Concentrate
Every minute like a Roman
Like a man
On doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness
Tenderly
Willingly
With justice
And on freeing yourself from all other distractions
Yes, you can
If you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life
And stop being aimless
Stop letting your emotions override what your mind knows
Stop being hypocritical
Self-centered
Irritable
You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life?
If you can manage this
That’s all even the gods can ask of you
[Chorus]
Yeah, keep on degrading yourself
Soul
Soon your chance at dignity
It will be gone
Everybody gets one life
Yours is almost all used up
Now
And instead of treating yourself
With respect
You have entrusted
Your own happiness
Unto the souls of others
Unto the souls of others
Do external things distract you?
Then make time to learn something worthwhile
Stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions
But make sure you guard against the other kind of confusion
People who labor all their lives but have no purpose to direct
Every thought and impulse toward are wasting all their time
Even when hard at work
Even when hard at work
Ignoring what goes on in other people’s souls
No one ever came to grief that way
But if you won’t keep track of what your own soul’s doing
How can you not be unhappy?
Don’t ever forget these things
The nature of the world
My nature
How I relate
Unto the world
What proportion of it I make up
That you are part of nature
And no one can prevent you from speaking and acting in harmony with it
Always
[Chorus]
Yeah, keep on degrading yourself
Soul
Soon your chance at dignity
It will be gone
Everybody gets one life
Yours is almost all used up
Now
And instead of treating yourself
With respect
You have entrusted
Your own happiness
Unto the souls of others
Unto the souls of others
Every minute like a Roman
Like a man
On doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness
Tenderly
Willingly
With justice
And on freeing yourself from all other distractions
Yes, you can
If you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life
And stop being aimless
Stop letting your emotions override what your mind knows
Stop being hypocritical
Self-centered
Irritable
You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life?
If you can manage this
That’s all even the gods can ask of you
[Chorus]
Yeah, keep on degrading yourself
Soul
Soon your chance at dignity
It will be gone
Everybody gets one life
Yours is almost all used up
Now
And instead of treating yourself
With respect
You have entrusted
Your own happiness
Unto the souls of others
Unto the souls of others
Do external things distract you?
Then make time to learn something worthwhile
Stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions
But make sure you guard against the other kind of confusion
People who labor all their lives but have no purpose to direct
Every thought and impulse toward are wasting all their time
Even when hard at work
Even when hard at work
Ignoring what goes on in other people’s souls
No one ever came to grief that way
But if you won’t keep track of what your own soul’s doing
How can you not be unhappy?
Don’t ever forget these things
The nature of the world
My nature
How I relate
Unto the world
What proportion of it I make up
That you are part of nature
And no one can prevent you from speaking and acting in harmony with it
Always
[Chorus]
Yeah, keep on degrading yourself
Soul
Soon your chance at dignity
It will be gone
Everybody gets one life
Yours is almost all used up
Now
And instead of treating yourself
With respect
You have entrusted
Your own happiness
Unto the souls of others
Unto the souls of others
When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself
The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous
And surly
They are like this cause they can’t tell good from evil
But I have seen the beauty of good
And the ugliness of evil
And have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own
Not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind
And possessing a share of the divine
Not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind
And possessing a share of the divine
And so none of them can hurt me
No one can implicate me in ugliness
Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him
We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes
Like the two rows of teeth
Upper and lower
To obstruct each other is unnatural
To feel anger at someone
To turn your back on him
These are obstructions
[Pre-Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
[Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Whatever this is that I am, it is flesh, a little spirit, an intelligence
Throw away your books
Stop letting yourself be distracted
That is not allowed
Instead, as if you were dying right now
Despise your flesh!
A mess of blood, pieces of bone, a woven tangle of nerves, veins, arteries
Consider what the spirit is
Air
And never the same air
But vomited out and gulped in again every instant
[Breathing]
Finally
The intelligence
Think of it this way
You are an old man
Stop allowing your mind to be a slave
To be jerked about by selfish impulses
To kick against fate and the present
And to mistrust the future
What is divine is full of Providence
Even chance is not divorced from nature
From the inweaving and enfolding of things
Governed by Providence
Everything proceeds from it
And then there is necessity and the needs of the whole world
Of which you are a part
Whatever the nature of the whole does, and whatever serves to maintain it
Is good for every part of nature
The world is maintained by change
In the elements and in the things they compose
That should be enough for you
Treat it as an axiom
Treat it as an axiom
[Pre-Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
[Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Oh!
