Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 12.4 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.4
I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others. If then a god or a wise teacher should present himself to a man and bid him to think of nothing and to design nothing which he would not express as soon as he conceived it, he could not endure it even for a single day. So much more respect have we to what our neighbours shall think of us than to what we shall think of ourselves.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.4, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/12.4
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWe say we love ourselves most, yet we care more about what neighbours think of us than about our own honest view of ourselves. If every thought had to be spoken aloud, we could not stand it for a day, which shows how much we perform for others.
Older wording
- “design”
- — plan or intend
Themes and situations
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Judgements and impressions
- Virtue and character
- Speech and silence
- Being criticised or insulted
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