Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 6.35 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.35
Dost thou not see how the handicraftsmen accommodate themselves up to a certain point to those who are not skilled in their craft—nevertheless they cling to the reason [the principles] of their art and do not endure to depart from it? Is it not strange if the architect and the physician shall have more respect to the reason [the principles] of their own arts than man to his own reason, which is common to him and the gods?
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.35, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/6.35
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesSkilled craftspeople adapt to clients who know nothing about their trade but never abandon the principles of their craft. It would be strange if people showed less respect for their own reasoning, which they share with the gods, than an architect or doctor shows for professional standards.
Older wording
- “handicraftsmen”
- — skilled craftspeople
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Justice and fairness
- Duty and roles
- An ethical dilemma
- Conflict at work
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