November 15
Whoever does wrong does wrong to himself. Whoever is unjust is unjust to himself: he makes himself bad.
Meditations IX.4
Listening mode
Whoever does wrong does wrong to himself. Whoever is unjust is unjust to himself: he makes himself bad.
After a small injustice you seldom feel bad. More often, reasons occur to you. You cut someone off in conversation, made a proposal sound smaller than it was, or quietly let someone else's idea pass as yours. Soon you notice things about this person that used to mean nothing to you: their long-winded manner, their ambition, how eagerly they push themselves to the front.
There is something peculiar about this. The act is over, but it still needs reasons. If it is not to have been wrong, the other person has to be worth a little less. You now tend an image of them that fits your behavior, and this image demands selection, small omissions, a certain vigilance.
The harm then lies less in a bad conscience than in a narrower gaze. You no longer see this person whole, and yourself you see only from the side that was in the right.
Perhaps at some point they say something clever. You hear it, certainly. And notice how hard it is for you simply to agree.
