Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 2.6 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.6
Do wrong to thyself, do wrong to thyself, my soul; but thou wilt no longer have the opportunity of honouring thyself. Every man’s life is sufficient. But thine is nearly finished, though thy soul reverences not itself but places thy felicity in the souls of others.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.6, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/2.6
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesYou are mistreating your own soul by staying dependent on other people's opinions for your sense of worth, while your life is nearly over. Respect yourself now, because the chance to do so will not last.
Older wording
- “felicity”
- — happiness
- “reverences”
- — respects deeply
Themes and situations
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Virtue and character
- Time and the present
- Pride and humility
- Feeling life is slipping by
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