greek · wisdom

Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

c. 170–180 CE · Roman Imperial Period (2nd century CE) · Rome (composed largely on military campaigns in Germania and Pannonia)

Book I — Debts and Lessons

1From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and the government of my temper.

2From the reputation and remembrance of my father, modesty and a manly character.

3From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence not only from evil deeds

4but even from evil thoughts; and further, simplicity in my way of living,

5far removed from the habits of the rich.

6From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools,

7and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally.

8From my governor, to be neither of the green nor of the blue party at the games in the Circus,

9nor a partisan either of the Parmularius or the Scutarius at the gladiators' fights;

10from him too I learned endurance of labour, and to want little, and to work with my own hands,

11and not to meddle with other people's affairs, and not to be ready to listen to slander.

Book II — Reflections at Dawn

12Begin the morning by saying to thyself: I shall meet with the busy-body,

13the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial.

14All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.

15But I who have seen the nature of the good, that it is beautiful,

16and of the bad, that it is ugly, and the nature of him who does wrong,

17that it is akin to me, not only of the same blood or seed, but that it participates in the same intelligence and the same portion of the divinity,

18I can neither be injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what is ugly,

19nor can I be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him.

20For we are made for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids,

21like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another then is contrary to nature;

22and it is acting against one another to be vexed and to turn away.

23Do every act of thy life as if it were thy last,

24free from all vanity, passionate deviation from the commands of reason,

25and from hypocrisy, and self-love, and discontent with the portion which has been given to thee.

Book III — The Present Moment

26Consider that thou hast lived long enough, if this present time in which thou art living

27shall not perhaps in the future be the sole possession of any among the immortal gods.

28For each of us has only this present moment.

29The longest and the shortest life are equal;

30since the present is the same to all,

31and what is lost is the same to all,

32and that which is lost proves to be a mere moment.

33For a man can lose neither the past nor the future:

34for what a man has not, how can any one take this from him?

35These two things then thou must bear in mind:

36the one, that all things from eternity are of like forms and come round in a circle;

37and it makes no difference whether a man shall see the same things during a hundred years

38or two hundred, or an infinite time.

Book IV — Nature and Return

39Constantly regard the universe as one living being,

40having one substance and one soul;

41and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being.

42All things are implicated with one another, and the bond is holy;

43and there is hardly anything unconnected with any other thing.

44That which is beautiful is beautiful of itself, sufficient to itself,

45the praise being no part of it.

46Nothing becomes better or worse when it is praised.

47Everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that which is remembered.

Book V — Duty

48In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present:

49I am rising to the work of a human being.

50Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into the world?

51Or have I been made for this, to lie in the bed-clothes and keep myself warm?

52But this is more pleasant.

53Dost thou exist then to take thy pleasure, and not at all for action or exertion?

54Dost thou not see the little plants, the little birds, the ants, the spiders, the bees working together

55to put in order their several parts of the universe?

56And art thou unwilling to do the work of a human being,

57and dost thou not make haste to do that which is according to thy nature?

58Retire into thyself. The rational principle which rules has this nature,

59that it is content with itself when it does what is just,

60and so secures tranquillity.

Book VII — On Opinion

61If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs thee,

62but thy own judgement about it.

63And it is in thy power to wipe out this judgement now.

64But if anything in thy own disposition gives thee pain,

65who hinders thee from correcting thy opinion?

66The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrongdoer.

67It is a shame for the soul to be first to give way in this life,

68when thy body does not give way.

Book VIII — Endurance

69Do not disturb thyself by thinking of the whole of thy life.

70Let not thy thoughts at once embrace all the various troubles which thou mayest expect to befall thee:

71but on every occasion ask thyself, What is there in this which is intolerable and past bearing?

72For thou wilt be ashamed to confess.

73In the next place remember that neither the future nor the past pains thee,

74but only the present.

75And this is reduced to a very small compass,

76if thou only circumscribest it, and chidest thy mind if it is unable to hold out against even this.

Book X — On Death

77Whatever this is that I am, it is a little flesh and breath, and the ruling part.

78Throw away thy books; no longer distract thyself: it is not allowed;

79but as if thou wast now dying, despise the flesh; it is blood and bones and a network,

80a contexture of nerves, veins, and arteries.

81See the breath also, what kind of a thing it is, air, and not always the same,

82but every moment sent out and again sucked in.

83The third then is the ruling part: consider thus:

84Thou art an old man; no longer let this be a slave, no longer be pulled by the strings like a puppet

85to unsocial movements, no longer either be dissatisfied with thy present lot, or shrink from the future.

Book XI — The Character of the Wise Man

86These are the properties of the rational soul: it sees itself, analyses itself, and makes itself such as it chooses;

87the fruit which it bears itself enjoys.

88It attains its own end, wherever the limit of life may be fixed.

89For the whole earth is a point, and how small a nook in it is this thy dwelling,

90and how few are there in it, and what kind of people are they who will praise thee.

Book XII — Farewell

91All those things which thou prayest to obtain by circuit,

92thou canst have at once if thou wilt not envy thyself.

93Thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last,

94laying aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason.

95Thou hast embarked, thou hast made the voyage, thou art come to shore; get out.

96If indeed to another life, there is no want of gods, not even there.

97But if to a state without sensation, thou wilt cease to be held by pains and pleasures.

98Depart then satisfied, for he also who releases thee is satisfied.

notes

The Meditations (Ta eis heauton — "To Himself") of Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE, Roman Emperor 161–180) is a series of personal writings intended not for publication but as an ongoing self-examination in accordance with Stoic principles. Written in Greek, largely during military campaigns on the Danube frontier, the twelve books are the private notebook of the last of the "Five Good Emperors." The text is not a systematic treatise but a series of exercises. Marcus reminds himself repeatedly of Stoic doctrines: the distinction between what is in our power (our judgements, choices) and what is not (external events); the unity of nature; the transience of all things; the necessity of duty; and above all, the discipline of assenting only to accurate impressions. That the most powerful man in the world spent his private hours reminding himself to be simple, patient, and grateful is one of the more remarkable literary facts of antiquity. The text was preserved almost by accident — Marcus never intended it to be read — and vanished from view for centuries before being rediscovered in the Renaissance. Translation: George Long, "The Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus," London: Bell & Daldy, 1862. Long's translation remained the standard English rendering for over a century and is public domain.

currently held: Manuscript survives in Vatican Library (Vaticanus Gr. 1950) and Biblioteca Laurenziana

MeditationStoicRomanEthicsPhilosophyVirtue

related texts

Ecclesiastes (Qohelet)hebrew · c. 300 BCE

## Chapter 1 — Vanity of Vanities [1] The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. [2] Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. [3] What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? [4] One generation passeth away, and anot…

Tao Te Chingother · c. 400–300 BCE (traditional: 6th century BCE)

## Chapter 1 — The Tao That Can Be Named [1] The Tao that can be told of is not the eternal Tao; [2] The name that can be named is not the eternal name. [3] The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; [4] The Named is the mother of all things. [5] Therefore let there always be non-being, [6]…

The Bhagavad Gitaother · c. 200 BCE–200 CE

## Chapter I — The Sorrow of Arjuna [1] Dhritarashtra said: [2] Tell me, O Sanjaya! gathered on the plain of Kuru, [3] That sacred plain, both these my hosts arrayed, [4] What did they? Ready for the battle there? [5] Then Arjuna, the Prince, looked on his kinsmen drawn in battle line, [6] Father…