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Self Control (Akira The Don X Marcus Aurelius)
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Compassion
Unwavering adherence to decisions once he’d reached them
Indifference to superficial honors
Listening to anyone who could contribute to the public good
His dogged determination to treat people as they deserved
A sense of when to push and when to back off
His altruism
Not expecting his friends to keep him entertained at dinner
Or to travel with him
And anyone who had to stay behind to take care of something
Always found him the same when he returned
His searching questions at meetings
A kind of single-mindedness
Almost
Never content with first impressions or breaking off the discussion prematurely
His constancy to friends
Never getting fed up with them
Or playing favorite
And his advance planning
Well in advance
And his discreet attention to even minor things
His restrictions on acclamations
And all attempts to flatter him
His constant devotion to the empire’s needs
His stewardship at the treasury
Willingness to take responsibility
And blame
For both
His attitude to the gods
No superstitiousness
His attitude to men
No demagoguery
No currying favor
No pandering
Always sober, always steady, never vulgar or a prey to fads
No currying favor
No pandering
Always sober, always steady, never vulgar or a prey to fads
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
The way he handled the material comforts that fortunehad supplied him in such abundance
Without arrogance and without apology
If they were there
He took advantage
If not
He didn’t miss them
No one ever called him glib
Or shameless, or pedantic
They saw him for what he was
A man tested by life
Accomplished
Unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern
Both himself and them
Both himself and them
His respect for people who practiced philosophy
At least, for those sincere about it
But without denigrating the others
Or listening to them
His ability to feel at ease with people
And put them at their ease without being pushy
His willingness to take adequate care of himself
Not a hypochondriac obsessed with his appearance
But not ignoring things either
With the result that he hardly ever needed medical attention
Or drugs or any sort of salve or ointment
This, in particular
(This, in particular)
(This, in particular)
His willingness to yield the floor to experts
In oratory, law, psychology, whatever
And to support them energetically
So each could fulfill his potential
He respected tradition without need to constantly congratulate himself for
Safe guarding traditional values
Not prone to go off on tangents
Or pulled in all directions
But sticking with the same old places
And the same old things
The way he could have one of his migraines
And then go right back to what he was doing
Fresh and at the top of his game
That he had so few secrets
Only state secrets
In fact
And not
All that many
Of those
The way he kept public actions
Within reasonable bounds
Games, building projects because he looked to what needed doing
And not the credit to be gained from doing it
No bathing at strange hours
No self-indulgent building projects
No concern for food, or the cut and color of his clothes
Or having attractive slaves
He never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself, turned violent
No one saw him sweat
Everything was to be approached logically
And with due consideration
In a calm and orderly fashion
But decisively
With no loose ends
You could have said of him
That he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most find hard
To abstain from and all too easy to enjoy
But to be strong enough both to bear the one
And be sober in the other is the mark of a man
With a perfect and invincible soul
Ey
But to be strong enough both to bear the one
And be sober in the other is the mark of a man
With a perfect and invincible soul
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Read More
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Compassion
Unwavering adherence to decisions once he’d reached them
Indifference to superficial honors
Listening to anyone who could contribute to the public good
His dogged determination to treat people as they deserved
A sense of when to push and when to back off
His altruism
Not expecting his friends to keep him entertained at dinner
Or to travel with him
And anyone who had to stay behind to take care of something
Always found him the same when he returned
His searching questions at meetings
A kind of single-mindedness
Almost
Never content with first impressions or breaking off the discussion prematurely
His constancy to friends
Never getting fed up with them
Or playing favorite
And his advance planning
Well in advance
And his discreet attention to even minor things
His restrictions on acclamations
And all attempts to flatter him
His constant devotion to the empire’s needs
His stewardship at the treasury
Willingness to take responsibility
And blame
For both
His attitude to the gods
No superstitiousness
His attitude to men
No demagoguery
No currying favor
No pandering
Always sober, always steady, never vulgar or a prey to fads
No currying favor
No pandering
Always sober, always steady, never vulgar or a prey to fads
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
The way he handled the material comforts that fortunehad supplied him in such abundance
Without arrogance and without apology
If they were there
He took advantage
If not
He didn’t miss them
No one ever called him glib
Or shameless, or pedantic
They saw him for what he was
A man tested by life
Accomplished
Unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern
Both himself and them
Both himself and them
His respect for people who practiced philosophy
At least, for those sincere about it
But without denigrating the others
Or listening to them
His ability to feel at ease with people
And put them at their ease without being pushy
His willingness to take adequate care of himself
