Meditations 10:33

Given the material we're made of, what's the sanest thing that we can do or say? Whatever it may be, you can do or say it. Don't pretend that anything's stopping you.

You'll never stop complaining until you feel the same pleasure that the hedonist gets from self—indulgence—only from doing what's proper to human beings as far as circumstances—inherent or fortuitous—allow. "Enjoyment"

means doing as much of what your nature requires as you can. And you can do that anywhere. A privilege not granted to a cylinder—to determine its own action. Or to water, or fire, or any of the other things governed by nature alone, or by an irrational soul. Too many things obstruct them and get in their way. But the intellect and logos are able to make their way through anything in their path—by inborn capacity or sheer force of will. Keep before your eyes the ease with which they do this—the ease with which the logos is carried through all things, as fire is drawn upward or a stone falls to earth, as a cylinder rolls down an inclined plane.

That's all you need. All other obstacles either affect the lifeless body, or have no power to shake or harm anything unless misperception takes over or the logos surrenders voluntarily. Otherwise those they obstruct would be degraded by them immediately. In all other entities, when anything bad happens to them, it affects them for the worse.

Whereas here a person is improved by it (if I can put it like that)—and we admire him for reacting as a person should.

And keep in mind that nothing can harm one of nature's citizens except what harms the city he belongs to. And nothing harms that city except what harms its law. And there is no so—called misfortune that can do that. So long as the law is safe, so is the city—and the citizen.