I never realized how little of Pride and Prejudice is actually about Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship.

 Also, listening to audio books isn't reading. That doesn't make it bad, it's just its own thing.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book Part 2 (22-42)

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book  Part 2 (22-42)

Bonus: 

Listen you your ruling part

Summary: They're getting shorter!

Commentary: 

23. You yourself are a part of a social system necessary to complete the whole. Accordingly, let your every action be a similar part of the social life. And if any action has not its reference, either immediate or distant, to the common good as its end, this action disorders your life and frustrates its unity. It is sedition like that of the man who, in a commonwealth, does all in his power to sever himself from the general harmony and concord.

Does yawning count as an action for the common good?

26. You have endured innumerable sufferings by not being satisfied with your own ruling part when it does the things which it was formed to do. Enough then of that.

You know the right thing to do, and denying it will just make you miserable.

Begin to pray about them and you will see. One man prays: “May I possess that woman!” Do you pray: “May I have no wish to possess her!” Another prays: “May I be delivered from so and so!” Pray you: “May I not need to be delivered from him!” A third cries: “May I not lose my child!” Let your prayer be: “May I not fear to lose him!” In fine, turn your prayers this way, and observe what comes of it.

I feel like that second one is very different. Need not be delivered could just mean he moves away for a job or something. 

 

 

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book Part 1 (1-21)

  Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book  Part 1 (1-21)

Bonus: 

Basically Aristotle.

Summary: Everything bad is bad, especially feeling good.

Commentary:

I think I'm getting sick, so very sleepy during the reading today. This one felt especially repetitive and MA is really into his, "pain isn't bad, pleasure is bad," "dying isn't bad!", schtick. The lengths here are all over the place. Some one liners, and some that run most of a page.

The one that stood out was the first one:

1. He who does injustice commits impiety. For since universal Nature has formed the rational animals for one another; each to be useful to the other according to his merit, and never hurtful; he who transgresses this her will is clearly guilty of impiety against the most ancient and venerable of the Gods.

He who lies sins against the same divinity. For the nature of the whole is the nature of all things which exist; and things which exist are akin to all that has come to be. Nature, indeed, is called truth, and is the first cause of all truths. He, then, that lies willingly is guilty of impiety, in so far as by deceiving he works injury: and he also who lies unwillingly, in so far as he is out of tune with universal Nature, and in so far as he works disorder in the Universe by fighting against its design. He is at war with Nature who sets himself against the truth. He has neglected the means with which Nature furnished him, and cannot now distinguish false from true.

He, too, who pursues pleasure as good, and shuns pain as evil, is guilty of impiety. Such a one must needs frequently blame the common nature for unseemly awards of fortune to bad and to good men. For the bad often enjoy pleasures and possess the means to attain them, and the good often meet with pain and with what causes pain. Again, he who dreads pain must sometimes dread a thing which will make part of the world order, and this is impious. And he who pursues pleasure will not abstain from injustice, and this is clear impiety. In those things to which the common nature is indifferent (for she had not made both, were she not indifferent to either), he who would follow Nature ought, in this also, to be of like mind with her, and shew the like indifference. And whoever is not indifferent to pain and pleasure, life and death, glory and ignominy, all of which universal Nature uses indifferently, is clearly impious. By Nature using them indifferently, I mean that they befall indifferently all beings which exist, and ensue upon others in the great chain of consequence which began in the primal impulse of Providence. Providence, in pursuance of this impulse, and starting from a definite beginning, set about this fair structure of the universe when she had conceived the plan of all that was to be, and appointed the distinct powers which were to produce the several substances, changes, and successions.

Anytime you do anything bad=work against the gods=pleasure=working against the gods=not wanting pain=working against the gods.

Seems like a pretty miserable worldview. Also assuming that anything we do for pleasure is negative. If enjoying writing a cool story or dancing or whatever gives you pleasure and adds something good to the world, I don't see how it's a bad thing.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book 8 Part 3 (35-61)

 Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book 8 Part 3 (35-61)

Bonus: 

MA would hate this song.

Summary: It's okay to change your mind, but, when you make it up, stick with it.

Commentary: 

Marcus Aurelius is much more strongly in favor of restraining pleasure than Epictetus and other stoic stuff I've read. Most of them have some form of BF's temperance, but MA seems to be in favor of denying pleasure for the sake of doing so, not just being careful not to let it get in the way of other, more important, things.

8.40 Take away your opinion about the things that seem to give you pain, and you stand yourself upon the surest ground. What is that self?—It is reason.—I am not reason, you say.—So be it; then let not reason pain itself, but leave any part of you which suffers to its own opinions of the pain.

