Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: Not to be slack and negligent; or…
Not to be slack and negligent; or loose, and wanton in thy actions; nor contentious, and troublesome in thy conversation; nor to rove and wander in thy fancies and imaginations. Not basely to contract thy soul; nor boisterously to sally out with it, or furiously to launch out as it were, nor ever to want employment.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
A good life has a rhythm: not lazy, not frantic; not withdrawn, not intrusive; not lost in fantasy, not imprisoned by routine. Marcus is sketching balance in action and conversation. We can fail by drifting through the day with no direction, but also by charging into every issue, every argument, every notification. The mind needs purpose and boundaries. It needs work worth doing, rest that actually restores, and enough silence to hear itself think. This is difficult in an environment designed to keep us scattered and reactive. You do not need a perfect schedule to practice it. Choose one task and finish it. Decline one unnecessary argument. Put your phone away for a stretch. Give your imagination a job instead of letting it run wild. Today, aim to be engaged without being consumed, and active without becoming agitated.
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