Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 1.11 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 1.11
From Fronto I learned to observe what envy, and duplicity, and hypocrisy are in a tyrant, and that generally those among us who are called Patricians are rather deficient in paternal affection.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 1.11, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/1.11
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesA teacher pointed out how envy, double-dealing and hypocrisy mark a tyrant, and that the aristocratic class is often cold toward its own family. A brief note on what to watch for in people with power.
Older wording
- “duplicity”
- — double-dealing, deceit
- “Patricians”
- — members of the old Roman aristocracy
Themes and situations
- Leadership and power
- Envy and comparison
- Justice and fairness
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