Dear Editor,
What Marcus Aurelius, a staunch adherent of Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, would have done for humanity in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? Regarded as one of the five good emperors of the Ancient Roman Empire, Marcus would have probably recommended as an essential quarantine read his personal journal which was posthumously published as Meditations. Meditations was one of the books smuggled onto Robben Island for Nelson Mandela which helped enormously to replenish his spiritual resources providing him with daily doses of inspiration and spiritual energy to continue his long struggle for freedom.
To gain perspective, Marcus Aurelius wrote Meditations while being surrounded by the horrors of the Antonine plague (165-180 AD) and in the middle of the Marcomannic wars (166-180 AD). Now almost two millenniums later here we are faced with the COVID-19 pandemic the symptoms of which are eerily similar to the ancient Antonine plague and which threatens to upend countless lives. In passage ix.2 of the meditations Marcus states, “Even the pestilence around him is less deadly than falsehood, evil behaviour and lack of true understanding.”
Daily we witness the manifestation of the foregoing, people are continuing to adopt a cavalier approach to what still remains a serious global threat. In her report on the banality of evil Hannah Arendt posed the question, “Can someone do evil without being evil?”, a thought-defying act or thoughtlessness which occurs when someone becomes morally disengaged and is unable to think from the standpoint of someone else.
As we know or I assume most of us know, asymptomatic persons are fuelling the COVID-19 pandemic. And with an incubation period of around five days prior to the onset of symptoms no one can say with any degree of certainty during this period whether he or she is infected without first being tested.
It can be inferred then that this places a lot of us in a very peculiar and dangerous position as potential carriers. It’s rather unfortunate that this invisible terror evades sensory perception as none among us to date have been able to pinpoint its presence solely with the use of our sense organs. So, to mitigate the chances of further contagion it becomes absolutely necessary that we employ the most effective method that is entirely within our control, and that is the complete observance of all preventive and health protocols, foremost among which are social distancing and proper self-hygiene and sanitisation.
I imagine Marcus Aurelius with feelings and emotions repressed saying to his subjects during the Antonine plague, “Be calm, plagues have been with us from time immemorial and will continue to be with us indefinitely.” Marcus would have gone on to remind citizens of his empire that plagues are a part of the cycle of nature and are largely outside of their control; however, he would have been quick to point out that how they respond is totally within their control. He would have advised his subjects that the best chance they have of remaining healthy within nature is to adopt a rational approach by practicing virtue, doing what’s good and right for humanity.
Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs continues to plea, instruct and remind all and sundry of their roles and responsibilities and I sense this is coming from a genuine place of love and sincerity. Information from the World Health Organisation and other credible sources is abundantly disseminated to governments and citizens alike around the globe.
Given this level of awareness how can one reasonably absolve oneself from personal responsibility for failing to observe the contents of preventive measures, which can result in others becoming infected or even killed? Ignorance of the law is no excuse and cannot be used as a procedural defense in criminal law. Let’s conduct ourselves in a manner that doesn’t give consideration to the legislation of criminal laws to fight this pandemic.
Falsehoods continue to abound during these times, in the process inviting and harbouring denials, irrational explanations and alternative remedies. Presently there is an overkill of “treatments” and prophylactic medicinal potions circulating on the World Wide Web. These “miracle brews and concoctions” were revealed to a “chosen few” whose spiritual apprehension of divine cure and knowledge somehow seems to be eluding the inhabitants of all the laboratories currently engaged in tirelessly pursuing cures.
So, while the world is forced to patiently endure awaiting the eureka moment from our heroes and heroines of medical science these “healers” and “soothsayers” will be immersed in aggressive marketing and distribution of their elixir. And I anticipate this will incur greater costs than benefits, some as severe as permanent physical damage or even death. Nevertheless they will continue to champion their healing prowess, but I am confident they will be unable to prove if it was as a result of the potency of their concoctions or just a case of placebo effect.
Marcus Aurelius while on his dying bed said, “Weep not for me, think rather of the pestilence and the deaths of so many others.” Marcus would have entreated us to keep calm and carry on, nothing is unending you just need to be strong and gracious to get through it. He would have invited us to invoke the spirit of the Stoics; remain virtuous and continue to do what is good and right for all of mankind.
Orlando Patterson
