Actions change the soul. Marcus Aurelius 5.11

Marcus reflects on the way different actions demand a different affect from us. Each action I engage molds the inner form of myself to fit whatever I find most congenial to it. I can express myself as many different things, depending on what actions I choose, and how I choose to engage them.

Πρὸς τί ποτε ἄρα νῦν χρῶμαι τῇ ἐμαυτοῦ ψυχῇ; παρ’ ἕκαστα τοῦτο ἐπανερωτᾶν ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐξετάζειν τί μοί ἐστι νῦν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μορίῳ, ὃ δὴ ἡγεμονικὸν καλοῦσι, καὶ τίνος ἄρα νῦν ἔχω ψυχήν; μήτι παιδίου; μήτι μειρακίου; μήτι γυναικαρίου; μήτι τυράννου; μήτι κτήνους; μήτι θηρίου;

What is the work to which I dedicate my soul, right now? In every task it becomes my duty to ask myself a recurring question, searching the depths of my inner life: what sort of being do I hold right now in the seat of power that rules my mind? What kind of life or soul do I possess in this moment? The soul of a child, perhaps? Of a youth? A little girl? A tyrant? An ox? A predator in the wild?