Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: It is not possible that any nature…
It is not possible that any nature should be inferior unto art, since that all arts imitate nature. If this be so; that the most perfect and general nature of all natures should in her operation come short of the skill of arts, is most improbable.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
We trust a skilled engineer to build a bridge according to principles larger than personal preference. Marcus sees nature as at least that coherent. The point is not that every event feels pleasant or easily explainable. Loss, illness, and disappointment can be brutal. It is that reality is not improved by our demand that it have followed our private script. There are patterns, causes, limits, and consequences built into things, whether we approve or not. Wisdom begins with studying them instead of fighting them blindly. A gardener works with seasons; a sailor works with wind; a person works with the facts. When something frustrates you today, ask what the situation actually is before deciding what it means. Then respond as a participant in reality, not as a customer complaining that the universe failed to deliver.
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