1.1--2 "You can have everything you want right now without taking a roundabout path, as long as you don't deny these things to yourself. This means ignoring the past and trusting in the future, living in the present with piety and justice. Practice piety so you can be content with what fate has given you, as nature intended. Practice justice by always speaking the truth without fear and doing what is right according to the law and what is right in each situation. Don't let other people's evil actions or opinions, or even the feelings of your own flesh, control you.

"If, when the time comes for you to leave this life, you've focused only on your ruling faculty and the divinity within you, and if you fear not death, but rather the possibility of never having lived according to nature, then you'll be a person worthy of the universe that created you. You'll no longer feel like a stranger in your own homeland, wondering at things that happen every day as if they're unexpected. You'll be independent."


12.3 "You are made up of three things: a small body, a small breath (life), and intelligence. Of these, the first two belong to you in that it is your duty to take care of them. However, only the third is truly yours. Therefore, separate from your understanding everything that other people say or do, everything you've said or done, and everything that worries you about the future, as well as anything in your body or breath that is outside of your control [[and] "all that is whirled round in the external vortex encirling us" -- Hammond]. Live purely and freely in your intellectual power, which is not subject to fate, and do what is right, accept what happens, and speak the truth. If you can separate yourself from everything that is beyond your control and live in the present, you'll be able to live the rest of your life free from disturbances, nobly, and in obedience to your own inner divinity."


6.7 "Take pleasure in one thing and find rest in it. When moving from one social activity to another, think of God."

2.5 "Always think of yourself as a Roman and as a human being, and act with dignity, affection, freedom, and justice in everything you do. Focus only on what you are doing at the moment and let go of all other thoughts. You can find relief by living every moment as if it were your last, avoiding carelessness, irrational passions, hypocrisy, self-love, and dissatisfaction with your lot in life. You'll see that there are only a few things that you need to live a peaceful life that resembles the lives of the gods. By following these principles, the gods will require nothing more of you."