Plain
Marcus Aurelius — The Emperor

Those who want to live according to nature must be equally indifferent to these things, just as nature is. Anyone who is not indifferent to pleasure and pain, death and life, honor and dishonor is clearly going against the natural order. Nature uses all these things without preference in running the world.

When I say nature uses them without preference, I mean they happen randomly in the normal course of events. These things follow necessarily from the original plan of Providence. From the very beginning, Providence decided to create this kind of world. It carried within itself the seeds and patterns for everything that would happen — all the subjects, changes, and sequences, exactly as they are and in just these numbers.

Meditations, Book 9, Section 1 Book 9 · 4 of 60
Freedom & Control Facing Hardship
Marcus Aurelius — The Emperor Original

they that will live according to nature, must in those things (as being of the same mind and disposition that she is) be as equally indifferent. Whosoever therefore in either matter of pleasure and pain; death and life; honour and dishonour, (which things nature in the administration of the world, indifferently doth make use of), is not as indifferent, it is apparent that he is impious. When I say that common nature doth indifferently make use of them, my meaning is, that they happen indifferently in the ordinary course of things, which by a necessary consequence, whether as principal or accessory, come to pass in the world, according to that first and ancient deliberation of Providence, by which she from some certain beginning, did resolve upon the creation of such a world, conceiving then in her womb as it were some certain rational generative seeds and faculties of things future, whether subjects, changes, successions; both such and such, and just so many.

Meditations, Book 9, Section 1 Book 9 · 4 of 60
Marcus Aurelius — The Emperor

A person who chases pleasure as truly good and runs from pain as truly evil is also impious. Such a person will often blame the common nature of things. They will say nature gives many things to both bad and good people unfairly. Bad people often get pleasures and what causes pleasure. Good people often get pains and what causes pain. Also, anyone who fears pains and troubles in this world fears some things that must happen in the world. We already showed this is impious. And someone who chases pleasures will not hold back from doing unjust things to get what they want. That is clearly impious. Now those things that nature treats as equally indifferent — she would not have created both pain and pleasure if both were not equally indifferent to her:

Meditations, Book 9, Section 1 Book 9 · 3 of 60
Doing The Right Thing Freedom & Control
Marcus Aurelius — The Emperor Original

He also that pursues after pleasures, as that which is truly good and flies from pains, as that which is truly evil: is impious. For such a one must of necessity oftentimes accuse that common nature, as distributing many things both unto the evil, and unto the good, not according to the deserts of either: as unto the bad oftentimes pleasures, and the causes of pleasures; so unto the good, pains, and the occasions of pains. Again, he that feareth pains and crosses in this world, feareth some of those things which some time or other must needs happen in the world. And that we have already showed to be impious. And he that pursueth after pleasures, will not spare, to compass his desires, to do that which is unjust, and that is manifestly impious. Now those things which unto nature are equally indifferent (for she had not created both, both pain and pleasure, if both had not been unto her equally indifferent):

Meditations, Book 9, Section 1 Book 9 · 3 of 60
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Ancient philosophy, in plain English.

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