8.47 When you are grieved about anything external it is not the thing itself which afflicts you, but your judgment about it. This judgment it is in your power to efface. If you are grieved about anything in your own disposition, who can prevent you from correcting your principles of life? If you are grieved because you do not set about some work which seems to you sound and virtuous, go about it effectually rather than grieve that it is undone.—But some superior force withstands.—Then grieve not, for the fault of the omission lies not in you.—But life is not worth living with this undone.— Quit life then, in the same kindly spirit as though you had done it, and with goodwill even to those who withstand you.

He said the thing!

8.51 Be not languid in action, nor confused in conversation, nor vague in your opinions. Let there be no sudden contractions or forth-sallyings of your soul. In your life be not over-hurried.

Changing your mind is okay, but actually make it up every once in a while.

8.53 Do you wish to be praised by a man who curses himself thrice within an hour? Can you desire to please one who is not pleased with himself? Can he be pleased with himself who repents of almost everything he does?

As a society, we spend way too much time trying to make people who hate everything happy. It's not worth ruining ourselves for them.

 

 

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book 8 Part 2 (18-34)

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book 8 Part 2 (18-34)

Bonus:

8.21

Summary: Seriously repetitive.

Commentary: Marcus Aurelius is really down on pleasure and imagination today. 

I think my favorite is 8.32

32. Order your life in its single acts, so that if each, as far as may be, attains its end, it will suffice. In this no one can hinder you. But, you say, may not something external withstand me?—Nothing can keep you from justice, temperance, and wisdom.—Yet, perhaps some other activity of mine may be obstructed.—True, but by yielding to this impediment, and by turning with calmness to that which is in your power, you may happen on another course of action equally suited to the ordered life of which we are speaking.

Do things that're worth doing for their own sake. 

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book 8 Part 1 (1-17)

  Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by George W. Chrystal (~180) Book 8 Part 1 (1-17)

Bonus:

Gene Ray had time for some kind of philosophy.

Summary: It's the same. They're all the same.

Commentary:

I decided to try to muscle through Meditations, because the next volume is also mostly small pieces. To get to not shorter pieces I’d have to jump all the way out to volume 7 (I’m currently working in 1 and 2) to The Imitation of The Christ. I didn’t realize when I was reading them 2 years ago that that’s how most of it is. Some Fruits of Solitude is longer, so this is easier to clean out (I like having one shorty, but not two at a time, so I just want to clear something.) Anyway, I’m going to keep the short notes on the doc itself, and just save this space for more interesting/specific stuff.

I liked 8.8: You lack leisure for reading; but leisure to repress all insolence you do not lack. You have leisure to keep yourself superior to pleasure and pain and vain glory, to restrain all anger against the ungrateful, nay, even to lavish loving care upon them.

You don’t have time to read, but you have time to bitch.

And 8.16 Remember that to change your course, and to follow any man who can set you right is no compromise of your freedom. The act is your own, performed on your own impulse and judgment, and according to your own understanding.

Don’t be embarrassed to change your mind.

Cursive is Classic! (Also, The Tiger by Nael, 2016)

 We had a virtual day yesterday due to the snow. Since we were pretty sure it was coming, I sent my creative writing class (10-12 grade) home with cursive worksheets I printed from the internet. They said they wanted to learn/practice cursive for the poetry unit we have coming up.

Out of the six lessons I taught yesterday, it was the only one where every single student interacted live (all but one turned on their cameras, and that's because he was absent Friday and didn't get his sheet.)

We learned cursive when I was in second grade or so. In pencil. Pencils suck for cursive; cursive is for pens. (Correct use of semicolon!)

I'm pretty sure we learned D’Nealian, which is garbage. No one benefits from your wonky pseudo-cursive transition to full cursive.

As an adult, I've since learned that "cursive" isn't a real thing, and that you can connect your letters however you want. 

Wikipedia has this cool Italian one, where the Z actually looks like a Z:

I'm also interested in the Palmer Method, which has a unique and pleasant lowercase r:

Apparently designing handwriting and training was a big deal back in the day. Companies competed to get you to buy theirs. Kinda wild to think about.

I mostly abandoned my own cursive until 9th grade or so, when a teacher suggested I try it since my print was so awful. It was much better. I like to tell my kids with bad handwriting to give it a shot. Also much better for note taking.

For short lists (like grocery lists) I often start in printing, then switch to cursive halfway through. It feels weird to write single items that way, but I do like it better, especially when I use my fountain pen (Kaweco Brass Sport).

Anyway, speaking of poems here's some literature for tonight. (Outside of the blog's normal focus, but I'm rolling with it.)

The Tiger

The tiger

He destroyed his cage

Yes

YES

The tiger is out

Much better than the Blake poem. I'm definitely going to make them read both. I just have to decide if I'm going to sarcastically overanalyze Nael's poem to show how much deeper it is.