Make your own mistakes. Marcus Aurelius 5.25
How
Marcus handles wrongdoing by others: he views them as independent
obstacles, to which he must respond without recourse to passionate
anger or attachment. Every disaster brought to him by the decision of
others presents an occasion for him to use his own moral agency,
without punting or deferring to theirs (which he regards as independent, capable
of ruling and adjusting itself without his instruction). This
approach lets him reach practical solutions that don't demand perfect
consensus, or avoid personal liability.
Ἄλλος
ἁμαρτάνει. τί εἰς ἐμέ; ὄψεται· ἰδίαν
ἔχει διάθεσιν, ἰδίαν ἐνέργειαν. ἐγὼ
νῦν ἔχω, ὅ με θέλει νῦν ἔχειν ἡ κοινὴ
φύσις, καὶ πράσσω, ὅ με νῦν πράσσειν
θέλει ἡ ἐμὴ φύσις.
Someone else does wrong. What is this to me? The wrongdoer will recognize the
situation for himself, having his own character and expression.
Meanwhile, I retain whatever agency our common nature wants to bestow
upon me, and I do whatever my own personal nature desires.