Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 5.28 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.28
Art thou angry with him whose armpits stink? Art thou angry with him whose mouth smells foul? What good will this danger do thee? He has such a mouth, he has such armpits: it is necessary that such an emanation must come from such things—but the man has reason, it will be said, and he is able, if he takes pain, to discover wherein he offends—I wish thee well of thy discovery. Well then, and thou hast reason: by thy rational faculty stir up his rational faculty; show him his error, admonish him. For if he listens, thou wilt cure him, and there is no need of anger. Neither tragic actor nor whore…
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.28, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/5.28
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesGetting angry at someone for a bad smell would be absurd, since that is simply how their body is. Treat flawed behaviour in a similar spirit: you have reason, so use it to help the other person see their mistake gently, and if they listen there was never any need for anger.
Older wording
- “emanation”
- — a smell or something given off
- “rational faculty”
- — your power of reasoning
- “admonish”
- — gently warn or correct
Themes and situations
- Anger
- Kindness and forgiveness
- Speech and silence
- Justice and fairness
- Being angry with someone
- Everyday irritations
- Conflict at work
- Family conflict
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