Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 6.51 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.51
He who loves fame considers another man’s activity to be his own good; and he who loves pleasure, his own sensations; but he who has understanding, considers his own acts to be his own good.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.51, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/6.51
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWhere you locate your good decides how stable you are: someone who loves fame depends on what other people do, someone who loves pleasure depends on their own sensations, but a sensible person places their good in their own actions, which nobody else controls.
Older wording
- “understanding”
- — good sense and sound judgement
Themes and situations
- What is in our control
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Pleasure and pain
- Virtue and character
- Handling success
- Envy and comparison
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