Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 5.25 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.25
Does another do me wrong? Let him look to it. He has his own disposition, his own activity. I now have what the universal nature wills me to have; and I do what my nature now wills me to do.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.25, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/5.25
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWhen someone treats you badly, leave their behaviour to them: they have their own character and answer for their own actions. Your job is to accept what has landed in your life and do what your own nature calls for now.
Older wording
- “disposition”
- — inner character or temperament
- “universal nature”
- — the rational order of the whole universe
Themes and situations
- What is in our control
- Justice and fairness
- Anger
- Acceptance and fate
- Being treated unfairly
- Betrayal
- Being angry with someone
- Conflict at work
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