Marcus Aurelius · a new plain-English translation from the original language
Whether it is atoms or nature, set this down as the starting point: I belong to a whole governed by nature, and beyond that, I am akin to the other pieces that share my kind. Holding these two things in mind, since I am one piece among many, I will not chafe at whatever share falls to me out of that whole — since nothing good for the whole can wound the piece within it. What the whole contains works only toward its own good, and this holds true of every nature there is; but the nature governing the universe carries a further trait — no outside force can compel it to breed anything harmful to itself. Keeping in view, then, my membership in a whole of this sort, I will meet everything that comes to pass with good cheer; and since I am akin to the other pieces sharing my kind, I will do nothing that sets me against my fellows — I will instead reach for what suits our common bond, steer every impulse toward the shared good, and turn it away from whatever opposes that good. Once this pattern is followed through, an untroubled life must surely result — picture the untroubled life of a citizen who moves from one deed useful to his neighbors to the next, and takes gladly whatever task the city hands him.