Ruling Faculty#
Summary#
Marcus Aurelius identifies the ruling faculty as the intelligent part of the soul that constitutes our true self, distinct from body and breath. He repeatedly examines whether his ruling faculty is performing its proper function or has become corrupted, asking if it has abandoned reason for the condition of beasts. The ruling faculty alone is properly ours and cannot be carried away by any external tempest; everything else is lifeless ashes and smoke, and all depends on how this faculty makes use of itself.