Thursday, August 17, 2017

Commentary on Meditations: B4:50

An unphilosophic but nonetheless effective help to putting death in its place is to run over the list of those who have clung long to life. What did they gain over the untimely dead? At any rate they are all in their graves by now - Caedicianus, Fabius, Julianus, Lepidus, and all others like them who took part in many funerals and then their own. In truth, the distance we have to travel is small: and we drag it out with such labour, in such poor company, in such a feeble body. No great thing, then. Look behind you at the huge gulf of time, and another infinity ahead. In this perspective what is the difference between an infant of three days and a Nestor of three generations?

Marcus performs the same spiritual exercise he did in B4:48 (see this link).

Remember, eternity is now; we are already living it.  Don't wait for it; live it.

(see also Citadel p. 48, 292)

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