【每日斯多葛】2026年7月20日

July 20th

MADE FOR JUSTICE

“The unjust person acts against the gods. For insofar as the nature of the universe made rational creatures for the sake of each other, with an eye toward mutual benefit based on true value and never for harm, anyone breaking nature’s will obviously acts against the oldest of gods.”—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 9.1.1

We say of the most heinous acts that they are crimes against nature. We consider certain things to be an affront against humanity, saying, “This violates everything we hold dear.” However much we differ in religion, upbringing, politics, class, or gender, we can come together in agreement there.

Why? Because our sense of justice goes marrow deep. We don’t like it when people cut in line; we don’t like freeloaders; we pass laws that protect the defenseless; and we pay our taxes, agreeing, in part, to redistribute our wealth to those in need. At the same time, if we think we can get away with it, we might try to cheat or bend the rules. To paraphrase Bill Walsh, when left to our own devices, many of us individuals seek lower ground like water.

The key, then, is to support our natural inclination to justice with strong boundaries and strong commitments—to embrace, as Lincoln urged a divided, angry nation to do, “the better angels of our nature.”

7月20日

为正义而生

“不正义的人是在违背诸神而行事。因为就宇宙的本性使理性生物为了彼此而存在而言，它着眼于基于真实价值的相互利益，而绝不是为了伤害；任何违背自然意志的人，显然都是在违背最古老的诸神。”——马可·奥勒留，《沉思录》，9.1.1

我们说，最令人发指的行为是违背自然的罪行。我们认为某些事情是对人性的冒犯，并说：“这违背了我们所珍视的一切。”无论我们在宗教、成长背景、政治、阶级或性别上有多么不同，在这一点上，我们都能够达成一致。

为什么？因为我们的正义感深入骨髓。我们不喜欢别人插队；我们不喜欢占便宜的人；我们通过法律来保护无助者；我们缴纳税款，在某种程度上同意把我们的财富重新分配给有需要的人。与此同时，如果我们认为自己能够逃脱惩罚，我们也可能试图作弊或钻规则的空子。套用比尔·沃尔什的话说，当任由我们自行其是时，我们许多人会像水一样流向低处。

因此，关键在于用坚定的边界和坚定的承诺，来支撑我们对正义的天然倾向——去拥抱林肯曾敦促一个分裂而愤怒的国家去拥抱的东西：“我们天性中更好的天使。”