126 D
EFINING
M
OMENTS
gods, Marcus takes two pages to describe all that he learned from
his father.
This chapter can easily be overlooked. It appears, at first, to be
simply a catalogue of dutiful acknowledgments. But there is much
more to it. The chapter is an example of a powerful and practical
way of taking the guidance offered in this book—or, for that matter,
any guidance on how to live—and making it one’s own. To prepare
for the challenges of the day, both great and small, Marcus worked
hard to learn all he could from the lives and experiences of people
he knew well.
What Marcus searched for, his first chapter suggests, were lived
truths, ethical standards validated in everyday life, and virtues forged
in life’s crucibles. Marcus relies heavily on