What a glories thing
Waking up in the morning, baby
Oh!
What a glories thing
Yes, I have a whole day! Hey!
Oh!
What a glories thing
Waking up in the morning, baby
Oh-oh!
What a glories thing
Yes, I have a whole —— day!
[Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Remember how long you’ve been putting this off
How many extensions the Gods gave you
And you didn’t use them
At some point you have to recognize what world it is that you belong to
What power rules it and from what source you spring
That there is a limit to the time assigned you
And if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone
And will never
Return
The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous
And surly
They are like this cause they can’t tell good from evil
But I have seen the beauty of good
And the ugliness of evil
And have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own
Not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind
And possessing a share of the divine
Not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind
And possessing a share of the divine
And so none of them can hurt me
No one can implicate me in ugliness
Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him
We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes
Like the two rows of teeth
Upper and lower
To obstruct each other is unnatural
To feel anger at someone
To turn your back on him
These are obstructions
[Pre-Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
[Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Whatever this is that I am, it is flesh, a little spirit, an intelligence
Throw away your books
Stop letting yourself be distracted
That is not allowed
Instead, as if you were dying right now
Despise your flesh!
A mess of blood, pieces of bone, a woven tangle of nerves, veins, arteries
Consider what the spirit is
Air
And never the same air
But vomited out and gulped in again every instant
[Breathing]
Finally
The intelligence
Think of it this way
You are an old man
Stop allowing your mind to be a slave
To be jerked about by selfish impulses
To kick against fate and the present
And to mistrust the future
What is divine is full of Providence
Even chance is not divorced from nature
From the inweaving and enfolding of things
Governed by Providence
Everything proceeds from it
And then there is necessity and the needs of the whole world
Of which you are a part
Whatever the nature of the whole does, and whatever serves to maintain it
Is good for every part of nature
The world is maintained by change
In the elements and in the things they compose
That should be enough for you
Treat it as an axiom
Treat it as an axiom
[Pre-Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
[Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Oh!
What a glories thing
Waking up in the morning, baby
Oh!
What a glories thing
Yes, I have a whole day! Hey!
Oh!
What a glories thing
Waking up in the morning, baby
Oh-oh!
What a glories thing
Yes, I have a whole —— day!
[Chorus]
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Discard your thirst for books
So you won’t die in bitterness
But in cheerfulness and truth
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart
Remember how long you’ve been putting this off
How many extensions the Gods gave you
And you didn’t use them
At some point you have to recognize what world it is that you belong to
What power rules it and from what source you spring
That there is a limit to the time assigned you
And if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone
And will never
Return
I had good grandparents
A good mother and father
A good sister
Good teachers
Good servants
Relatives, friends
Nearly everything good
And that I never lost control of myself with any of them
Although I had it in me to do that
And I might have
Easily
But thanks to the gods
I was never put in that position
And so I escaped the test
I was never put in that position
And so I escaped the test
That I wasn’t longer raised by my granddad’s girlfriend
I didn’t lose my virginity too early
And didn’t enter adulthood until it was time
Hell, I put off
That I had
Someone
As a ruler and father
Who could keep me from arrogance
To live in a palace without body guards
Without fancy dresses or torches or statues or such like show
That you can live much like a regular person
Not remiss in action or careless a ruler
When carrying out official obligations
That I had the kind of brother I did
One whose character challenged me to
Improve my own
One whose love and affection
Enriched my whole life
That my children weren’t born
Stupid or physically deformed
That I wasn’t more talented
In rhetoric or poetry
They could have consumed me
If I had seen progress
I might never have given them up
That I conferred on the people who brought me up
The honors that they seemed to want early on
Instead of putting them off
Since they were still young
With the hope that I’d do it later
That I knew Apollonius
And Rusticus
And Maximus
That I was shown clearly and often
What it would be like to live as nature requires
[Chorus]
Thanks to the gods
They did all they could
