Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 12.35 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.35
The man to whom that only is good which comes in due season, and to whom it is the same thing whether he has done more or fewer acts conformable to right reason, and to whom it makes no difference whether he contemplates the world for a longer or a shorter time—for this man neither is death a terrible thing.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.35, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/12.35
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesSomeone who counts as good only what comes at the proper time, and who doesn't mind whether he did a few more right actions or watched the world for a few more years, has nothing to fear from death. Living each moment well matters more than how long you live.
Older wording
- “due season”
- — the right time
- “conformable”
- — in line with
Themes and situations
- Death and mortality
- Fear and anxiety
- Acceptance and fate
- Virtue and character
- Fear of death
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