Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 6.43 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.43
Does the sun undertake to do the work of the rain, or Æsculapius the work of the Fruit-bearer [the earth]? And how is it with respect to each of the stars, are they not different and yet they work together to the same end?
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.43, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/6.43
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesThe sun does not try to do the rain's job, and the stars all play different roles yet serve one shared end. In the same way, people with different roles and gifts can work toward a common purpose without competing or imitating each other.
Older wording
- “Æsculapius”
- — the Roman god of medicine and healing
- “Fruit-bearer”
- — the Earth, personified as the giver of crops
Themes and situations
- Community and our duty to others
- Duty and roles
- Nature and the cosmos
- Envy and comparison
- Conflict at work
- Co-founder or partner conflict
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