“Keep a list before your mind of those who burned with anger and resentment about something, of even the most renowned for success, misfortune, evil deeds, or any special distinction. Then ask yourself, how did that work out? Smoke and dust, the stuff of simple myth trying to be legend…”
MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 12.27
In the quote above, Marcus encourages us to think of all the people in history who were known for the anger or resentment that drove them. Think about those people who felt slighted and never stopped thinking about that, who let it fuel and power them forward toward supposed ‘greatness’. Perhaps these are famous people, or perhaps they’re just people that you’ve known in your life. We often idolize these people for their laser-focus on ‘proving everyone wrong’.
And where are these people now? How did that dedication to rage work out for them? The author of The Daily Stoic points out in today’s entry that in the end, we are all the same. We all turn to smoke and dust in the wind, and we are buried in the ground when we die. No amount of effort can avoid this.
No amount of fury preserves these people for all time. Death is the great equalizer, and it happens to even the famous people. It also happens to those who are trying to become legends through their singular focus on anger. In the end, it’s just smoke and dust, and “simple myth trying to be legend,” like Marcus says.
