Aurelius - Meditations 4:23: Marcus Ish Gamzu and His Stoic Naïveté

The Stoic Jew

Everything is fitting for me, my Universe, which fits thy purpose. Nothing in thy good time is too early or too late for me; everything is fruit for me which thy seasons, Nature, bear; from thee, in thee, to thee are all things. The poet sings: 'Dear city of Cecrops', and will you not say: 'Dear city of God'?
--------------------
Avos 2:4
[Rabban Gamliel, son of R' Yehuda ha'Nassi,] used to say: make His will like your will so that He will do your will like His will; nullify your will before His will so that He will nullify the will of others before your will.

Epictetus – Enchiridion, Chapter 8
Do not demand that things should happen just as you wish, but wish them to happen just as they do, and all will be well.

Other references too long to cite here:
Gibbon – The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 4:1
Talmud Bavli Taanis 21a
Kuzari 3:11:22-25

--------------------
If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.
----------
Stoic texts:
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Letters from a Stoic Master (Seneca)
The Discourses of Epictetus
The Enchiridion (Handbook) of Epictetus
----------
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/rabbischneeweiss
Blog: https://kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmschneeweiss
"The Mishlei Podcast": https://mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: https://thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: https://rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: https://machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": https://tefilah.buzzsprout.com

Support the show