Размышления
Book 5
Noonecanforcemeto.
11.WhatamIdoingwithmysoul?
Interrogateyourself,tofindoutwhatinhabitsyourso-calledmindandwhatkindofsoulyouhavenow.Achild’ssoul,anadolescent’s,awoman’s?Atyrant’ssoul?Thesoulofapredator—oritsprey?
12.Anotherwaytograspwhatordinarypeoplemeanby"goods":
Supposeyoutookcertainthingsastouchstonesofgoodness:prudence,self-control,justice,andcourage,say.Ifyouunderstood"goods"asmeaningthose,youwouldn’tbeabletofollowthatlineabout"somanygoods...."Itwouldn’tmakeanysensetoyou.Whereasifyou’dinternalizedtheconventionalmeaning,you’dbeabletofollowitperfectly.You’dhavenotroubleseeingtheauthor’smeaningandwhyitwasfunny.
Whichshowsthatmostpeopledoacknowledgeadistinction.Otherwisewewouldn’trecognizethefirstsenseasjarringandrejectitautomatically,whereasweacceptthesecond—theonereferringtowealthandthebenefitsofcelebrityandhighliving—asamusingandapropos.
Nowgoastepfurther.Askyourselfwhetherweshouldacceptasgoods—andshouldvalue—thethingswehavetothinkoftohavethelinemakesense—theoneswhoseabundanceleavestheirownerwith"...noplacetoshit."
13.Iammadeupofsubstanceandwhatanimatesit,andneitheronecaneverstopexisting,anymorethanitbeganto.
