In The Inner Citadel by Pierre Hadot, three Stoic domains of reality, acts of the soul, and rules of life or disciplines are pointed out in Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and Epictetus’ Enchiridion. I’ve written about each of them in separate posts, but wanted to bring them all together in one post.
Image copyright Christopher Hurtado
When I wrote about the three Stoic domains of reality in Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, the three Stoic acts of the soul and exercise themes in Epictetus’ Enchiridion, and the three Stoic rules of life or disciplines in Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, a reader suggested a visual. Here’s the visual.
Here’s a passage from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations (VIII, 7) matched up with the visual for you:
• Objectivity in terms of Impulse Toward Action in terms of Human Nature. “The rational nature is prosperous, while it assents to no false or uncertain opinion;…”
• Justice and Altruism in terms of Desire in terms of Universal Nature: “…and has its affections directed to something social and kind;…”
• Consent to Destiny in terms of Judgment in terms of Faculty of Judgment. “…and its desires and aversions turned toward these things alone which are in its power; while it embraces contentedly whatever is appointed by the universal nature.”
Question: In what other passages in the Meditations do you find examples of all three?
