"A man should be upright, not kept upright."
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (121-180)
Stoic philosopher, last of the five so-called “Good
Emperors” in Rome
This may seem to qualify more as a truism than as “words to
live by.”
Yet, I am drawn to the initial phrase, the full scope of the meaning of “upright”….
For me, the insight here is the urgency of doing the right thing, of keeping to the right path, of making the virtuous choice first, of doing good in the broadest context….
We could benefit, I think, by asking ourselves, rather frequently,
“in this act, can I deem myself upright?”
p.s. thanks to my trusted personal advisor for this wisdom of Marcus Aurelius
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