Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 6.49 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.49
Thou art not dissatisfied, I suppose, because thou weighest only so many litrae and not three hundred. Be not dissatisfied then that thou must live only so many years and not more; for as thou art satisfied with the amount of substance which has been assigned to thee, so be content with the time.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.49, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/6.49
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesYou are not upset that you weigh only so much and not three hundred pounds, so do not be upset that you get only so many years and not more. Be content with the time assigned to you just as you are with the amount of body assigned to you.
Older wording
- “litrae”
- — Roman pounds, a unit of weight
- “substance”
- — your share of bodily matter
Themes and situations
- Death and mortality
- Time and the present
- Acceptance and fate
- Ageing
- Desire and craving
- Fear of death
- Getting older
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