Not a hypochondriac obsessed with his appearance
But not ignoring things either
With the result that he hardly ever needed medical attention
Or drugs or any sort of salve or ointment
This, in particular
(This, in particular)
(This, in particular)
His willingness to yield the floor to experts
In oratory, law, psychology, whatever
And to support them energetically
So each could fulfill his potential
He respected tradition without need to constantly congratulate himself for
Safe guarding traditional values
Not prone to go off on tangents
Or pulled in all directions
But sticking with the same old places
And the same old things
The way he could have one of his migraines
And then go right back to what he was doing
Fresh and at the top of his game
That he had so few secrets
Only state secrets
In fact
And not
All that many
Of those
The way he kept public actions
Within reasonable bounds
Games, building projects because he looked to what needed doing
And not the credit to be gained from doing it
No bathing at strange hours
No self-indulgent building projects
No concern for food, or the cut and color of his clothes
Or having attractive slaves
He never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself, turned violent
No one saw him sweat
Everything was to be approached logically
And with due consideration
In a calm and orderly fashion
But decisively
With no loose ends
You could have said of him
That he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most find hard
To abstain from and all too easy to enjoy
But to be strong enough both to bear the one
And be sober in the other is the mark of a man
With a perfect and invincible soul
Ey
But to be strong enough both to bear the one
And be sober in the other is the mark of a man
With a perfect and invincible soul
[Chorus]
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Hard work and persistence
Self-reliance, always cheerful
Strength, perseverance, self-control
Truth & Justice (Akira The Don X Marcus Aurelius)
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
To Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
My brother Severus
It was through him I encountered Thrasea
Helvidius
Cato
Dion
Brutus
And conceived of a society of equal laws
Governed by equality of status
And of speech
And of rulers who respect the liberty
Of their subjects above all else
And from him as well to be steady and consistent
In valuing philosophy
And to help others
And be eager to share
Not to be a pessimist, never to doubt your friends’ affection for you
And when people incurred
His disapproval
They always knew it
They always knew it
And that his friends never had to speculate about his attitude to anything
It was always clear
[Chorus]
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
Maximus
Self-control and resistance to distractions
Optimism in adversity
Especially illness
A personality in balance
Dignity and grace together
Doing your job without whining
Other people’s certainty that what he said was what he thought
And what he did was done without malice
Never taken aback or apprehensive
Neither rash nor hesitant
Or bewildered
Or at a loss
Not obsequious but not aggressive or paranoid either
Generosity, charity, honesty
The sense he gave of staying on the path
Not being kept on it
That no one could have ever felt patronized by him
Or in a position to patronize him
A sense of humor
[Chorus]
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
Read More
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
To Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
Love my family
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
My brother Severus
It was through him I encountered Thrasea
Helvidius
Cato
Dion
Brutus
And conceived of a society of equal laws
Governed by equality of status
And of speech
And of rulers who respect the liberty
Of their subjects above all else
And from him as well to be steady and consistent
In valuing philosophy
And to help others
And be eager to share
Not to be a pessimist, never to doubt your friends’ affection for you
And when people incurred
His disapproval
They always knew it
They always knew it
And that his friends never had to speculate about his attitude to anything
It was always clear
[Chorus]
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
Maximus
Self-control and resistance to distractions
Optimism in adversity
Especially illness
A personality in balance
Dignity and grace together
Doing your job without whining
Other people’s certainty that what he said was what he thought
And what he did was done without malice
Never taken aback or apprehensive
Neither rash nor hesitant
Or bewildered
Or at a loss
Not obsequious but not aggressive or paranoid either
Generosity, charity, honesty
The sense he gave of staying on the path
Not being kept on it
That no one could have ever felt patronized by him
Or in a position to patronize him
A sense of humor
[Chorus]
To love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
Truth and justice
Love my family
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
To help others in need
To share
Debts & Lessons (Akira The Don X Marcus Aurelius)
My grandfather Verus
Character and self-control
My father
Integrity and manliness
My mother
Her reverence for the divine
Her generosity
Her inability not only to do wrong
But even to conceive of doing it
My great-grandfather
To avoid the public school
Hire good private teachers
And accept the resulting costs
As money well-spent
My first teacher
Not to support this side or that in chariot-racing
This fighter or that in the games
To put up with discomfort and not make demands
Do my own work
Mind my own business
And have no time for slanderers
Do my own work
Mind my own business
And have no time for slanderers
Diognetus
Not to waste time on nonsense
Not taken in by conjurors
Not to be obsessed with quail-fighting
Or other crazes like that
To hear unwelcome truths
To practice philosophy, study
To write dialogues as a student
And to choose the Greek lifestyle
