Meditations 3:11

To the stand—bys above, add this one: always to define whatever it is we perceive—to trace its outline—so we can see what it really is: its substance. Stripped bare. As a whole. Unmodified. And to call it by its name—the thing itself and its components, to which it will eventually return.

Nothing is so conducive to spiritual growth as this capacity for logical and accurate analysis of everything that happens to us. To look at it in such a way that we understand what need it fulfills, and in what kind of world. And its value to that world as a whole and to man in particular—as a citizen of that higher city, of which all other cities are mere households.

What is it—this thing that now forces itself on my notice?

What is it made up of? How long was it designed to last?

And what qualities do I need to bring to bear on it—tranquillity, courage, honesty, trustworthiness, straightforwardness, independence or what?

So in each case you need to say: "This is due to God." Or:

"This is due to the interweavings and intertwinings of fate, to coincidence or chance." Or: "This is due to a human being.

Someone of the same race, the same birth, the same society, but who doesn't know what nature requires of him. But I do.

And so I'll treat them as the law that binds us—the law of nature—requires. With kindness and with justice.

And in inconsequential things? I'll do my best to treat them as they deserve."