Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 5.34 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.34
Thou canst pass thy life in an equable flow of happiness, if thou canst go by the right way, and think and act in the right way. These two things are common both to the soul of God and to the soul of man, and to the soul of every rational being, not to be hindered by another; and to hold good to consist in the disposition to justice and the practice of it, and in this to let thy desire find its termination.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.34, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/5.34
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesA steady, happy life is possible if you think and act rightly. What every rational being shares is that nothing outside can hinder it so long as it treats justice as the one real good and lets its desires end there.
Older wording
- “equable”
- — steady and even
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Peace of mind
- Justice and fairness
- What is in our control
- Freedom
- Searching for meaning
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