If It Is Not Right, Do Not Do It; If Not True, Do Not Say It

answered by Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book XII

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🎬 TODAY'S FILM — IT ASKS THIS

Ashes and Diamonds (1958)

dir. Andrzej Wajda · Poland

A person moves to lay hands on a wrong, following orders from above and the logic of the side he belongs to. To obey and stay with his own is comfortable, yet a question rises: is this truly right? Between keeping a familiar place and asking after the right, which one stands me up as a human being?

THE QUESTION THE FILM ASKS

To keep my comfort, have I kept my eyes shut to what I knew was not right?

THE CLASSIC'S ANSWER · ORIGINAL

εἰ μὴ καθῆκον, μὴ πρᾶξον· εἰ μὴ ἀληθές, μὴ εἰπέ

📜 THE CLASSIC'S ANSWER

If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.

💡 TL;DR

These two sentences of Marcus Aurelius are simple but leave nowhere to hide: if it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.

📝The Classic Answers

These two sentences of Marcus Aurelius are simple but leave nowhere to hide: if it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it. To one who has given himself over to orders and the logic of his side, these words arrive late, but clearly. It is easy to defer the question of the right in order to keep a familiar place. But neither an order nor a belonging can make a wrong into a right. When comfort and rightness part ways, I choose to set myself before these two sentences and stay my hand.

— ONGO · Curator

🌱Apply It Today

If there is something today you'd let pass on the excuse of an order or a belonging, pick it and answer honestly the two questions: 'Is it right? Is it true?'

📖 Classic Source: Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book XII. Ancient text in the public domain; rendered and interpreted independently by ONGO.
The film is honored as an equal questioner; its plot is rendered only as a universal dilemma. The classic source is an ancient text (Public Domain), and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.