The camp bed
And the cloak
[Chorus]
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
Rusticus
The recognition that I needed to train and discipline my character
Not to be sidetracked by interest in rhetoric
Not to write treatises on abstract questions
Or deliver moralizing little sermons
Or compose imaginary descriptions
Of ‘The Simple Life’ or ‘The Man Who Lives Only for Others’
To steer clear of oratory
Poetry
And belles lettres
Not to dress up just to stroll around the house
Write straightforward letters
To behave in a conciliatory way
When people who have angered us want to make up
Read attentively
Not to be satisfied with “just getting the gist of it”
And not to fall for each smooth talker
Apollonius
Independence and unvarying reliability
To pay attention to nothing
No matter how fleetingly
Except the logos
To be the same in all circumstances
Intense pain
Loss of a child
Chronic illness
To see clearly
That a man can show both strength and flexibility
His patience in teaching
To have seen someone who clearly viewed
His expertise and ability as a teacher as the humblest of virtues
And to have learned how to accept favors
From friends without losing your self-respect
Or appearing ungrateful
[Chorus]
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
Sextus
Kindness
An example of fatherly authority in the home
What it means to live as nature requires
Gravity without airs
To show intuitive sympathy for friends
Tolerance to amateurs and sloppy thinkers
His ability to get along
With everyone
To investigate and analyze
With understanding and logic
The principles we ought to live by
Not to display anger or other emotions
To be free of passion and yet full of love
To praise without bombast
To display expertise without pretension
Literary Critic Alexander
Not to be constantly correcting people
Not to jump on them when they make an error
But just answer their question
Or add another example
Or debate the issue itself
Not their phrasing
Or make some other contribution to the discussion
Fronto
To recognize the malice
Cunning and hypocrisy that power produces
And the peculiar ruthlessness often shown by people from “good families"
Alexander the Platonist
Not be constantly telling people
I’m too busy
Not to be always ducking my responsibilities
Cos of “pressing business.”
Catulus
Not to shrug off a friend’s resentment
Even unjustified resentment
But try to put things right
To show your teachers
Ungrudging respect
And your children
Unfeigned love
(Instrumental Bridge)
[Chorus]
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
Read More
Character and self-control
My father
Integrity and manliness
My mother
Her reverence for the divine
Her generosity
Her inability not only to do wrong
But even to conceive of doing it
My great-grandfather
To avoid the public school
Hire good private teachers
And accept the resulting costs
As money well-spent
My first teacher
Not to support this side or that in chariot-racing
This fighter or that in the games
To put up with discomfort and not make demands
Do my own work
Mind my own business
And have no time for slanderers
Do my own work
Mind my own business
And have no time for slanderers
Diognetus
Not to waste time on nonsense
Not taken in by conjurors
Not to be obsessed with quail-fighting
Or other crazes like that
To hear unwelcome truths
To practice philosophy, study
To write dialogues as a student
And to choose the Greek lifestyle
The camp bed
And the cloak
[Chorus]
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
Rusticus
The recognition that I needed to train and discipline my character
Not to be sidetracked by interest in rhetoric
Not to write treatises on abstract questions
Or deliver moralizing little sermons
Or compose imaginary descriptions
Of ‘The Simple Life’ or ‘The Man Who Lives Only for Others’
To steer clear of oratory
Poetry
And belles lettres
Not to dress up just to stroll around the house
Write straightforward letters
To behave in a conciliatory way
When people who have angered us want to make up
Read attentively
Not to be satisfied with “just getting the gist of it”
And not to fall for each smooth talker
Apollonius
Independence and unvarying reliability
To pay attention to nothing
No matter how fleetingly
Except the logos
To be the same in all circumstances
Intense pain
Loss of a child
Chronic illness
To see clearly
That a man can show both strength and flexibility
His patience in teaching
To have seen someone who clearly viewed
His expertise and ability as a teacher as the humblest of virtues
And to have learned how to accept favors
From friends without losing your self-respect
Or appearing ungrateful
[Chorus]
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
Sextus
Kindness
An example of fatherly authority in the home
What it means to live as nature requires
Gravity without airs
To show intuitive sympathy for friends
Tolerance to amateurs and sloppy thinkers
His ability to get along
With everyone
To investigate and analyze
With understanding and logic
The principles we ought to live by
Not to display anger or other emotions
To be free of passion and yet full of love
To praise without bombast
To display expertise without pretension
Literary Critic Alexander
Not to be constantly correcting people
Not to jump on them when they make an error
But just answer their question
Or add another example
Or debate the issue itself
Not their phrasing
Or make some other contribution to the discussion
Fronto
To recognize the malice
Cunning and hypocrisy that power produces
And the peculiar ruthlessness often shown by people from “good families"
Alexander the Platonist
Not be constantly telling people
I’m too busy
Not to be always ducking my responsibilities
Cos of “pressing business.”
Catulus
Not to shrug off a friend’s resentment
Even unjustified resentment
But try to put things right
To show your teachers
Ungrudging respect
And your children
Unfeigned love
(Instrumental Bridge)
[Chorus]
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS
DEBTS
AND LESSONS