Through their gifts
Their help
Their inspiration
To ensure
That I could live
As nature demands
Thanks to the gods
They did all they could
Through their gifts
Their help
Their inspiration
To ensure
That I could live
As nature demands
And if I’ve failed
It’s no one’s fault but mine
Cause I didn't pay attention
To what they told me
To what they taught me
Practically, step by step
That my body has held up
For so long through such a life
That I never laid a finger
On Benedicta
Or Theodotus
Even later
I was overcome by passion
I recovered
Even though
I often quarreled with Rusticus
I never did nothing that I regretted later
And though my mother died young
She spent her last years with me
And if I ever wished to help a man in need
I was never told that I had not the means
That I was never put in that position myself
Of having to take something from somebody else
That I have the wife I do
Obedient
Loving
Humble
That my children had competent teachers
For the remedies shown me in dream
When I was coughing blood
When my head was spinning
(Spinning)
(Spinning)
When I had an inclination
To philosophy
I didn’t fall into the hands of any
Sophist
That I didn't waste my time
On writers of histories
Or in the resolution of syllogisms
Or occupy myself about the investigation
Of appearances in the heavens
For all these things require the help
Of the gods and fortune
[Chorus]
Thanks to the gods
They did all they could
Through their gifts
Their help
Their inspiration
To ensure
That I could live
As nature demands
Thanks to the gods
They did all they could
Through their gifts
Their help
Their inspiration
To ensure
That I could live
As nature demands
A good mother and father
A good sister
Good teachers
Good servants
Relatives, friends
Nearly everything good
And that I never lost control of myself with any of them
Although I had it in me to do that
And I might have
Easily
But thanks to the gods
I was never put in that position
And so I escaped the test
I was never put in that position
And so I escaped the test
That I wasn’t longer raised by my granddad’s girlfriend
I didn’t lose my virginity too early
And didn’t enter adulthood until it was time
Hell, I put off
That I had
Someone
As a ruler and father
Who could keep me from arrogance
To live in a palace without body guards
Without fancy dresses or torches or statues or such like show
That you can live much like a regular person
Not remiss in action or careless a ruler
When carrying out official obligations
That I had the kind of brother I did
One whose character challenged me to
Improve my own
One whose love and affection
Enriched my whole life
That my children weren’t born
Stupid or physically deformed
That I wasn’t more talented
In rhetoric or poetry
They could have consumed me
If I had seen progress
I might never have given them up
That I conferred on the people who brought me up
The honors that they seemed to want early on
Instead of putting them off
Since they were still young
With the hope that I’d do it later
That I knew Apollonius
And Rusticus
And Maximus
That I was shown clearly and often
What it would be like to live as nature requires
[Chorus]
Thanks to the gods
They did all they could
Through their gifts
Their help
Their inspiration
To ensure
That I could live
As nature demands
Thanks to the gods
They did all they could
Through their gifts
Their help
Their inspiration
To ensure
That I could live
As nature demands
And if I’ve failed
It’s no one’s fault but mine
Cause I didn't pay attention
To what they told me
To what they taught me
Practically, step by step
That my body has held up
For so long through such a life
That I never laid a finger
On Benedicta
Or Theodotus
Even later
I was overcome by passion
I recovered
Even though
I often quarreled with Rusticus
I never did nothing that I regretted later
And though my mother died young
She spent her last years with me
And if I ever wished to help a man in need
I was never told that I had not the means
That I was never put in that position myself
Of having to take something from somebody else
That I have the wife I do
Obedient
Loving
Humble
That my children had competent teachers
For the remedies shown me in dream
When I was coughing blood
When my head was spinning
(Spinning)
(Spinning)
When I had an inclination
To philosophy
I didn’t fall into the hands of any
Sophist
That I didn't waste my time
On writers of histories
Or in the resolution of syllogisms
Or occupy myself about the investigation
Of appearances in the heavens
For all these things require the help
Of the gods and fortune
[Chorus]
Thanks to the gods
They did all they could
Through their gifts
Their help
Their inspiration
To ensure
That I could live
As nature demands
Thanks to the gods
They did all they could
Through their gifts
Their help
Their inspiration
To ensure
That I could live
As nature demands
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Compassion
Unwavering adherence to decisions once he’d reached them
Indifference to superficial honors
Listening to anyone who could contribute to the public good
His dogged determination to treat people as they deserved
