Dyeing Your Mind

Our thoughts determine our lives. So, let's control our thoughts.

Notebook 5 of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is arguably the most practical of the entire work. Instead of rehearsing common Stoics arguments, Marcus continues with his practice of laying down rules for his own behavior. If any notebook could count as the heart of the Meditations, it would be Notebook 5.

It is also of most interest to modern readers. As I have stressed before, most of us do not share the Stoics’ metaphysical views. So, when we are attempting to incorporate Stoic wisdom into our lives, we have to find that wisdom that does not directly rely on the Stoic conception of the world. Unlike Notebook 6, which we will discuss next week, Notebook 5 is mostly detachable from the Stoic metaphyiscs, though perhaps not detachable from the Stoic moral psychology.

The more I read the Meditations, the more I believe that Marcus Aurelius was a better moral psychologist than philosopher. Marcus is a master of incorporating Stoic teachings into his life, sometimes subtly altering them so as to make them actionable.

The Met

Sometimes, how we say something is just as important as the strict semantic content of the utterance. Marcus’ journals, which are often repetitive, illustrate this well. Perhaps Marcus realized that it wasn’t enough to be able to restate Stoic teaching in the words of the masters — what was also necessary was stating those teachings in such a way that he would finally fully believe them and then, over time, be able to live accordingly.

Consider the beginning of §16:

Your mind will come to resemble your frequently repeated thoughts, because it takes on the hue of its thoughts. Dye your mind, then, with a succession of ideas such as the following…

This is a beautiful line. It is the sort of line that one immediately wants to underline. And that’s exactly what I did.

I knew that this was the line that I would I want to write on for the week. But it occurred to me now, as I began to write this, that I had read many similar lines from Marcus before. Throughout the Meditations, Marcus says to remember his principles, to turn inward and think of philosophy, to keep in mind what he already knows is right.

I had agreed with Marcus, in a tacit sort of way. But when I encountered Marcus’ thought stated in this way, I found that I really believed it. I experienced a subtle but important psychological shift. The thoughts that we keep in mind leave a lasting impression, and the thoughts that we frequently recall will leave the deepest and most stable impressions. Since our thoughts largely determine our actions, it follows that the thoughts we frequently recall will change how we behave, how we live.

Suddenly, a practice of contemplation and recollection found across wisdom traditions and religious traditions makes perfect sense. Many of these traditions encourage their adherents to say a set of prescribed prayers or mantras at particular times of the day, week, and year. These thoughts, being often repeated, begin to dye the mind.

Marcus continues this section of the Meditations with a recitation of some arguments that, clearly, he has had with himself before. He is concerned that the luxury afforded to him as emperor might be an impediment to his virtue, and so he reminds himself that it is possible to live well in any place where it is possible to live. He wonders about the goal of life, and he reminds himself that the goal in life is coextensive with the good. He reminds himself that rational creatures are born for community.

The last one is perhaps the most interesting. It is a Aristotelian point, though in his notes Robin Waterfield claims that Marcus has a different, more Stoic approach in mind.

The Stoics held to a view in which the whole was more important than the parts. A Stoic emperor, then, had as his foremost duty qua emperor the health of the empire. The health of the empire was held to benefit those in the empire. As Marcus would write in Notebook 6 §54: “Anything which isn’t good for the hive isn’t good for the bee either.”

There is much to be said about Marcus’ view of community vs the individual, of the whole vs the parts. Here I think we will see a sharper sort of disagreement from modern readers. It is difficult for me to fully agree with Marcus on these points — but perhaps that will be the topic for next week, when we turn to Notebook 6 in a little more detail.