Meditations, Book IX, Section XL (Section Forty)

Brilliant.

As translated:

When at any time thou art offended with any one's impudency, put presently this question to thyself: 'What? Is it then possible, that there should not be any impudent men in the world! Certainly it is not possible.' Desire not then that which is impossible. For this one, (thou must think) whosoever he be, is one of those impudent ones, that the world cannot be without. So of the subtile and crafty, so of the perfidious, so of every one that offendeth, must thou ever be ready to reason with thyself. For whilst in general thou dost thus reason with thyself, that the kind of them must needs be in the world, thou wilt be the better able to use meekness towards every particular. This also thou shalt find of very good use, upon every such occasion, presently to consider with thyself, what proper virtue nature hath furnished man with, against such a vice, or to encounter with a disposition vicious in this kind. As for example, against the unthankful, it hath given goodness and meekness, as an antidote, and so against another vicious in another kind some other peculiar faculty. And generally, is it not in thy power to instruct him better, that is in an error? For whosoever sinneth, doth in that decline from his purposed end, and is certainly deceived, And again, what art thou the worse for his sin? For thou shalt not find that any one of these, against whom thou art incensed, hath in very deed done anything whereby thy mind (the only true subject of thy hurt and evil) can be made worse than it was. And what a matter of either grief or wonder is this, if he that is unlearned, do the deeds of one that is unlearned? Should not thou rather blame thyself, who, when upon very good grounds of reason, thou mightst have thought it very probable, that such a thing would by such a one be committed, didst not only not foresee it, but moreover dost wonder at it, that such a thing should be. But then especially, when thou dost find fault with either an unthankful, or a false man, must thou reflect upon thyself. For without all question, thou thyself art much in fault, if either of one that were of such a disposition, thou didst expect that he should be true unto thee: or when unto any thou didst a good turn, thou didst not there bound thy thoughts, as one that had obtained his end; nor didst not think that from the action itself thou hadst received a full reward of the good that thou hadst done. For what wouldst thou have more? Unto him that is a man, thou hast done a good turn: doth not that suffice thee? What thy nature required, that hast thou done. Must thou be rewarded for it? As if either the eye for that it seeth, or the feet that they go, should require satisfaction. For as these being by nature appointed for such an use, can challenge no more, than that they may work according to their natural constitution: so man being born to do good unto others whensoever he doth a real good unto any by helping them out of error; or though but in middle things, as in matter of wealth, life, preferment, and the like, doth help to further their desires he doth that for which he was made, and therefore can require no more.

Rendered into contemporary English:

When you are offended by anyone's forwardness, ask yourself this: Is it possible for the world not to have any forward people? Certainly it is not possible. So don't wish for something that's impossible. The forward person you encountered is just one of those people that by necessity exist in the world. So too with backstabbers, deceitful people, and the whole range of people who offend you, you have to ask yourself the same question. If you reason with yourself this way generally, you'll be ready in particular instances to greet them with meekness. It is also useful to consider what virtues nature has furnished to humankind to encounter such offensive qualities. Against ingratitude there is the antidote of goodness and meekness, and against every other kind of viciousness there is also a good quality. Is it not in your power to show the person how they made a mistake? Anyone who transgresses strays from their own natural purpose, and is deceived. And how are you worse off because of another person's transgression? No one can make your mind (the only true thing that can be hurt) worse than it was. Why should you be upset or surprised if an ignorant person acts ignorant? Shouldn't you instead blame yourself, when you could easily have understood its likelihood, not only for not having foreseen it, but also for having been surprised by it? Especially when you find fault with a deceitful or unthankful person, you have to reflect on yourself. For you are at fault, too, if you expected a person like that to be honest; or when you did a favor for someone, that you didn't restrain yourself from having expectations about it or didn't consider your doing of the favor to be enough by itself. What more do you want? Isn't it sufficient just to do good to another person? What nature required, you did. Do you need a reward? Does your eye need a reward for seeing, or your feet for walking? Just as eyes and feet don't ask more than to perform their natural function, so people being born to do good to others, when they do so in large matters or small, are doing what they were made to do.