A sense of when to push and when to back off
His altruism
Not expecting his friends to keep him entertained at dinner
Or to travel with him
And anyone who had to stay behind to take care of something
Always found him the same when he returned
His searching questions at meetings
A kind of single-mindedness
Almost
Never content with first impressions or breaking off the discussion prematurely
His constancy to friends
Never getting fed up with them
Or playing favorite
And his advance planning
Well in advance
And his discreet attention to even minor things
His restrictions on acclamations
And all attempts to flatter him
His constant devotion to the empire’s needs
His stewardship at the treasury
Willingness to take responsibility
And blame
For both
His attitude to the gods
No superstitiousness
His attitude to men
No demagoguery
No currying favor
No pandering
Always sober, always steady, never vulgar or a prey to fads
No currying favor
No pandering
Always sober, always steady, never vulgar or a prey to fads
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
The way he handled the material comforts that fortunehad supplied him in such abundance
Without arrogance and without apology
If they were there
He took advantage
If not
He didn’t miss them
No one ever called him glib
Or shameless, or pedantic
They saw him for what he was
A man tested by life
Accomplished
Unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern
Both himself and them
Both himself and them
His respect for people who practiced philosophy
At least, for those sincere about it
But without denigrating the others
Or listening to them
His ability to feel at ease with people
And put them at their ease without being pushy
His willingness to take adequate care of himself
Not a hypochondriac obsessed with his appearance
But not ignoring things either
With the result that he hardly ever needed medical attention
Or drugs or any sort of salve or ointment
This, in particular
(This, in particular)
(This, in particular)
His willingness to yield the floor to experts
In oratory, law, psychology, whatever
And to support them energetically
So each could fulfill his potential
He respected tradition without need to constantly congratulate himself for
Safe guarding traditional values
Not prone to go off on tangents
Or pulled in all directions
But sticking with the same old places
And the same old things
The way he could have one of his migraines
And then go right back to what he was doing
Fresh and at the top of his game
That he had so few secrets
Only state secrets
In fact
And not
All that many
Of those
The way he kept public actions
Within reasonable bounds
Games, building projects because he looked to what needed doing
And not the credit to be gained from doing it
No bathing at strange hours
No self-indulgent building projects
No concern for food, or the cut and color of his clothes
Or having attractive slaves
He never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself, turned violent
No one saw him sweat
Everything was to be approached logically
And with due consideration
In a calm and orderly fashion
But decisively
With no loose ends
You could have said of him
That he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most find hard
To abstain from and all too easy to enjoy
But to be strong enough both to bear the one
And be sober in the other is the mark of a man
With a perfect and invincible soul
Ey
But to be strong enough both to bear the one
And be sober in the other is the mark of a man
With a perfect and invincible soul
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Compassion
Unwavering adherence to decisions once he’d reached them
Indifference to superficial honors
Listening to anyone who could contribute to the public good
His dogged determination to treat people as they deserved
A sense of when to push and when to back off
His altruism
Not expecting his friends to keep him entertained at dinner
Or to travel with him
And anyone who had to stay behind to take care of something
Always found him the same when he returned
His searching questions at meetings
A kind of single-mindedness
Almost
Never content with first impressions or breaking off the discussion prematurely
His constancy to friends
Never getting fed up with them
Or playing favorite
And his advance planning
Well in advance
And his discreet attention to even minor things
His restrictions on acclamations
And all attempts to flatter him
His constant devotion to the empire’s needs
His stewardship at the treasury
Willingness to take responsibility
And blame
For both
His attitude to the gods
No superstitiousness
His attitude to men
No demagoguery
No currying favor
No pandering
Always sober, always steady, never vulgar or a prey to fads
No currying favor
No pandering
Always sober, always steady, never vulgar or a prey to fads
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
The way he handled the material comforts that fortunehad supplied him in such abundance
Without arrogance and without apology
If they were there
He took advantage
If not
He didn’t miss them
No one ever called him glib
