Marcus Aurelius source guide · Language of the Portico
Premeditation of Difficulties · Language of the Portico
Open this as a leaf in the Emperor’s Notebook, not as a detached definition. A sober rehearsal of likely friction used to prepare character, not to predict disaster. The purpose is to notice the judgment being made, consult the named record, and decide what conduct can still be commanded.
On this page you will get a clear explanation, a way to examine the idea, exact evidence from public-domain Stoic texts, and links for continuing the study.
The matter: a word returned to its ancient setting
Premeditation of Difficulties belongs here because it changes how a person names the event before acting. Begin with the bare occurrence, then write the prediction, demand, fear, or appetite laid over it.
This is a correction addressed to oneself. It does not require passivity, emotional numbness, or certainty about the outcome; it asks for an exact account of the choice still available.
Convene the ancient record
The evidence attached to this leaf comes from Cicero, and Epictetus. Its working locators are Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 3.16, Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 3.22, and Epictetus, Discourses 1.29. The voices remain attributed so that Marcus never silently absorbs another author.
Read the preserved wording before the interpretation. Ask what distinction the passage actually makes, what it leaves unresolved, and whether your first impression has claimed more than the source warrants.
Sources: Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 3.16; Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 3.22; Epictetus, Discourses 1.29
Enter what remains under command
Enter Before the Day Turns when the distinction must become conduct: Rehearse a plausible setback and the virtue you will bring to it.
Write the next action narrowly enough to perform: what you will say, refuse, prepare, repair, or leave alone. Fortune includes another person’s reply, reputation, delay, and the final result.
Sources: Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 3.16
Return without awarding a verdict
After the event, compare the vow with the action. Record what was learned about premeditation of difficulties without converting one outcome into a score for character.
A clean return names what happened, what belonged to choice, what did not, and the one rehearsal worth carrying into the next day.
What the primary texts say
These excerpts keep their work and exact locator so you can check the claim in context rather than accepting a detached quotation.
“In the first place, they are wrong in forbidding men to premeditate on futurity, and blaming their wish to do so; for there is nothing that breaks the edge of grief and lightens it more, than considering, during one's whole life, that there is nothing which it is impossible should happen; or, than considering what human nature is, on what conditions life was given, and how we may comply with them.”
“What remains is the opinion of the Cyrenaics, who think that men grieve when anything happens unexpectedly. And that is, indeed, as I said before, a great aggravation of a misfortune; and I know that it appeared so to Chrysippus, “Whatever falls out unexpected is so much the heavier.””
“A man must keep this in mind; and when he is called to any such difficulty, he should know that the time is come for showing if he has been instructed.”
Frequently asked questions
How should I use this notebook leaf on Premeditation of Difficulties?
Bring one real event, separate it from the first impression, inspect the cited ancient record, and choose one action that remains yours. The leaf is a method for examination, not a promise to control the outcome.
Sources: Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 3.16; Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 3.22
Does this present Cicero, and Epictetus as Marcus Aurelius?
No. Marcus is the permanent centre of the product, while every other ancient author remains explicitly named as a source in the wider Stoic record.
Continue with Marcus Aurelius
Bring one of these source-grounded questions into the app:
- What first impression am I treating as a fact in this matter?
- What remains under command here?
- Which cited passage should I read before I act?