Or shameless, or pedantic
They saw him for what he was
A man tested by life
Accomplished
Unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern
Both himself and them
Both himself and them
His respect for people who practiced philosophy
At least, for those sincere about it
But without denigrating the others
Or listening to them
His ability to feel at ease with people
And put them at their ease without being pushy
His willingness to take adequate care of himself
Not a hypochondriac obsessed with his appearance
But not ignoring things either
With the result that he hardly ever needed medical attention
Or drugs or any sort of salve or ointment
This, in particular
(This, in particular)
(This, in particular)
His willingness to yield the floor to experts
In oratory, law, psychology, whatever
And to support them energetically
So each could fulfill his potential
He respected tradition without need to constantly congratulate himself for
Safe guarding traditional values
Not prone to go off on tangents
Or pulled in all directions
But sticking with the same old places
And the same old things
The way he could have one of his migraines
And then go right back to what he was doing
Fresh and at the top of his game
That he had so few secrets
Only state secrets
In fact
And not
All that many
Of those
The way he kept public actions
Within reasonable bounds
Games, building projects because he looked to what needed doing
And not the credit to be gained from doing it
No bathing at strange hours
No self-indulgent building projects
No concern for food, or the cut and color of his clothes
Or having attractive slaves
He never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself, turned violent
No one saw him sweat
Everything was to be approached logically
And with due consideration
In a calm and orderly fashion
But decisively
With no loose ends
You could have said of him
That he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most find hard
To abstain from and all too easy to enjoy
But to be strong enough both to bear the one
And be sober in the other is the mark of a man
With a perfect and invincible soul
Ey
But to be strong enough both to bear the one
And be sober in the other is the mark of a man
With a perfect and invincible soul
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
To Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
My brother Severus
It was through him I encountered Thrasea
Helvidius
Cato
Dion
Brutus
And conceived of a society of equal laws
Governed by equality of status
And of speech
And of rulers who respect the liberty
Of their subjects above all else
And from him as well to be steady and consistent
In valuing philosophy
And to help others
And be eager to share
Not to be a pessimist, never to doubt your friends’ affection for you
And when people incurred
His disapproval
They always knew it
They always knew it
And that his friends never had to speculate about his attitude to anything
It was always clear
[Chorus]
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
Maximus
Self-control and resistance to distractions
Optimism in adversity
Especially illness
A personality in balance
Dignity and grace together
Doing your job without whining
Other people’s certainty that what he said was what he thought
And what he did was done without malice
Never taken aback or apprehensive
Neither rash nor hesitant
Or bewildered
Or at a loss
Not obsequious but not aggressive or paranoid either
Generosity, charity, honesty
The sense he gave of staying on the path
Not being kept on it
That no one could have ever felt patronized by him
Or in a position to patronize him
A sense of humor
[Chorus]
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
To Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
My brother Severus
It was through him I encountered Thrasea
Helvidius
Cato
Dion
Brutus
And conceived of a society of equal laws
Governed by equality of status
And of speech
And of rulers who respect the liberty
Of their subjects above all else
And from him as well to be steady and consistent
In valuing philosophy
And to help others
And be eager to share
Not to be a pessimist, never to doubt your friends’ affection for you
And when people incurred
His disapproval
They always knew it
They always knew it
And that his friends never had to speculate about his attitude to anything
It was always clear
[Chorus]
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
Maximus
Self-control and resistance to distractions
Optimism in adversity
Especially illness
A personality in balance
Dignity and grace together
Doing your job without whining
Other people’s certainty that what he said was what he thought
And what he did was done without malice
Never taken aback or apprehensive
Neither rash nor hesitant
Or bewildered
Or at a loss
Not obsequious but not aggressive or paranoid either
Generosity, charity, honesty
The sense he gave of staying on the path
Not being kept on it
That no one could have ever felt patronized by him
Or in a position to patronize him
A sense of humor
[Chorus]
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share